And then there were four. Four men have won the elk lottery and the right to hunt elk in Tennessee in modern times. They'll be the fortunate ones to participate in Tennessee's first-ever managed elk hunt. The winners were announced Thursday during the June meeting of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) Region II Ray Bell Building in Nashville.

The four winners, all Tennessee residents, were selected in a computer drawing from almost 13,000 entries for the elk hunt scheduled Oct. 19-23 at the North Cumberland Wildlife Area.

The participants in the historic hunt will be Craig Gardner, of Parrottsville, Charles Ray Flynn of Rockford, Ronald L. Woodard, of Oak Ridge, and Jeffrey L. Moses, of Cleveland. Greg Wathen, Chief, TWRA Wildlife Division announced the winners.

The fifth participant will be the recipient of a permit that is donated to a Non-Governmental Organization which this year is the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation. The TWRF will auction its permit in July as part of a fund-raising project benefiting future elk restoration in Tennessee.

The TWRA has announced a significant change in the statewide special season antlerless deer and fall turkey quota hunts this year. The statewide special season antlerless deer and fall turkey quota hunts will become a first come, first served system, a shift from the traditional drawn quota hunt. There will still be a quota for each hunt, but instead of applying and being drawn or not drawn, hunters will be able to get their permits immediately. Below are critical dates and information about this change.

How To Get Your Permit:

* Your receipt is your permit. You must have this receipt with you while hunting.

*Permits go on sale Aug. 19 at 8 a.m., CDT. You may buy your permits at any TWRA license agent, TWRA regional office, or online at www.tnwildlife.org. If you have any problems, call 615-781-6621 during regular office hours (8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. CDT).

* Individuals may have up to two (2) deer permits and two (2) turkey permits, but are eligible for only one (1) permit per hunt code.

*You must review your permit receipt and verify that the name, address, hunt locations, fees, etc., are correct.

If You Go To A License Agent:

*There is no fee for current Annual Sportsman License holders, Lifetime Sportsman License holders, or senior citizen hunters (Type 166) with an Annual Senior Citizen Permit (Type 167). All others must pay a $20 permit fee for each permit plus a $1 agent fee.

*When buying your permits in person, you must remain until your permit is processed to ensure that all your information is correct and to receive your receipt with your confirmation number.

*The system only allows one (1) permit per transaction.

If Obtaining Permits Online:

*There is no fee for current Annual Sportsman License holders, Lifetime Sportsman License holders, or senior citizen hunters (Type 166) with an Annual Senior Citizen Permit (Type 167). All others will be charged a $20 permit fee for each permit purchased plus a $2 internet usage fee. (The $2 internet fee is collected by the company that maintains the internet site and is not a fee charged by the TWRA).

*Go to www.tnwildlife.org. Then click on "Buy a License Online."

Special Seasons Leftover Permit Information:

*Beginning Sept. 16, 2009, at 8 a.m., CDT, any quotas left unfilled will be considered leftover permits.

*Individuals may obtain up to five (5) permits for deer and five (5) permits for turkey per person. Individuals may obtain more than one (1) permit for the same hunt and in any combination of deer and turkey choices. Leftover permits will be available until Dec. 27, 2009, and can be purchased at any TWRA license agent, at any TWRA regional office, or online at www.tnwildlife.org as described above.

*Permits are not transferable. No refunds will be made to anyone issued a permit.

Everybody knows how I feel about smallmouth bass. There's nothing in the world I'd rather catch, but it's also entertaining to see what other species are pursued around the globe as well. There are a lot of Greene County anglers that travel to coastal waters each year to experience what they offer. Here's a look at some current world records now pending with the International Game Fish Association (IGFA).

World records coordinator Rebecca Wright of the IGFA provides highlights of nine selected documented fish catches made across the globe including Australia, New Zealand, the French island of Reunion and the United States, recently submitted for IGFA world records. All are now before the world records committee:

*From the remote French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean, local angler Audrey Ferrand, of Savanna, St Paul, guided by Hugues Ferrand, landed a giant trevally on March 5, weighing in at 105-pounds, 13-ounces on women's 130 lb class line. Using bait, it took her over an hour to land the fish while fishing near the island's commune of St Gilles. Reunion, which is about the size of the state of Rhode Island in the USA, is located off Southern Africa, east of Madagascar. The current IGFA women's line class record for the fish is 91-pounds caught in 2004 from the waters of Tanzania.

*While fishing the waters off Ft. Myers, Florida, on March 6, Windsor, Ontario, Canada angler Cheryl Legault, guided by Capt. Joe Verdino, landed a gray snapper, weighing 5-pounds, 9-ounces. She was using a sardine on 20 lb class line and quickly landed the fish in three minutes. The current women's IGFA line class record is 4-pounds, 11-ounces caught off Hobe Sound, Fla. last year.

*Junior angler Heather Michelle Harkavy, Coral Springs, Fla, guided by Capt. Joe Porcelli, landed a 66-pound black drum on March 14, while fishing the Indian River, Florida. Ms. Harkavy, who has a long string of IGFA records, is hoping to beat the current female junior mark of 63-pounds, 6-ounces caught four years ago off Virginia's Eastern Shores.

*Fly fishing the South Bay in Texas on March 14, Bud Rowland of McAllen, Texas, tempted a black drum and fought him for 18 minutes. Rowland was using 12 lb tippet for the drum when landed weighed 59-pounds, 8-ounces. The current men's IGFA tippet record for the species is 57-pounds, 8-ounces recorded from Virginia's Chesapeake Bay in 1995.

*Proactive IGFA Virginia Representative Dr. Julie Ball took time on March 22, to wet a line off her hometown of Virginia Beach landing a tautog. Dr. Ball, guided by Skip Feller, used a crab on 16 lb line to attract the fish that weighed in at 14-pounds, 13-ounces. She may replace the IGFA women's line class record for the species which is currently 13-pounds, 11-ounces caught off Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY in 1993.

*Australian junior angler Jeremy Athan Siarakas, of Maroubra, guided by Jim Siarakas, landed a meagre on March 28. He was fishing Sydney Harbour, Australia when he caught the fish after a 15 minute fight that weighed in at 2-pounds, 15-ounces. The current IGFA male small fry record is vacant so Jeremy is hoping to be the first to see his name listed for the catch.

*With very thin 4 lb class line New Zealand lady angler Eryn Jacobsen, of Pukence, Kaitana, guided by John Batterton, landed a 209-pound, 6-ounce striped marlin on March 28. For some 40 minutes, she delicately finessed the billfish from the waters of the Three Kings Islands, the northernmost point of the North Island of New Zealand, where the South Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. The current women's IGFA line class record is 142-pounds, 8-ounces caught in Panama's Pinas Bay in 1991.

*Using a homemade lure while fishing Donner Lake, California, young Nevada angler Kaitlyn Stout, of Spanish Springs, landed a lake trout on April 3, weighing in at 30-pounds. She fought the fish for 15 minutes before landing it. The current IGFA female smallfry record is 20-pounds, 10-ounces set in July 2005 from Michigan's Lake Superior.