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A special youth hunt on March 27-28 will precede the 2010 Spring Turkey Hunt (April 3 – May 16). Young hunters age 6-16 can hunt with an adult (at least 21 years old) that stays close enough to control the youth’s weapon. The adult can supervise more than one hunter.

Youths age 6-9 do not have to have a hunter education certificate; ages 10-16 need the hunter education certificate, or they may purchase the Apprentice Hunter Education Exemption (Type 012), good for one year.

Hunters age 6-12 do not need a license (wildlife management area permits are required). A Junior license is required for hunters ages 13-15 and age 16 needs an adult license. The bag limit for the youth hunt is one bearded turkey. Last year’s hunt had a statewide harvest of 994 birds.

-- The 2010 Tennessee elk hunt has been approved by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission. The TWR-Agency recommended a similar hunt as last year, with five bull tags being issued. Four of the elk permits will be randomly selected through a lottery drawing conducted by the TWRA, while the fifth permit will be donated for auction by a non-governmental organization, this year the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The TWRA estimates the Tennessee elk herd to number nearly 400 animals. The $10 lottery fee for those applicants without a Sportsman’s license, and most of the proceeds of the RMEF elk license auction will go to benefit the Tennessee elk restoration project.

-- The TWRA is conducting its first Tennessee Outdoors Youth Summit (TOYS) June 13-18 for students in high schools across Tennessee. Students will participate in hands-on classes that will teach the importance of the natural resources and their management. Instructors will be wildlife and fisheries biologists, wildlife officers, college professors, professional shooting coaches, and other experts.

TOYS students will be introduced to many different outdoor activities including: Boating, hunting, trapping, archery, photography, marksmanship, plant identification, forestry, camping, water quality, trap shooting, skeet shooting, wildlife identification, and several classes with wildlife and fishery biology as the topic.

Activities will take place at a TWRA complex in Montgomery County and lodging will be at a hotel in Clarksville. The fee for the weeklong experience is $300, lodging and meals included. Enrollment is limited to 100 students and the deadline to apply is April 30.

Applications can be downloaded from www.tnwildlife.org or www.shoottn.org. For more information contact Jereme Odom at 615-781-6500, extension 2103 or e-mail Jereme.Odom@tn.gov.

-- What are the most popular brand names in the hunting and fishing worlds? The company that studies these trends, Southwick Associates, has announced the brands and products anglers, hunters and target shooters preferred most in 2009.

This list (abbreviated here) has been compiled from the Internet-based surveys of 44,734 hunters and target shooters who volunteered to participate last year in HunterSurvey.com and TargetshootingSurvey.com polls, and 34,185 anglers.

The list is by top brand per category, with its percentage of all purchases.

Hunting and Shooting: Rifle -- Remington, with 16.5 percent; shotgun -- Remington, with 22.0 percent; muzzleloader -- Thompson/Center, with 29.5 percent; handgun -- Ruger, with 16.6 percent; rifle scope -- Bushnell, with 17.3 percent.

Shotgun ammunition: Winchester, 32.0 percent; rifle ammunition -- Remington, with 28.8 percent; handgun ammunition -- Winchester, with 32.0 percent; muzzleload propellant -- Pyrodex, with 35.15 percent.

Archery: Bow -- BowTech, with 14.8 percent; arrow -- Easton, with 30.3 percent; fletching -- Bohning, with 30.3 percent; broadheads -- Muzzy, with 25.3 percent.

Fishing: Spinning rod -- Shakespeare Ugly Stik, with 16.4 percent; reel -- Shimano, with 23.0 percent; rod/reel combo -- Shakespeare, with 25.7 percent; fly rod -- Sage, with 16.7 percent; fly reel -- Orvis, with 11.1 percent; fly rod/reel combo -- St. Croix, with 18.0 percent.

Fishing line producer: Berkley, with 42.6 percent; hard bait -- Rapala, with 30.6 percent; soft bait -- Zoom, with 16.8 percent; spinner bait -- Strike King, with 16.6 percent; fly line -- Scientific Angler, with 28.8 percent; -- Orvis and Cabelas tied, with 11.0 percent each.

The largemouth bass remained the top species pursued by anglers in 2009, garnering nearly 60 percent of activity.

-- Now that the 2009-2010 hunting seasons have ended, it is time to submit your small game survey cards. Hunters of rabbit, quail, grouse, and woodcock can help the TWRA manage these species by reporting the details of your hunts, such as: dates, areas hunted, quarry seen and taken, number of hunters in party, etc. Each participant will get a special hat and a copy of the survey. To help with this past season, or to prepare for next fall, contact Tim White at 615-781-6616 or e-mail him at timothy.white@state.tn.us.

Tom Wiest welcomes news, questions and comments from readers. Contact him at wiest.tom@gmail.com.