December 2012

Indiana’s Choice for Outdoor News & Information • Since 1994

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VOL. 2012 • NO. 11

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GONE AFIELD PAGE 7

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PHEASANTS FOREVER HELPS CREATE INDIANA GAME BIRD HABITAT AREA BROOK, IN -Pheasants Forever and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have completed the acquisition of a new Game Bird Habitat Area. Posthumously named after Bob Lyons, longtime leader of the local Iroquois River Pheasants Forever chapter. The 121-acre area represents Pheasants Forever's first land acquisition in Indiana and will be available to hunters via the state's pheasant draw hunt system.

The Bob Lyons Game Bird Habitat Area is located in east-central Newton County and honors Lyons' longtime commitment to conservation. When the property first became available three years ago, Lyons was adamant about permanently protecting it, a goal carried on by the Indiana State Council of Pheasants Forever after Lyons' passing in 2010. “I am very proud to have been actively involved in this,” said state council president Rick Lopez. “Indiana Pheasants Forever chapters raised the necessary funding, selling one raffle ticket at a time. Our children will benefit in this investment and great tribute.”

Indiana's DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife will manage the property with an emphasis on restoration of grassland habitat that benefits pheasant and quail, which will fulfill Lyons' vision for the parcel. In his home area of Newton

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and Jasper Counties, Lyons was personally responsible for more than 6,000 acres in ditch bank filter strips and habitat buffers, and he and the chapter worked with roughly 35 landowners over the years to establish conservation practices on their land. He was named one of Pheasants Forever's “25 Pioneering Volunteers” during the organization's 25th anniversary celebration.

“Bob was a crusty old feather hunter who loved his habitat and really loved his birds and his bird dogs,” said Jack Corpuz, secretary of the Central Indiana Pheasants Forever chapter, “He spent just about every spare moment in the

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STATE PARK FEES TO INCREASE IN 2013 PREDATOR HUNTING PAGE 9

DECEMBER, 2012

Visitors to Indiana state parks and reservoirs will see some changes in user fees in 2013, but the daily entrance rate of $5 will remain the same.

“Our goal, as always, is to provide the best state parks and facilities we can for our visitors,” DNR director Rob Carter said. “We’ve IDNR/Outdoor Indiana made minor fee adjustments in the past to keep pace with the costs of Magazine photo. meeting that goal. It’s now time to make a few additional changes, while also keeping in mind family budgets and the economic challenges Hoosiers are facing.”

Some of the changes in fees include: • Annual entrance permits will increase from $36 to $40 for Indiana residents.

• The annual out-of-state entrance permit will increase from $46 to $60.

• Annual entrance permits also may be used for entrance to the interpretive center at Falls of the Ohio State Park.

• Camping rates will increase by $1-$4 depending on the type of facilities, but weekday campers will still get a better rate.

• Swimming pool fees will increase from $2/person/day to $3/person/day.

A family swimming pass will be $50 for a 25-visit pass, which can reduce the per person/per day cost back to $2. Swimming passes have no expiration date, and can be used from one year to the next.

• Cabin rates will increase by $5/day in some locations.

• The annual motorized lake permit will increase from $20 to $22.

• Some state park inn rooms will increase from between 99 cents and $4.95/night depending on location and amenities.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Noah Schoonveld arrowed a nice doe just 20 minutes after settling into his stand in Newton County last month. This big ten-pointer came by about an hour later. Now that’s a memorable hunt! Congratulations, Noah. Indiana’s archery season remains open through January 6, while the muzzleloader season runs December 8 through the 23rd.

Indiana Pheasant Outlook Though upland habitat continues to disappear across Indiana’s pheasant range at an alarming rate, the state’s northern tier experienced a mild winter, excellent conditions for spring breeding and then managed to elude the drought that ensnared much of the heartland. “I would assume based on the weather and the spring call count, the 2012 harvest would be up,” says Budd Veverka, Farmland Game Research Biologist with the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife.

While the spring call count was only up about 3 percent statewide, the routes in Benton County were up more than 125 percent from last year. “We’ll see if the numbers cause a bump in the harvest,” Veverka says. He adds the Hoosier State’s 12,500 pheasant hunters will find birds in the northwest portion of the state, but believes good bird numbers can also be found in the northeast corner of the state too.

Season Dates: November 9 through December 23 Daily Bag Limit: 2 Possession Limit: 4

COMPLIMENTS OF:

For a complete list of fees, see stateparks.IN.gov/2391.htm. Fee adjustments took effect on November 15. Camping, cabin, shelter, inn and other reservations made prior to November 15 will be honored at the old rates.

In 2006, the Indiana Natural Resources Commission approved a fee

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POSTMASTER: Please deliver by December 10

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

December, 2012

The Gift

JOSHLANTZ Hunting seasons come and go like birthdays. And if it weren’t for photographs, most of us would remain blissfully unaware of the incremental changes that take place during the spaces in between.

The images don’t lie.

For some of us, they reveal a few more gray hairs, or point out that our hunting clothes fit a bit differently. They chronicle an evolution of gear, secret hunting locations and treasured hunting partners. They document a parade of select sunrises and memorable harvests.

Photographs are great for sharing with others, but aren’t truly necessary for the owners of each unique experience. We see and recall the images easily when we simply close our eyes and remember. By and large, our experiences

afield are timeless, and the memories flow together from the first seasons to the latest. These memories constitute some of the greatest gifts we receive as hunters. Of course, they are also among the greatest gifts we can share with others.

While a good shot on the clays range, despite my invitations, my wife, Joyce, has never been a hunter. But this changed during the past year. For a variety of reasons, she has decided it is time to see what hunting is really all about.

Since I enjoy waterfowl hunting so much and since we have a new pup who would be joining me in the field this season, we decided to outfit Joyce for waterfowl.

The trip to Bass Pro Shops was expensive, but fun, as we carefully selected the clothing she would need to stay warm and comfortable in the field. We also brought home her very own Remington 1187 .20 gauge.

Our first few hunts together have been a lot of fun, and I can see that she truly enjoys everything about it -- especially her first duck, a beautiful drake bluebill. I’m

lucky and pleased to be able to share the outdoors with Joyce and look forward to the possibility of many new memories.

Did I mention I have a new pup?

Last year at this time, I was writing about the latest addition to our family -- a dilute chocolate lab pup named Little Man Kona Kong.

Kona began his training last December, largely following the recommendations outlined by Richard Wolters in his classic book, Game Dog. Of course, being a lab puppy and programmed to please, Kona has eagerly upheld his end of the bargain. I’m not going to say that training has been easy, but it is truly amazing how much innate hunting and retrieving skill comes built into most labs. All I’ve had to do is condition him to the gun and teach him what I expect from him. He knows the rest and is learning more with each new hunting experience.

This has been Kona’s first hunting season, and it began with doves back in September. This was a fun and easy game for both of us, as Kona has been retrieving frozen pigeons in the woods behind my house since he was 12 weeks old.

He loved it! So did I. As waterfowl season rolled around, I was eager for Kona’s first water retrieve. The first duck hunt was with good friend Jay Anglin and his dog, Deuce. I kept Kona on a lead during this hunt. I wanted him to watch and learn. It turned out to be a good move. Jay and I reenacted the shooting of a drake ringneck at the end of the morning and allowed Kona to make a couple retrieves -- just as he had seen Deuce do. The pup executed flawlessly -- holding solid on the shot before being verbally released and making a beeline for the downed bird through a maze of decoys that should have been confusing to a young dog. Proud? You bet I was.

Kona’s first real retrieve came a week later. The shooting was slow, but I dumped a nice drake redhead as he skirted the outside of the decoys. “Kona! Fetch it up!”, I ordered. The young dog leapt into the water and made his way through ten feet of thick bullrushes.

While Kona had seen and marked the bird as it went down, the swim through the tangle of reeds left him a bit off his line. I allowed him to

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swim through the mallard decoys near the edge of the reeds before blowing the whistle to redirect him.

Kona spun around on my whistle blast, treading water and awaiting instruction. “Back!”, I yelled and showed him the direction of the bird with my arm. He turned and headed in the direction I’d shown him, picking up speed as he locked onto the bird. I trilled the whistle and heaped on the praises as he picked up the drake and turned back towards the boat. He knew what he was supposed to do and could tell I was very pleased. It was the start of what I hope will be

many seasons of hunting together and many new memories.

Changes aren’t always evident from one hunting season to the next, but it’s clear that I have two new hunting buddies with whom I hope to enjoy the gifts of the outdoors for many years to come. Of course, my oldest daughter, Emma, recently passed her hunter education course as well. Both she and her little brother, Jack, already take turns accompanying me while deer hunting, so I’m sure it won’t be long before I’m blessed with even more hunting partners -- a special gift, indeed.

® Volume 2012 • Number 11 Publisher: Brian E. Smith Assistant Publisher: Mark C. Smith Editor-in-Chief: Joshua D. Lantz Sportsmen’s Rights Editor: Rick Story Field Editor: John Martino, Central Indiana Field Photographer: Bill Konway, www.BillKonway.com Graphic Design: graphics@ION4U.net Layout & Editing: Sand Creek Media Advertising Sales: (877) 251-2112 Editorial Submissions: submit@raghorn.com Subscription Info: Subscriptions@Raghorn.com Web Site: www.IndianaOutdoorNews.net Business & Publication Office: Mailing Address: P.O. Box 40, Knox, Indiana 46534 Phone: (877) 251-2112 • Fax: (800) 496-8075 INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS® is the official publication of Raghorn Incorporated, and is published monthly at the address listed above. For home delivery and subscription rates, look for the subscription card in this publication. Editorial contributions may be submitted to the above address. No material can be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope.

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

POST-ELECTION SPORTSMEN’S OUTLOOK USSA Report -Election Day has come and gone and Americans have cast their votes. Now politicians will turn their attention from winning elections to governing our country.

But how will the outcome of this year’s election affect sportsmen?

After the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on campaigns this year, not much has changed in the nation’s capital. This election did not provide the sweeping changes ushered in 2008 or 2010. Instead, while some of the players are new, the overall breakdown by political party remains quite similar to 2011 and 2012.

At the top of the ticket, President Barack Obama was reelected winning 303 electoral votes to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 206.

In the U.S. Senate, Democrats increased their control from 53 seats to 55 seats– assuming Angus King (Independent) of ME caucuses with the Democrats as is expected. With or without King, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will again find himself in control of Congress’ upper chamber.

Jurisdiction over fish and wildlife issues in the Senate is shared between the Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) and the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW).

The Senate ENR committee will now likely be chaired by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) replacing outgoing Sen. Jeff Bingaman (DNM). Sen. Lisa Murkowski (RAK) should remain the senior committee Republican. Insiders expect the committee to operate more effectively with Wyden as he has shown the ability to work across the aisle and take a pragmatic approach to public land issues. Under Bingaman, the committee produced very little legislation and cared little for hunter/angler friendly bills. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) was reelected and should stay on the committee as well. He and Lisa Murkowski co-sponsored the Senate version of the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act (S. 2066 – which designates BLM and Forest Service lands as open until closed for hunting and fishing) and we expect them to continue to work together to move this important bill through the Senate.

On the Senate EPW committee, anti-hunting Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will continue to hold the gavel in the next Congress, but her GOP counterpart will change. For the past few years, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) has been the committee’s ranking Republican. He is term-limited in this role by Senate GOP rules and is likely to be succeeded at EPW

by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA). Both have been friends to hunters.

On the House side, Republicans maintained control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

While there are still 25 races that have yet to be decided, House Republican’s already control enough seats (226) to ensure they will find themselves in the majori-

ty come January.

Key committees for sportsmen include the Natural Resources (with jurisdiction over public lands and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee (which controls funding of agencies such as Interior and the U.S. Forest Service). Both of these committees will continue to have GOP chairmen.

There may be, however, changes in leadership on the Natural Resources committee.

Present Chairman Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) may move over to the Rules Committee chair. If this happens, Rep. Rob Bishop (RUT) will likely take the gavel of the Natural Resources Committee.

Bishop has been chairman of the Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee and been a strong supporter of access to public lands.

The domino effect may allow Rep. Don Young (R-AK) to take over the Parks and Public Lands chair.

Young has been a staunch supporter of hunters and anglers, always willing to confront federal agencies on fish and wildlife management and access matters, and a good friend of USSA. Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) should continue as chair of the Fish and Wildlife Subcommittee.

Membership of the Natural

December, 2012

CheckIN Game phone-in option now available Resources Committee is likely to remain the same with one notable change. Rep. Dan Benishek (RMI), the primary co-sponsor of HR 2834 (the House version of the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act), narrowly won re-election and is expected to stay on the committee.

Unfortunately, the sporting community is losing its best friend on the Democratic side of the aisle — Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK). He did not seek re-election so his committee seat will be up for grabs.

Overall, the outcome of the election is leading many to worry that the significant political gridlock experienced over the past four years will continue. That gridlock has led to sequestration, a series of looming automatic budget cuts— scheduled to go into effect in January – that would jeopardize $65 million in funding that pay for hunting and fishing programs in every state.

Despite the seemingly challenging climate, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance will continue to push for much needed improvements and advancements on sportsmen’s issues including a quick and timely solution to the sequestration of our hunting and fishing license dollars. Learn more at USSPORTSMEN.org.

PHEASANTS -- Cont. From Cover

The DNR online CheckIN Game system now offers hunters the option to report their harvested game from any telephone.

Hunters who use this option will talk to a live person who will enter their information into the online CheckIN Game system.

The phone-in option is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the fall turkey and all deer seasons. The number is 1800-419-1326.

Because of staffing costs, a $3 fee will be charged for each CheckIN telephone transaction. Payment can be made by Visa or Mastercard only.

The online system and on-site check stations remain free options for hunters to check in game. To access CheckIN Game online, visit checkingame.dnr.IN.gov.

Before using the phone-in option, hunters should have their customer ID and all harvest information ready. Customer ID numbers can be found on any hunting, fishing or trapping license. Lifetime license holders and those who do not have their customer ID will be able to look up their number through the phone system.

Once a transaction is completed, hunters will be given a confirmation number, which must be written on their temporary transportation tag.

“The new phone-in option allows hunters who do not have Internet access the ability to check-in their game from home or in the field with a mobile phone,” said Mark Reiter, Division of Fish & Wildlife director. “This makes check-in easy and convenient for all hunters.”

FEES -- Cont. From Cover structure that gives the DNR director flexibility in setting rates for entrance, camping, swimming, boat launching, and many other facilities and services. None of the fee changes for 2013 move pricing at or even near the top of the ranges established by the Commission, and many activities remain free after paying the gate entrance fee. Some of those activities include hiking, biking, visiting nature centers, enjoying most interpretive programs, picnicking and birding.

Visitor fees provide about 67 percent of the funding for services, staff and the natural and cultural resources visitors enjoy when they visit a state park or reservoir. About 33 percent of the funding comes from monies appropriated by the General Assembly from general fund tax dollars.

“Modest, periodic adjustments in fees help us maintain services,” said Dan Bortner, director of the DNR Division of State Parks & Reservoirs.

“This approach was championed by Col. Richard Lieber, the founder of our state park system, from its very beginning in 1916. It is a philosophy that we still believe in today.

“There aren’t many places you can go and enjoy a weekend with several thousand acres of forest, prairie or wetlands wrapped around you. A visit to one of our state parks or reservoirs is still a great value.”

Recreation users will have a great opportunity for savings through the end of the year by purchasing online either an SPR Go! Value Package or a Holiday Gift Pack. Pricing on both of these packages will remain the same through the end of 2012 as it was in 2011. The sale of these packages begins today through Mother Nature's Mercantile at innsgifts.com.

Camping reservations for Memorial Day Weekend, 2013 will be accepted beginning at noon on Nov. 24. To reserve a campsite, cabin, recreation, building or shelter, visit camp.IN.gov or call 1-866-6CAMPIN (1-866-622-6746).

Jasper and Newton county area sitting on a tractor planting habitat. That's what he did.”

“It is always great to partner with organizations such as Pheasants Forever,” said Mark Reiter, Director of Fish and Game, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, “It's through their dedication and willingness to get involved that all Hoosier sportspersons will benefit.”

Additional partners making this new Game Bird Habitat Area possible include the Herre family - willing, conservation-minded sellers, Friends of the Kankakee, Indiana Sportsmen's Roundtable and the NICHES Land Trust.

Nationwide, Pheasants Forever has participated in 1,312 different land acquisitions which have permanently conserved wildlife habitat on 161,867 acres. Those land acquisition projects have been completed in conjunction with local, state, and federal natural resource agencies, and all of those projects are publically accessible for hunting and other forms of outdoor recreation.

For more information, contact Brian Nentrup, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Regional Representative in Indiana, at (317) 753-4543 / Email Brian.

There are 22 PF chapters and over 3,000 PF members working on wildlife habitat projects across Indiana. In fact, Indiana PF chapters have spent $1.5 million dollars to complete nearly 5,000 habitat projects ISH KILL AT ROOKVILLE AKE ATTRIBUTED TO VIRUS during the organization's 25-year history. Those projects have benefited nearly 40,000 acres for A virus was responsible for a fish kill at Brookville Lake this fall that killed hundreds, if not thousands, wildlife in that time. There are an of common carp, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. additional six Quail Forever chapThe virus, known as koi herpes virus (KHV), showed up in examinations of carp that were collected from ters in Indiana; Pheasants Forever's the lake and sent to the Purdue University Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for testing. quail division.

KHV affects common carp and koi, which is a carp species commonly stocked in ornamental ponds and widespread in the aquaculture industry.

Related species such as goldfish and grass carp can be carriers of the virus and transmit it to susceptible Pheasants Forever, including its fish but they do not appear to be affected by it. There is no evidence that KHV affects native minnows or quail conservation division, Quail Asian carp, and it poses no human health risk.

Forever, is the nation's largest nonReports of sick and dying carp at Brookville Lake were first reported to DNR in mid-September. profit organization dedicated to KHV was first found in Indiana in 2011 and attributed to fish kills in the St. Joseph River in Elkhart upland habitat conservation.

County and at a private lake in Daviess County.

Pheasants Forever and Quail The long-term impacts of KHV on fisheries at Brookville Lake and elsewhere around the state are Forever have more than 130,000 unknown; however, KHV is present in most of the state and is likely to cause additional fish kills. members and 700 local chapters Anglers and boaters can help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) by doing the followacross the United States and ing: Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of 1) Dispose of unused bait after a fishing trip rather than releasing it or saving it and using it somewhere else. their locally raised conservation 2) Drain and dry or disinfect all equipment before moving to another waterway. funds are spent, the only national 3) Refrain from releasinge fish caught in one body of water to another body of water. conservation organization that More information on invasive species and how the public can help prevent their spread is at operates through this truly grassInvasiveSpecies.IN.gov. roots structure.

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

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Area walleye fisheries looking good

LOUIESTOUT St. Joseph River There's good news for St. Joseph River walleye fishermen.

Fall surveys conducted by the Indiana DNR last month revealed better-than-average success of fish stocked by the DNR and the Michiana Walleye Association in 2011.

Biologist Neil Ledet spent October evenings cruising shallow river areas between Elkhart and Twin Branch dams with electroshock equipment looking for oneyear-old fish. The fish were temporarily stunned, captured, counted, measured and released.

“We saw twice as many young fish as we normally do,” said Ledet. “We got about 25 fish per hour, whereas fall catch rates of 12 to 15 per hour with our gear are more typical.”

Furthermore, Ledet's research turned up quite a few mature fish, with most in the 16-18 inch range and one pushing 24 inches. The 13 inchers should reach legal size by late summer or fall of 2013.

“The one-year-olds were running about 13 inches and were fat, with weights above normal,” he added.

Why the exceptional survival of young fish?

“Sometimes you hit it just right and other years you don't,” Ledet noted.

“But I will say that the larger fish we're stocking seem to make a huge difference.”

A few years ago, the DNR and MWA began acquiring river walleyes from a private Wisconsin hatchery that grows fish measuring 6 to 8 inches and stocking them in late fall.

Prior to that, the DNR acquired fish from Michigan and stocked 2 inchers in higher numbers and earlier in the year.

Some of the fingerling stockings produced good results, but most didn't. The bigger walleyes stocked later in the year are producing promising results.

However, the bigger walleyes are difficult to raise because they require more time and space in the hatchery. They're pricey to buy from a private hatchery, but the return on investment appears worthwhile.

How many will get stocked in the river this year is contingent upon how much money the local walleye club can raise. For more information of how you can donate to the MWA's walleye stocking program, call Rick Nichols, 574282-1916.

Josh Lantz photo.

Lakes look good too...

Northeastern biologist Tom Bacula says Lake of the Woods (Bremen), Lake Maxinkuckee (Plymouth), and Bass Lake (Knox) and producing fair to good results for walleye anglers.

Lake of the Woods may be showing the most promise. It previously was stocked with 100 June fingerlings (2-3 inches) per acre, but a reduction to 50 per acre has actually helped the lake.

“The past couple of years, our surveys have looked pretty good,”

he said. “The lake has a lot of nice 15- to 17-inch walleyes and I think it's one of the best lakes to fish.”

Walleyes have long been stocked in Lake Maxinkuckee, but the results have been inconsistent for a lake with great habitat and size (1,800 acres).

“Our creel studies show low walleye harvest numbers so we had to rethink our stocking strategy,” explained Bacula. “We started using advanced fall walleyes (6-8 inchers) and next year we’ll hit it with the June fish and alternate each year. It will be interesting to see if we can get a better fishery out of it.”

Bass Lake is one of the few in the state that responds well to fry, so there are no plans to change how it is stocked.

“It's got a high catch rate of walleyes but legal fish are hard to come by even though we know they are out there,” Bacula said.

Bass Lake walleyes show a normal growth rate but they don't grow to larger sizes. Biologists attribute slow growth to the lake's shallow nature and the fact it gets too hot in the summer.

“It also gets a lot of fishing pressure for walleyes, including through the ice, so we think a lot of keepers are being harvested,”

Bacula noted.

In North central Indiana, biologists grew concerned that Winona Lake (Warsaw) walleyes weren't doing as well as they had done previously, so they reduced stocking of larger fall fish from 20 to 10 per acre.

Fall surveys revealed that not only has the size structure improved some, but survival remains consistently above the state average the past two years.

Perhaps no other Hoosier lake has responded as well to walleye stockings as Sylvan (Rome City).

The 669-acre lake has an excellent walleye population and is a good place to catch “keepers” (14 inches) or longer, but larger ones aren't as common.

In an attempt to boost size structure, biologists reduced the number of fall fish it plants.

Despite stocking reductions, the number of young fish showing up in fall surveys continues to far exceed state averages.

Pike Lake (Warsaw) doesn't get much attention, but it could be a sleeper.

The 205-acre lake gets 2-inch June walleyes each year and appears to be doing well with them and stocking will continue.

“Although I haven't surveyed it recently, we have gotten good reports for years,” said biologist Jed Pearson. “We also get a lot of reports about walleye fishing from ice fishermen.”

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

you ice fisherman out there, I hope this year is better than last. If you can tear yourself away from the woods for bit I think you will catch some fish this month.

JIMBIDDLE December Sorry I didn’t get my report in last month. I was incapacitated with a medical problem. But watch out, I’m back.

Did you get your deer during firearms season? I got an eight pointer on the second day and my grandson Jacob got a nice sized doe. Sometimes I think I’m getting a little old for deer hunting. I shot the buck along the edge of my pond and wouldn’t you know it, it plunged in. Fishing a deer out of a pond and dragging it up the bank isn’t an easy task. I did cheat a little. I used my old tractor to pull it up the bank. The weather was too warm, but thank goodness my friend Joey Boisvert let me put it in his cooler.

Well, I almost forgot this is a fishing report. From what I hear fishing has been pretty good with the spell of warm weather in mid November. All my contacts seem pretty optimistic that it will continue until the ice comes on. Of course, this time of year the weather can change in a hurry. For all

Lake Michigan Mark Starcevich at Mik-Lurch Tackle in Hammond says the perch are hitting on minnows from Inland Steel to Gary. Lake trout fishing on the reef is a little slow but should be picking up. Walleye fishing is good at Wolf Lake using stick baits and crank baits. While your at Wolf Lake you can take some crappie from areas with limbs and sticks.

Northwest Indiana Penny Boisvert at Greenwood Bait Shop in English Lake wants me to remind all her customers that the shop is closed for the season and will open again on March 1st.

Saint Joseph River Dick Parker at Parker’s Central Bait & Tackle in Mishawaka says the fishing is rather slow, but they are still taking some steelhead and bluegills. The steelhead fishing could still improve if we get some significant rain.

East Central Indiana Ed Gipson at Peacepipe Bait & Tackle at Andrews tells me the fishing has been rather slow but they are still taking some crappies.

Most are pretty small. Ed expects the catfish and walleye action to start picking up soon. Use a rooster tail or a night crawler if you want to take some walleyes.

Bluegill are still hitting but as they say, it’s hit or miss. The hotspot seems to be around the 105 bridge.

North Central Indiana Todd Sauter from Ye Old Tackle Box in North Webster says the Muskies are hitting on large sucker minnows. Largemouth bass will give you a lot of action with jerk baits or soft plastics on the bottom. Todd says you can take a largemouth about anywhere in the area.

Central Indiana Dave McCalla at the Bait Barn in Indianapolis tells me that fishing has been slow but is getting better. Crappie and bluegill action is starting to pick-up again.

Your best bet for action would be Geist and Eagle Creek Reservoirs.

West Central Indiana John Raines at Twin Lake Fish & Game in Monticello tells me that fishing has been great and should just keep getting better.

Crappie action has been great and should continue. Smallmouth are hitting on crank baits and jerk baits. John expects the Sauger and walleye action to start coming on strong too. Jigs and minnows are the way to go for the them.

Southwest Indiana Rick Shedd from the Fishin Shedd in Bloomington says you can get some crappie action if you fish areas that are shallow with underwater brush. They’re taking some catfish in area and the walleye action should be taking off on Lake Monroe pretty soon as well.

Largemouth bass are still hitting crankbaits, spinner baits and worms.

Southeast Indiana Tag Nobbe from Brookville Lake Guide Services in Brookville tells me that the big three right now are walleye, crappie and white bass. Walleye are hitting pretty well around the tail waters below the dam. Tag says use stick baits.

Crappies will hit minnows or a jig or a tube. White bass go for inline spinners fished close to the bank around rocks or fallen trees, especial-

December finds good perch fishing on Lake Michigan from Hammond to Gary on days when anglers can get out. Josh Lantz photo.

December, 2012

ly in the north end of the lake.

Well, that just about does it for another year of OL’ JB’s fishing reports. I hope I’ve helped you catch some fish or brought you a chuckle now and then. Now it’s time for you to get out those outdoor catalogues and start making your list for Santa. I’m assuming you’ve been good all year and Santa will bring you a whole bunch of new fishing equipment.

So good luck and remember what OL JB always says at this time of the year, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!”

See you next month.

December, 2012

INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

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Photo Information, Clockwise from left. . .

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1) Brandon Grolich (L) and Art Jacobs (R) with a couple of Marshall County Bucks taken within 30 minutes of each other on the same farm. 2) LaDonna Greene Brock took this nice buck in Kentucky. 3) Cory Hollar of Plymouth with an awesome 12 pointer.

Check out that Drop Tine! Congrats Cory and thanks to Brandon Grolich for submitting the Pic. 4) Matt Rust of Hamlet took this coyote with his bow. Nice work, Matt! 5) Frank Egan, of Knox (Bass Lake) braved the wind and rain to harvest this awesome 215 lb 11 pointer. Congrats, Frank, on a great buck.

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This months answers From Puzzle on Page 17

Join thousands of other Indiana outdoorspeople & follow Indiana Outdoor News on Facebook. Submit your photos & posts there, or at the best online source for Indiana’s outdoor news & info, INDIANAOUTDOORNEWS.net.

Gone Afield monthly photo contest. . .

It’s EASY! It’s FUN! Fill out this form and send it in with your favorite outdoor photograph.

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Entry Information: Person submitting the photo: Name(s) of person(s) pictured: Other information describing the photo: If I’m selected as this month’s random winner, please send my prize to:

Send your photos to: Gone Afield P.O. Box 40 Knox, IN 46534 E-mail submissions welcome at: www.contact@ION4U.net.

If mailing photos, please include a SASE if you’d like us to return them to you CONTEST RULES: Raghorn, Inc. shall retain the right to publish or not publish any images submitted in any of it’s media outlets. Winners chosen at random. Prizes are subject to change and contest may cease without notice.

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

December, 2012

Inline muzzleloader accuracy tips

The Straight Shooter BRENTWHEAT I like every kind of hunting season but for me, the December muzzleloader season for deer is perhaps the most special.

It all started years ago when I purchased a secondhand Kentucky Rifle replica that couldn't shoot straight and ended up blowing a piece of percussion cap into my eyelid. As I drove myself to the doctor’s office on that memorable fall morning a couple of decades ago, I realized three important things: 1. always wear safety glasses while shooting 2. Cheap used firearms are being sold for a reason, and 3. I love muzzleloaders.

Through the years I’ve owned a variety of the charcoal-burners but have currently joined the cult of the in-line muzzleloader. I still love my Hawken-style reproductions but for hunting efficiency, it’s hard to beat the in-lines for ease of use, reliability and accuracy.

The main selling point of inline muzzleloaders is their high degree of accuracy but just like anything else, the devil is in the details. Simply stuffing powder

down the tube and seating the latest miracle bullet doesn’t guarantee that you can knock a gnat off a matchstick at 200 yards. Things aren’t quite so straightforward so I'll share of few of my own misadventures on the road to better muzzleloader accuracy.

The most commonly seen load among in-line muzzleloader shooters utilizes synthetic black powder, a shotgun primer for ignition and a sabot-clad rifle or pistol bullet as the payload. Let’s talk about this important trinity of in-line shooting.

All modern muzzleloaders will shoot either traditional black powder or one of the new “synthetic” types such as Pyrodex® accurately.

However, sorry to disappoint, accuracy does not come from the powder itself but rather how the powder is measured and loaded.

Accuracy in any weapon is the result of consistency so when measuring black powder you must be as meticulous as humanly possibly.

Measure your powder as if defusing a bomb, the same way, every single time!

One common debate is the accuracy of pre-made pellets versus loose powder. “They” commonly say that pellets are slightly less accurate than loose powder but I haven’t yet seen a definitive, nonbiased test. Most hard-core shooters use loose powder but I’ve seen good groups with pellets. Your mileage may vary!

Another important factor is the size of the load. I know many people who automatically pour 150 grains of powder (typically the maximum load for most guns per the owner’s manual) and blithely assume that their shots are both powerful and accurate.

Powerful, yes, but accuracy is most likely lacking. The truth is that most rifles shoot best somewhere in the middle power band.

Keep in mind that the venerable .45-70 cartridge was named due to its .45 caliber bullet and 70 grains of black powder. Uncounted deer, bear and even larger game have fallen for the .45-70 so your modern .50 caliber bullets and 80-125 grains of propellant should be fine for Indiana whitetail. My own current hunting gun shoots best at 95 grains behind a 250 grain bullet, certainly a “mediocre” load by some standards but none of the 5 deer I’ve shot with it stumbled more than 20 yards.

How you seat the bullet has a major effect on point of impact.

As I had learned from other shooters, I would pack the charge extremely tight until the ramrod would “bounce” off the bullet.

However, I eventually realized that this was deforming the round and

undoubtedly impairing accuracy.

Now, I just press down on the ramrod with forceful hand pressure until the charge is firmly packed.

The key to consistent seating depth is to mark your ramrod in some way to know the charge has been properly loaded from shot to shot.

The use of shotgun primers for the in-line muzzleloader has provided a big jump in reliability and accuracy. Centerfire primers are more consistently manufactured and far hotter than percussion caps, resulting in more positive detonation of the powder. All brands we have tried are acceptable so long as you don’t mix and match manufacturers from shot to shot.

The introduction of the sabot (proper pronunciation: “sa-bow” as in “sabotage”) has greatly enhanced the accuracy of muzzle loading firearms. With a sabot, the plastic outer carrier allows use of a subcaliber modern bullet to obtain higher velocities and better accuracy than a lead ball or conical.

I don’t get involved in the hyperventilated arguments about the perfect bullet/sabot combination because, after all, Indiana whitetails aren’t that tough of a target. In

Loading a .50 in-line muzzleloader with a Thompson/Center Shock Wave® 250 grain spire point bullet. Pushed by 95 grains of Pyrodex®, this is the author’s favorite (if not mild by some standards) load.

my book, bullet placement is far more important than bullet design or retained kinetic energy so I try various combinations of sabot, bullet and powder weight to determine which a particular gun prefers.

This is perhaps the number one secret to wringing the best accuracy out of any weapons system. A poor shooting gun often becomes acceptable with change of ammunition and a good-shooting gun can become great.

There is one more key to obtaining the best accuracy from your in-line: go to the range to work up your loads in July, not late November. Shooting a muzzleloader during foul weather is far more challenging than a cartridge firearm, so resolve to hit the range during the warmer months, rather than a semi-desperate and often abbreviated effort right before the season. So far, I’ve haven’t taken my own advice for the past 10 years but perhaps you’ll do better in the self-discipline category.

December, 2012

PREDATOR HUNTING One of the most frequent questions I get asked about calling coyotes is exactly what calls I prefer and how I use them. I'll share that information with you here, in the hope that it will make this winter of calling your most successful ever.

When I sit down and rest my rifle on the shooting sticks and lay the shotgun beside me (I often carry two guns when calling) the first call I usually use is a little squeaker call. It is basically just a small, oval shaped ball which when squeezed sounds like a mouse in trouble. On a quiet day with little wind, a coyote can probably hear a squeaker at 100 to 150 yards max. I start with the squeaker, so that just in case there are coyotes laid up close, I don't blow them out by starting right out with hard, loud calls. The squeaker also comes in handy when a coyote hangs up within range but behind some cover so you cannot get a crack at him. A couple of squeaks is usually all it takes to get a coyote to move that last crucial yard or so. If there is a coyote laid up that close, it has been my experience that he will be in your lap in seconds, so I do not use the squeaker unless I have a gun (usually the shotgun) loaded and ready to go.

Next I go to howling. Coyotes are very territorial and they know the voice of every animal in their pack, just as you and I will easily recognize the voices of our family and closest friends. When a coyote hears an interloper howling on his turf, odds are pretty good that he will come on over to check things out. Although you will call in a few females with howling, I would say that at least 80 percent of the coyotes I have called in by howling have been males and most of them mature males. The ratio of male to female which come to howling really goes off the charts in February and March when the coyotes are breeding. You can make howls with mouth-blown howlers, but I have always done better with the old style electronic callers or today's digital calls. The one I have used the most is The Preymaster from Hunter's Specialties. I have found this call to be durable, easy to operate with gloves on and very realistic sounding when it comes to howling or producing any of the distress calls available on the dozen or so chips available. Usually I only howl for one series, wait a few minutes and then start in with distress calls. It has been my experience that most coyotes which are going to come to howling are going to come in quick. The exception to this is when I hear coyotes howling back at me. If they howl at me, I like to howl right back at them.

Howling is good. Barking is bad. Usually when a coyote barks, it is a warning to all other coyotes that not all is well. The only good thing about barking is that very often a coyote will sit down and bark when he is 200 to 300 yards out. Bad mistake on his part if you are toting a decent rifle with a good scope.

If nothing comes in to my howling, after waiting a few minutes, I will switch to some type of distress call. If I am using a mouth blown call, it will be either a cot-

INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

What to Say to Coyotes tontail rabbit in distress call or a fawn bleat call. I've had good success with both of them, so I don't know which is better. If I am using a digital caller, I might go with something like fighting tom cats, squabbling chickens, kid goat in distress or one of my favorites for coyote, the vocalization of a redbellied woodpecker in distress. I am quite sure that when a coyote hears any of these calls or the dozen others available on most digital callers, that the coyote does not sit up in his bed and say “Ahaa, that sounds like raccoon kits squabbling.” To the coyote, each of these vocalizations just sounds like something which might be edible.

Some very good callers use the digital callers because they do afford the hunter so many options.

While this might be a big advantage in areas where the coyotes are subjected to a lot of calling, day-inand-day-out I think you will call in more coyotes with either a mouth blown or digital call playing the old standby, the cottontail in distress,

By Gary Clancy

than you will with any other vocalization out there. The first coyote ever to come to my calling came to a cottontail in distress and so have a strong share of those I've called in since. And there is a good chance that the last one I ever call in will come to a cottontail in distress call.

I usually call in bursts of 30 to 60 seconds each. Then I sit quietly and wait for three or four minutes before sending out another invitation. If I have not seen a coyote after 20 to 30 minutes of calling, I get up and go to a new calling site.

Sometimes I hike back to the truck and drive to the next set, but if the section is large enough, I will often just move about one-quarter mile.

I hope these tips will help you call in more coyotes in what is starting to look like an above average year for calling in numbers of coyotes.

The author with a coyote he called in before the snows came.

Photo provided.

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

TM

The Source of Tradition D.L.SMITH Curves in Camo TM Deer camp is full; every bed and sofa claimed in anticipation of opening morning. Gear is piled high on the porch away from the smells of cooking in the house.

The morning's hunt is palatable.

This is the deer hunter Christmas Eve. This is what we have waited all year for!

Autumn is by far my favorite time of year. The leaves turn and the days begin to shorten as the icy

Not All First Deer Stories Have Happy Endings KRISTENMONROE Curves in Camo TM Respectable hunters do what's right, especially when it comes to appreciation for their game. A few weeks ago I shot my first deer. It didn't have a huge rack with bragging rights.

It was a doe. But still, my first deer made me proud. In fact, I would have had her mounted if all went according to plan.

I sure was grateful when an invitation came to join my friends Mark and Lori at their Marshall County farmhouse -the ultimate deer camp.

Preparing for the hunt is half the battle. My weekly routine consisted of slinging several arrows into a target to help build up muscle memory. On the way to deer camp, I spent time in the passenger seat watching You Tube videos learning how to rattle and make grunt calls. All the necessities were in my backpack, including a brand new range finder.

Hope and anticipation flowed through my veins as I hooked my safety harness to the tree the first sitting in the woods.

Was it really the peak of the rut?

All the deer I saw that day were in my own day dreams. The deer must have been hiding on the other side of the farm. Perhaps I

winds blow from the west. Despite the inhospitable weather conditions to come and the Mid-western mantra, “Oh, I just love the changing of the seasons,” I become like a child unable to sleep on the eve before the big day. Friends begin to stream in from Florida, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Instead of gifts, bounties of food are unpacked and shared.

Fresh oysters and shrimp from the coastal waters blend with the hardier mid-western fare of pork loin from the Iowa guys. The smells emit from crockpots and the grills, so tempting as to make us forget how cold we were just a half hour before in the tree stand.

Conversations bounce around the house. “I had 11 deer in front of me!” “A dink buck wanted me to kill him, he practically climbed into the tree stand with me.” The warmth of the farmhouse makes my cheeks turn bright pink. “I was covered in deer, if only we could hunt with rifles I would have had that big, dark bodied deer that stayed in the field out of range.” “I swear I am giving your neighbor a gift certificate to Grunt Tube Anonymous if they start sounding like a sick cow this year.” Our group jokes and eats, telling stories about last deer season and our families over the last year.

Plans are made and everyone decides what stands or blinds to hunt. Snoring and giggling kids soon fill the farmhouse. Morning

will come early I tell myself. I need to sleep or I will fall asleep in the stand.

Morning does come in what seems like minutes. Thankfully I administer coffee in medicinal doses. Bleary eyed and bed headed everyone congregates in the kitchen before leaving to hunt.

Weather conditions are confirmed and any last minute adjustments are made. Biscuits and gravy are consumed in hopes that the hearty breakfast will give us super human powers in the tree stand. As a pack we all head out to accomplish the ancient ritual of harvesting what we eat.

Heavy frost covers the ground.

It is well below freezing this opening morning. The biting wind freezes in my nostrils making the end of my nose tingle. The bucks have been heavy in the rut all week chasing does and this morning is no different. I sit in a stand over looking the CRP fields and as the sun begins to rise I can make out movement in the tall grasses. A basket rack buck is chasing a doe across the field. Not 25 yards from them, another doe moves stealthily to avoid the persistent suitor’s attention.

Nothing notable comes within my range but I do see unique moments in nature. Two turkeys amble underneath me, puffed against the cold they look like bronzed beetles. A coyote cut through the field slinking toward

scared them all away with all the eating in my stand. Raiding my kids Halloween candy before I left seemed ideal for deer camp (don't worry, they didn't miss any). Still, I knew plenty of deer were around, as scrapes and rubs were everywhere. How exciting. But it wasn't nearly as thrilling as day two.

It was a little colder the second day but still warm enough to go without gloves. The gigantic buck bounding across the field was only the beginning. He kept his distance from the free standing blind I was in. The blind was placed in a cornfield about 70 yards from the edge of the woods.

It seemed so calm until two beautiful does meandered out of the trees, breaking the silence. The preoccupied does were eating and gave me plenty of time. I wasn't nervous, just prepared to shoot my first deer. The moment I had waiting for had finally come. There she stood, broadside. I had practiced this shot several times -- almost exactly 20 yards according to the rangefinder. I drew back and watched may arrow sail through the air and stick right above her armpit.

The nice sized doe made a slight yelp and took off into the woods along with the other. A wave of anxious and relieved feelings flooded my body. The other lucky doe hesitated at the tree line and decided to come back into the field. I guess she wasn't done eating. But the deer I shot never came back.

My hands were a little shaky as I sent a text to my friend, Mark (the land owner). The text read, “I shot a deer how long do I wait?”

He replied, “sit tight, I'll be there in a bit.”

After about thirty minutes I saw the top of his white truck pulling into the field. “We need to wait until dark... it looks like she ran across the ditch which also marks the end of my property. I'll make a call and see if we can search over the ditch for your deer.

We'll wait so we don't interrupt my neighbor if he's hunting,” Mark said. Minutes felt like hours.

Finally, Mark made contact with

his neighbor. He did not want us on his property. “But we just want to look over the hill, the doe probably didn't make it that far,” said Mark. Nope. He refused to let us on. My feelings of excitement slowly faded away.

Sure, we could have just crossed the border to retrieve the deer without him even knowing.

We were shocked he wouldn't let us on. “We share a mile border”, Mark said. “This situation might happen to you someday.” “So it's tit for tat?” said the unwilling landowner. In other words, he didn't feel the need to let us on his land but thought Mark should let him on if the tables were turned.

They share a mile border; it's bound to happen again.

Besides my feelings being crushed not able to search for my first deer, somewhere over that ditch lay a meal that could have fed my family for weeks.

Chances are the coyotes ate fresh venison that night.

All first deer stories don't have a happy ending. I’d like to believe the landowner will read this story in Indiana Outdoor News and feel slightly sorry for letting a deer go to waste in his woods. But on second thought, it occurs to me that he probably wouldn't even care. In any case, I'm not giving up. There’s a lot of deer season left.

December, 2012

Protein, stories and memories hang from the meat pole each year at deer camp. Photo by author. the deer feeding on the edge, never getting within range of the deer but trying nonetheless.

The meat pole in the back yard fills with harvests and stories are shared. There are many aspects that make us all kindred spirits.

Our collective love of the outdoors and the quest to pursue wild game bring us together for opening day every year.

As a society we have grown so far away from community and the source of our foods. Hunting camp allows us to be closer to what, as humans, has driven us for eons, the need to hunt for survival and the community to share our struggles with. This is what hunting is really about. It's more than harvesting the game. It is the full experience of community.

This 9 point buck was taken by 15-year-old Klaudia Kovach of Hamlet on opening day. It was her first deer. A Curves In Camo salute to you, Klaudia!

December, 2012

INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

SMALL GAME Bunnies aren't beneath me.

Sadly, this is not the case for most hunters, nowdays. Too often, most hi-powered hunters think it's a kids game to hunt for rabbits. Too bad. They're missing out on one of the classic American hunting traditions.

Our pioneers survived on hunting small game on their trip westward. After the farms were plotted out and fences were installed, these country-folk continued their association with the outdoor wildness by continuing to hunt these furry little rodents.

Pursuing rabbits is simple, cheap, and pure fun. Who gives a rodent’s rear end what other hunters think?

“Hunt” is the key word in all of this.

When I was about 10 years old I was invited to go along with my two older brothers and their friends on a rabbit hunt. Little did I know I was invited along primarily to carry whatever they killed. I didn’t care. I felt I was “accepted”.

With modern day rabbit hunters you don't have to worry about your scent or if you have the right color of camouflage. You can go out and kick some brush piles and just “hunt”.

Another thing you don't have to worry about is getting out to hunt on opening weekend ,as the bunny season lasts for many months and the daily bag limits are generous. Nobody's going to get the big one you've been watching on your trail camera, as all those expensive electronics are definitely not needed when in pursuit of “ol br'er rabbit”.

Anyone who's hunted rabbits knows they are nervous critters and will most likely bolt from their hiding place at the slightest perceived danger. When you enter a briar patch, walk slowly, stopping every now and then as you would when hunting pheasants.

This will most likely unnerve them in to leaving their present surroundings for safer habitat.

Contrary to popular belief, rabbits don't exactly run in a big circle when being chased

December, 2012

Bunnies aren’t beneath me By Gene Clifford by dogs. A lot depends on just how hard they are being chased. Most of the time, rabbits are really only familiar with the general area of where you jumped them. Therefore, they tend to stay within their known range, and if you have the patience to wait, the dogs will undoubtedly bring the bunny around to where you can get a shot at them. Even when spooked from their hideouts, they typically will only hop a short distance to another bit of cover, where they will no doubt lay up until spooked again.

Most avid rabbit hunters feel that an Improved Cylinder is enough choke in your gun to bring down the hairy creatures. That's true, in that you'll not put too many pellets in the rabbit, damaging the meat. I personally feel I'm not that quick on the draw anymore so I need to use my 20 ga. Remington 1100 with full choke to insure a clean kill or a clean miss. It also depends on how much cover you're hunting in. If the cover is very thick, I hunt with #4's in my 20 guage.

Whereas, if the hunting is done out in the open, I'll use #6's. It only takes 2 or 3 pellets to stop a bunny from escaping into the next county.

My bunny hunting friends tell me I have a senior citizens beagle, because in the last 2 or 3 years, he's taken to fetching the rabbits for me. With him being 10 years old, and me being 75+, I can't ask much more of my dog than that.

Weather more than anything else affects the rabbits’ behavior and temperament. The time of day must be taken into consideration too. Twice in the last 2 or 3 years I've experienced a situation where, having just jumped a rabbit, the dogs could not pick up its scent because it was still too cold or the snow was too fluffy. So I've now taken to hunting rabbits only when it's above 25 degrees, or near that, with the sun shining profusely. What convinced me of this new tactic, was when I could not get the dog to track a rabbit I just spooked, yet when I came back to the same area some 2 hours

later we kicked up 3 bunnies as the sun had come out and it started to thaw a bit. The dog seemed to be able to pick up the scent easier if there's some moisture on the ground.

Besides, rabbits are a lot like people---they want to be outside and moving if the sun is shining.

According to a recent U S Fish and Wildlife survey back in 2006 there were 1.9 million rabbit hunters in the United States.

The average number of days spent rabbit hunting was 11, with a total of 20+ million days spent out in the cold in pursuit of rabbits.

The truth is there is no bad time to go rabbit hunting. Grab the 20 ga. or .410, whistle up the dogs, and call the kids. It's time for a bunny hunt.

The author and Zeke teamed up to put this Indiana cottontail into the game bag. Tom Berg photo.

Cooper Grolich of Marshall County is following in his daddy's footsteps! Congrats, Cooper on a great buck. Photo provided.

December, 2012

INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

If you’ve read this column for very long you know that capturing a criminal can take a great deal of investigation. An Indiana Conservation Officer (ICO) has to learn the suspects’ habits: where they frequent, who they associate with, when they perform their criminal activities, etc. But then, on rare occasions, the criminal gets dumped in an ICO’s lap by events that neither expected.

A few years ago Louisville undercover officers were monitoring a high drug traffic area when they spotted a suspect with several outstanding warrants selling drugs. When they attempted to detain the suspect he fled in his car. The officers followed in pursuit. As the call went out over the radio other officers joined in the pursuit as it wound through the city.

The chase went from Louisville, Kentucky across the Ohio River and into Clarksville, Indiana. When the Clarksville officers tried to stop the suspect, he wound around and headed back over the Ohio River and into Louisville. With an ever growing line of law enforcement officers chasing the suspect, he somehow got turned around and headed back across the river, back into Floyd County Indiana on I-64. At that point officers from New Albany joined in the pursuit.

During all of this ICOs Mac Spainhour, Gary Pennington, and a few others were working at the Middle Creek boat ramp off Old River Road. They were wrapping up an investigation dealing with human remains found along the Ohio River that were believed to be part of a missing person case from 1997. As they pulled their search and rescue boat back on the trailer they listened to the radio traffic pertaining to the pursuit. As fate would have it the suspect exited the interstate near the boat ramp and was then heading west down Highway 111. In a plan to assist their fellow officers, Most of the ICOs

No Good Deed...

ALANGARBERS

www.IN.gov jumped into their vehicles and headed up the road.

Before the ICOs could get all the way to Highway 111, the suspect turned on the deadend road leading to the boat ramp. In what closely resembled the chase scene from the Blues Brothers movie, approximately fifteen police cars followed in hot pursuit. Mac, Gary, and the other officers quickly tried to deploy their vehicles as a road block, but the suspect was able to maneuver past them.

The ICOs gave the right-of-way to the pursuing officers and then followed.

Desperate not to be captured the suspect drove his car down the boat ramp and into the muddy waters of the Ohio River. As police cars lined the river bank the suspect climbed out of the car window and started swimming, but it appeared from shore that he was unable to use his legs to swim. “We didn’t know if he was intoxicated or had drugs in his system,” Gary said. Wanting to capture the suspect and fearing that he would drown, some of the ICOs commenced re-launching their 24-foot rescue boat. Mac, dressed in his

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class-A uniform, followed the suspect’s progress as the current tugged him along.

Mac needed to keep visual contact of the suspect to aid in the rescue or to retrieve the body if he went under.

Tensions were running high as the boat eased out into the river and over to the suspect. By that time the suspect had given up on swimming across the river and seemed to just be trying to prevent his capture. As the rescue boat would near, the suspect would swim away. Changing strategies, the ICOs started herding the suspect using the boat, in hopes of pushing him into shallower water.

Finally as the suspect gained a foothold, ICO Jim Schreck, jumped in to apprehend him, but the suspect was not willing to be arrested. At that point Mac Spainhour, in his full dress uniform, jumped into the river from his shoreline vantage point, as did a Louisville metro officer, and a New Albany officer. About that same time Gary Pennington jumped off the boat to aid his friends and comrades. Even with five officers trying to detain him the suspect refused to give up. Fearing the possibilities given their situation, they decided to use a stun gun on the suspect. One of the officers shouted to get clear, then stunned the suspect with 50,000 volts of electricity. Like magic, the suspect became compliant and allowed the muddy and soaking wet officers to detain him.

With the suspect in custody all of the pursuing officers left the ICOs and headed home, giving ICO Gary Pennington the honors of being the arresting officer.

(Translated, this meant that Gary had to fill out the mountain of paperwork and reports retaining to the case! Thanks Gary! And remember no good deed goes unpunished… ) Gary took the man and booked him into the Floyd County Jail.

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

December, 2012

Bass Lure Assortment Stocking Any bass angler would love the Lurenet Bass Lure Assortment Stocking, and you’ll love getting different lures plus a free Christmas stocking for just $19.99.

That’s less than $2 per lure! Plus, these are some of the best lures for catching bass.

You get all the below listed lures packaged in a free Christmas stocking ready to be hung by the chimney with care.

Ho Ho Holiday Edition!

Frabill Straight Line 241 Ice Reel Extracted from the panfish-addled brain of Brian “Bro” Brosdahl and Frabill R&D, the Straight Line 241 Reel, available as part of the Straight Line 241 Bro Series Combo or by itself, is a true breakthrough in ice reel design and technology.

It’s like the stealth fighter of ice set to an AC/DC soundtrack. Back in black, this lightweight winch will take a pounding and still perform, slab after slab. And while it’s rock ‘n’ roll (Bro wouldn’t have it any other way), it’s definitely not metal. An all-new composite design allows easy glove-less reel cupping without the icy palms and fingers. Line falls dead straight off the spool like a good winch, and the 2.4:1 reel ratio and super smooth drag ensure quickly putting that bait back in front of fish-faces—and once hooked they stay hooked. An oversized reel handle allows anglers with meathook fingers (or gloves) easy operation. Got cold? No worries—the 241 is suffused with Frabill’s Sub-Zero® for Swiss watch performance even in the coldest people-only-dogsled-here conditions.

The Frabill Straight Line 241 retails for around $60. More info at www.frabill.com.

Bass Pro Shops Smokehouse Smoker

Electric

Enjoy precise push button digital temperature and time control with this professionalgrade smoker from Bass Pro Shops®. The Bass Pro Shops Electric Smokehouse Smoker features a digital thermostat-controlled heating element that adjusts up to 275º for even consistent cooking. Four removable smoking racks in 1.7 cubic feet of cooking space give you lots of room to smoke large quantities of food. Powder coated steel outer construction surround insulated walls for a cool-touch exterior. Automatic shut off prevents overheating. Intelligent design includes side loading wood chip holder, removable drip pan, rear-mounted grease pan, and top air damper to make smoking easier. Retail is $240.

Available at www.basspro.com.

• • • • • • • • •

1 pk. YUM 5-inch Dingers 1 pk. YUM 2.75-inch Crawpapis 1 pk. YUM 3-inch Mighty Bugs 1 1/4-ounce Booyah Blade spinnerbait 1 3/16-ounce Booyah Bed Bug 1 XCalibur Xcs200 Square Lip crankbait in "Real Craw" 1 XR50 Rattle Bait in "Real Gill" color pattern 1 1/4-ounce Cotton Cordell Super Spot 1 Bomber B04 Square Lip crankbait

Order at www.lurenet.com.

Rivers West Women’s Lynx Parka and Pants This is IT! The original waterproof fleece, but don't be confused; this isn't fleece like your neighbor's sheep! Smooth, soft, supple and snag-resistant, you may have to "Buy It to Believe It!" The Rivers West Lynx Parka and Pants are made from the Lightweight, All-Weather H2P System. The women's line of Rivers West clothing is soft, comfortable and elegantly styled to fit a woman's contour. This lightweight, all-weather system offers all the weatherproof protection you've come to expect from the Original H2P, but half the weight and bulk. LIGHTER. THINNER. COOLER. MORE PACKABLE. The Lynx parka will keep you warm and dry and looking fashionable all at the same time during all your outdoor activities. Features include fleece comfort cuffs to prevent water from wicking up your sleeve, high warm collar, no-split zipper, hour-glass contour sides, 2-zippered handwarmer pockets, weatherproof front zipper, comfort-cuffs, drawcord waist, snap-off, stow-away hood, 4-mesh-lined cargo pockets and 2-interior cargo pockets. Comfort Zone 20-45 degrees. Like the Parka, Rivers West Fitted-Lynx pant is cut to fit a woman's curves and keep her warm and dry in the most brutal conditions. The Lynx pant is comfortable and ready to tackle anything mother nature has to offer. The Lynx pant features the Diamond-flex crotch for added comfort, zippered front and rear pockets, magnetized flaps on the 2-cargo pockets, 2-front pockets, 1-back pocket, 2-7 inch zipper vents to enhance breathability and allow your body to breath along with 5-belt loops. Comfort zone 3-55 degrees. Shelly at Her Camo Shop says these pants tend to run 1 size small, so if you normally wear a Medium order a Large. Both the pants and parka are available in Advantage Max4 or Duckblind camo. Price is about $179 for the parka and $139 for the pants at Indiana-based www.hercamoshop.com.

Remington Offers More Affordable Versa Max

Hi Mountain Jerky Summer Sausage Kit

Reliability and durability are problems for most gas operated autoloading shotguns.

Why? Because a 3-1/2” super magnum goose load produces a lot more gas pressure than a lighter and shorter 2-3/4” dove load.

The amount of gas that travels through the ports on a typical autoloader varies based on shell length and loads. High pressures slam the bolt against the receiver and eventually wear out the action, while the weak pressures generated by light loads are often not adequate to cycle them consistently.

First released in 2010, the Remington Versa Max was designed with an ingenious seven port configuration, so it generates the proper amount of gas pressure for whatever shell is loaded. The widely acclaimed shotgun retails for around $1,300.

Building on the no-nonsense popularity of their Sportsman Series 1187 autoloader, Remington will release a Sportsman version of the Versa Max in early 2013. The Sportsman edition loses some of the premium features of the standard Versa Max. It does not include a grey rubber overmold on the stock, a TriNyte barrel finish or nickel plated internals. Instead of a selection of chokes it will only ship with a modified choke. Instead of Hi-Viz fiber optic sights it ships with a bead sight. The result is what we expect to be the hardest working, best performing shotgun available for the announced pricetag of $1,000. Sign us up, please.

Learn more at www.remington.com.

The deer is in the freezer, so make your own summer sausage with this great kit from the experts at Hi Mountain Seasonings! This kit contains two 10 oz. bags of gourmet seasoning, two 4.2 oz. bags of maple cure, ten 3 pound capacity 2.5'' mahogany casings and a set of complete sausage making instructions.

The kit will season 30 pounds of meat and retails for around $18.50. Check out all the tasty gift ideas from Hi Mountain Seasonings at www.himtnjerky.com.

Browning Micro Blast Penlight I picked one of thee ultra-handy lights up at the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers conference and it has quickly become one of my favorite possessions. The superbright Nichia® 5mm LED shines at 15 lumens, 3X brighter than most other pen lights. The Browning Micro Blast sports the following: • •

Smith & Wesson M&P SHIELD Smith & Wesson’s new M&P SHIELD™ is a slim, concealable, lightweight, striker-fired polymer pistol.

Available in 9mm and .40 S&W, the new M&P SHIELD features a slim design combined with the proven and trusted features found in the M&P Pistol Series. From the pistol’s easily concealed one-inch profile to its optimized 18-degree grip angle, the M&P SHIELD offers professional-grade features that provide consumers with simple operation and reliable performance.

Chambered in 9mm and .40 S&W for proven stopping power, the M&P SHIELD features a high-strength polymer frame with a black, Melonite® coated stainless steel slide and barrel. Both models are standard with a 3.1-inch barrel, which contributes to an overall length of 6.1 inches and an unloaded weight of 19 ounces. For fast tracking and smooth target acquisition, the M&P SHIELD is standard with a 5.3-inch sight radius and has been enhanced with a short, consistent trigger pull measuring 6.5 pounds. Featuring a quick and audible reset made possible by the striker-fired action, the M&P SHIELD allows multiple rounds to be placed on target both consistently and accurately.

Looking for that perfect conceal carry pistol? The M&P SHIELD may be your new favorite. The .40 S&W version packs a bit more punch, but it barks more too. Personally, we like the easy-handling qualities of the 9mm version and its more affordable ammo. More ammo mean more shooting. And more shooting means more fun! The SHIELD retails for around $450. Learn more at www.smith-wesson.com.

• • • •

Two Bore Light Adapters: red for map reading and white for firearm inspection and cleaning Rugged all-aluminum construction with heavy-duty pocket clip Unbreakable LED lasts for 100,000 hours Two AAA batteries Brightness: 15 lumens Effective distance: 20 meters

Retail is about $19 at www.browningshop.com.

Real Avid Turkey Tool The patent pending Turkey Tool is the only one of it’s kind and is made for the specialized needs of turkey hunters. The Turkey Tool combines the most essential tools needed for the hunt. With it you can: brush in a blind set-up; change shotgun chokes; disassemble a shotgun; field dress a bird; measure the beard and spurs on a big old Tom. Best of all, the carry hook combines with the included toter strap to allow you to shoulder your bird out of the woods.

Get one for the turkey hunter on your list for about $45 at www.realavid.com.

December, 2012

INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

December, 2012

The high and sly for Northern pike

EARLY ICE Bellied to bottom; prowling from within thick masses of weeds- that's the most common contemplation about the whereabouts of northern pike and what they are doing there.

While it's true many a monstrous Esox entangled in vegetation has been pulled through a hole in the ice, the truth of the matter is trophy-size fish frequent the upper reaches of the water column more often than most anglers realize. Even within inland lakes and The Great Lakes where depths register to triple digits, the larger the fish the higher in the water column they roam.

What are they doing there? Like their lesser brethren down deep, these marauders are also searching for their next meal. After all, they didn't get to be the biggest and baddest in the bunch by skimping at the buffet line.

But even northern pike-thought by many to be the fiercest freshwater fish under the ice-don't swim aimlessly under the surface when in search of food. They often rise to the occasion over the very structure the smaller fish are hunting from, or swimming directly above the breaklines beneath their bulging bellies.

In short: Although trophy pike might not be lurking tight to structure, if you target the upper half of the water column very near cover you stand the chance of catching the pike of a lifetime.

Aiming high Walleye tournament pro Mark Brumbaugh is one of the fishing industry's finest anglers. He's aimed high and won

Walleye pro Mark Brumbaugh learned years ago that titanic pike will situate in openwater off major structure - likely losing a crankbait or two in the educational process. Time on the ice has also proved that the pattern holds in the winter.

Photo courtesy of Frabill.

many professional walleye tournaments by landing big fish where others had no idea they even lingered. Within the mix of big walleyes often were larger than average pike.

“I've caught a lot of big pike up high over structure in deep water when trolling walleyes, which led me to fish them just below the surface in close proximity to cover when ice fishing. And that's led to catching bigger pike more often,” says the Ohio angler.

Brumbaugh's wintertime pike-ploy usually involves a swath of tip-ups strategically placed midst various types of structure, aiming specifically at weeds, wood and rock adjacent to drop-offs; especially those nearest points, cuts or any irregularity in the shape of a straight breakline.

Once his holes are drilled, Brumbaugh reaches into his aerated Frabill Aqua-Life Bait Station for only the liveliest of minnows to be nipped onto his treble hook. “Because a tipup is a hands-off device, I want only the healthiest bait finning below. The bait must wiggle… a lot. And it needs to stay alive a long time so I don't have to spook fish by checking tip-ups too often.”

Brumbaugh skewers the minnow closer to the tail than the head, often hooking it through the bottom of its tail section so that it's always struggling to right itself. “The minnow never quits squirming if you hook it here,” he adds. “Little details like this that are important.”

One trouble anglers often have with tip-ups is getting their offerings back down to the same sweet-spot-depth they just banked a fish at. Introduced this year to correct this predicament is Frabill's Calibrator Line Counter Tip-Up, with an LCD display line counter, so you always know the exact depth of your bait. Now resetting is a faster and smoother, which minimizes angler commotion and gets a fresh minnow quickly back to business.

Walk softly A major mistake Brumbaugh sees anglers make is creating too much noise.

“Often, the fish are swimming just feet under the surface and any noise out of the ordinary will spook both baitfish and prey from the area. Sound travels faster and farther under water than through air, so anglers need to take every step as quietly as possible.”

One way to lessen the need to move around is using a GPS coupled with a mapping program to find drop offs, humps, holes and other attractive lake features. From the iced-over waters of Minnesota, guide Brian “Bro” Brosdahl uses a Humminbird sonar/GPS in conjunction with an SD card filled with a LakeMaster mapping program. Map-chip engaged, he's able to instantly locate probable fish holding places. And if there's success, Bro logs the spot for a pinpoint

By Mitch Eeagan

Set fresh and frisky bait on a battery of tip-ups, blanketing the edges of structure out across openwater. More the merrier when spanning large swaths of water. Photo by Bill Lindner Photography. return trip.

Electronics in hand with mapping program, Bro makes a beeline to key structure, drills, sets, and tiptoes away from the field of flags. “Adding covertness to ice fishing is probably one of the most overlooked reasons to use electronics,” says Bro. “Just one more reason modern sonar, GPS and mapping programs have been pivotal in producing more fish on the ice.”

On the sly Employing crafty equipment is as important as being stealthy yourself.

Bright light seeping through a hole around a tip-up can cause alarm under the ice. Tip-ups that envelop the entire hole, such as a Frabill Pro Thermal Insulated Tip-Up, keep sunlight out and fish at ease. This unique style of tip-up also insulates the hole and keeps it from refreezing, making it easier to remove the device after a fish hits.

On days when the bite's tough, you might have to minimize gaudiness, lessening the hardware near the bait.

Instead of a steel leader to keep bite offs at bay, try 30to 40-pound-test fluorocarbon leader material connected to your main line with an InvisaSwivel. Both are clear in color and virtually indistinguishable by pike.

If it's numbers you're after, work the weeds. But if your fishing clan is willing to invest in a trophy hunt, forgoing the button-bucks, fawns and eater does, there might be a 'turdy pointer,' or rather a 'turdy pounder' bedding out over the basin.

December, 2012

2012 Dec. 01 Sat 02 Sun 03 Mon 04 Tue 05 Wed 06 Thu 07 Fri 08 Sat 09 Sun 10 Mon 11 Tue 12 Wed 13 Thu 14 Fri 15 Sat 16 Sun 17 Mon 18 Tue 19 Wed 20 Thu 21 Fri 22 Sat 23 Sun 24 Mon 25 Tue 26 Wed 27 Thu 28 Fri 29 Sat 30 Sun 31 Mon

A.M. Minor 9:00 9:38 10:12 10:44 11:14 11:44 12:12 1:17 2:27 3:37 4:50 6:00 7:05 8:02 8:51 9:32 10:09 10:41 11:11 11:40 12:49 1:47 2:45 3:41 4:36 5:27 6:15 6:59 7:39 8:15 8:48

INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

A.M Major 1:38 2:24 3:10 3:55 5:07 5:26 6:13 7:03 7:56 8:52 9:54 10:58 ----12:32 1:32 2:28 3:22 4:11 4:59 5:44 6:29 7:14 7:59 8:46 9:35 10:23 11:12 ----12:21 1:08 1:54

P. M. Minor 7:10 8:08 9:06 10:07 --------12:15 12:49 1:25 2:08 2:59 3:57 5:03 6:14 7:25 8:35 9:42 10:47 --------12:10 12:41 1:14 1:52 2:34 3:19 4:10 5:04 6:02 7:00 8:00

P.M. Major 2:05 2:53 3:39 4:25 5:11 5:58 6:46 7:38 8:31 9:29 10:29 ----12:04 1:08 2:08 3:03 3:55 4:44 5:29 6:14 6:58 7:43 8:27 9:14 10:00 10:47 ----12:01 12:50 1:37 2:24

Sunrise 7:47 7:48 7:49 7:50 7:51 7:52 7:53 7:54 7:55 7:55 7:56 7:57 7:58 7:58 7:59 8:00 8:00 8:01 8:01 8:02 8:02 8:03 8:03 8:04 8:04 8:05 8:05 8:05 8:05 8:06 8:06

Sunset 5:21 5:20 5:20 5:20 5:20 5:20 5:20 5:20 5:20 5:20 5:20 5:21 5:21 5:21 5:21 5:22 5:22 5:22 5:23 5:23 5:24 5:24 5:25 5:26 5:26 5:27 5:28 5:28 5:29 5:30 5:31

Fishing Quality / Notes Fair Fair Fair Poor Poor Fair / Waning Half Moon Fair Fair Fair Fair Fair Good Good / New Moon Good Good Fair Fair Fair Poor Poor / Waxing Half Moon Fair Fair Poor Poor Fair Fair Poor / Full Moon Fair Fair Fair Fair

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Indiana Outdoor Calendar - December Fox and Coyote Hunting Season Open All Month Archery Deer Hunting Season Open All Month Squirrel Hunting Season Open All Month Ruffed Grouse Hunting Season Open All Month (Private land only) Rabbit Hunting Season Open All Month Quail Hunting Season Open All Month (South of S.R. 26 Only) Light Goose Hunting Season Open All Month South Zone Duck and Canada Goose Hunting Seasons Open All Month North Zone Canada Goose Hunting Season Open All Month Dec. 2: Last Day of Firearms Deer Hunting Season Dec. 8-23: Muzzleloader Deer Hunting Season Open Dec. 8: Late Split Fall Archery Turkey Hunting Season Opens* Dec. 9: Last Day of North Zone Early Split Duck Hunting Season Dec. 22-30: North Zone Late Split Duck Hunting Season Open Dec. 23: Last Day of Pheasant Hunting Season Dec. 23: Last Day of Quail Hunting Season (North of S.R. 26) Dec. 25: Last Day of Central Zone Early Split Duck & Canada Goose Hunting Seasons * See Hunting and Trapping Guide for counties open to fall turkey hunting. http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/2343.htm • A variety of Hunter Education courses are offered around the state this month. For details, visit www.in.gov/dnr/lawenfor/4812.htm.

• For current information about Ducks Unlimited banquets and events throughout Indiana this month, visit www.ducks.org/indiana.

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ACROSS

DOWN

1 Name for part of a caribou's rack 4 Gopher, mole is classed as this 8 The large bass, ____ bass 9Huntr's give this TLC 10 A type of bait 11 Wild turkey spurs 12 To expel a used cartridge 13 Good wood for arrow shafts 14 Spotted coloration on a duck 18 The shoulder hide on a deer 20 The body of an arrow 22 A small game predator 23 The camp home 24 The female deer 26 Female bear 28 The archer's weapon 29 The _____ Walton League 30 The salty expanse 31 The ring_____ pheasant 32 A duck species 35 The trapper's interest 37 Brings a catch into the boat 39 The hunting area 40 Wildlife having young 42 A line grommet on a fishrod 43 A game bird 44 The trapper's gear

1 A habitat for some trout 2 The skin-like cover on antlers 3 A grouse species 4 Oxidation on a gun part 5 Shedded antlers 6 Name for the Hawaiian goose 7 Anything that attracts fish, game 8 Term for a casting method 11 he lisence cost 13 A deer food source 15 The pond croaker 16 Bucks usually feed _____ 17 To skin out a game 19 Trout brings out the stream fisherman 20 Act of a fish hitting a hook 21 To seek out food 25 Of the deer family, prong____ 27 Whitrtail of the North 30 Pelts, fur, hide 33 Act of pushing deer toward hunters 34 Hunt and fish regulations 36 Indian name for deer 38 Part of an antler 39 Some game's teeth reveal this 40 A Gun Organization 41 The rifle

Answers on page 7!

World Class Fly Fishing with Josh Lantz

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Steelhead • Salmon • Largemouth • Smalmouth • Muskie

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INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2010©

December, 2012

Fly Fishing Revisited

The Last Thought MIKESCHOONVELD I was once an avid fly fisherman. You know, long rods, complicated casts, a stealthy approach to catch fish against postcard-like backdrops featuring distant high mountains or ardent streams flowing through scenic meadows.

Except I fly fished here in northwest Indiana. Self taught and self reliant, I spent much of my teenage years with a fly stick in my hand and battled bluegills by the thousands, bass by the hundreds, as well as the occasional carp, bullhead or other fish that happened along. I may have been fishing farm ponds or bayous off slowflowing rivers; in my mind’s eye, I was I was on the slopes of the Rockies catching native rainbows or in the streams of Yellowstone matching the hatch upon which wild cutthroats were feeding.

I wandered away from fly fishing so recently, when I had the chance to pick up a fly stick and rekindle old skills, I signed on.

Lake Taneycomo, near Branson, Missouri is actually the tailwaters of Table Rock Lake. The Table Rock dam is over 200 feet high and the water that flows through the dam to power the hydroelectric turbines comes out at the cold bottom of the lake between 45 and 50 degrees. The Missouri DNR stocks hundreds of thousands of trout in Taneycomo and the fishing there, is legendary.

It’s also a bit different than I expected.

“There’s one!” Guide Steve Dickey (www. anglersadvantage.net) coached, as he spotted my strike-indicator tug under surface of the river a second or two before I noticed it. I lifted the long rod but came up empty. By the time I pulled the line tight enough to set the hook, the fish that had nudged the hook under the water had let go and I ended up only with a pile of fly-line coiled menacingly along the side of the boat.

I explained my miss by telling Steve, “The way the sun was glinting off the water made it hard for me to see the bobber.”

I was instantly corrected. “We are fly fishing. Fly fishermen don’t use bobbers. Fly fishermen use strike-indicators.”

Some time between my youth-

ful addiction to fly fishing and this recent reacquaintance with the sport, “strike-indicators” had been added to the list of tackle used by fly-flickers. I’d always sight fished or relied on my sense of feel to detect the strikes to the popping bugs, rubber spiders or hand-tied flies and streamers I made myself with my Herters fly-tying kit. I’d see the fish bite, or feel it, then set the hook. I didn’t use a strike-indicator.

A strike-indicator is a small spherical, very lightweight, brightly colored “floaty-thing” that attaches to the leader between fly and fly line. I say “floaty-thing” because like the bobber it apparently isn’t, you can watch it float on the surface and when it bobs or does some other unnatural sort of thing, it indicates you’ve just gotten a bite.

“You wanna know the difference between a bobber and a strikeindicator, Steve asked?”

Before I could answer yes or no, he told me. “About three dollars. A bobber costs about a buck, a strike indicator costs about four bucks.”

Instead of a fly, we were using

a tiny, tiny lead-headed jig with a miniature plastic grub on the hook.

I would guess the jig weighed no more than 1/64th ounce and the grub tail was less than a half-inch long. We were using only 1 - pound test leader (called a tippet).

The old skills came back, I got used to watching the strike indicator and hooked, fought and boated several rainbows. Then I lost the lure on the end of my line.

“I need a new jig,” I told Steve.

Again I was chastised. “We don’t use jigs,” Steve told me. “We are fly-fishing. The lure on the end

of your tippet is a fly.”

“Okay,” I said, “But if I took the same set-up and cast it out with a spinning rod, would I be fishing with a jig or a fly?”

“It would then be a jig,” he said. “You want to know the difference?”

“Probably about 3 dollars,” I answered.

“You’re catching on to this fly fishing, Mike. A natural.”

I smiled and thought of snow capped peaks as I whipped the long rod, shooting the fly and strikeindicator out to where I hoped the next trout was holding.

The author did not catch this Taneycomo rainbow using a tiny jig and bobber! Photo provided.

The Christmas Bird Count From mid-December through early January, birdwatchers across North America, will hike trails, drive roads, watch feeders and stand in parking lots to count and identify every bird they see. The information they collect and send to the National Audubon Society will be added to over 100 years of data from previous winter counts.

Known as the Christmas Bird Count, or CBC, this annual citizen science event is a holiday tradition for many birdwatchers.

Nature’s Almanac The CBC began in 1900 as a way to replace an event known as the Christmas Side Hunt.

Participants chose “sides” or teams If you find a fuzzy curled up and visited woods and fields to caterpillar in your garage, it shoot as many birds as possible. may be a wooly bear. It's The competition was a bloody hibernating until spring. massacre of thousands of birds and mammals.

The animals they killed Evelyn Kirkwood is Director of St. Joseph County Parks in were heaped into piles, and the team with the biggest pile of feathers and Lichens may not look like Indiana and host of Outdoor Elements which is broadcast fur won. much, but to a flying squirrel Sundays at 9:00 am on WNIT Public Television.

As an ornithologist, or someone who studies birds, Frank Chapman they are a tasty winter treat for began to be concerned that bird numbers these mammals that do not seemed to be decreasing. Although wildlife Hands On Nature: hibernate.

Do a Winter Feeder Count and nature conservation was still a new idea in the United States at the time, he suggested a You can gather information ornithologists can use about birds that visit your winter feeders.

Winterberry is a native holly different holiday activity, the "Christmas Bird that loses its leaves in late fall.

Census,” to count birds, not kill them. As a You'll need... member of the newly formed Audubon Its bright red berries though • To be able to identify the common birds that visit your feeders Society, he was able to get 27 volunteers to are a cheerful sight in wet• A minimum of one day a month to watch birds at your feeders for at least 15 minutes count birds in 25 places from California to lands.

• Pencil New York on Christmas Day. The volunteers • Bird field guide and binoculars are helpful, if you have them counted 90 species.

• A set of tally forms for your state (see below) Think warm! December 21 is According to the Audubon Society, today the first day of winter in the Write down the highest number of birds of each species that you nearly 60,000 birdwatchers participate and see at any one time on the day you do your count. If you see three northern hemisphere, but it is tally about 65 million birds. On foot, by car or chickadees in the morning, and later in the day you see two, you will the first day of summer in the by boat, teams of volunteers cover their territowrite down “3 chickadees.” ry: a 15-mile diameter circle that does not southern hemisphere!

In Indiana, feeder surveys are coordinated by Indiana Audubon change. The tallies from the same site each Society. Volunteers count birds on one or more days at the end of each month, through February. Information on how to participate and a year help scientists determine whether bird Mistletoe grows in some areas copy of the reporting form can be found here: species are increasing or decreasing or moving of southern Indiana. It is a parwww.indianaaudubon.org Click on the Activities tab and select into new areas.

DECEMBER

Winter Feeder Count.

In Michigan, feeder surveys are coordinated by Michigan Audubon Society and Kalamazoo Nature Center. Volunteers watch the birds one day a month through April and mail in a survey form every two months. Call Kalamazoo Nature Center (269)381-1574 ext. 12 to request the forms.

Did you know?

The Christmas Bird Count is the longest continuing wildlife census in the world.

asitic plant, which means it sends rootlets into the branches of a host tree and takes nutrients from it.

December, 2012

INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS ® 2012©

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