The Indiana National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP®) state tournament will be March 21 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. The competition will be the 20th tournament held by the program since the first was held in 2007. The fairgrounds’ Elements Blue Ribbon and Champions pavilions will host the NASP® Bullseye and NASP® 3D tournaments.

Schools across the state with the program as part of their curriculum were eligible to compete in this year’s qualifiers from Jan.1 through Feb. 15. After the qualifiers, nearly 2,100 students were invited to compete in the NASP® Bullseye Tournament. The NASP® 3D Tournament will host more than 700 students.

Admission to the event is $10 per person, and children under 4th grade are admitted free. Parking is $10 per vehicle. Additional information can be found at: indiananasp.com.

Indiana NASP® is provided for schools across the state through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Law Enforcement. The state’s program started in 2005 with 10 pilot schools and now has more than 600 schools in Indiana trained to deliver the program. More than 83,000 Indiana students have participated in the program.

Woman charged with illegal taking of paddlefish

Indiana Conservation Officers have arrested a Birdseye woman after investigating a complaint of someone illegally taking of paddlefish. On Feb. 16, around 5 p.m., Indiana Conservation Officers received information of paddlefish being unlawfully snagged at the Patoka Lake spillway.

The investigation led to a residence in Crawford County where Crystal Sheets, 45, was found to be in unlawful possession of a paddlefish and in violation of a protective order. She was subsequently taken into custody for violating the protective order and also charged with misdemeanor unlawful possession of paddlefish.

The paddlefish is an ancient, native fish to Indiana and has a diminished population. It is illegal for sport fishermen to take paddlefish and only legal on the Ohio River with a roe harvester’s license. More information on paddlefish can be found at https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/files/fw-paddlefish.pdf.

Reserved hunt applications now open

Hunters can now apply for reserved hunts using the DNR Division of Fish, Wildlife & Nature Preserves Activity Hub at GoOutdoorsIN.com. Private and public land turkey hunts are included in this round.

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on March 18. The online application method is the only way to apply for the hunts listed. No late entries will be accepted. Applicants must possess a hunting license valid for the hunt for which they are applying. A $1 tech fee is charged for each hunt application purchased.

For a complete list of hunts available, visit on.IN.gov/reservedhunt.

Hunters at each participating property will be selected through random computerized draws and will be able to view results at GoOutdoorsIN.com. An email will be sent to all applicants when the drawings are complete.

Reserved hunts in the application period include:

Youth turkey hunts:

Atterbury Fish & Wildlife Area (FWA), Jasper Pulaski FWA, Aukiki Wetland Conservation Area (WCA), J.E. Roush FWA, Kingsbury FWA, LaSalle FWA, Pigeon River FWA, Tern Bar Slough Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Tri-County FWA, Winamac FWA, Mississinewa Lake, Salamonie Lake, and Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge (NWR).

Fish & Wildlife Area turkey hunts:

Atterbury FWA, Aukiki WCA, Crosley FWA, Fairbanks Landing FWA, Glendale FWA, Goose Pond FWA, Hillenbrand FWA, Busseron Creek FWA, Tri-County FWA, Hovey Lake FWA, J.E. Roush FWA, Jasper-Pulaski FWA, Kingsbury FWA, LaSalle FWA, Pigeon River FWA, Sugar Ridge FWA, Tern Bar Slough WMA and Willow Slough FWA.

Parks and Reservoirs turkey hunts:

Salamonie Lake and Mississinewa Lake.

Indiana Private Lands Access turkey sites in the following counties:

Starke, LaPorte, Cass, Sullivan, Bartholomew, Scott, Greene, Harrison and Noble.

National Wildlife Refuge turkey hunts:

Muscatatuck NWR.

Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) will not host a turkey hunt in 2026. Please consider participating in turkey hunting opportunities at or nearby Muscatatuck NWR. For questions related to Big Oaks, please call 619-998-5904.

To purchase a license or apply for a reserved hunt go to GoOutdoorsIN.com. 

‘till next time,  

Jack

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication or e-mail Jack at jackspaulding1971@outlook.com.

Spaulding’s books, “The Best Of Spaulding Outdoors” and “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com as a paperback or Kindle download.