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UTDOOR CONNECTION
SECTION C DECEMBER 7, 2013 ESTHERVILLE NEWS
STORIES, ADVICE AND INFORMATION FOR OUTDOOR LOVERS
Christmas on the Farm nears
For the birds 2013 Christmas Bird Count just around the corner BY CAROLE LOCHMILLER BIRD HAVEN
Conservation was in the beginning stages when the first Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held in 1900. Many conservationists and observers were becoming concerned about the declining bird populations. On Christmas Day of 1900 Frank Chapman of the newly formed National Audubon Society and 26 birders from across the country col-
lected data with 90 species recorded. Mr. Chapman would be thoroughly astounded at the thousands of people who now participate, both experts and novices during the CBA each December. The National Audubon Society organizes the CBC each year with the entire country divided into counting circles with a main person responsible for gathering the counts and forwarding them on to the National Society. This insures that birds in open areas such as lakes and parks will be counted as well as the birds in your yard and my yard. All of this data tells a story--such as declin-
Targeting Northern Pike Archers ready for club First ice now appearing
ing populations, come back of populations such as the Bald Eagle, migrations such as the Eurasian Collared Dove, which was in Florida a little more than 10 years ago and is now north to Alaska and, of course, my favorite, the Northern Cardinal, which continually follow the nation’s river systems and fan out from there. Here at Bird Haven a pair of Cardinals suc-
See COUNT on Page C4 A female cardinal enjoys cedar berries by Bird Haven. Photo by Wendell Hansen
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2013
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
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A best kept secret revealed: Targeting Northern Pike
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ention ice fishing the Iowa Great Lakes, specifically West Okoboji and Big Spirit Lake, to anglers and their eyes light up as they envision chasing their favorite game fish. Yet, there is one prolific game fish that is often overlooked: the northern pike. Bays on both West Okoboji and Big Spirit hold excellent pike numbers. Mike Hawkins, Iowa DNR Biologist at the Spirit Lake Hatchery, says the northern pike is often overlooked and if targeted, the pike is usually a secondary target, often an afterthought. “The pike is really an untapped resource. Anglers just don’t seem to target northern pike. Numbers on Big Spirit are incredible right now. ” Hawkins estimates at least 10,000 adult pike (and probably more) are in Big Spirit. Certainly, some anglers will fish for bluegills in the weeds and place a chub down a hole in case a pike might take the offering. There are only a few anglers who actually target these fish. When I think of pike fishing through the ice, I always think back to the expertise of fellow outdoor enthusiast, Jim McDonnell, the Fishing Professor. He had that canny ability to target panfish, while at the same time
setting out a plan for capitalizing on the pike opportunities.
STEVE WEISMAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
Where to start? Think of it in terms of where their food source is located. The bays on both West Okoboji and Big Spirit have plenty of weedbeds and weedlines, which mean they are host to lots of panfish. Where there are panfish, there are northern pike. This is the best of both worlds for anglers: the opportunity to catch quality panfish and quality pike. Plus, the gin clear waters, especially on West Lake, allow anglers the chance to see what is going on beneath the ice. One moment it’s trying to Gills and pike: the best of both worlds. entice a big gill to bite, and then here comes that huge floating log: ter season progresses. Early in the good weedbeds that will hold a big pike. Now what? ice season Smith’s Bay (east side bluegills. Most often the action of West Okoboji, Emerson Bay will take place in as shallow as 3Game Plan Success, as it comes with other and Miller’s Bay (both on the west 4 feet and up to 10-12 feet of fish, begins with a solid game side of West Okoboji) hold excel- water. After drilling several holes, plan, which can change as the win- lent number of pike. Look for a good way to do a preliminary
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search is with an underwater camera (Vexilar Scout) to check out each of the holes to see what fish are using the area. Dave Genz, Mr. Ice Fishing is a
See SECRET on Page C3
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2013
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
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Archers ready for after school archery club
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mmet County Conservation is excited to offer students in grades 4th-12th that reside in Emmet County or attend Estherville Lincoln Central or North Union an opportunity to participate in an after school archery club! As part of their Environmental Education Program, Emmet County Conservation provides archery instruction as part of the Physical Education curriculum for high schools located in Emmet County. This is often a week long program that takes place at the conclusion of the basketball and wrestling seasons. This year they will be able to expand their archery program through the help of a NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program) equipment grant through the Iowa DNR. The NASP program “promotes international-style target archery as part of the inschool curriculum, to improve educational performance and participation in the shooting sports among students in grades 4-12.” It’s all about getting students inspired “to
spend more time with wild things in wild places!” Archery is one of the sports that everyone can gain a suc-
JENNA POLLOCK EMMET COUNTY NATURALIST
cessful experience from. It can help build confidence, ability, dedication, unifying relationships, and inspire independence in a safe and respectful environment. Archery doesn’t discriminate by gender, ability, or background. It’s all about the effort and concentration put forth by the archer. We are excited to offer this opportunity to students in Emmet County. As we get the clubs going, they will be student-driven. Archery Club will be a different outlet for each individual participant. Some may choose to compete in tournaments throughout the season. Others may choose to
take part in the camaraderie and opportunity to practice archery skills without competing. A sign-up sheet for archery club was available in the schools in early November. Currently, we have 85 students from Estherville Lincoln Central and 45 students from North Union signed-up. We’re eager to see how the archery clubs evolve over the year as interest grows with each successful practice experience. The competitive archery season runs from December through March. The state competition takes place the first week of March. Our archery clubs will join the Spencer, North Iowa, and Lake Mills Archery Clubs in Northwest Iowa. Informational meetings are being held at each respective school for students and parents interested in archery club. Practices will be held twice a week for each club. Students can learn more about practice times and tournament schedules by following @EmmetCoArchers on twitter and liking the “Emmet County North Union archers take aim at a recent practice. Archers” facebook page.
Photo by Jenna Pollock
If the fish don’t bite where you are - then move SECRET
shallows.
Continued from page C2
The rig
proponent of mobility. Mobility is a big key for pike. It’s pretty simple. If the fish don’t bite or if there are no fish, move. This does not mean moving to the other side of the lake. No, it means moving a little deeper or maybe further along the weedbed or weedline. A lot of pike anglers will probably spend the extra for that third fishing line. It simply increases the odds! You can either use all three lines to fish for pike, or you can still fish for panfish with one and pike with the other two. Size of pike vary, but expect to find 2 to 5 to 10 pound fish cruising these
Typically, you out a series of tipups trying to pick areas where pike will be cruising around searching for an easy meal throughout the day. Spool the reel with 20-pound braid and then use a Bigtooth Rig made by Clam Outdoors with a chub for bait. Color choices include good and red blades. Shallower than 10 feet, many anglers do not use a leader, but in deeper water they often use a two to three foot Flurocarbon leader (20 pound test). A good lively chub is a great bait for pike. Take one treble hook and secure one of the hooks just under the skin just behind the dorsal fin
on one side. Then do the same thing with the other treble hook on the side. To help attract the pike, some anglers will clip the tail off where the tail meets the body of the chub. This gives a ‘blood’ scent trail, and if a pike is in the area, it’ll come to the chub. It’s not necessary to get the bait on the bottom because pike often cruise up off the bottom.
in case it’s a big fish and makes a big run. Probably the best advice is to set the hook when the fish is making a run. Then work the fish toward the hole. I have also seen anglers have a tip-up ready with an already hooked lively chub in a bucket of water. When a pike enters the fishing area, take the chub and put it down the hole. You never know, it can trigger a response from the The strike The Bigtooth Rig is a quick pike. strike rig, so don’t wait a long time As the season goes to set the hook. When the flag Things change as the ice season trips, get over there and lift the tip- goes. By mid-season, the bigger up out of the water, letting the pike pike often move into deeper water, take the line (you don’t want them say a rock pile or a deep weedline to feel resistance). At the same up to 20-feet or so. At late ice, time, strip off some extra line just things change again. Pike are get-
ting ready to spawn, often times spawning beneath the ice. In preparation, they will move to areas where water is flowing into the lake. “On Spirit Lake, this means the Buffalo Run area, Little Spirit area and Hale’s Slough.”
What a rush Catching pike on West Lake and Spirit Lake can make for real excitement. As Hawkins alluded to earlier, pike are plentiful and such great fighters. They are also excellent eating. Anglers have the opportunity to fish the best of both worlds at the same time: quality panfish and quality northern pike!” It just doesn’t get much better than that!
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2013
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
Count for Iowa Great Lakes area is Saturday, Dec. 14 COUNT Continued from page C1 cessfully raised five young ones. The young males are now fully colored and the family group visits the feeders everyday. Next spring those young will find mates and their own territories. Good for Cardinal-deprived yards like mine.
Manley’s
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STEVE WEISMAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
A young male cardinal sits in shrubs near Bird Haven. Photo by Wendell Hansen
haps explore areas of the county where you've never been. The group will meet back at Hy-Vee at noon to compare notes and organize for the afternoon. If you just have an afternoon to spend, then come at noon. Another option is to stay at home and count the birds in your yard. For example if you see two chickadees at
Taxidermy
Feathers & Furs
8a.m., six at 9:30 a.m., and seven at 11 a.m., then use the highest count of seven chickadees for the official count in your yard. Use that example for the count of each species in your yard. I have a very large male Red-bellied Woodpecker in my yard, but since I only see one at a time the official count would be one. Unless, of course, a female shows up. You can either call Bird Haven (336-2473) with your count or come into the store. We will be sure your count numbers are forwarded to Lee so they can be forwarded to the national count. Another option is to e-mail Lee directly, and he will tabulate the counts of the whole circle. His e-mail is lschoe@smunet.net.
Outside the Lakes area
Jason Manley 108 W. Maple Street Business: 712-866-2600
First ice now appearing ell, it’s here, and it arrived by Thanksgiving weekend: ice on our area lakes. It’s not often that we really get to try a little ice fishing on Thanksgiving weekend. However, that happened this year.
Northern Iowa Prairie Lakes Audubon Society count details The Northern Iowa Prairie Lakes Audubon Society will conduct the count for the circle, which includes the Iowa Great Lakes on Saturday, Dec. 14. Lee Schoenewe will organize the group, being sure all that want to be are included and all the counts are forwarded to the National Audubon Society. The group will meet at HyVee in Spirit Lake between 7-8 a.m. There will be expert birders to lead each group, and we encourage all that are interested to come and help no matter your level of expertise. This is your chance to help the National Audubon Society and per-
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Ringsted, IA 50578
For our customers and readers who are outside of the Lakes Area, you can go to the National Audubon Society web site and click on the Christmas Bird
Count. From there you should be able to find out if there is going to be an active CBC in your area or organize one. All Christmas Bird Counts are conducted between December 14 to January 5 with each local count occurring on one day between those dates. Weather conditions will play a huge factor in the type of birds you will see. At this point in time there are still some open areas of water. Perhaps there is a large snow event north of here, which will encourage northern birds to head south to visit us. If we have no snow, such as now, there will be not so much feeder activity as there are still a lot of open areas where the birds are eating. We have noticed our customers talking about more birds coming into their yards to eat. Mr. Red-bellied is extremely fond of mixed nuts. Have a good Christmas Bird Count and call Bird Haven at (712) 336-2473 if you have questions or need help.
With single digit lows and highs in the upper teens scheduled for late this week, I think we’ll have some of the best early ice in years. So, yes, I did try fishing Little Emerson last Sunday. I found between 3 and 4 inches of ice wherever I drilled a hole. However, the ice was so clear that I could see the weedbeds and open sandy areas as I walked Little Emerson from the Camp Okoboji area. I believe that’s the reason fishing was on the SLOW side. I only saw three small bluegills. Each bit, but they were the only fish I saw in nearly three hours of fishing. Knowing how clear it was going to be, I arrived at daybreak in hopes that I could use the low light conditions to my advantage. However, I didn’t even see a bluegill until around 8 a.m. In visiting with other anglers, I heard the same thing was happening at Angler’s Bay on Big Spirit. As the ice thickens, I think fishing should get better. At least we will be able to get out into deeper water. As a matter of fact, I did see
anglers begin walking out to the deep water off of Reeds Run. Still not certain just how good that ice is. Check out the Dave Genz article “Check the Conditions and Bring Safety Gear”. It seems each year provides its own unique challenge. Last year it was the late, late ice conditions. This year it’s the clear ice!
Hunting seasons still going This weekend the first shotgun deer season opens and runs from Dec. 7-11. That will be followed by the second shotgun season from Dec. 14-22. The DNR estimates 140,000 hunters will participate in these two seasons. The bow season, meanwhile, closes during these seasons and then reopens on Dec. 23 and lasts to Jan. 10, 2014. Although the duck season concludes on Thursday, Dec. 5, the Canada goose season is open until Jan. 3, 2014. Currently, the geese are keeping areas open on the deeper bodies of water, and until a storm comes, I think they will stick around. The DNR waterfowl survey for the last week in November showed a county of 18,000 Canada geese in the Spirit Lake area, 2600 in the Ruthven area and 5000 in the Ingham area. Most of the hunting now is trying to find the geese in a field or pass shooting them on those cloudy, windy days as they leave the water. If you want to follow the duck migration, the south zone is open through Dec. 12, while the Missouri River zone is open until Dec. 19 and the Canada goose season is open until
See ICE on Page C6
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2013
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
C5
Check the conditions and bring safety gear BY MARK STRAND
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hen it comes to ice safety, Dave Genz has always said essentially the same thing: if you move more, you will catch more fish. He wants ice anglers to be mobile, but be careful. He’s a picture of consistent safety precautions, wearing a life jacket outside his Ice Armor parka, using ice cleats for solid traction, punching the ice with a chisel ahead of himself, testing for thickness, as he walks on early or questionable ice. Today, he wants to talk ice safety over the entire course of the winter. “You never know when it could happen, that you could fall through,” he says, “but if you have the right stuff with you, you should be able to get out alright.”
A BOUT D AVE G ENZ Editorʼs note: As ice begins to cover area lakes, ice anglers can hardly wait for ice to become thick enough to navigate. Dave Genz, known as Mr. Ice Fishing has been the driving force behind the modern ice fishing revolution. Here he shares some common sense ideas for making ice fishing safe!
Two Aspects of Ice Safety Really, there are two aspects to ice safety. 1) Learning to identify situations that have the potential for producing unsafe ice. 2) Being ready with the right gear, should you or someone around you fall through the ice. Let’s look at both aspects.
Potential for Unsafe Ice Ice conditions can and do vary from spot to spot on the same body of water, and vary tremendously from region to region. In some parts of the ice belt, cold weather comes and goes – so safe ice forms, then might erode, even at midwinter. Especially in today’s connected world, where we all see Facebook posts with pictures of good catches, the fever can sweep over people living in fringe areas. It can be tempting to try to add your own pictures to the reports, even if the ice is iffy, at the moment, where you live. Iffy ice conditions can always occur in places where water is moving due to currents or aeration devices, and around springs. This is true even in the ‘True North’ where cold weather usually remains for months on end. Also avoid expansion cracks, or ‘pressure ridges’ as they’re called. It pays to know when significant snow fell on top of the ice you are
Clam and Ice Team pro Rick Johnson nears the edge of early ice. Itʼs hard to tell, but he is wearing a life vest over his Ice Armor jacket, has floating ice picks around his neck (now they velcro to the vest), and his boots are fitted with Micro Spikes. The object in Johnsonʼs right hand is a chisel, so he can strike the ice ahead of him as he walks out slowly. If the chisel goes through with one sharp strike, heʼll turn around and go back where he came from. There is a light dusting of snow on the ice, but not enough to cause slush or slow ice formation. Dave Genz, the photographer, will be going fishing with Rick. Photo by davegenz.com
about to venture onto. All things being equal, it’s thought that ice should be at least six inches thick before the first good snow settles on top of it. If heavy snow falls on thin ice, the blanket of snow can insulate the ice, preventing it from getting thicker. Even with sustained cold temperatures, you can have thin ice under the snow. Again, it all depends on when that snow fell. It’s easier than ever to gather information on known currents, springs, and other traditionally iffy ice areas, and to get details on what went down, weather wise, as ice was forming. Seek this information but couple it with your own observations, precautions, and common sense.
you’re going out in a boat on cold water,” he says, “they tell you to wear a life jacket. Then, a week later, after the ice comes, they tell you to stay home. Why can’t we talk about wearing a life jacket when you go out on the ice?” He makes a good point. Once temps chill off into ice-making range, it takes little time for safe ice to form. (It can happen overnight, in perfect conditions, and certainly within a few days, with cold temperatures, safe walkable ice can form.) And first-ice fishing can be excellent. Read this clearly, exactly how it’s intended: check ice carefully, and wear flotation clothing above the waist just in case. “We have a new life vest,” says Dave, referring to the Clam life Flotation, Picks, vest, “that’s Coast Guard approved and a Chisel and cut to fit over your suit. It has a Genz has always thought it lot of features, including a quickstrange that safety experts switch release velcro holder for ice picks. advice abruptly after ice forms. “If It helps keep your core warm, and
has soft pockets for drying and warming your hands. And we have floating ice picks.” Dave advises people to go ice fishing with at least one partner, and stay close enough to each other to be able to help if one falls through. It’s rare for this to happen, but if it does, a second person can be instrumental in getting the dunked angler back up on safe ice and headed in to warm up. If the assisting person can approach on safe ice but keep distance while rendering help, the odds of a good outcome are greatly improved. “That’s why we made the emergency throw rope,” Genz said, referring to another new accessory now readily available at retail. “You can make your own, or this one works really well. It looks like a dog dummy that’s packed with rope. You hang on to the loose end of the rope and throw the thing to the person in the water, and the rope
plays out as it flies through the air. It stores 50 feet of rope in a neat package, and you can keep it in your Fish Trap or strap it to an ATV or snowmobile.” For the ultimate in protection, Genz talks about the Lift Suit, an ice-fishing specific suit made with extra flotation that helps you stay upright and floating in the event you break through. He finishes the thought by adding that floating ice picks and chisels have also been brought into the lineup, to make sure anglers can find everything they need easily. We almost forgot: spikes. Sometimes called ice cleats, or creepers. They strap onto your boots, fitting you with ice-gripping traction. They’re crucial any time there’s no snow on the ice. They can prevent slipping and falling, which can (and does) lead to injuries. Genz mentions Micro Spikes by Kahtoola, but stresses that the most important thing is to get some and use them. “This is the stuff that doesn’t get talked about enough,” says Genz, “because it’s not really fishing equipment. And it’s not that we’re saying that ice fishing is dangerous. You’ll probably fish your whole life without needing most of this stuff, but if somebody falls through and you don’t have it along, you’ll wish you did.” Amen, and a major understatement. For more fishing tips and to order his new info-packed book, Ice Revolution, go to www.davegenz.com.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2013
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
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Turn-over
Stewardship Tip:
You have heard of it, what is it?
PREPARE YOUR ICE AUGER
BY JOHN H. WILLS CLEAN WATER ALLIANCE COORDINATOR
Have you ever wondered why water doesn’t freeze on the bottom of a bowl? Why doesn’t it freeze on the bottom of a lake? Turn-over -- It isn’t always a delicious dessert that we can buy at one of our terrific restaurants. This turn-over is part of a process that involves something called the thermocline and has a significant impact on one of our lakes almost every year; that lake is West Okoboji. In colder climates, such as ours, something called stratification causes warm water to “float” on top of colder water with the thermocline separating them. Many people who have dived in West Okoboji tell us that they can clearly see the thermocline when they move through it. It is a thin layer of water, with warm water above and cold water below, that has little mixing of warm and cold water. As the summer moves on there is less oxygen below the thermocline as it never circulates to the surface; so there are few “critters” below the thermocline during the summer. As the temperature drops for the water on the surface, during the fall of the year, it may get cold enough to freeze and the lake begins to ice over. Cold water gets heavier and sinks as it gets close to freezing and thus “replaces” the deep water that has been sitting all summer and not being mixed. At this point we have the turn-over. Nutrient rich water and sometimes trash that has been sitting below the thermocline are brought to the surface. This is a process that happens twice a year; once in the fall and once in the spring. To complete the cycle, water that is almost ready to freeze is the lightest in weight so it floats to the surface where it freezes for the winter.
BY BEN LEAL RECYCLED FISH PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Editor’s note: Each month the Outdoor Connection tab will feature a column by Recycled Fish, a nonprofit organization founded by Teeg Stouffer in 2003. Originally a Catch and Release education organization, it is now a national movement of anglers who live and promote a lifestyle of stewardship both on and off the water. With cold weather settling early across the Ice Belt, it’s a good time to make the annual reminder about ice safety: fish with a buddy, use a spud to check the ice every few steps, wear a PFD and have a throw rope attached to a buoy at the ready. But good stewards are also making sure that they’re protecting not just themselves but the water they fish when they head out to slice ice this winter. Check your sparkplug. Replace it if the electrodes are pitted or burned. Also, check the porcelain, if it is cracked, replace the plug. Set the electrode gap to the engine manufacturer’s specification. Use a hotter sparking plug to burn gas more
efficiently. For example, the Tecumseh engine models TC-300 or TMO40XA, you can use a Champion CJ6Y or CJ8Y sparkplug. The CJ8Y will spark hotter and will burn gas more efficiently. Make sure to check the sparkplug specifications for your engine before selecting an alternate plug. Use fresh gasoline. If you have a two-cycle engine, use the proper oil/fuel mixture, typically the ratio is 40:1, but always follow the engine manufacturer’s specification. If your gasoline sits around for more than thirty days, pour the fuel in your truck or car (even if contains two cycle oil) and purchase fresh gasoline. It will burn more efficiently and help start the engine faster. Use winter mix, 91 octane, or higher, gasoline. It will burn more efficiently. Clean your filter in accordance with the engine manufacturer’s instructions. A clean filter will help the engine run more efficiently. Take care of spills Fuel your auger off the ice. Fuel that is accidentally spilled on the ice can kill fish. Add a fuel absorbent mat or pad (available at most auto parts stores) to your kit
and place it on the ground when you fuel up to contain any spills. Check the hoses on your auger before you take it on the ice. Make sure that there are no leaks. Check your auger on dry ground by laying it on its side. Make sure your blades are razor sharp. Put an edge on them before you go out on the ice. Cover them as you transport your auger so you don’t bump the blades against something and inadvertently dull them. Sharp blades will cut more efficiently. Also, tighten the blade screws before each outing. Looking for a new auger? Consider an electric alternative. Ice Fishing Today (Vexilar) has the new KDrill, Ion and Strikemaster all make great electric augers. Clam just released a drill plate kit & auger bit that lets you drop on any 18V drill and run the auger similarly to a gas auger. An efficient auger will not only help you catch more fish, it will also help the fish by keeping pollutants off the ice and reducing the emissions from the engine. For more, visit www.RecycledFish.org/OnI ce.
Pheasants are ‘wherever they want to be’ ICE
1907 18th St. Spirit Lake
www.greatlakesmarineservice.biz
Continued from page C4 Jan. 17, 2014. Pheasant season continues, and with the open fields, the pheasants are “wherever they want to be!” They might be along the edges of combined fields, on the fringe of grasslands or in the cattails. It’s wherever they want to be. Plus, these survivors have been hunted enough to have figured out where it is safe.
Their escape becomes flying out way ahead, running, running, running or sitting, sitting, sitting…or a combination of all of the above. We had one last weekend that actually sat within 10 yards of where my hunting party was looking for a downed bird. One of the group members actually went over to the side and stood there for nearly five minutes and reached down in a clump of cattails to check it out. Out burst a rooster-less than a foot away-and three shots later it was still flying to safety!
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2013
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
C7
ZEBRA MUSSEL POPULATION RISING IN THE IOWA GREAT LAKES
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PIRIT LAKE - Juvenile zebra mussels have shown up attached to boat hoists removed this fall from East Okoboji, West Okoboji and Lower Gar lakes. This discovery comes after four juvenile zebra mussels were found in East Okoboji Lake and Upper Gar Lake, last fall. Mike Hawkins, fisheries biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said he was contacted by a lake service provider in the Iowa Great Lakes on Nov. 1st after the contractor spotted suspicious shells attached to a boat hoist. “After closer examination it became evident that many of the recently removed hoists had juvenile zebra mussels attached,” Hawkins said. “I suspected that other hoists from the
Lisa Hansen conducts the horse-driven sleigh rides at a previous Christmas on the Farm event at Peterson Point Historic Farmstead. Photo submitted
Christmas on the Farm just around the corner BY JENNA POLLOCK
Snow dusted evergreens, frosted windows on an old farmhouse, a steady stream of steam rising from the chimney, and the gentle chime of sleigh bells jingling as the horses draw near…Are you ready for Christmas on the Farm at the Historic Peterson Point Farmstead? The Emmet County Conservation Foundation is gearing up for the annual Christmas on the Farm celebration. Join us for a fun-filled afternoon of camaraderie and pioneer Christmas traditions from 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 14. Activities include horse-drawn sleigh (wagon if no snow) rides, outdoor games for youth (all afternoon) and a fun holiday craft activity. Plus, of course, those delightful refreshments will be available. Historic Peterson Point Farmstead is located at 2349 450th Avenue, Wallingford, IA 51365. Call the Emmet County Nature Center for more information: (712) 867-4422.
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EMMET COUNTY NATURALIST
area may have zebra mussels attached as well.” Summer monitoring for zebra mussels resulted in little evidence of an expanding population, but effective sampling is difficult when populations are low. “Inspection efforts are continuing on hundreds of boat hoists and should provide additional information on the extent of the infestation within the Iowa Great Lakes,” Hawkins said. As the infestation develops it will be important for boaters to clean, drain and dry their boats and equipment before moving from the Iowa Great Lakes to other bodies of water. It is required by law for boaters to remove all invasive species and to drain all water from boats and equipment before leaving a waterbody.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2013
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
Spoons for action under the ice BY BOB JENSEN FISHING
I
THE
MIDWEST FISHING TEAM
ce-anglers, just like open water anglers, have lots of options when it comes to lure selection. There are a bunch of different lures we can use to catch walleyes, perch, crappies, and whatever else under the ice. But if you were to look in the tacklebox of most ice-anglers, you would probably see some spoons. Spoons come in all colors, sizes, and shapes. You might wonder what the difference is in the various spoons, and if those differences really matter. They do! When the fish are hungry and willing to bite, they’ll eat just about anything you put down there. But when they get a little selective, the shape and color and action of the spoon can make a big difference. Here are some things you should consider when you’re trying to decide which spoon to tie onto your line. Size should probably be your first consideration. If you’re after walleyes, a larger spoon will probably be a good starting point. Eighth ounce is probably as small as you would want to start with:
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FACEBOOK.COM/FISHINGTHEMIDWEST The quarter ounce size is usually a good starting point. For perch and crappies, start at the eighth ounce size. If they don’t go for that, work smaller. Usually the sixteenth ounce size is as small as you need to go for perch or crappies, but you never know. Next consider color. In dark water, brighter colors are usually a good idea, but again, not always. In clear water a more natural color is often a good start, but again, you never know. Keep trying different colors until the fish show you what they want. Now, perhaps the most important consideration: Action. Some spoons fall pretty much straight down, others have a very distinct flutter or wobble. The Forage Minnow Spoon has a unique
design that enables it to flutter slowly as it falls. When it’s doing its thing, this spoon looks just like a wounded minnow. I’ve taken a bunch of walleyes on this bait when nothing else would work. The Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon is one of the most popular and productive spoons in existence. It fishes heavy and has a pretty much straight drop. It wobbles a bit, but not as much as the Forage Minnow Spoon. The Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon will get to the bottom faster, and the rattles really turn the fish on at times. New this year is the UV BuckShot Spoon. It has some colors that really “shine”. In stained water or when the fish have been pressured, this spoon is a killer. Another action is a spoon that glides as it sinks. It covers a wider area as it falls, so it is visible to more fish. It also falls slower than most spoons. Again, it’s a different action that will appeal to fish that want a slower moving bait. A good example of a gliding spoon would be the new BuckShot Glider Spoon. Presentation may be even more important under the ice than it is in open water. Remember, the fish can really get a good look at your bait under the ice. Give them Experiment with spoons of different shapes, colors, and actions the bait they want they way they for more ice-fishing success. want it and you’ll be a more sucPhoto by Bob Jensen cessful ice angler.
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