The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) recently released information on a hunting accident on the opening day of the bow season. The Agency said a 62-year-old Washington County man from Johnson City, was fatally wounded on Saturday, Sept. 27 while deer hunting.

Roy C. Emert was going archery hunting on the opening day of the archery-only deer season when the accident occurred. Emert was found near where he had parked his truck. According to the investigation, it appears that a 9 mm pistol Emert was carrying fell out of his pocket and struck the ground, causing it to discharge. The bullet struck him in the heart.

Under Tennessee hunting regulations, it is illegal for persons with archery tackle to carry firearms or be accompanied by a person possessing firearms during the archery-only season. The accident continues to be under investigation by wildlife officers with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

On Tuesday, crappie populations in two Upper East Tennessee reservoirs got a boost, due to the efforts of the TWRA.

Fingerling black and black-nosed crappie produced at TWRA's Morristown Fish Hatchery were released in Boone and Watauga reservoirs. Boone Reservoir received 18,580 fingerlings and Watauga received 64,443. More are scheduled to be released in Boone later this fall to bring the number released there to approximately 45,000.

Both reservoirs have a daily creel limit of 15 crappie with a 10-inch size limit. These fingerlings are expected to reach the 10-inch size by the summer of 2011. This fish production was made possible due to hatchery improvements provided through federal Wallop-Breaux funds. The TWRA will continue to monitor crappie populations in these reservoirs and stock as needed to supplement natural reproduction.

In case you've forgotten, the TWRA has a Web page with everything one could ever want to know about Tennessee's harvest reports and check station information.

Harvest data is available for all four of Tennessee big game species: bear, boar, deer, and wild turkey. Data can be viewed by day, season, year, or any period of time selected.

Other helpful information on the page includes biological data broken down by statewide, county, WMA, and regional reports, harvest data graphs, and hunter success reports.

To take a look, go to https://hfwa.centraltechnology.net/TNHFInternetHarvest/app/goHome.do.

Tennessee law requires that anyone born on or after January 1, 1969, beginning at age 10 must possess proof of satisfactory completion of an approved hunter education course before hunting any species in Tennessee.

In order to enroll in a hunter education class, the student must be at least 9 years of age. Persons ages 6-9 may participate in Young Sportsman and WMA hunts without hunter education, but they must be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years of age.

Participants need to bring a pencil and their Social Security Number to class.

Greene County TWRA Wildlife Officer James McAfee has scheduled an upcoming hunter education class at the Clyde Austin 4-H Center. The course begins on Monday, Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. and continues on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings of the same week. To pre-register, call 639-3811.

A pioneer of professional fishing, current champion angler, industry leader and two longtime outdoors writers have been selected as the eighth class to be inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. Organizers said John Powell of Alabama, Irwin Jacobs of Minnesota, Tim Tucker of Florida, Woo Daves of Virginia and Steve Price of Texas were selected by Hall of Fame members earlier this summer from a list of nominees. Powell and Tucker will be inducted posthumously.

"We are thrilled to honor such a diverse class and highlight the outstanding accomplishments of these men," said Sammy Lee, president of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. "This group has established themselves over the years on the water with rods and lures, with key decisions in the board room and to readers on the pages of magazines, newspapers and the Internet to help make our sport what it is today."

Nominations for induction are accepted and added to the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame master list, and then considered by the membership. The Hall said inductees must receive enough votes to be among the top five and ratified by the Board of Directors. Additional nominees above the top five vote recipients also may be considered by the board for inclusion or special honor. The Class of 2009 will be inducted during ceremonies Thursday evening, Feb. 19, at the Bassmaster Classic in Shreveport, LA. They will join 35 other men and women honored for their contributions to the sport.

"Numerous people have made an impact over the years to help improve and grow the sport of bass fishing we love so dearly," Lee said. "We applaud these men and women in the Class of 2009 and our previous honorees for their great innovations, strong dedication and intense passion."

The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to all anglers, manufacturers and members of the media who further the sport of bass fishing. Tickets for the 2009 Hall of Fame induction banquet are $75 per person and $1,000 for a corporate table. They may be purchased by calling 1-888-690-2277.

ESPN Outdoors continues its weekend programming on ESPN2 with new episodes of Whitetail Country and Driven to Hunt. Also, Chronicles of the Hunt heads to Africa and provides viewers with hunting strategies and tactics for elusive animals.

Combining motorsports and hunting, ESPN Outdoors features a new installment of Driven to Hunt Sunday at 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on ESPN2. This week, Driven to Hunt, a series that pairs NASCAR luminaries with Realtree Outdoors pros, takes viewers on a big-game Utah elk hunt with NASCAR star Kevin Harvick and Realtree Outdoors Bill Jordan. Harvick gets initiated into the big-game hunting world quickly as he comes face to face with a big bull.

From big-game firsts to pre-rut hunting tactics, this Sunday at 8 a.m. ET on ESPN2, Whitetail Country, a series featuring Realtree Outdoors pros including Tom Miranda, teaches viewers pre-rut techniques and strategies.

Circling the globe on Saturday at 7 a.m. ET on ESPN2, Chronicles of the Hunt visits Africa in search of the elusive Kudu. Noted African expert Jeff Neal provides tips and techniques for hunting the Kudu while some of the best turkey hunters in the world offer insight on hunting and calling tips for Rio Grande gobblers.

A complete listing of ESPN Outdoors programming aired on ESPN2 can also be found on www.ESPNOutdoors.com.