Kentucky Afield Spring 2016 issue

Spring 2016

Since 1945

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Ospreys Return • Fishing Forecast • New Kentucky Afield Host • Hunting WMAs

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BULL ELK TAG DRAWING This is a special permit, not a quota hunt drawing

PHOTO by STEVEN DOBEY

May 27, 2016

2:00 PM at the Salato Wildlife Education Center

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Cover Story Grand Ole Osprey

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Move over, eagles – Kentucky has another raptor success story

By Kevin Kelly

On the cover: The osprey, also known as a fishhawk, is a voracious hunter of fish caught swimming close to the surface. In Rick Hill’s “Osprey with Silver Carp,” a successful hunter perches high atop Kentucky Lake with its freshly-caught meal.

Original: Acrylic on canvas, 14x17 inch.

Photo © Bill Lea

Spring 2016

14

Good fishing ahead

14

Fishing Forecast 2016 • By Lee McClellan

22

“Kentucky Afield” Television’s New Host

24

Going Public • By Steve Beam

28 The official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources – your partner in the great outdoors

FEATURES

Chance of fun: 100 percent

• By Lee McClellan Veteran outdoorsman Chad Miles takes the reins

One hunter’s recipe for spring turkey season success

Decoding the Mussel Decline • By Lee McClellan Silos built by Eagle Scout part of search for answers

Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, #1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601 1-800-858-1549 • fw.ky.gov

Survey for deer hunters

7 Derek Beard photo

Spring 2016

Departments 4

Viewpoint

5

Front Porch

6 7 20

Another Restoration Success Story Turning Your Fishing Trip into a Catching Trip

Fishing

More Fish for FINs Lakes

Hunting

Surveying for the Future

Nature Notebook Northern Hog Sucker

30 37 38 39 40 41

Outdoor News

News from Fish and Wildlife

Cooking

Hobo Venison Burger

Habitat

Stop Thief!

Destinations

Rich WMA – Red Oak Tract

Ask the Experts

The Trouble with Ticks

Kentucky Afield

CONTRIBUTORS Wildlife Division Director Steve Beam (Going Public) started his department career as a seasonal wildlife technician. He served as regional coordinator for Kentucky’s Southeast Wildlife Region before his appointment as director in May 2015. He earned his degree in wildlife management from Eastern Kentucky University.

Your Story

An Unexpected Illness

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Don’t forget to notify Kentucky Afield. Just e-mail us at ky.afield@ky.gov or use the envelope conveniently located in the centerfold. Need information about department programs or regulations? Call 1-800-858-1549 weekdays or visit our website: fw.ky.gov

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VIEWPOINT • By Kentucky Afield Editor Dave Baker

since 1945

Commonwealth of Kentucky Matthew G. Bevin, Governor

FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION First District Terry Teitloff, Smithland Second District C. F. “Frank” Williams, Madisonville Third District Russell J. Gailor, Louisville Fourth District Barry W. Stotts, Columbia Fifth District Jimmy Bevins, Owenton Sixth District Stephen Glenn, Frankfort Seventh District Voncel Thacker, Hindman Eighth District Gary Greene, Greenup Ninth District Christopher Lee Godby, Somerset Commissioner Emeritus Dr. James R. Rich, Taylor Mill

Department of FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES Commissioner Gregory K. Johnson Deputy Commissioner Charles Bush Deputy Commissioner Karen Waldrop Wildlife Director Steve Beam Fisheries Director Ron Brooks Law Enforcement Director Col. Joe West Information & Education Director Tim Slone Administrative Services Director Billye Haslett Engineering Director David Bruce (acting) Public Affairs Director Brian V. Blank

KENTUCKY AFIELD STAFF Editor Dave Baker Associate Editor Lee McClellan Writer Kevin Kelly Art/Design Director Adrienne Yancy Graphic Designer Obie Williams Artist/Illustrator Rick Hill Circulation Manager Lisa Tolliver Editorial Intern Lyndsey Williams

SUBSCRIPTIONS fw.ky.gov Printed by Advertiser Printers Inc. Dayton, Ky. Volume 72 Number 1

Another Restoration Success Story BALD EAGLES GET all the ink. They’re America’s symbol, of course, so they naturally have a special place in our hearts. Their restoration in this country has been nothing short of spectacular.

Ospreys haven’t garnered the same amount of attention, however.

But these “fish hawks” have a spectacular success story of their own. That’s why we chose ospreys as the lead story in this issue.

It’s a story of hope and restoration: After all, Kentucky went nearly 40 years without an active osprey nest within its borders.

Efforts launched in 1982 helped bring the birds back. It’s a fascinating story of biologists who used artificial nests and a medieval imprinting technique to encourage young birds to call Kentucky home.

At last count, Kentucky has 128 pairs of ospreys nesting in the state. The project not only restored the osprey as a resident, but it served as a reminder that the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources promotes wildlife conservation, not just hunting and fishing.

To commemorate this success story, Kentucky Afield artist Rick Hill painted his first-ever raptor cover. We hope that you’ll admire his talented work as much as we do.

This issue also features the best of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s annual fishing

Kentucky Afield (ISSN No. 1059-9177) is published quarterly by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Periodical Class postage paid at Frankfort, Ky. and additional mailing offices. Editorial Offices at the Arnold L. Mitchell Bldg., 1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601. E-mail: Ky.Afield@ky.gov. Phone: 1-800-858-1549. Not responsible for unsolicited materials. Contact editorial offices for permission to reprint. Subscription rate: $10 per year.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Kentucky Afield Magazine, Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601.

“Kentucky Afield” is a trademark of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Contents © Kentucky Afield

4

Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

forecast. Around here, the staff looks forward to its arrival just as much as your grandfather’s generation awaited the annual Sears Christmas catalog – the Wish Book.

It’s hard not to get excited about the fishing season when it Rick Hill photo starts out with reviews like this on blue catfish in Barkley Lake: “Good numbers of 10-20 pounders with the occasional 50+ pounder.”

Associate Editor Lee McClellan interviewed numerous fisheries biologists to provide our readers with the kind of information that will help them catch fish. McClellan is no stranger to the techniques he mentions – he’s fished all over the state for a variety of species.

You might recall that we introduced Wildlife Division Director Steve Beam in the fall 2015 issue. In this issue, we turned to him for some perspective on hunting public lands. Beam offers some common sense strategies to avoid the crowds and still have a successful day in the field.

Informing folks about the opportunities available in the outdoors is the driving force behind Kentucky Afield magazine. We try our best to suggest places to go and how to have a great day in the field once you reach your destination. Thanks to our readers for your continued support. n

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in employment or the provision of services and provides, upon request, reasonable accommodation including auxiliary aids and services necessary to afford individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in all programs and activities.

If you feel you have been discriminated against by this department, please contact the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, 1 Sportsman's Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601; phone 1-800-858-1549.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is administered under the Kentucky Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet.

fw.ky.gov

front porch

Improving your experience • By Ron Brooks

Fisheries Director Ron Brooks (center) supervises the loading of stumps onto a department barge. Go online to fw.ky.gov to find fish attractor locations across the state.

Paul Rister photo

Turning Your Fishing Trip Into a Catching Trip SPRING IS HERE – time to go fishing.

As always at this time of year, the greatest challenge for anglers lies in choosing which fish to pursue and where to go for them. Fortunately, Kentucky offers opportunities for many types of fish and many different places to catch them. Whether you like to fish in streams, rivers or reservoirs, great fishing opportunities abound.

A major reason for these opportunities is the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources’ commitment to your natural resources. We are fortunate to have highly educated, experienced and knowledgeable biologists who, along with their dedicated staff, work relentlessly to assess the fish populations of Kentucky’s waters, no matter how difficult the conditions.

Their efforts receive accolades from an-

fw.ky.gov

glers across the state.

The department’s staff uses shocking boats and nets to gauge fish populations, spawn fish, stocks fish in various waterbodies, places fish habitat in lakes, creates websites, writes articles about fish and fishing opportunities, creates and revises regulations, and enforces those regulations. It takes many people to manage the state’s aquatic resources and provide the quality fishing that anglers in Kentucky enjoy. It takes the kind of dedication that the public doesn’t always realize exists in the workplace today.

Even with all of Kentucky’s great fishing opportunities, perhaps the most difficult aspect of fishing statewide is knowing where to fish and what techniques are best.

Here’s where we’re helping you: During the past few years, the department has great-

ly improved the content of its website. With just a little effort, you can discover places to fish, find how to get to a lake or river, determine the kind of fish each waterbody holds and locate nearby boat ramps or bank access.

Once you’re there, on-site kiosks provide you information on fish abundance and regulations. You can also use a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone to access an incredible amount of information on our website.

Take a look and you’ll learn that Kentucky Fish and Wildlife owns or manages many reservoirs and streams with quality bass and bream fisheries. We provide great muskie fishing in reservoirs, tailwaters, rivers and streams.

Across the state, we stock walleye, saugeye, striped bass and their hybrids, blue catfish, channel catfish, sunfish and bass. We stock some of the best trout waters in the southeastern United States. We recently built new Hatchery Creek, a mile-long cold water trout stream that would be the envy of any state.

However, you don’t have to own a boat or drive halfway across Kentucky to find good fishing. Our Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) program provides 40 ponds and lakes containing super-quality catfish and seasonal trout fishing with extremely easy bank access in or near urban settings.

So I hope you take advantage of some or all of the fishing opportunities that Kentucky Fish and Wildlife provides. We are proud of our effort to manage and provide fish for Kentucky’s many premier fishing waters. n Fisheries Director Ron Brooks served as an instructor in one of the country’s top fisheries research universities before coming to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.

Obie Williams photo

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield

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FISHING

Fish from farm pond stocking program instead go into public lakes • By Dave Baker

Carson Kelly and his grandfather, Tim Kelly, enjoy a day of fishing at the state’s newest FINs lake, located at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Kevin Kelly photo

More Fish for FINS Lakes Kentucky has retired its farm pond stocking program after 70 years in operation.

Biologists will still advise landowners how to improve their ponds. They will still recommend species and stocking rates of fish. However, landowners must now obtain fish from private suppliers.

Department-reared fish once destined for private ponds will instead go into Kentucky’s public Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) lakes. Money saved from the elimi-

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Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

nation of the farm pond stocking program also will be used to pay for habitat programs in public lakes.

“By redirecting fish from the farm pond stocking program to the FINs program, we can free up enough pond space in our hatcheries to add five more lakes to FINs,” said Fisheries Director Ron Brooks. “That means more people will have the opportunity to catch those fish.”

The pond stocking program, which began in 1945, had lost its luster.

It started out strong: An article in the September 1950 issue of Happy Hunting Ground noted that more than 25,000 ponds were stocked in the first five years of the program. “This met with opposition at first, some of the sportsmen feeling that their money should not be spent to aid individuals,” the article noted.

Landowners who received free fish when the program first started were asked to allow public fishing in those ponds. Opposition to the program waned as it served

to open up more areas for fishing and reduce some of the pressure on popular public fishing spots.

Interest in the program lagged in the ensuing years. The department dropped its request to landowners to allow the public to fish in their ponds. Even with the offer of free fish, it wasn’t usual for hatchery trucks to return from distribution areas with half their cargo unclaimed.

By 2015, with the department now requiring a nominal charge for the fish, the number of applications for the farm pond stocking program dropped to 142. The department’s Fisheries Division decided it was time to shut down the farm pond stocking program.

The FINs program, which began as the Urban Fisheries Program in 2005, seemed like a good landing spot for the extra fish.

Dane Balsman, the fisheries biologist who runs the FINs program, said the fish will be put to good use. “The FINs program is extremely popular, and we get a lot of positive feedback from it,” he said. “FINs really appeals to new anglers and anglers who are tight on their time, because the lakes are close and convenient.”

The FINs program grew quickly from six lakes in its first year to 40 lakes across the state today. One of the factors limiting the growth of this new program was lack of space at the state’s two fish hatcheries – they were already at maximum production.

Balsman said he is evaluating lakes across the state in search of five new places to add to the FINs program by fall.

Earlier this year, Rolex Lake at the Kentucky Horse Park was added to the FINs program and stocked with trout and catfish. It replaced Watterson Lake in Jefferson County, which was too shallow and had poor fish habitat. n

fw.ky.gov

HUNTING

Public input sought on direction of Kentucky’s deer program • By Kevin Kelly

This year’s survey will help shape the deer hunting future for the next generation, including Wildlife Biologist Derek Beard’s two sons, Logan (center) and Layton.

Surveying for the Future THE TERMS “INSTANT classic” and “dynasty” are thrown around so often in the sports world these days that their overuse risks losing the perspective of true historical significance.

When it comes to the state of deer hunting in Kentucky, there is no danger of overstating just how good it’s been and how far it’s come.

“We’re in the heyday for the whitetail hunter,” said Gabe Jenkins, Deer and Elk Program Coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

The more than 300,000 people who hunt deer each year in Kentucky raised the bar again during the 2015-16 season by setting a new overall harvest record for the third time in the past four seasons.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife isn’t resting on laurels. Instead, it is reaching out to hunters this spring with a new survey tailored to those who hunt deer in the state.

The 55-question survey is the first of its kind since 2002. The public can take the survey and submit comments about Kentucky’s deer herd and its management online at fw.ky.gov from June 1-30.

“I think it’s a good time to re-evaluate how we do things and investigate if we can make this better than what we’ve already got – and we’ve got it pretty darn good,” Jenkins said.

The survey gauges hunter distribution,

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hunting habits and hunter satisfaction. It also probes sentiments about buck and doe harvest, season structure and length, youth and mentor opportunities, legal equipment and alternative hunting methods, among other things.

The department selected 2,000 resident and non-resident deer hunters at random earlier this year to gauge their attitudes and establish baseline data. The public will have the opportunity to take the same survey once it’s posted online.

Highlights from the survey will be presented to the Deer Advisory Committee, a group of 11 representatives from the Wildlife, Law Enforcement and Information and Education divisions formed by Jenkins last year. The committee brainstorms and critiques ideas about potential changes. Any recommendations must be discussed

by Wildlife and other divisions within the department before going to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission.

One of the main benefits of a hunter attitude survey is its ability to reflect a consensus among a broader audience.

“So many times we Katie Beard photo hear from one person or a small group of people that want a big change,” Jenkins said. “If the majority of our hunters support it, or don’t support it, it helps us make the right decision when we provide information and recommendations to the commission.”

Any potential changes stemming from the survey results will be carefully considered, Jenkins said.

“We’re not going to be out to move quickly or do anything fast,” he said. “We’re going to take our time and be strategic.” n

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield

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GRAND OLE

OSPREY Move over, eagles – Kentucky has another raptor success story

By Kevin Kelly 8

Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

fw.ky.gov

F

IVE-YEAR-OLD Ava Yancy is fortunate to be growing up in an era in Kentucky when she does not have to watch a nature documentary or crack open a library book to learn about ospreys.

She can – and did – catch a glimpse of an osprey hunting for its next meal in the fishing lake at Paducah’s Bob Noble Park.

Her mother snapped photos to remember the moment. Her father, David Yancy, took pride in it all.

Yancy, now a deer biologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, worked in the department’s osprey restoration program early in his career.

“I was really blown away,” he said of the family’s osprey sighting. “After I found out for sure that it was probably an osprey from a nesting pair between there and the Ohio River, I was like, ‘Wow, I wouldn’t have seen that as a kid.’ ” He’s right. Seeing an osprey four decades ago in Paducah – or anywhere in Kentucky for that matter – would have been rare.

John James Audubon, “Fish Hawk or Osprey” from “The Birds of America”

fw.ky.gov

There were no confirmed osprey nests in Kentucky from 1949 to 1986. However, the most recent statewide survey led by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife illustrates how much better things are today for the raptor also known as the “fish hawk.”

The latest survey, conducted in 2014, tallied 128 occupied osprey nests in the state.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Kate Slan-

kard, avian biologist with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “The birds have almost doubled in numbers since I’ve been with the department. It’s not that long of a time but it is amazing to witness that comeback.”

Ospreys historically built nests along the floodplains of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. In the early 1800s, renowned ornithologist and wildlife artist John James Audubon observed nesting pairs in the area of the Falls of the Ohio.

In his book, “The Birds of America,” Audubon noted, “When I first removed to Louisville in Kentucky, several pairs were in the habit of raising their brood annually on a piece of ground immediately opposite the foot of the Falls of the Ohio in the state of Indiana.

“The ground belonged to the venerable General (George Rogers) Clark, and I was several times invited by him to visit the spot.

Increasing population, however, has driven off the birds, and few are now seen on the Ohio, unless during their migrations to and from Lake Erie, where I have met with them.”

Osprey numbers had fallen precipitously across their range by the second half of the 20th century. Only after the United States banned use of the pesticide DDT in 1972 did osprey populations start to rebound.

“It was sort of a lesser-known species decline that came out of the DDT era,” Slankard said. “Everybody thinks of the bald eagle, but ospreys were affected, too.

They came back at the same time.”

The pesticide accumulated in fish and caused fish-eating birds like the osprey to lay eggs with shells so weak they broke before hatching.

By 1981, nine years after the DDT ban, an estimated 8,000 nesting pairs existed in the U.S. Most were clustered in the Pacific Northwest, Western Interior, Great Lakes, Atlantic Coast and parts of the Gulf Coast, according to the book, “Biology and Management of Bald Eagles and Ospreys.” Five nesting pairs were reported around Reelfoot Lake and Watts Bar Reservoir in Tennessee – but none in Kentucky.

To some extent, osprey returned naturally as populations rebounded due to the DDT ban. But the creation of new reservoirs and the use of a technique known as “hacking” hastened their return.

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield

9

HACKING “Hacking is a sort of medieval falconry technique that knights used,” Yancy said.

“They would get a falcon out of its nest when it was young and would put it in a box on top of the castle. With falconry it was to produce a bird that would still be wild enough to hunt but not so wild that you couldn’t fly it off your gloved hand. The way they did that was to get it as a nestling and you raise it in this box but you minimize contact with it so it doesn’t associate people with getting fed.”

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency modified a hacking technique used in a peregrine falcon release program in New York for bald eagle and osprey reintroduction programs already underway in Tennessee.

The technique employed for hacking projects in Kentucky involved collecting young, wild ospreys from nests in other states, then relocating the birds to specially constructed hacking towers. Researchers sought nestlings with enough feathers to maintain a constant body temperature, Yancy said, but not so old that they were ready to fly.

“When they reach the point where they start standing up and flapping in the nest to build up their flight muscles and starting to practice what it takes to fly, you want that happening inside the (hacking) structure,” he explained.

At each location, a biologist or volunteer looked after the ospreys, recording observation times, weather, location and behavior of the birds.

Hacking platforms were typically placed in a tree or fastened to a utility pole. They consisted of square wooden bases mounted 15 to 20 feet off the ground, with artificial nests fashioned out of twigs, branches, green leaves and vines. Metal flashing wrapped around the base of the tower prevented raccoons from raiding the nests; wire also could be placed around the platforms to ward off any nestling-killing owl.

Caretakers fed young ospreys frozen fish – often gizzard shad and carp – usually gathered by the department’s fisheries crews. A wire basket or ice scoop attached to the end of a 20-foot pole delivered fish to the birds. This was done to minimize human

John MacGregor photo

David Yancy photo

Assisted by seasonal employee Joe Flotemersch, Wildlife Biologist Richard Hines holds an osprey brought into Kentucky from Chesapeake Bay in 1988. Biologists kept the bird at this hacking platform (above, right) at Laurel River Lake. contact with the nestlings.

Ospreys generally associate the area where they learned to fly as home, so birds had to remain in their nests long enough to make this connection. The true test of whether the hacking was a success came at three years, when a bird matured and started building its own nest. Ospreys prefer to return to the general area where they fledged for nesting.

Osprey that nest in Kentucky typically do so from March into July. They prefer standing trees, snags or large man-made structures such as bridges, channel markers and transmission towers for their nests.

“They are avid nest builders,” Slankard said. “If they are here on the nesting grounds they are working on their nest. They always keep it nice. Even after the young fledge,

they’re still adding sticks to their nest.”

State and federal agencies cooperated on the hacking projects, coordinating their efforts to improve nesting habitat. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife partnered with the TVA on the project starting in 1982. Later, the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers played roles, too.

RESTORATION EFFORTS BEGIN Hacking projects initiated on the Tennessee portion of Land Between The Lakes started in 1981 and soon thereafter expanded into Kentucky.

The TVA established a hacking site in Lyon County, at Honker Bay in Land Between The Lakes, by the following year. No osprey were hacked there in 1982.

Former Wildlife Director Lauren Schaaf holds osprey nestlings for the media to photograph after the birds’ arrival from Gainesville in 1982.

10 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

John MacGregor photo fw.ky.gov

Wildlife Biologist Charlie Wilkins checks an osprey at a hacking site at Metropolis Lake near West Kentucky WMA in the mid1980s.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife was poised to join the effort by then and in June 1982 the TVA supplied the department with six ospreys collected from nests around Gainesville, Florida.

The nestlings received quite a reception as they were carried off a plane in Kentucky.

“The first thing the ospreys saw in Kentucky was about a dozen people from three newspapers and four television stations who were on hand to record their arrival,” wrote Andy Mead, a reporter for The Saturday (Lexington) Herald and Leader. The article continued: “The birds took all the attention quietly, calmly staring at the humans through bright golden eyes.”

Two of the nestlings were taken to a hacking tower near the Kentucky River north of Frankfort. The other pairs were taken to Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Bullitt County and Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County.

Three of the six successfully fledged their foster nests and returned to the wild.

A total of 30 more young ospreys obtained from wild nests in Maryland and Delaware were brought to Kentucky in 1983-84.

The department ended its hacking efforts in the mid-1980s but continued assisting the TVA, and later the U.S. Forest Service, by supplying those agencies with nestlings obtained through agreements with other state wildlife agencies.

The TVA’s hacking efforts at Land Between The Lakes continued through 1989.

Sixty-one young ospreys were released there over nine years.

fw.ky.gov

KDFWR archive photo

The U.S. Forest Service hacked two dozen ospreys at Laurel River Lake from 1988 through 1991. Laurel River Lake was picked because of its size, relative isolation afforded by the Daniel Boone National Forest and ample fish populations.

All told, the osprey restoration resulted in the hacking of 133 young ospreys across Kentucky from 1982-1991.

Money collected from the “Nongame Wildlife/Natural Areas Fund” check-off box on state income tax forms helped fund Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s portion of the work.

SIGNS OF SUCCESS The hacking projects started to bear fruit in 1986, when researchers discovered nests being used at Lake Barkley, Kentucky Lake and along the lower Ohio River in Livingston County. Only the Livingston County nest, which was built on a powerline tower, was successful. At least two young were present in the nest, and a leg band on one of the adults confirmed it was a bird hacked on Kentucky Lake in 1981 near Eva, Tennessee.

The nesting population continued to grow in the years to come. As it did, the need for more nesting sites became apparent.

A ring platform designed by The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proved critical in that respect. TVA biologists adapted the design and erected a dozen of them in Lake Barkley. Workers waited until the lake shrank to its lowest level at winter pool, then set the platforms in concrete.

Steve Bloemer, wildlife program manager for the U.S. Forest Service’s Land Be-

tween The Lakes National Recreation Area, said the experimental platforms proved to be a success.

“We worked closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to get permits to put those in places where they would hopefully be out of the way of most of the boat traffic,” he said. “We had to mark them very clearly so boats could see them. Some were right there near the U.S. 68 bridge across Lake Barkley, some a little bit upstream from the bridge and then some at other key locations where we thought they might be used.

“The osprey took to them almost immediately. A bunch got used the very first year and within two or three years every one of them was occupied. So it was very successful.”

Osprey pairs found the channel markers hospitable, but their nests often obscured navigation lights and became a safety hazard.

Yancy remembers fielding a call from the U.S. Coast Guard seeking permission to remove nests after the breeding season so it could service the navigation lights or make them visible again. Osprey pairs use the same nest year after year but will rebuild if it’s destroyed. In response, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife personnel fabricated a modified ring platform that could be mounted to the navigational marker by the Coast Guard.

Kentucky’s first successful osprey pair in decades.

David Yancy photo

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 11

ers. The Coast Guard installed a few of the platforms on KenWE RECYCLE YOU tucky Lake in TennesR FISHING LINE One of the biggest threats osprey see and in Kentucky. face in the United States is fishing line, “The Coast Avian Biologist Kate Slankard said.

Guard told me our “They pick up fishing line for nesting FISHING LINE platforms saved them material – in huge amounts – and it many hours of nest can entangle the young in the nest,” removal maintenance she said. “It can get to the point and made its work where they can’t fledge and end up safer,” Ray said. dying because they’re just stuck to Ray’s group dothe nest. That’s the biggest threat that NO CANS - NO BOT nated platforms to we’ve seen in recent years.”

TLES - NO TRASH Kentucky Fish and Wildlife not only for Slankard, the department’s avian biolouse on Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake, but anywhere else they were needed in gist, expects the trend to continue when the next statewide survey occurs in 2017.

Kentucky.

“I think we’ll keep seeing more growth,” Ray’s survey work expanded to include Kentucky Lake in 2004 and continued until she said. “Ospreys are really packing in to 2008. By that time, the number of occupied particular localities. They’re not necessarily nests around Lake Barkley had grown from spreading statewide. We’re just getting more and more at Land Between The Lakes and 23 to almost 50.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife expanded in far western Kentucky.

“We have some popping up in central the osprey survey in 2011 and it found 87 Kentucky but it’s not like bald eagles – where occupied nests at that time.

“They’re popping up everywhere,” now almost every reservoir has a bald eagle Bloemer said. “There’s an interstate ex- nest on it. I think at some point we’re going to change down here that’s maybe a quarter- hit a carrying capacity at Land Between The mile from the lake or so, and there’s an os- Lakes and they’ll finally start spreading out.”

Land Between The Lakes, with more prey nest on top of it.”

As a result of the efforts over the years, than 100 nests observed in 2014, continues to ospreys are probably more abundant in Ken- maintain the state’s greatest concentration.

“It’s really been a conservation success tucky than ever before, Yancy said.

Ospreys are now expanding their range story,” Bloemer said.

In Yancy’s mind, the effort to restore into other parts of the state. A century after Audubon observed the birds at Falls of osprey in Kentucky was important because the Ohio, a pair tried to build a nest on a the species had, at one time, nested in the tower at the Ohio Falls Generating Station state. But the effort also helped Kentucky at McAlpine Dam, located just below the Fish and Wildlife demonstrate that its approach to conservation extends beyond Falls of the Ohio.

In recent years, biologists observed os- hunting and fishing.

“I was really amazed not only that it’s prey nests along the Ohio River in Pendleton County, at Cedar Creek Lake in Lincoln worked,” he said, “but that it’s worked so damn well.” n County and in southern Fayette County.

FISHING LINE CAN BE DEADLY

Nesting platform attached to a navigational marker.

Reciclamos su línea de pesca Lanzar su línea de pesca No echar latas - botellas usados en este contenedor - y ninguna otra basura aquí

KDFWR archive photo

“It worked,” Yancy said. “So we started doing that.”

About a dozen of the nesting platforms were installed above navigation lights and channel markers in Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake.

By the early 1990s, the focus on osprey had turned from planting the seeds for restoration to managing a re-established nesting species in the state.

“Their numbers have just been going up and up,” Bloemer said.

The nesting population at Lake Barkley experienced steady growth. By 1995, there were 14 active osprey nests on stand-alone platforms, utility poles and trees.

In 1996, the U.S. Forest Service took over management of Land Between The Lakes from the TVA and osprey nest surveys ended.

Ed Ray served as the area’s chief naturalist for a quarter century. Upon leaving that job, he bought a 23-foot deck boat and ran eco-tours on the lake, conducting nest surveys while he was on the water. At the time, all the free-standing platforms and platforms built above the navigation lights along the Cumberland River channel in mid-Lake Barkley had nests.

Ray also started the nonprofit Kentucky Environmental Education Projects, Inc. (KEEP). Working with elementary school students, he designed a steel nesting platform that required only three people and no concrete to install. The organization also modified a receiver on the bottom of the platforms to easily fit on navigational mark-

12 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

This Lake Barkley nest included a video camera for live streaming.

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Adrienne Yancy photo

E Eche No echa

An opportunistic osprey fishes for newly stocked trout in Brickyard Pond.

OSPREY Pandion haliaetus

An osprey’s eye color changes from brown to yellow as they mature.

highly developed. They prefer fishing over shallow water since their prey must swim relatively close to the surface. Ospreys fly with a crook in their wings that resembles the letter “M.” An osprey will hover briefly over its prey, fold in its wings and dive toward the water, outstretching its legs just before breaking the surface. The bird may disappear under water and re-emerge with its catch clutched in its long talons.

MIGRATION: September is the peak of fall migration to the wintering grounds in Central and South America as well as the West Indies. They return to the breeding grounds in the spring and often return to the same nests.

NESTING: Ospreys build large nests in a variety of locations, including the tops of Kate Slankard photo

LENGTH: 21 to 26 inches WINGSPAN: 59 to 67 inches WEIGHT: 2.2 to 3.9 pounds HABITAT: Near water APPEARANCE: Ospreys are sometimes mistaken for bald eagles because both are large-bodied raptors with white heads and impressive wingspans. Ospreys feature a narrow band of brown that extends through their piercing yellow eyes. Adult ospreys are brown on top and mostly white on the underside of their bodies, although the female may include some dark streaks on the breast. Ospreys have a black, hooked bill and blueish gray to greenish white feet with black talons.

DIET: An osprey’s diet consists almost exclusively of live fish and its angling skills are

John Williams photos

trees, dead snags, bridges, transmission towers, duck blinds and navigational channel markers. Nests are mostly made of many sticks and lined with softer material like bark, grasses and vine.

Ospreys have been known to incorporate man-made objects in their nests. Author John Steinbeck noted such behavior in his essay, “My War with the Ospreys.”

“For in the nest I had found…my bamboo garden rake, three T-shirts belonging to my boys and a Plaza Hotel bath towel,” he wrote. “Apparently nothing was too unusual for the ospreys to steal for their nest building.”

BREEDING: In Kentucky, nesting can occur from late March into July. Ospreys typically lay two to three eggs – each about the size of a large chicken egg – in March and April. Incubation is roughly 35 days.

Nestlings feature a white stripe down the backs of their necks which gives the appearance of a stick laying in the nest.

Chicks fledge once they reach 51 to 59 days old.

SOURCES: “A Field Guide to the Birds’ Nests: United States east of the Mississippi River”; “A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds”; “2014 Osprey Update,” Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources; “Audubon Wildlife Report 1986”; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers technical report, July 1986.

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Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 13

14 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

Kevin Kelly photo

Steve Reynolds with a muskie from Cave Run Lake, a top pick in the east.

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Chance of fun: 100 percent

By Lee McClellan

A

‌nglers in Kentucky are spoiled. That’s because the state has so many places to go for trophy fish across a broad spectrum of species.

Few states have world-class muskellunge fisheries plus three lakes on Bassmaster’s list of top 100 best bass lakes in the United States. Kentucky also has small lakes with big redear sunfish and huge reservoirs with giant crappie.

The annual Fishing Forecast produced by the Fisheries Division of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources documents the best places to go for a particular species. It’s a road map to great fishing for anglers.

“I compile the Fishing Forecast and from what I’ve seen, it should be a great fishing year in Kentucky,” said Jeff Ross, assistant director of fisheries for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “The fish populations are thriving and similar to last year. A more stable spring should really kick things off to a great fishing year.”

A printable version of the forecast is available on the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website at fw.ky.gov. For this article, several department fisheries biologists expanded their views of fishing opportunities in their districts this year.

West Catfish Sometimes anglers actually have difficulty avoiding the hordes of fat channel catfish in Kentucky Lake.

“I caught a 10-pound channel cat while bluegill fishing Kentucky Lake,” said Fisheries Director Ron Brooks. “That is how good the channel catfish are in the lake. I

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fish in the embayments. By midsummer, people get on the river channels and catch blues.”

Rister said anglers fishing from the bank catch many channels in the embayments by fishing night crawlers on the bottom.

“In May, catalpa worms are great channel catfish bait, if you know of any catalpa trees,” Rister said. Cut Obie Williams photo Kentucky and Barkley lakes are top picks in the west bait made with skipjack herfor large catfish. Josh Nelson (below) is a happy ring, shad or chicken livers angler after catching this 10-pound channel catfish all score on channel cats as in Kentucky Lake. well.

As the days lengthen and the water warms to summer temperatures, Rister fishes the flats next to the river channel for blue catfish.

“I like some generation from 25,000 to 30,000 cubic feet per second flowing through Kentucky Dam,” he said.

“They usually don’t pull that much water at Barkley.”

Rister bottom fishes with a double hook setup and a 2-ounce weight right on the channel drop. “I use Photo submitted two weights of 2 ounces if was fishing a red worm about 3 feet under a the current is strong,” he said. “I’ve caught bobber. I’ve heard many reports of bluegill them on cheese bait, cut skipjack herring or redear sunfish anglers catching big chan- and night crawlers. I occasionally catch nel catfish.” channels and flatheads as well.”

Fishing for channel catfish peaks from Since Kentucky Dam pulls more water April through June at Kentucky Lake and than Barkley Dam, current moves through Lake Barkley. the canal connecting the lakes. “Fish the ca“We are overloaded with channel and nal on the Barkley side when they are pullblue catfish in both lakes,” said Western ing Kentucky Lake hard,” Rister said. “CatFisheries District Biologist Paul Rister. “The fish stack up there.” catfish are just consistent. In late spring and Another top location for channel catfish early summer, anglers target channel cat- is Lake Beshear, a 760-acre lake in Caldwell Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 15

and Christian counties. “We’ve been playing around with stocking rates and we are starting to see much better growth of channel catfish in Lake Beshear,” Rister said. “The stocked blue cats are growing well, with some over 5 pounds already.”

Crappie Kentucky Lake is known for its crappie fishing, but Rister said the growth is slightly better at Barkley Lake to the east.

Fishing will improve at both lakes in the coming years as strong spawns in 2013 and 2014 powers the crappie population in the

lake. “We have a lot of really big fish, then kind of a lull, and then many 7- to 9-inch crappie from those good year classes,” Rister said. “We have quite a few crappie in the 12to 14-inch range and larger.”

The number of trees, brush and other habitat placed in the lake by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife employees over the past few years will benefit crappie anglers. These fish attractors are mapped in detail at the department’s website at fw.ky.gov.

Suspending a minnow underneath a bobber, then tossing it over pallet stacks, stake beds and other fish attractors will

draw strikes from white crappie. Probing these structures with red and chartreuse, 1-inch tube baits also will draw strikes.

For large black crappie, try casting the pea gravel banks on the west side of Lake Barkley. Use a lime green, 2-inch curlytailed grub rigged on 1/8-ounce red jig. A chartreuse Road Runner-style spinnerbait in the same weight also works for black crappie in these areas. Another successful technique includes drifting Road Runner lures over channel drops in the embayments.

South Central

Lake Barkley boasts some of the best crappie fishing in the country, as Elmer Stallins can attest with his 3-pound, 8-ounce crappie.

Photo submitted

16 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

Smallmouth bass Dale Hollow Lake consistently produces smallmouth bass in the 3- to 5-pound range. While Tennessee claims most of the lake, there still remains 6,600 acres of water in Kentucky – plenty of room for anglers with just a resident Kentucky fishing license to explore.

Weedbeds are the key to finding the lake’s smallmouth bass practically yearround. Sulphur Creek holds expansive weed beds, as does Pusley Creek, Hendricks Creek and Fanny’s Creek. The Wolf River arm of the lake holds large weedbeds near Jenks Branch and Upchurch Branch.

Drift live shiners over these weedbeds in early spring. Anglers who work 3-inch, pearl and chartreuse boot-tailed grubs or shad-colored swim baits over this structure can pick up fish. As the water warms, work the weedbeds with red and orange, medium-depth crankbaits. Smallmouth bass often strike after ripping the crankbait free from the weeds.

Points near the Wolf River channel on State Line (also known as Boys) Island, Cactus Island and near Phillips Bend make great spots to crawl a 1/2-ounce football jig in the soft craw color. Fish this jig along the bottom from late winter through early summer. In spring, these points are good spots to fish the bottom with live shiners, alewives or shad.

Walleye Lake Cumberland should be your desti-

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Photo submitted

nation if you’re after eating size walleye that range from 2 to 3 pounds.

Southeastern Fisheries District Biologist John Williams recommends the upper lake in spring, with a focus on Fishing Creek and White Oak Creek.

Drag bottom bouncing lures tipped with minnows along the sloping banks between Fishing Creek Recreation area and Potato Knoll in the Fishing Creek arm to catch walleye. The islands on the east side of White Oak Creek are also hotspots.

“From late summer through fall, fish from Jamestown down to the dam,” Williams said. Williams, an avid walleye angler on Lake Cumberland and Laurel River Lake, slowly trolls crankbaits such as the Reef Runner across points in the lower reaches of Beaver and Otter creeks.

He also drags bouncers tipped with night crawlers on the main lake flats adjacent to the submerged Cumberland River channel that once flowed around Low Gap Island near Jamestown in summer.

Muskellunge The Barren River from the dam at Bar-

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John Reiners caught this trophy smallmouth bass from the waters of Dale Hollow Lake. ren River Lake downstream to Lock and Dam 1 at Greencastle is an overlooked and bountiful muskellunge fishery, said David Baker, a fisheries biologist who has fished the river regularly since childhood.

“We see them regularly over 40 inches in Barren River,” he said. “It is stocked every year and has a great muskellunge population.”

Baker saw for himself how good the river could be while conducting population sampling as part of his job. Sampling involves applying electrical current to the water so stunned fish will float to the surface.

On one particular day, three huge muskellunge rolled to the top.

“It made me shake when they came up,” he said. “All were 48-inch fish at least and one had an 11-inch river redhorse in its mouth.”

Based on his work and fishing experience, Baker recommends the mouths of

creeks and eddies behind islands as muskellunge hot spots.

Barren River muskellunge will strike 10-inch, curly-tailed grubs. Anglers should try these in pearl or motor-oil and gold flake colors. “Some anglers throw big bass spinnerbaits with a large grub for a trailer or in-line spinners dressed with squirrel tails,” Baker added.

North Central Largemouth Bass Herrington Lake is a largemouth bass factory. Its fertile waters power a strong forage base of shad – and the largemouth bass flourish as a result.

“Herrington is a productive system with excellent growth rates,” said Central Fisheries District Biologist Jeff Crosby. “The largemouth bass are growing like mad. It is Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 17

Right: Fisheries employees drop stake buckets into Cave Run Lake for fish habitat. Below: Pallets, culvert pipe and concrete blocks also formed new fish habitat in the lake.

Kevin Kelly photo

Habitat projects grow better fishing opportunities Mike Hardin photo

a great fishery with many 12- to 15-inch keeper-sized fish and some really big fish in there as well.”

Herrington is an anomaly in central Kentucky; most of the lake is a canyonlike, reminiscent of western reservoirs with steep sides and deep water. Such topography makes for challenging bass fishing. Crosby recommends avoiding the lake when the water is high. Low water conditions make for the best fishing in several ways.

“The lake is better for fishing at normal pool to somewhat low levels,” he said. “The outside bends in the lake collect woody debris during high water. When the lake goes down, the woody debris sinks and piles up in areas where there are cuts in the banks.

This makes fantastic largemouth habitat.”

Fishing a jig right down the middle of these cuts can produce bass. Remember to keep the jig light enough that it falls slowly into the strike zone. A medium-running, shad-colored crankbait fished parallel to the cut also draws strikes.

“I like the midlake area of the lake best,” Crosby said. “The areas behind Gwinn Island – such as Mocks Branch and Spears Creek, as well as around Dunn Island – are all good places for bass on Herrington.”

Crosby also sees largemouth bass in the back of creeks when the lake is at normal

18 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is increasing its efforts to place fish habitat in lakes across the state to improve fishing.

“We have a whole new habitat section in the Fisheries Division,” said Jeff Ross, assistant director of fisheries for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “They will focus on large scale habitat projects across Kentucky.”

Crews with the fisheries division have already placed habitat in many of the smaller lakes owned or managed by the department. “Along with working on the smaller lakes, we’ve concentrated on Cave Run Lake,” Ross said. “Now, we are concentrating more on the large lakes.”

Habitat projects for fish include pallet stacks, discarded Christmas trees, logs, stumps, brush piles, stake beds, rock reefs and hinge cut trees along shoreline. Anglers may find the location of these fish attractors online at fw.ky.gov by typing the words “fish attractors” in the search bar.

“Technology allows us to provide habitat locations and types by using your phone or a computer to access the Web page and physically mark a map,” Ross said. “You can also download them to your boat’s electronics and the habitat locations appear on your depth finder screen.” pool or lower. These are good areas to fish during spring and into early summer. Some of his favorite areas include Tanyard Branch and McKecknie Branch, in addition to Mocks Branch and Spears Creek.

Once summer sets in, Herrington becomes a night lake for bass: target fish with 10-inch, ribbon-tailed worms fished slowly down points. Junebug is a good color to try.

Crosby recommends Cane Run and Rocky Branch, located near the dam, as productive night fishing spots.

Owen County’s Elmer Davis Lake, which has a 12-15 inch slot limit for large-

mouth bass, is another top pick. “There are some nice fish to be caught with an increase in quality,” Crosby said. “We have a lot more quality fish in the slot and above the slot with some trophy bass in the mix.”

The Fisheries Division has been building up the lake’s fish habitat over the past few years by sinking pallet stacks, Christmas trees and stake beds into the water. Maps indicating the location of these structures are on the department’s website at fw.ky.gov.

Swim a 4-inch chartreuse and white soft plastic swim bait over these fish attractors for bass. A wacky-rigged, 5-inch soft

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plastic stickbait fluttered into these structures also produces strikes. Green pumpkin is a good color to fish. Crosby also suggests the old school, black and blue jig and trailer combination.

Sunfish Recent fish population surveys at Beaver Lake in Anderson County reveal a growing population of big bluegill. “We saw 253 bluegill 6 inches and longer per hour in 2014, and 212 per hour last year,” Crosby said. “The highest we ever saw before 2014 was 152 per hour.”

Many Beaver Lake bluegill exceed 8 inches, a perfect size for the skillet. Bluegill readily strike red worms or chunks of night crawler impaled on No. 8 Aberdeen hook and suspended under a bobber.

“Fish the water willow beds, docks and the beaver lodges,” Crosby said. “The water around beaver lodges is loaded with bluegill. Go to the website and see where we put habitat.”

McNeely Lake, a 51-acre lake in Jefferson County, has excellent numbers of redear sunfish, commonly called shellcrackers, exceeding 10 inches. “They are phenomenal in McNeely in my opinion,” Crosby said. “We had some of our highest catch rates of redear 10 inches and longer.”

Crosby recommends fishing near the weedbeds with a feather jig tipped with a wax worm. Anglers can either cast the bait or suspending it underneath a bobber.

East Muskellunge Cave Run Lake near Morehead cranks out huge muskellunge with regularity, earning it the distinction of being one of the best muskie lakes in the Upper South.

“The first place to look in early spring is the shallow mud flats,” said Assistant Director of Fisheries Mike Hardin. “When we electro-fish for muskellunge, we see fish on the mud flats, often in stained water. Large rattlebaits work well in stained water.”

Mud flats usually have weedbeds on them as well and both are potent draws for Cave Run muskellunge. Hardin, who has chased the lake’s muskellunge since adoles-

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Laurel River Lake is a top choice for people wanting to catch 3-4 pound walleye.

Lyndsey Williams photo

cence, recommends Scott’s Creek, Beaver Creek and the Zilpo Flats region to begin prospecting in spring.

Working a large jerkbait over the weedbeds draws strikes, as does an in-line spinner.

Hardin has noticed that anglers now troll shallow crankbaits in spring much closer to the bank than they used to do.

However, by the end of May, Hardin recommends trolling a more traditional, deeper running muskellunge crankbait such as a Hellbender or Believer over channel breaks near these flats.

Smallmouth bass Some anglers who chase trophy smallmouth bass will pick Laurel River Lake over the more famous Dale Hollow Lake to the west. Williams, the district’s fisheries biologist, said he rarely sees a skinny smallmouth bass in the lake. That’s because the forage base of shad and introduced alewives keeps the bass fat and healthy.

Laurel Lake, with its deep, clear water, is a tough lake to fish. Anglers should probe the water column over long points that extend well out into the lake with 3-inch, white boot-tailed grubs or small shad-colored swimbaits. Ripping blade baits like the Silver Buddy off the bottom near the dam is also a good technique for catching Laurel’s smallmouth in spring.

Walleye Laurel River Lake is also stuffed with walleye in the 3- to 4-pound range. Anglers

might tie into one much bigger as well. “If you want to catch a walleye over 5 pounds, Laurel is a better choice than Cumberland,” Williams said.

In spring, probe the edges of timbered coves near the dam at night with surface lures. As the water warms, troll crankbaits in the firetiger or sexy shad color over submerged humps, or across points in the mouths of Spruce and Rogers creeks.

Carr Creek Lake covers 710 acres in Knott County and has one of the best walleye populations in the state. Many walleye measuring from 15 to 26 inches are found here. A 26-inch walleye weighs roughly 6 pounds.

Spring through early summer is the best time for walleye fishing on Carr Creek.

When fish are shallow in spring, cast the banks for walleye with medium-running firetiger crankbaits or live night crawlers. As the water warms, switch to fishing at night with live shad or jigging spoons worked underneath floating lights.

The lake’s water temperature stratifies in summer. The thermocline, or break between the warmer and colder water levels, usually sets up between 17 to 20 feet deep.

Trolling weight-forward Erie Dearie style rigs tipped with night crawlers just above the thermocline produces fish.

The Carr Creek tailwater offers excellent access and fishing, too. Try suspending jerkbaits in the clown color for these fish.

Hit the water this spring and summer and enjoy tempting some of Kentucky’s best fish to strike your offering. n Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 19

NATURE NOTEBOOK

Northern Hog Sucker The vacuum cleaners of stream ecosystems Story by Stephanie Brandt and Matt Thomas Illustrations by Rick Hill

The northern hog sucker (Hypentelium nigricans) is a member of the sucker family (Catostomidae). It is an oddly beautiful fish with a large, squareshaped head, fleshy lips and camouflaged body. People call it a variety of names, including boxhead, hognose sucker, riffle sucker and hogmolly.

The species is common and numerous in clear, upland streams and rivers throughout most of Kentucky. Hog suckers can grow up to 24 inches long and weigh up to 4 pounds. They live up to 11 years.

Hog suckers are indicators of good water quality and an important part of the stream ecosystem. They serve as hosts for freshwater mussels such as the Elktoe. The microscopic larvae (glochidia) of the Elktoe use tiny hooks to attach to the gills, body or fins of the hog sucker. The glochidia stay attached until they grow into juvenile mussels. After several weeks the juvenile mussels drop to the stream bottom, where they grow to adulthood.

Hog suckers have a large head and a slender, torpedo-shaped body. Their coloration includes dark blotches on the side and four dark saddles across the back. Their alternating black and brown color helps them blend into the multicolored rock and gravel of stream beds.

20 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

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Hog suckers use their protruding mouth like a vacuum cleaner as they feed. They stir up the bottom as they aggressively push and overturn small stones in their search for aquatic insects, small invertebrates and plant debris buried in the stream bottom. Other fish follow these foraging hog suckers to consume food items that drift downstream after the bottom is disturbed.

Elktoe mussel

Hog suckers also have a reduced swim bladder which helps keep them on the bottom of a stream. This makes it well adapted to swift flowing rapids, riffles and runs of streams and rivers.

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Spawning occurs in spring over shallow gravel areas when water temperatures reach 59 degrees. Males congregate over the gravel and aggressively court females. The intense spawning activity can create small depressions on the bottom of the stream.

These bowls serve as nests for eggs that settle to the stream bottom. Spawning can occur in water as shallow as 3-4 inches, with the backs of males breaking the surface of the water.

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 21

Rick Hill photo

Veteran outdoorsman Chad Miles takes the reins

By Lee McClellan

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“Kentucky Afield” Television’s

New Host Obie Williams photo

22 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

s a kid growing up in Bullitt County, Chad Miles often crafted his own bows from kite string and saplings.

“We would cut down saplings, bend them and tie kite string to each end,” he said. “We would wrap electrical tape around the middle for a handle. We would shoot sticks and twigs, but sometimes we would shoot normal, store-bought arrows. We did this all the time when we were kids.”

He’s come a long way since then. Recently Miles was named successor to Tim Farmer as host of “Kentucky Afield” television. His first episode aired April 2.

Miles has eight years with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, previously serving as executive director of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation. “Being with the Foundation al-

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The hard fighting smallmouth bass he hooked in Floyd’s Fork ignited a fever that hasn’t cooled. He is one of the most passionate smallmouth bass anglers you’ll meet. lowed me a close-up look of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife and how things work,” he said.

“I was shocked at the reach of the department, such as the Information and Education Division, and all the work the department does with non-game species and habitat,” he continued. “I thought it was just rules and regulations, size limits and hunting seasons. Until you work with the department intimately, it is hard to understand all we do.”

Miles, who grew up near the Salt River and its tributary, Floyd’s Fork, began fishing at an early age. “I was extremely lucky that I was within walking distance of a place to fish,” he said. “I still have a deep love for river systems. So many species, you never know what you will catch. Everything changes with the seasons on rivers.”

Miles spent his days catching largemouth bass, bluegill, spotted bass and freshwater drum – locals referred to this fish as white perch – from the nearby waters.

But, the hard fighting smallmouth bass he hooked in Floyd’s Fork ignited a fever that hasn’t cooled. He is one of the most passionate smallmouth bass anglers you’ll meet.

He knows all the nooks and crannies of Dale Hollow Lake and spends as many days on the lake pursuing what Billy Westmoreland called “them old brown fish” as family obligations will allow.

It’s not unusual for Miles to bring a smallmouth weighing at least 4 pounds to the boat practically every time he fishes the lake from fall through late spring. “I love Dale Hollow,” he said. “I love the challenge of catching wary smallmouth bass in reservoirs.”

Nolin River Lake in west-central Kentucky holds a special place in his heart, as well.

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Kevin Kelly photo

“I spent summers at my grandmother’s house at Nolin River Lake,” he said. “My grandparents bought a house at Nolin just before they built the reservoir. My birthday is July 3 and I spent all of them at the lake. All my birthday presents revolved around fishing.”

Rabbit hunting is another pastime Miles enjoyed with his family. He spent many days walking with his dad behind a pack of beagles, carrying his 20-gauge Remington 870 Wingmaster LW Magnum.

“We hunted rabbits in central Kentucky, Hart County and at Peabody WMA,” he said. “We would even flush a covey of quail every once in a while.”

Making bows with saplings and kite string as a youth sparked his current addiction to archery hunting. “I started shooting archery at a young age,” he said. “My first bow was a 45-pound pull Darton, the old kind with brackets and cams. I took my first deer with it.”

While living in Indianapolis for two years, he and his brother would set up camp and bow hunt near Carrollton. “We did it one weekend in September and as much as we could otherwise,” he said.

His enthusiasm for the outdoors will translate well into

Chad Miles fishes with former Miss Kentucky Ramsey Carpenter for a Kentucky Afield magazine shoot. his new hosting role. Miles doesn’t plan to change too much of what is already a winning formula. “After studying the show, ‘Kentucky Afield’ was not about the host,” he said. “It was about normal, everyday people enjoying the outdoors. It was not about watching the host hunt and fish.”

Miles hopes to keep “Kentucky Afield” relevant to the seasons and time of year. “I want the show to always be something that inspires and shows that hunting and fishing are socially acceptable and not intimidating,” he said. “We are going to tell exactly what is going on in the woods and on the water.”

He also plans to showcase more women and minorities on the show. “One of the fastest growing segments of hunters and anglers are women,” he said. “We need to be open to new people getting on board.”

Miles is proud to be a Kentuckian. “It is the most beautiful state, with an enormous amount of water and the eastern mountains along with bountiful resources,” he said. “I love Kentucky. Every day on the road for the show, I will get to experience something beautiful about Kentucky.”

He is living his dream. n Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 23

One hunter’s recipe for spring turkey season success

By Steve Beam

Going Public 24 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

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Photo © Tes Randle Jolly

L

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OTS OF HUNTERS say they don’t, or won’t, hunt public land.

While I have been fortunate to have access to some really good private ground, I hunt public land part of every season. There is just something I really enjoy about being able to walk and walk and walk.

Most of the private land that I have hunted could be covered in a single morning. Not so with public areas.

For most of my adult life, I have lived within an easy drive of the Daniel Boone National Forest. It’s a place you can hunt all season and never cover the same real estate twice. Some places are better than others, but I have found turkeys wherever I have gone on the Daniel Boone. I also have had success on the public hunting areas managed by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

It was on public land that I cut my turkey hunting teeth, and where last year I experienced an amazing spring hunt with my dad.

After being pinned down for almost two hours, the gobblers moved across the ridge and it sounded like they were heading off the end of the point. We dashed to the top of the ridge and our only hope was to call them back up the point.

We had experienced an amazing show with an unbelievable amount of gobbling.

For reasons known only to them, all the birds had come toward our calling and then gone around us to the top of the ridge. From the sound of things, the boss gobbler and his hens had moved on, but two gobblers remained to strut back and forth above us and gobble and drum incessantly. No amount of coaxing could entice them down to the bench where we were set up.

One of the gobblers did come to 42 yards. Extensive patterning work had proven my shotgun capable of the shot, but the early spring green-up made the woods just too thick. Shooting at a patterning board in the wide-open and at a turkey in the woods are two different things.

We hastily created a new setup overlooking a small pine flat. A gobble followed my first series of yelps, and when I cut back in response, both gobblers let loose. I yelped softly again a couple of minutes later and the response sounded closer. The birds gobbled on their own moments later, and there was no doubt. They were coming! My dad was sitting

Steve Beam photo

to my left. “Get ready,” I whispered to him.

It was mere seconds before a blazing red head appeared from behind a tree almost in range. Soon, a second head appeared – blue capped with white. In the slight shadow of the pines, it glowed. I never cease to be amazed at how bright an excited gobbler’s head appears in the spring woods. Both birds were coming closer, one strutting and the other watching.

When they were well within easy shooting range, dad took the first one. The second bird was temporarily confused and that gave me time to complete the double.

I’ve lost count of the turkeys that my dad and I have taken while hunting together. We doubled on jakes once and hens one fall, but this was a first for us with longbeards. As we sat there admiring our birds, I thought about how two gobblers willing to gobble and strut for two hours but not come to our locations came straight to the call in a matter of minutes when we found a place where they wanted to be.

During the hour-long, cross-country walk back to the truck, I reflected on our good fortune. This made three birds for the season from this small, tucked away corner of the same wildlife management area. Anyone with a license, a turkey permit and the willingness to walk could hunt this same spot.

When looking for a piece of public land I prefer: • Places far off the beaten path: Those that if you leave your vehicle and walk an hour in the dark, you leave most people behind you. There are lots of ambitious turkey hunters, and there’s always a chance you might run into someone 2 miles from a parking lot, but there are certainly fewer hunters than near roads.

• Overlooked spots: This may be the first U.S. Forest Service gate that you come

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 25

to after you leave a main road, or a non-descript old logging road that provides a quiet walk out a long ridge. It could also be a place where you have to work to get across a creek.

• Small tracts of public land near larger blocks: I occasionally hunt a small tract of the Daniel Boone National Forest that is near thousands and thousands of other U.S. Forest Service acres. Few people will hit the small area; most just drive on to the bigger tract of ground.

• A roadless area: I think these are the absolute best places. If you walk an hour, you cut out lots of other hunters. If you walk all or part of that distance off a road or trail, you cut out most everyone.

The key to public land success is scouting. Spend as much time as you can listening and hiking in your hunting areas before the season. Hearing birds gobble in the morning and figuring out where they go after flying down will put lots of birds in the bag come opening weekend. You really can’t know too much about your turkeys.

I know a few people who hunt the Daniel Boone National Forest almost exclusively.

Because of where they live and work, they can stop and listen at key spots on their way to work each morning. They do this almost daily for two or three weeks before the season and have lots of birds located by opening week.

Finding multiple birds or locations is important. No matter how early you get up, you might arrive at that wildlife management area (WMA) parking lot or forest service gate and find someone already there.

It’s important to be able to go to your second or third spot.

With areas far from the pavement, you may not be able to hear birds gobbling from the road, so scouting and looking for sign is critical.

The spot where my dad and I had success last year is a place I can’t listen to from the road. I walked through the area before the season and the amount of scratching and feeding sign alone told me that it was holding lots of birds. I also look for strut marks in old dirt roads or dusting areas. These are good indicators of where birds loaf in the midmorning or afternoon hours.

Hearing turkeys gobble, listening to the spring woods wake up, looking for mushrooms and enjoying wildflowers is not a bad way to spend a few spring mornings even if you aren’t carrying a shotgun and hunting a

gobbler.

Because lots of other people are out scouting and enjoying the spring woods, it is a good time to scout other hunters, too.

Is there a forest service gate that always has someone parked there on Saturday mornings before the season? You can bet someone will be there on opening day.

Take the time to find a place where the turkeys are and the people aren’t.

An important part of hunting public land is understanding others have just as much of a right to spot as you. When you make it to your pull-off in the morning it might be frustrating that someone is already there and hiking out “your ridge” to hunt the

Safety on Public Land Keep your public land hunt a safe one with these basic tips: Sit with your back against a tree at least as wide as your shoulders, and make sure you can see at least 80 yards past your decoys. Don’t wear any red, blue or white, or carry any soft drinks or snacks with these colors. Consider taking along a spare blaze orange cap – and wear it if you’re carrying out a turkey or leaving the field for the day.

Obie Williams photo

26 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

fw.ky.gov

Steve Beam photo

Left: Wildlife Director Steve Beam and his father, Steve Beam Sr., found success while turkey hunting public land last year. turkey you so carefully scouted.

This is a case where the golden rule goes a long way.

Photo courtesy Steve Beam The best thing to do is to move on to one of your back-up spots.

On the hunt mentioned earlier, we arrived at the WMA parking lot at the same time as another hunter. There are plenty of places to access from that parking area, so I went up to him and asked which direction he was planning to strike out. He was already planning to go in the opposite direction from where I wanted to go.

I knew the area well enough that if he had been heading that way, I would have happily gone the other direction. I had been on birds in previous springs where he was planning to go.

Occasionally, public land hunters go after the same bird and mess each other up.

If this happens to you, just take it in stride and move on. It may be hard to believe, but

I have actually been foiled by other hunters more often on private property over the years than on public land. Part of this is because I don’t always have exclusive access on farms that I hunt and because of a few disrespectful trespassers.

If you happen upon a hunter in the woods, safely get his or her attention. If you are both walking, enjoy meeting another like-minded individual. Or, if the hunter is set up on a bird, respectfully head out and find another one. That is the safe thing to do, and the right thing to do.

Another excellent strategy for public land hunting is to choose off-peak times. Did you hunt grandma’s small farm on opening weekend and shoot the only gobbler you heard on the

place? Then stretch your legs on some public land later in the week. Do you have the flexibility to hunt mornings during the middle of the week? There will be fewer hunters out on public areas at that time.

Remember that forest service spot where someone always seems to be hunting in the mornings? Well, the gobblers are still there in the afternoon, and if you hit it right, an evening hunt can be just as exciting as a morning hunt. Do you only have one week of vacation? Consider taking off the second week instead of the first.

While I love hunting the first weeks, I’ve found that hunting later in the season can be just as good – because more hens are on the nest.

I have been fortunate to live within driving distance of thousands of acres of public hunting areas. If you are in a part of the state where such expansive public land doesn’t exist, consider making a trip.

Take the family for a camping trip while the kids are on spring break and get up each morning and scout a likely turkey hunting spot. Then, come back during turkey season and give those places a try. Who knows? The family may want to come back with you. n

Public Hunting Areas in Kentucky Kentucky has thousands of acres of public land available for hunting.

Go online to fw.ky.gov and click on “maps” for more information about these areas.

Adrienne Yancy illustration

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Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 27

ew Eagle Scout projects have the potential to change the trajectory of a species in the wild, but Daniel Mills’ project just might. Mills, of Troop 37 in Lawrenceburg, built as his project what looks like an upside down concrete bowl with a drain in the center.

It’s called a mussel silo, and it is a key component of ongoing research to determine why Kentucky’s mussel populations have plummeted.

“The Boy Scouts came to me wanting a project and I put them on this one,” said Monte McGregor, mussel biologist for the Kentucky Homemade Department of silos like Fish and Wildthis help life Resources. “I protect told them building research these mussel silos mussels. would be a really good – but hard – project. I let them incorporate some of their own thoughts about constructing these silos. Daniel and his dad had some great ideas that helped us.”

A group of scouts helped sink several silos into Elkhorn Creek in Franklin County last summer. “I made 83 of them myself,” Mills said, “as well as the PVC insert that goes in them.”

Each silo is made of concrete with a plastic pipe insert that holds and protects juvenile mussels. The design allows water to flow through the pipe to deliver food to the mussels while the concrete’s heft holds them in place. The project, which started in 2015, is the beginning of a long-range project to investigate the disappearance of mussels from many Kentucky streams.

Wendell Haag, a Ph.D. fisheries research biologist for the U.S. Forest Service, is spearheading this study. “We picked 23 rivers across Kentucky – from Little River in Trigg County to Tygarts Creek in Greenup County – in which to place the mussel silos,” he said. “We chose a range of streams in terms of the health of the mussel fauna in the stream. Some still have relatively healthy mussel populations, some have lost their mussels altogether and some were in between.”

F

Boy scouts help prepare mussel silos for placement in the Elkhorn Creek, Franklin County.

28 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

Silos built by Eagle Scout part of search for answers • By Lee McClellan

Lee McClellan photo

fw.ky.gov

Researchers are still looking for an answer as to why Kentucky mussel numbers began declining in the 1960s and 1970s.

Today, many mussel species are endangered while others teeter close to extinction.

“Stream bottoms used to be paved with mussels, all filtering the water 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Haag. “Tens of thousands of mussels doing this filtering made a big, positive impact on water quality and many aspects of aquatic ecosystems.”

Mussels are important to the ecosystem because they eat algae, diatoms and bacteria, which mussels filter from the water.

To study the issue, Haag assembled a research team consisting of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Center for Mollusk Conservation, headed by McGregor, the Kentucky Division of Water and Kentucky State University graduate student Lesley Sneed. The team received crucial support and assistance from the staff of the Daniel Boone National Forest, the location of many of the study streams.

In June 2015, the team placed five silos containing 6-month-old plain pocketbook mussels, a common species in Kentucky, in each stream. Researchers retrieved the silos in September 2015.

Study sites overlapped areas where the Kentucky Division of Water conducts its long-term water quality monitoring. “This allowed us to relate our results to water quality and how that affects mussel survival and growth,” Haag said. “The Kentucky Division of Water is a key partner in this study.”

Initial results revealed great variation in mussel growth in the study streams.

Mussels grew best in the limestone-rich Bluegrass Region, at streams such as Eagle Creek in Owen County, the South Fork of Licking River, Slate Creek in Bath County along with the Beech Fork and Floyd’s Fork of Salt River.

“If you are an animal that makes a shell from calcium carbonate, then limestone is important because it is made up mainly of calcium carbonate,” Haag explained. “Bluegrass streams are naturally more productive in general than streams in the Appalachian region of Kentucky, which also have less limestone.”

Mussels did grow well in some streams outside of the Bluegrass region, including the Green River, Rockcastle River, South Fork of Kentucky River, the Little Barren River of south-central Kentucky and

fw.ky.gov

Wendell Haag photos

Streams with diminished water quality exhibit poor mussel growth (left) over a threemonth period, while mussels in healthier streams show good growth (right).

Lewis County’s Kinniconick Creek.

“Mussels in these streams didn’t get as large as those in the Bluegrass, but they appeared healthy and their growth is probably reflective of what these streams can support naturally,” Haag said.

However, in seven of the streams, mussels grew little or not at all. For example, mussels placed in Nolin River above Nolin River Lake saw the least amount of growth.

Natural mussel populations had already disappeared from the Nolin River before the study started.

The results may indicate serious problems with aquatic habitats, such as water quality. The team currently is analyzing Juveniles cling to the inside of the mussel silo’s plastic pipe insert. The mesh at the top allows water flow into the silo.

Lee McClellan photo

water quality data to determine if specific contaminants may be related to the lack of mussel growth. “These mussels literally are like the canary in a coal mine,” Haag said.

This summer, researchers will place mussel silos in three of the best study streams and three of the worst study streams for mussel growth in their continued search for the answers.

“There are new techniques that allow us to detect physiological abnormalities in wild animals,” according to Haag. “These techniques are similar to bloodwork used to identify problems with human health.

By measuring a large array of compounds in mussel tissues, a deficit or overabundance of a particular compound can point to specific health issues.”

Team biologists also plan to study whether other species of mussels react the same way as the plain pocketbook to environmental conditions. Their findings may help pave the way for restoration and stocking of mussels, using techniques pioneered

by McGregor and the Center for Mollusk Conservation.

“This is a new approach to see what is going on in these streams,” Haag said.

“In addition to discovering the reasons for mussel declines, mussel silos directly assess whether streams are capable of supporting mussel populations. For example, an impact that wiped out the mussel fauna 30 years ago may be gone. Nothing is going to tell us this like a live animal.”

Studies show streams with healthy mussel populations have greater numbers of insects and invertebrates. That translates to healthy fish populations.

“Anywhere there are big mussels,” McGregor said, “there are big fish.” n Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 29

Fish & Wildlife

OUt-

DOOR NEWS female

Rick Hill illustration

male (breeding)

Most minnows purchased in the bait shop are fathead minnows. They are widely used because they tolerate a range of environmental conditions, making them ideal fish bait.

Compiled by Kevin Kelly, Lee McClellan and Geoff Roberts

30 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

McCarty named manager of Salato Wildlife Education Center THE SALATO WILDLIFE Education Center in Frankfort reopened this season with a change, and this time it’s not an exhibit. Instead it’s a new manager, Brent McCarty.

The change comes after the death of former Salato manager Laurie Davison. “I hope that I can build upon the 15 years of leadership Laurie built before she passed, ” McCarty said.

The Salato Center, which is operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife

Resources, hosts some 60,000 visitors a year.

McCarty discovered his passion for public wildlife education through an internship with the American Eagle Foundation during college. Here he helped present bird of prey programs to thousands of visitors.

“Along with about 120 other raptors, we had an imprinted bald eagle named Challenger that flew during the national anthem at the Super Bowl and other major sporting events,”

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outdoor news audience.

“It was national hunting and fishing day and we were right there in the support building, garage door open, tarp laid down and a pulley system rigged to hold the deer.”

McCarty decided then that he wanted to come back and work for the Salato Center.

After graduating from college, McCarty worked as a seasonal at Salato before getting a job answering phones and emails at the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Information Center in 2008. An opening for conservation educator at Salato came up two years later and he got the job.

Now he runs Salato.

“I’m excited seeDave Baker photo ing the staff grow and work together as a team,” he said. “Some are resaid McCarty.

He was already enrolled in ceiving more advance trainthe wildlife management pro- ing that will allow us to have gram at Eastern Kentucky Uni- better programs, easier aniversity and decided to change mal care and overall improve his focus from becoming a biol- our animals’ quality of life.”

On McCarty’s to-do list ogist to becoming an educator.

One of his professors, Dr. is enhancing the center’s exRobert Fredrick, suggested Mc- isting elk exhibit. A restoraCarty shadow a former student, tion project started in 1997 Rebecca Smith, who was work- took Kentucky from no freeing as a conservation educator at ranging elk to the largest the Salato Center. “I remember herd east of the Mississippi walking in and seeing all the River today.

His plans include a birds hanging from the ceiling, and I just thought here’s a place boardwalk for the existing I can use my degree and follow elk enclosure so visitors can my passion for educating the better see the animals. McCarty wants all the exhibpublic,” said McCarty.

McCarty’s hands-on expe- its to grow or change, with rience at Salato included hold- the ultimate goal paying the ing a deer carcass while a bi- center’s operational costs ologist field dressed it before an through admission charges.

fw.ky.gov

Kentucky launches trophy bass breeding program LIKE WITH KENTUCKY’S world-class thoroughbreds, it is all about the genes. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources wants to pair up oversized largemouth bass to produce offspring that could reach their parents’ size.

It’s similar to how the state’s world-famous horse farms breed proven stallions to blue hen mares to produce Kentucky Derby winners.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife wants anglers to donate male largemouth bass 6 pounds and heavier and female largemouth bass 8 pounds and heavier they’ve caught from

I

Kentucky waters as part of its Trophy Bass Propagation Program. Fish hatcheries operated

by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will breed these fish and stock their offspring into Kentucky waters, including the waters from which their parents came.

Ron Brooks, director of fisheries for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, believes the Trophy Bass Propagation Program will eventually lead to longer and heavier largemouth bass for Kentucky anglers to enjoy.

Anglers may drop off these fish at participating bait shops for holding in aerated tanks until a Kentucky Fish and Wildlife employee picks up the bass for delivery to a fish hatchery.

Those who donate their trophy receive a free replica mount of their fish.

For a list of participating bait shops, visit the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Web page at fw.ky.gov and type “Trophy Bass Propagation Program” into the search function on the top right of the page.

David Baker photo

f you catch a big fish and want to release it back into the water, you’ll need to revive it first. Big fish only come to hand from sheer exhaustion. In flowing water, get the fish into gentle current and allow the gills to pump until it recovers. In still water, gently move the fish back and forth until its gills begin to move energetically and it swims away.

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 31

Wisconsin receives Kentucky elk for ongoing restoration effort A GROUP OF 39 elk trapped this winter in Kentucky is acclimating to new surroundings after being moved to Wisconsin in March as part of an ongoing partnership between that state and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Last year, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife agreed to provide Wisconsin with up to 150 elk over a three- to five-year trapping period for an elk restoration program led by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

In return, Wisconsin and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation agreed to provide financial assistance for forest habi-

tat projects benefitting grouse and other woodland species in eastern Kentucky. Wisconsin officials also agreed to supply grouse if requested.

“The additional funding allows our department to jumpstart an initiative focused on grouse,” said Gabe Jenkins, coordinator of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Deer and Elk Program. “A lot of the habitat work will be done in the elk zone.

Small game hunters are going to benefit and Kentucky’s elk will benefit from the habitat work that will be done for grouse.”

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff assisted Kentucky Fish and Wildlife

Elk Program staff this winter with trapping, disease testing and elk caretaking while the animals were quarantined in Kentucky. In Wisconsin, the elk will be quarantined within a 7-acre holding pen in the Black River State Forest near Black River Falls, Wisconsin until being released into the wild this summer. Twenty-three elk from Kentucky were released in the same area last year.

“If it wasn’t for other states giving us elk we wouldn’t have elk here in Kentucky,” Jenkins said. “This is how state agencies have always done business – from otters to bobcats to turkeys to fish. We’re paying it forward.”

Put some action in your spinnerbait SOME ANGLERS HAVE such little success with spinnerbaits that they feel like all they’re doing is casting and winding. The truth is, the secret to being an effective spinnerbait angler is the way that you’re casting and winding.

Too often, anglers make a cast and retrieve the lure at a constant speed. However, most of the time a bass bites your lure, it’s out of reaction rather than hunger. Bass can be persuaded into biting if you give your lure quick and erratic movements, change its speed or direction, and deflect it off cover.

You should be fishing your spinnerbait as close to visible

32 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

cover, bumping it off structure whenever possible. Don’t be afraid to bang it off stumps, logs and laydowns, rip it violently from aquatic vegetation, or pop it by pumping your rod up and down during your retrieve. Changes in speed and direction cause the lure’s skirt to flare and the blades to flash brilliantly.

This will grab the

Eddie Roberts photo

Dave Baker photo

Top Public Lands By 2015 Spring Turkey Harvest 584

Daniel Boone National Forest

153 80

Peabody WMA Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area

57

Green River Lake WMA

45

Lake Cumberland WMA

39 33

Clay WMA

27

Pennyrile State Forest

25 25

Beaver Creek WMA

Taylorsville Lake WMA

Grayson Lake WMA

attention of nearby bass. You should also make the most of conditions that favor the spinnerbait. Overcast, cloudy, or windy days are more ideal for this technique than bright, calm days.

The next time you fish a spinnerbait, entice the bass by giving the lure some extra movement. You’ll be on your way to becoming a more effective spinnerbait angler.

fw.ky.gov

outdoor news

New FINs lake added at Kentucky Horse Park CENTRAL KENTUCKY ANGLERS now have a new place to fish as 5.6-acre Rolex Lake at the Kentucky Horse Park is now enrolled in the Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) program.

This lake received stockings of rainbow trout in March and will get 2,500 trout in November. Rolex Lake also received 1,100 channel catfish in both March and April and is slated for the same stocking amount in May and August. The stocked catfish weigh about 1 pound each.

Anglers who want to fish

Rolex Lake don’t have to pay the entrance fee to the Kentucky Horse Park, but must pay a $5 parking free Angler Carson Kelly enjoyed from March 1 a day of fishing at Kentucky’s through Nov. 1. newest FINs lake.

Parking is free outside of these dates, except during special trout permit may keep five trout a day. Anglers also may keep events.

The lakes in the FINs pro- four catfish and 15 sunfish a day. gram have more restrictive reg- There is no size limit on trout, ulations due to higher fishing catfish or sunfish in a FINs lake. pressure. Anglers with a valid Anglers may keep one large-

Woods and Water Law Quiz Test your knowledge of Kentucky’s hunting and fishing laws. Do you know the answers to the following questions?

1. Your favorite lake has a 12-15 inch slot limit on largemouth bass. The statewide minimum size limit for largemouth bass is 12 inches. Can you keep a 10-inch bass that you caught from your favorite lake?

2. Can you hunt squirrels from a canoe while floating a stream during the spring squirrel season?

3. Do you need a hunting license to shoot fish with a bow?

4. Your grandchildren are coming to visit your farm and want to fish in your pond. Do they need a fishing license? (answers on page 34)

fw.ky.gov

Kevin Kelly photo

mouth bass per day, but it must be 15 inches or longer.

All anglers, unless license exempt, must have a valid Kentucky fishing license to fish in a FINs lake.

Chronic Wasting Disease confirmed in Arkansas ARKANSAS BECAME THE latest state with confirmed cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) after a hunter-harvested elk tested positive for the fatal neurological disease in February. Additional cases in whitetailed deer have been confirmed through targeted sampling and culling in the weeks following the first confirmation in an elk.

CWD affects deer, elk and other members of the cervid family native to North America.

There is no evidence that it can be transmitted to humans. The addition of Arkansas raises the total of CWD-infected states to 24 and two Canadian provinces.

CWD has not been de-

tected in Kentucky. Since 2002, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has tested more than 25,000 deer and elk for the disease. All results have come back negative.

Hunters are reminded they may not bring a deer, elk or other cervids harvested from CWD-positive states or provinces into Kentucky unless the brain and spinal column have been removed first. Deboned meat, hindquarters, antlers, antlers attached to a clean skull plate, a clean skull, clean teeth, hides with no head attached and finished taxidermy products are allowable parts from CWDinfected areas.

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 33

NASP tournaments crown state champions

THE TOP ELEMENTARY, middle and high school archers in Kentucky showcased their skills during the first National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) individual state tournament held March 26 at the CROSS Center at Forks of Elkhorn Baptist Church near Midway.

“We started with almost 12,000 archers at our regional

competition.

Sanchez, 15, won the boys’ overall title by shooting a 297 with 27 tens.

“I’ve shot 297 in practice but never in a tournament,” he said. “I knew I could do it. I just had to shoot well.”

Mayes shot a personal best 296 with 26 tens to win the girls’ overall title.

The 17-year-old has proven to be a quick study considering this is only her second year shooting a bow.

“There were a lot of Kevin Kelly photo nerves,” she said. “I just tournaments and narrowed the kept them under control and I field,” said Patrick O’Connell, didn’t really think about them state archery coordinator for the too much.”

Kentucky Department of Fish In past years, archers comand Wildlife Resources. “These peted for the individual crowns kids are the best that the Blue- as part of the state NASP tourgrass state has to offer.” nament. There were several Hopkins County Cen- factors that led to holding to tral freshman T Sanchez and Muhlenberg County junior Amber Mayes emerged as the best of the best by the end of the

Record bear qualifies as Boone and Crockett Club trophy THE STATE RECORD black bear taken this past December in Harlan County added another distinction in February.

Jim McKenzie took the 500-pound bear while hunting on opening morning of the 2015 December firearms season. Now it stands as the first Boone and Crockett Club trophy taken by a hunter in Kentucky since the first hunt was held in 2009.

The bear qualified for the

34 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

club’s three-year awards list with a score of 20 7/16 inches. Scoring can only occur after a mandatory 60-day drying period. For bears, the process entails measuring the skull’s width from cheek bone to cheek bone as well as its length from the front of the teeth to the back of the skull.

Wildlife Biologist Dan Crank measured the skull of McKenzie’s bear at 12 15/16 inches long by 7 8/16 inches wide.

separate team and individual state tournaments this year, O’Connell said.

“The primary one was space,” he said. “The archers in this state are so good, we just do not have enough room for all of them at our state tournament.

By splitting it into two events, we were able to invite more teams to the team state tournament and also invite more individuals to the individual state tournament.”

The state tournament for elementary, middle and high school teams was held earlier in the week at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville. The two-day event drew 4,189 archers representing 182 schools. Madison Central High School, Stuart Pepper Middle School and Shopville Elementary won championships in their divisions.

Woods and Water Law Quiz Answers 1. Yes. Special regulations for a particular waterbody supersede the statewide regulations. Check the special regulations section of the 2016-2017 Kentucky Sport Fishing and Boating Guide before fishing a new body of water.

2. Yes, but you must have landowner permission to retrieve downed squirrels from the bank.

3. No, you need a valid Kentucky fishing license.

4. Children ages 15 and younger do not need a fishing license anywhere in the state. However, if your grandchildren do not live on the farm, they must have a fishing license if they are at least 16 years old. Only property owners, dependents or tenants living on the property are license exempt for fishing a pond on that property.

fw.ky.gov

outdoor news

Save wildlife: Dispose of fishing line properly

Obie Williams photo

DISCARDED FISHING LINE left on the bank is like a ticking time bomb for wildlife.

Fishing line can get wrapped around the legs of waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors and other birds. The line can act as a tourniquet, leading to severe infections or the loss of the limb. Unfortunately, fishing line takes hundreds of years to disintegrate.

Old fishing line used in nests can fatally ensnare young birds. Fishing line tossed into the water can tangle around turtles or wrap around propellers, damaging a boat motor’s lower unit.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is working toward a solution by placing 18 collection bins for old fishing line at lakes across the

Reward offered in eagle shooting case THE U.S. FISH and Wildlife Service is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person who shot a bald eagle near Grand Rivers around Christmas 2015.

On Jan. 8, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Conservation Officer Evan Ethington found the carcass of a mature bald eagle carcass alongside Paradise Road. Investigation revealed someone likely shot the bald eagle between Dec. 25, 2015, and Jan. 2, 2016. Paradise Road, or KY 866, runs north of Grand Rivers in Livingston County.

Grand Rivers lies just north

fw.ky.gov

of the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. This area has the highest concentration of bald eagles in the state.

Bald eagles are protected by federal law. Persons convicted of harming or killing a bald eagle face fines up to $100,000 and a year in jail.

Anyone with information about this bald eagle shooting should call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent at (270) 252-7336 or Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Conservation Officer Evan Ethington at (270) 890-3300.

state. Another eight bins were set at regional fisheries district offices and at the Salato Wildlife Education Center in Frankfort. These easy-to-spot bins consist of a large white plastic pipe attached to a post.

More bins will appear in coming years as the department encourages anglers to save wildlife by properly disposing of their fishing line.

“Our initial goal is to cover all of the Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) lakes,” said department Fisheries Biologist Jeremy Shiflet, who is spearheading the effort. “We need volunteers, either individuals or groups, to empty the bins. We

will also supply the materials for groups to construct their own collection bin.”

Berkley, a brand of Pure Fishing Company, recycles monofilament fishing line into structures for fish habitat and other uses at its Berkley Conservation Institute in Spirit Lake, Iowa.

Visit the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website at fw.ky.gov and type in “line recycling” in the search bar for more information about the program and volunteering opportunities. There is also a map of Kentucky showing the location of collection bins and GPS coordinates.

NATURE HILL-USTRATED • By Rick Hill

Your uncle is such an old coot!

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 35

Two boat ramps upgraded on Kentucky Lake ANGLERS HAVE MORE room to launch their boats and park at Kentucky Lake, thanks to recently completed upgrades at two boat ramps.

The Tennessee Valley Authority expanded and updated the parking lot at Wildcat Boat Ramp. As part of the project, the ramp also received a new mobility-impaired accessible fishing pier.

The improvements doubled the capacity of truck and trailer parking lanes from 35 to 70 and

Expanded Wildcat Creek Boat Ramp parking lot Paul Rister photo

added 10 parking slots for cars.

Wildcat Boat Ramp is located in the Blood River arm of Kentucky Lake in Calloway County.

Another ramp at the Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park also received a substantial upgrade with the construction of five, 14-foot wide launching lanes. The Engineering Division of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources completed the expansion in cooperation with the Kentucky Department of Parks.

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Fisheries WESTERN DISTRICT @kyfisheriesw • Kentucky Lake • Kentucky Lake Tailwater • Lake Barkley • Lake Barkley Tailwater • Lake Beshear

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NORTHWESTERN DISTRICT @kyfisheriesnw • Lake Malone • Rough River Lake • Nolin River Lake

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SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT @kyfisheriesse • Lake Cumberland • Lake Cumberland Tailwater • Laurel River Lake • Cedar Creek Lake • Buckhorn Lake

NORTHEASTERN DISTRICT @kyfisheriesne • Cave Run Lake • Licking River • Grayson Lake

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cooking

Get more enjoyment of the outdoors by cooking over a campfire • By Dave Baker

Hobo Venison Burger There’s nothing quite like cooking over an open fire when you’re camping. Whether it’s the smoky flavor that a good bed of wood coals imparts to your food or simply the sheer enjoyment of your surroundings, outdoor cooking is something the whole family will enjoy.

It’s not necessary to haul the whole kitchen into the woods, however. By taking a cue from the Cub Scouts, you can prepare a delicious meal without using any pots or pans. The secret is aluminum foil.

Val Hoy is the Cubmaster of Pack 269 in Shelbyville. Scouting is a generational tradition in the family – Hoy’s father was a scout, and Hoy’s son, Eli, is a scout as well.

The Hoys routinely cook a scout mainstay, the hobo hamburger.

Basically this consists of a burger placed atop layers of vegetables, wrapped in aluminum foil then put onto the coals. The foil serves as both the cooking pot and the plate. This is a good recipe for using up the rest of that ground venison in your freezer.

“When it cooks, the juices from the meat soak into the vegetables and gives them a good flavor,” Hoy said. “You can season it with seasoned salt and black pepper, or sprinkle of Old Bay, or even some Cajun seasoning – whatever you like.”

Have the kids help make up the packets. Who knows? If they help prepare it, they might even eat some of their vegetables. n

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Dave Baker photo

RECIPE (Serves 4) 4 medium potatoes, sliced thin 1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin 1 green pepper, sliced thin 2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin 1½ pounds ground venison or hamburger Seasoned salt (to taste) Black pepper (to taste) Tear off four pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil large enough to hold the burger and vegetables. Divide potatoes equally among the foil squares. Layer equal amounts of onion, green pepper and carrots on top of potatoes. Sprinkle pepper and seasoned salt – it doesn’t take much – on the vegetables.

Divide the burger into four patties.

Lightly salt and pepper the meat. Place

a patty on top of each stack of vegetables. Wrap foil around the food and seal tightly.

Once you’re ready to cook, drag some coals to the edge of the fire and put the packets right on top. Add a few coals to the top of each packet for more even cooking. A pair of grill tongs is handy for this step.

Let cook about 20-30 minutes then take a packet out of the fire. Unfold and check the potatoes for doneness. Add some more time on the fire if necessary.

Options: Try different mixes of vegetables, such as sliced squash, mushrooms, zucchini or another favorite. Experiment with different seasonings, such as diced garlic, Worcestershire sauce or Italian salad dressing. You also can cook this on a home grill for 20-30 minutes or bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes.

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 37

habitat

Loss of slippery elm trees to bark thieves a concern • By Lee McClellan

Left: U.S. Forest Service officials confiscated this illegally harvested slippery elk bark. Above: Stripping the bark kills the trees.

Photos courtesy U.S. Forest Service

Stop Thief!

The recent thefts of slippery elm bark from trees in the Daniel Boone National Forest prompted questions on what is allowed on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

“Removal of the bark of the slippery elm kills the tree,” said Chris Garland, assistant director of wildlife for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “This is detrimental to the ecosystem on our wildlife management areas. It is illegal to remove bark from slippery elm trees on our wildlife management areas.”

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife regulations stipulate that visitors to wildlife management areas cannot harm trees or shrubs, engage in activities commercial in nature or

38 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

behavior that damages roads, trails, facilities or the ecosystems of the area.

“We want enjoyment of our wildlife management areas by the public,” Garland said, “but not destruction.”

Slippery elm trees grow to a height of 40 to 60 feet on slopes, moist uplands and in well-drained bottomlands. The wood of slippery elm trees isn’t considered commercially valuable, but it is tough and resists shock and splintering. It is suited for railroad ties, fence posts, implements and the hubs of wagon wheels.

The wood of the slippery elm, also known as red elm, comprises the yoke holding the Liberty Bell.

The purported medicinal properties of the slippery elm bark are the main draw for vandals to strip the bark. There is now strong demand and a market for slippery elm bark as an ingredient in herbal remedies and other supplements.

The mucous-like inner layer of slippery elm bark has long been believed to relieve a sore throat and coughs. Some folk remedies

claim a poultice saturated with a solution of slippery elm bark and applied to the skin helps relieve the pain and hasten healing of burns, abscesses, boils and even toothaches.

Slippery elm bark was recommended by Native Americans as a key component of the survival rations of pioneers. Some sources say drinking porridge made of slippery elm bark helped Gen. George Washington’s soldiers in the Continental Army survive the famous brutal winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

It is also believed to relieve digestive ailments and even expel tapeworms.

The stripping of slippery elm trees is becoming a graver problem in the Daniel Boone National Forest, which covers 21 Kentucky counties and more than 708,000 acres of the Cumberland Plateau in the Appalachian foothills of eastern Kentucky.

“We don’t want it to become a problem on our wildlife management areas,” Garland said.

Those who witness slippery elm damage on Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s wildlife management areas are encouraged to call the law enforcement division’s 1-800-25ALERT number. Those who see the same on the Daniel Boone National Forest should call (859) 745-3100. n

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destinations

Growing opportunity in one of Kentucky’s best counties for deer • By Kevin Kelly

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ITS PROXIMITY TO major cities and location in a county with the state’s highest deer density make Dr. James R. Rich Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in southern Owen County an attractive option for hunters across the Bluegrass Region.

The area expanded last year with a 601-acre addition that brings the WMA to 2,273 acres. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources bought the additional property using funds from the Kentucky Wetland and Stream Mitigation Program and Wildlife Restoration Program.

“The previous owner managed the property for recreational purposes and put a lot of work into it,” said Scott Ferrell, WMA manager for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.

“There are some open fields, good hardwoods and cedar thickets here and there. It has a pretty good population of turkeys and

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a lot of deer.”

Owen County boasts the highest concentration of deer of any county in the state – an estimated 76 per square mile – and annually leads the state in the number of deer harvested. Last year, hunters took 3,701 deer there.

One of the draws for bow hunters is the limited amount of gun hunting for deer.

Hunters may only use guns for deer on eight days: Youth Firearm Season in October, Free Youth Weekend in late December and quota hunt weekends in early November and December.

Rich WMA is open under statewide regulations for the archery and crossbow deer seasons except crossbows may not be used during a quota hunt for deer. Quota hunts at Rich WMA and nearby Kleber WMA are interchangeable, meaning a

drawn hunter can choose either property.

Small game, turkey and furbearer hunting seasons are open under statewide regulations on Rich WMA. For those planning to hunt turkeys this spring, Ferrell suggests starting out on ridge tops and working out from there.

“I took quite a few calls this past fall from people inquiring about the new property,” Ferrell said. “Bow season had a fair amount of pressure for deer and I imagine the spring turkey season will bring a good number of people.”

The new tract joins the WMA’s larger eastern tract. It is about 95 percent forested with fingered ridges and steep hillsides.

Management plans for the new property include stream rehabilitation and habitat work along the various streams and drainages.

Additionally, future management may include forest stand improvement in the oak and hickory forest to improve wildlife habitat, tree or shrub plantings in openings to reduce forest fragmentation, removal of invasive species and potential development of vernal pools, a type of wetland that contains water for part of the year. n

HOW TO GET THERE From Frankfort, travel U.S. 127 north to KY 607. Turn right on KY 607 and travel 10 miles. Turn right onto Old Owenton-Georgetown Road. Parking areas located near the intersection of Old Owenton-Georgetown Road and Red Oak Road, and off Old Columbus Road on the northeast side of the new property.

Frankfort Lexington

RICH WMA Red Oak Tract

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 39

ask the experts Q A

What kind of medical problems can ticks cause?

A red “bull’s-eye” rash is one of the signs of Lyme disease. Consult a doctor if you have this.

When people think of ticks, they usually think of Lyme disease. It is the most common tick-transmitted disease in the United States, but it occurs mainly in the northeast and upper midwest.

Although Kentucky has a few cases each year, the disease is not considered as prevalent as some other tick-borne diseases active in Kentucky. These include ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and southern tick associated rash illness (STARI).

Ehrlichiosis is the most common tickborne disease in Kentucky. Symptoms develop one to two weeks after a bite and include fever, chills, malaise, muscle aches, headache, nausea/vomiting, and occasionally a rash (more common in children).

Ehrlichiosis can be a serious, lifethreatening infection if not treated correctly.

Symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever include fever, headache, nausea/ vomiting, abdominal pain and rash, which occur in about 90 percent of patients. This disease is also life-threatening if not treated correctly.

Though uncommon, Lyme disease can still happen here. Symptoms are similar to ehrlichiosis, but the classic symptom is the red and white “bull’s-eye” rash.

Lyme disease may also cause other conditions in the later stages of the disease, such as arthritis, heart problems and Bell’s Palsy, the paralysis of some facial nerves.

the first line therapy for all of these particular diseases, and is most effective if given within five days of symptom onset.

Generally, patients with a tickborne disease will recover quickly if they receive treatment shortly after symptoms develop.

Patients with some forms of Lyme disease may also require other IV antibiotics.

How do you prevent tick-borne diseases?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that these tick-borne illnesses may be prevented by avoiding areas where ticks are concentrated, such photo courtesy CDC/James Gathany as dense woods and bushy areas.

Relatively new in its discovery, STARI However, for hunters and other outdoor is transmitted by the Lone Star tick, found enthusiasts, precautions can be taken when throughout the southern midwest and trekking into these types of areas. southeast. It can cause a rash similar to When you are outside – especially in Lyme disease but may lack the other symp- a wooded area – use insect repellents that toms. contain DEET, a chemical that repels ticks and other biting insects. Additionally, wear How do you treat tick-borne diseases? long pants, sleeves and socks when in these First, if you have a known tick bite, be areas. Always check for ticks afterward, and alert for symptoms. Consult a doctor im- remove any ticks immediately. mediately if fever, rash or other symptoms The majority of tick-borne disease cases develop. are reported from May through August.

The antibiotic doxycyline is considered About half are reported in June and July.

This coincides with the times that we are most active outdoors and when ticks are also at their peak activity. However, cases DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR OUR may occur in cooler seasons as well, espeBIOLOGISTS OR STAFF? cially if those seasons were warmer than Just e-mail us at ky.afield@ky.gov or write to: Ask the normal so it’s best to be cautious year-round.

Experts, c/o Kentucky Afield Magazine, 1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, Ky. 40601. You’ll receive a free oneDr. Derek Forster, year subscription or renewal if we use your question.

University of Kentucky HealthCare infectious You cannot win more than one free subscription a year. disease physician and UK medical director for

Since 1945

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40 Kentucky Afield Spring 2016

Infection Prevention and Control

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your story

Turkey hunter confronts Lyme disease after tick bite • By Gene Keyse

An Unexpected Illness We had been spring turkey hunting for the last six years on the same property, but the last two seasons had been a bust. So for the 2015 season, we decided to try a public area close to home.

We scouted it the week before the season started and came upon a tom coming to the roost. On opening morning, we headed out to the same area – and the old boy started gobbling way before dawn. The hens started to answer. He flew down and gobbled hot and heavy for a while. We called to him and he answered back. As luck would have it, he never made it to us.

The new hunting grounds were only 15 minutes from home, so I hunted more than seasons past. My life, however, was about to be turned upside down.

During the week before Mother’s Day, I felt like I had the flu: high fever, chills, sweats, body aches and fatigue. I went to my doctor for a flu test, but it was negative. I was sick through the weekend and stayed in bed all day on Mother’s Day. I went back to work that Monday and all seemed better.

Two weeks later, I had a gall bladder at-

WHAT’S YOUR STORY? Share your favorite story and photo of a good day outdoors with the readers of Kentucky Afield. Email us at ky.afield@ky.gov. If we use your story, you’ll receive a free one-year subscription to Kentucky Afield.

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tack and had surgery on it the following week. I remained in excruciating pain while recovering, and knew something was not right.

I took myself to the emergency room before my follow-up appointment with the surgeon. I stayed three days in the hospital while the doctors ran multiple tests, but to no avail.

Thank goodness one of the doctors was persistent and decided to involve a neurologist. They decided to do a lumbar puncture to test the spinal fluid. I was diagnosed with a couple different diseases before they finally figured it out: Lyme disease. I had been bitten by a tick on one of those beautiful spring days.

I started a regiment of intravenous (IV) antibiotics and stayed in the hospital for nine days. I received another four weeks of IV treatment once I returned home.

My symptoms persisted for months. I had neuropathy – it was like needles being stuck in my feet – nerve pain in my back and torso, muscle pain, joint pain throughout my body and fatigue. I lost almost 40 pounds. I couldn’t button a shirt, tie my shoe or hardly walk. I went through six months of physical therapy, three months of antibiotics and countless trips to the doctors. I still have some of the same symptoms today, just not

Photo courtesy Gene Keyse

A tick bite while turkey hunting led to months of treatment and recovery after Gene Keyse contracted Lyme disease. to the same degree.

Lyme disease is here in Kentucky.

Please heed my warning: Make sure you take precautions every time you go hunting and vigorously check for ticks afterward. The ticks that carry Lyme disease are as small as a poppy seed. If you start to feel sick after receiving a tick bite, please seek medical care even if there is no bull's-eye rash – a classic sign of Lyme disease. For more information go to www.lymedisease.org. n Author Gene Keyse of Georgetown is an avid hunter and outdoorsman who learned to always checks for ticks when coming back from the field.

Spring 2016 Kentucky Afield 41