VGOM April 2013

Vermont’s

April 2013 Volume 1 Number 3

Magazine

GREAT OUTDOORS

Otter Creek gives up a great brookie.

Page 22

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Columnist recounts first buck Ever gone ‘Bullpoutin’?

State battling for bats Weather affects wildlife

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Patterns and tackle for trout Steelhead starting to heat up Bird eggs, where it all starts Kamp Kill Kare State Park

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Page 3 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine www.VtGreatOutdoorsMag.com April 2013 • Volume 1 • Number 4

Features 16 Weather’s

© Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine 2012-2013

impact

When winter arrives late or departs early, wildlife patterns can be altered or disrupted.

26 Spring

Trout

Spring means trout for many people. Learn the fly patterns & terminal tackle you need.

Publisher & Editor Darren Marcy News/Marketing Assistants Maya Marcy & Camilla Marcy Contributors Jeremy Baker, Bradley Carleton, Bob Shannon, Dave Mance III, Todd Lantery, Allison Gergely, Megan Davin, Jesse Haller Article & Photo Submissions editor@VtGreatOutdoorsMag.com

34 Bullpoutin’ A rite of spring is unveiled by the anglers who chase the spring bullhead.

Press Releases, Letters, Calendar news@VtGreatOutdoorsMag.com Advertising ads@VtGreatOutdoorsMag.com

40 A

Phone (802) 331-0130

First Buck

You always remember your first buck, especially if it leads you on a chase like this.

More Inside 5. Photo of the Month 6. Editor’s Note 7. Reader Feedback 8. Outdoor News 34. Sacred Hunter 40. Shed Antlers 58. Out & About

14. Conservation 22. Fishing 40. Hunting 50. LCI 50. The Outside Story 55. State Parks 56. Birds of Vermont

All articles and photos need to be submitted electronically.

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Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine is published monthly as a free digital publication. This publication is protected by copyright and each individual story and photo is protected by copyright owned by the respective contributors. All opinions belong to the respective writers and do not necessarily reflect that of Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine.

Page 4 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Photo of the Month:

They may be seen more frequently in Vermont, but spotting a bald eagle is still a treat.

Page 5 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Editor’s Note:

Trout Season

On the Cover

I

can already feel the pulsating rod as a trout sends the vibrations up the line, through the rod and into my hands where it sets my brain on fire.

There are few things as great as the feeling you get when you get a fish on the line. And never is it more exciting than that first trout of the season after the long winter.

In the pages of this issue, Bob Shannon helps you get your fly gear ready for that first day on the water – from what patterns to carry to how to rig your terminal tackle for the best chance at hooking up.

There's also some catch-and-release stream suggestions for anglers who just can't wait until April 13 to wet a line for trout, and a short piece of advice from Brian Cadoret on chasing Champlain's tributary steelhead.

But the biggest news in this issue is Jesse Haller's piece about a brook trout he caught in Otter Creek. Haller brought the brookie of about 20 inches to net at the end of March and released it. Haller shares that story this month and there's more to come next month about this great fish, but you'll have to wait until May for that.

There are other great things in this month's magazine as well.

Jeremy Baker relives the crazy chase that his first buck led him on, Bradley Carleton introduces us to the “bullpout,” LCI's newest writer Todd Lantery shows us around Kamp Kill Kare State Park, Allison Gergely of the Birds of Vermont Museum educates us on bird eggs, Dave Mance III tackles tapping trees for their sap, and there are pieces on bats, youth turkey hunting and the weather's impact on wildlife in this issue.

Spring is a great time as the world reawakens from its winter slumber. Please get out and enjoy these days and take a kid out into the great outdoors.

Bodacious Brookie The great brook trout on the cover this month was caught and photographed March 28 by Jesse Haller in Otter Creek.

Haller caught the brookie on a nymph and, after snapping the photo, he let the big brook trout go. The story is on Page 22.

Later, he estimated the fish to be “conservatively” about 18 inches, but said in his heart, he believes it was closer to 20 inches.

Haller shares the story of this great fish in this issue of Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine.

Have you caught a great fish and want to share a photo?

Have a story to tell?

We’re interested in publishing your stories and showing off your photos.

Whether it’s a fish, a summit, a sunset or just a little family time.

––– Have a great photo you want to share? Please send it in. You might find it on the cover of the next Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine.

Page 6 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Feedback:

VGOM Reader Feedback News@VtGreatOutdoorsMag.com Baker helps relive childhood memories Thank you for publishing Jeremy Baker’s story in the March issue of your great magazine.

The story had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading despite knowing what the outcome was before I started. The story left me reliving a memory from my childhood, which many can probably relate to.

Before the days of youth seasons, a young hunter had to rely on his luck of being drawn in the antlerless permit lottery. At the age of 15 I considered myself to be a seasoned hunter and woodsman who thought I knew everything about tracking deer!

One morning we woke up to fresh snow and I knew it was time to fill my doe tag. My dad left me off at the apple orchard where I knew I could find a fresh track. The chase that ensued was magnificent but proved to me I was a better tracker than shooter! My final shot was my last chance. As I stood over the deer giving my thanks, I realized I had no shells left.

The drag back to camp was the quickest drag of my life! I didn’t dare even pick my head up to look for deer!

Thanks Jeremy for bringing me back to that great day and congratulations on that magnificent trophy!

Write VGOM Letters are encouraged on topics of interest to Vermont outdoor enthusiasts. This space is your opportunity to have your voice heard.

Letters will be edited for grammar, libel, clarity, decency and, when necessary, space. If your letter can’t be edited without changing its meaning, you’ll be given a chance to rewrite it, or the letter will be rejected.

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Page 7 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Outdoor News:

Vermont Vermont authorities concerned about wild boars

Burglary of Newport sporting goods store investigated Police are investigating a burglary after someone broke into Bear Mountain Sports and Crafts in Newport Center on March 20.

Vermont State Police said Thomas Snay, 66, of Newport Center, reported an undisclosed number of firearms taken from the Farrar Road shop in the overnight burglary.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Derby State Police Barracks at 3348881.

Wildlife authorities in Vermont are concerned about the potential for wild boar to escape captive hunting facilities and possibly getting a foothold in the Green Mountain State.

The aggressive invasive species are known to cause widespread damage to habitat and breed rapidly. Once a breeding population is established, they are nearly impossible to control.

Searchers find missing Thirty-eight states have wild boar despite a persistent 13-year-old Killington skier effort to control or eradicate the animals.

The Vermont State Police Search and Rescue Team, The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department asked the legislature to ban possession and importation of boars. Killington Ski Patrol, the Killington Fire Department and Fish & Wildlife wardens were called to find a missing 13-year-old at Killington Ski Area on March Police say speed, alcohol 8. factors in sled crash Andrew Baldwin, 13, of Montreal, Quebec, was Vermont State Police said speed and alcohol were skiing with his older brother when they both went out factors in a single-sled snowmobile crash March 6 in of bounds off the Ridge Run trail. Baldwin was the town of Victory. reported missing after he was two hours late meeting Police said Darrell McLaughlin, 54, of Lancaster, family members.

N.H., was riding his 2005 Arctic Cat ZR900 on VAST The boy was located a short time later uninjured.

Trail K7 at the intersection of Kirby Mountain Road and Masten Road in Victory just before 8 p.m. when Pair of New York men he lost control of his sled and hit a tree. find way out of woods Police determined McLaughlin was riding too fast Two skiers from New York were reported missing when he lost control.

March 8 at Killington Ski Area.

He was transported by ambulance to Weeks Hospital Vermont State Police reported that Jacob Geffner with a chest injury. and Jared Zaeharowiez, both 27 of Highland, N.Y., The crash remains under investigation.

Page 8 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Outdoor News: skied out of bounds off Ridge Run trail.

The pair ended up lost in the woods for about two hours before being located by troopers at Brewers Corners on Wheelerville Road about 4:30 p.m.

The skiers, who said they did see out-of-bounds signs, were not injured.

Authorities find missing teens near Bolton ski area A couple of Central Vermont boys were found after getting lost in the area between Bolton Valley Ski Resort and Waterbury Reservoir.

Vermont State Police said Cecil Freeman, 16, of Berlin, and Matthew Smith, 16, of East Montpelier, were reported lost about 5 p.m. March 19.

The pair called Smith’s mother and told her they were off trail.

Bolton Valley Ski Patrol members checked an area between Vista and Wilderness Peaks where they were

believed to be without success.

About 7:20 p.m. authorities were able to narrow down their location through 911 GPS mapping after the pair called 911.

The duo were in good health and not injured and Waterbury Back Country Rescue and Vermont State Police Auxiliary were dispatched to the area on snowmobile.

There were located some five hours after they were reported lost and brought out of the woods.

Two men escape injury in two-sled crash Two snowmobiles were destroyed, including one that burned, after a two-sled crash just before 10 a.m. March 17 on VAST trail C7 in Somerset.

The crash happened when Jody J. Speir, 37, of Troy, N.Y., was unable to make a turn while riding north on Corridor 7. Speir’s sled entered the path of Michael

Page 9 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Outdoor News: Mosher, 43, of West Dover and the two collided.

William Nowers, 30, said he left his gear, including Both riders were ejected from their machines, but jig poles, ice scoops, tip-ups, lures and a wicker basket, escaped serious injury. in his driveway. When he returned home about 8:30 Mosher’s 2010 Polaris snowmobile was considered p.m., it was gone. a total loss from the impact. Speir’s 2004 Arctic Cat This case is still under investigation. sled caught fire and burned and was also considered a total loss.

New York skier intentionally Speir was issued a ticket for “Operation of a leaves trail, gets lost snowmobile in an unreasonable matter.”

A New York man told Vermont State Police he intentionally went out of bounds at Killington Ski Area Westminster man reports and ended up lost about 4 p.m. March 21. ice-fishing gear stolen Timothy J. Brodhagen, 36, of Brooklyn, was found A Westminster man says he left his ice-fishing gear after the Killington Ski Patrol located, tracked and in his driveway March 16 and when he returned home, guided Brodhagen to Wheelerville Road in Mendon. his gear was gone.

He was not injured.

Page 10 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Outdoor News:

Three from New Jersey get lost while out of bounds

Anyone with information should contact the New Haven barracks of the Vermont State Police at 388-4919.

Three skiers from New Jersey went out of bounds and became the subject of a search March 24 at Killington Ski Area.

Vermont State Police were notified about 1 p.m. that three skiers were missing in the backcountry near Hunters say they’ll boycott Killington.

Colorado over gun legislation Maureen McBurnie, 21, James Grantham, 19, and Gail Hunters say recent legislation in Colorado would hurt Gruber, 19, all of Highlands, N.J., were dressed for the hunters and plan to boycott the state’s big-game hunting weather but had no food or water when they became lost.

The three stayed in touch with dispatch until they in protest.

Lawmakers changed the bill before it was passed to emerged from the woods about three hours later. exempt people borrowing guns for less than 72 hours being required to undergo a background check in Monkton man’s vehicle broken into from response to complaints from hunters the law would while backcountry skiing penalize hunters flying in for a hunt.

A Monkton man said his vehicle was broken into Colorado is known for its liberal license process for while skiing the backcountry. out-of-state hunters wishing to hunt big game.

Lucas Jamison-Buckley, 25, of Monkton, reported his vehicle had been broken into while he was backcountry skiing in Lincoln on March 26.

According to a Vermont State Police press release, Jamison-Buckley reported the theft about 2:15 p.m. after he returned and found his 2001 Volkswagon Jetter had been broken into.

He reported about $150 to $200 worth of tools and a pair of sneakers were taken.

Police have increased patrols in the area of trailhead parking lots.

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Page 11 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Outdoor News:

Two Green Mountain Forest Service employees honored Two employees of the Green Mountain & Finger Lakes National Forests have been honored by U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell to receive 2012 National “Rise to the Future” – Watershed Resources Awards.

Brian Austin, a civil engineer with the Green Mountain & Finger Lakes National Forests, is being recognized for his strong leadership within the Forest Service and with partner organizations such as the State of Vermont and Trout Unlimited following the devastation from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

Over the past 5 years Austin has been the lead on 32 projects that removed migration barriers and opened up more than 50 miles of stream habitat for native species.

Austin has championed the aquatic organism passage program and the Forest Service’s “Stream Simulation” design approach.

Stream Simulation bridges and

culverts are designed to allow fish and other organism to move freely upstream and to reduce the risk of structure failure from floods and debris.

Nancy Burt, a forest soil scientist with the Green Mountain & Finger Lakes National Forests, is being recognized for her achievements over more than 30 years as a soil scientist.

In particular, Burt has been a leader in identifying and championing the need for long-term soil monitoring to identify trends in soil acidification and changes in productivity related to acid deposition and climate change.

She initially collaborated with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to establish two long-term soil monitoring plots as part of a statewide network, and then secured support and funding to establish 20 sites for collecting integrated soil and vegetation data on the Green Mountain National Forest.

The plots will be remeasured in 10-year intervals and will provide invaluable information on the impacts of environmental change.

Burt’s accomplishment in establishing the monitoring program with a coalition of partners has placed the National Forest in a leading role in the longterm soil and ecological monitoring arena.

These prestigious awards are given out annually to Forest Service employees, partners and groups that have demonstrated leadership and excellence in implementing fisheries / aquatic ecology, hydrology, air and soil science programs across the country.

Nominations were accepted in an effort to identify top performers that have made an outstanding contribution to these watershed management programs on the National Forests and Grasslands.

The awards will be presented at a reception in Washington, D.C. on May 14, 2013.

What is your club, group or organization up to? Share you news.

Submit news about Vermont’s Outdoors to VGOM. news@vtgreatoutdoorsmag.com

Contributing Writers and Photographers We have had some interest by people who would like to write or submit photos to Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine. We welcome submissions by writers and photographers but keep three things in mind: ● Understand our budget doesn’t allow for payment. If you want to write because you love it, we can afford that, but we’re not paying any writers or photographers right away. ● You will be edited. The best writers still need editors – some more than others. If it makes you feel better, I’ve been writing and editing professionally for 20 years. I won’t hack your work to death. ● Query with an idea. Don’t write 1,000 words only to find VGOM doesn’t publish vampire fiction, even if the vampire sucks the blood of an 8-pointer. Let’s talk about your idea and decide if it’s right for this magazine. Then we’ll do it.

Page 12 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Outdoor News:

Shumlin appoints members to Fish & Wildlife Board Gov. Peter Shumlin has appointed a new member to the Fish & Wildlife Board, and has reappointed two members and the board chairman.

Theresa Elmer of Northfield, has been appointed to represent Washington County, replacing Jeffrey Salvador, whose term has expired.

Elmer runs Mountain Deer Taxidermy in Northfield with her husband Rodney Elmer. The couple says they founded their business based on their personal love of hunting and fishing, and that Mountain Deer now boasts 20 years of combined taxidermy experience.

The governor also returned two members to their seats and reappointed the board chairman.

Shumlin reappointed Kevin Lawrence, of Orange County, and Peter Allard, of Franklin County, to the board; and reappointed Brian Ames, of Windham County, to the position of board chair.

“We're very excited to have Theresa on board,” Ames said.

“She's very conservation-oriented and has been deeply involved with issues related to wildlife and the future of hunting in Vermont. She's an excellent choice.”

The 14-member Fish and Wildlife Board is an advisory group of Vermont citizens that votes on fish and wildlife regulations. Members serve for six-year terms. They are eligible for reappointment only when they are filling a seat left vacant by a member who was unable

to serve his or her full term.

“We're also pleased to welcome Kevin and Pete back to serve on the board for their own six-year terms,” Ames said. “They're both productive and conscientious members of the board who always come prepared with a thorough understanding of the issues we're discussing.”

“The Fish and Wildlife Board plays an invaluable role in the conservation of our fish and wildlife resources in Vermont,” said Commissioner Patrick Berry. “The thoughtful, well-informed citizens that make up the board help shape regulations from the perspective of Vermont’s hunters, anglers, wildlife watchers, and conservationists who have a strong interest in the sound management of these resources.”

Hunting, Fishing, Hiking, Backpacking, ATVing, Biking, Camping, Skiing, Snowshoeing, Snowmobiling, Bird Watching, Climbing, Photography, Power Boating, Paddling, Skijoring, Conservation, Four Wheeling, Dog Sledding, and … try us!

Most races and competitions. There will be some allowance for fishing tournaments, some shooting events, and a few others, but we’re not interested in 5k, 10k, half marathons, triathlons, bike races, ski races, swim meets, auto/motorcycle races, adventure races and similar events that are already covered by other publications and local newspapers. Also, no golf, Frisbee games, dog shows (unless they’re bird dogs), gardening, backyard birding, polo, team sports, well you get the idea. We have to draw the line somewhere, and this is a good starting point. Some things will be on a case-by-case basis. It never hurts to ask.

Page 13 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Conservation:

A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is urging people to take down their bird feeders to avoid attracting bears that are emerging from their winter dens and looking for food.

"It is best to remove food sources before hungry bears locate them," said Fish & Wildlife’s Col. David LeCours.

"We highly recommend taking down bird feeders and not feeding birds until Dec. 1."

There are other things people can do to prevent bears from becoming a problem.

“Also, don't leave pet food outside, wash down your barbecues after using them, and secure your garbage

containers,” he said. “And above all, never purposely leave food out for bears. Feeding bears may seem kind, but it is almost a sure death sentence for them."

If a bear becomes accustomed to food, it has a good chance it will end up causing problems and be shot by a home owner, or destroyed by the department.

"Help keep bears wild," LeCours said. "We care about these bears as much as anyone. Having to destroy one that has become a threat to human safety is not a pleasant experience, and we know that moving them to another location doesn't change their behavior. They continue to seek food near people because they

have learned that it works."

Vermont law prohibits a person from killing a bear that has been attracted to any artificial bait or food such as bird seed. The fine for doing so can be as high as $1,000.

Bears often eat seeds in the wild, so a birdfeeder chock full of highenergy seed is a concentrated source of what a bear considers natural food.

And they are smart.

Once bears learn to obtain food around people’s homes, they will be back for more.

To learn about black bears, go to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department's website at www.vtfishandwildlife.com and look in the Library section for the Black Bear Factsheet.

Page 14 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine:

Page 15 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Conservation:

Weather’s Impact

A black bear checks out the photographer while hugging a claw-scarred tree.

F

ollowing a spell of warm, spring-like weather, biologists at the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department observed black bears out of their dens early

in March. In recent years, mild weather has frequently driven bears to enter their dens later and to emerge earlier.

“Bears are triggered to enter their

den when food begins to become scarce in fall or early winter, which usually follows a heavy snowfall,” said Forrest Hammond, bear project leader for Vermont Fish & Wildlife.

Page 16 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Outdoor News: “Spring rains and warm temperatures cause bears to leave their dens in search of uncovered nuts and green shoots that start to emerge from the melting snowpack.

Bears will be active as long as they can easily find food, but they will return to their dens if another deep snowfall covers their food supply.”

Shorter denning seasons in Vermont are consistent with reports from the American West, Scandinavia and Spain, where many brown bears have forgone hibernation altogether. Bears vary the duration of winter dormancy based on their latitude and altitude; bears that live further north or high in the mountains typically den for a longer period of time.

Vermont’s black bears are not the only species changing their behavior due to recent winter weather patterns. Many bird species have started to migrate, breed, and nest earlier in the spring in recent years.

John Buck, migratory bird project leader for Vermont Fish & Wildlife, says that the department has observed state endangered spruce grouse displaying courtship and breeding activity three weeks early as a response to low spring snowpack levels in recent years.

“We’re concerned that the females may nest early and then see their nests buried under a heavy, lateseason snowstorm, which would likely result in a high rate of nest failures,” he said.

The department has also observed that waterfowl are delaying their departure from Vermont for the winter because they continue to have access to open water, sometimes late into December or January.

Fish & Wildlife’s Steve Parren has been studying a population of wood turtles for the past 25 years.

According to Parren, the turtles have historically emerged from hibernation in mid-April. “During the extreme warm spell that we had last winter, we saw wood turtles basking on March 17, nearly a month earlier than they are typically spotted,” he said.

Other amphibian and reptile species responded to a warm earlyMarch rain this year by emerging from winter dormancy.

Herpetologist Jim Andrews, of the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas, tracks the spring emergence of reptiles and amphibians in Vermont. Andrews reported seeing spring peeper frogs, spotted salamanders, and even some Eastern newts on March 12 this winter in the Champlain Valley.

Vermont’s insects also vary their emergence dates based on the spring temperatures. During warmer and drier springs, many will emerge early.

“Flowering plants, bees, butterflies – these species have evolved together based on a specific timing of events in the spring,” said Fish & Wildlife biologist Mark Ferguson. “Many of the state’s crops, including apple trees, require insects for pollination.” Last spring, many Vermont apple growers saw high levels of frost damage when unusually high temperatures pushed flower buds out before the last frosts of the season were over.

Milder winter temperatures can make controlling many forest pest species difficult.

Vermont’s hemlocks are currently threatened

by a non-native insect known as the hemlock woolly adelgid, which feeds on hemlock sap and may inject toxic saliva while feeding. The adelgid’s northward spread is limited by its inability to tolerate long stretches of temperatures below -20 degrees Fahrenheit, which have become less frequent in Vermont in the last decade.

As this pest spreads, it can cause devastating declines in Vermont’s hemlock forests. Hemlock forests are a critical habitat for many Vermont species; bears, bobcats and ruffed grouse all use hemlock for protective cover, and these forests are crucial as wintering habitat for white-tailed deer. Following the mild winter of 2011, hemlock woolly adelgid spread to seven additional towns in Vermont, more than doubling the number of towns in which the pest was previously detected.

While mild winters may benefit some species in Vermont, the weather’s unpredictability can prove difficult for wildlife. Mid-winter rains followed by deep freezes or March temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit followed by heavy, late-season snowfalls can cause onerous conditions for many species.

“During a normal winter, bud break, insect hatching and birds returning to Vermont or establishing nests all occur at the same time,” added Buck.

“Mild and unpredictable winters cause these events to get out of sync. Birds that don’t keep up with changing weather patterns return to Vermont to nest and find that the insects that they feed on have already hatched.”

Page 17 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Conservation:

Battling for Bats

S

urveys performed this winter by researchers at the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department indicate that populations of several species of bats in Vermont continue to shrink due to the devastating effects of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease affecting cave-hibernating bats.

Fish & Wildlife scientists Scott Darling, Joel Flewelling and Alyssa Bennett spearheaded a statewide survey of Vermont’s cavehibernating bat species to continue monitoring the disease since it first hit the state.

They have witnessed the effects of the disease, which was first detected in eastern New York in 2006 and was confirmed to have infected Vermont’s bats by 2008.

The disease has since spread as far away as Missouri and Nova Scotia in Canada.

“We’ve recorded declines as high as 90 percent during our cave surveys, so we feared a continuation of that drastic rate of decline this winter,” Darling said.

“While the rate that we’re losing bats each year appears to have slowed a bit, bat numbers were still considerably lower than in previous

Page 18 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Conservation:

it’s happening right here in our surveys. Some species, such as paying attention.

“The freefall of bat populations region. Several species have northern long-eared bats, are hardly due to white-nose syndrome is virtually disappeared in less than a appearing at all in these caves.”

Bats generate an estimated $3.7 something that should be on decade and we are getting increasing skeptical that these billion a year in benefits to bats will ever return.”

North American agriculture “We’re observing the most Vermont is home to nine through insect pest control precipitous decline of a group of bat species; six species spend and crop pollination, species in recorded history and it’s winters hibernating in caves according to the journal happening right here in our region.” and three migrate south.

Science.

While the species of bats that In Vermont, they eat insects Scott Darling migrate may be threatened by that damage crops, torment increased ridgeline wind livestock, or are forest pests. development, population data “These unique mammals are the principle predator of flying everyone’s radar right now,” on this suite of species is very insects in New England,” Darling Darling said. “We’re observing the difficult to obtain.

Among Vermont’s cave bats, the most precipitous decline of a group said.

And he said people need to be of species in recorded history and little brown bat and northern long-

Page 19 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Conservation:

eared bat are state endangered species, small-footed bats are state threatened, and Indiana bats are state and federally endangered species.

According to Darling, there are three avenues to prevent these species from becoming extirpated in Vermont.

The first, and best option, would be for researchers to find a treatment or a cure for white-nose syndrome and a feasible means of applying it in the wild.

Alternatively, these bats may continue to decline until the few that remain happen to be naturally resistant to the disease.

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife

Department is participating in a regional study to investigate this possibility.

Bennett, a wildlife technician, cites two adult female little brown bats that the team recaptured six years after they were initially captured and banded by researchers, despite the fact that most other bats in their maternity colony had fallen victim to whitenose syndrome in that time.

“While these individual bats may be genetically resistant to whitenose syndrome, they may have also survived due to luck or resilience, or by escaping exposure somehow,” Bennett said.

The third option, which Darling

refers to as the “Noah’s Ark strategy,” involves holding the bats in captivity during the short time period when they are most vulnerable to white-nose syndrome.

The department is working with other agencies to determine the feasibility of such a practice.

“The struggle to save Vermont’s bats continues to be a race against time,” Darling said. “If we’re not successful with these efforts, it’s unclear what we’ll turn to next.”

Vermonters can help bat researchers in their effort to save bats by donating to the nongame wildlife fund on line 29 of their tax return or by going to www.vtfishandwildlife.com.

Page 20 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Conservation:

Like that special tree stand from which you always see deer, or that stretch of river where the trout always rise, there are just some places that are unique. A spot that holds a place in your heart so special that you keep it to yourself.

If you’re looking for an advertising opportunity to share your message, this can be your special place.

This prime spot can be yours next month.

By advertising in Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine, you’ll not only be supporting a growing publication that is generating a lot of excitement in the Green Mountain State, but you’ll also place your message in front of avid and dedicated outdoor enthusiasts.

And you won’t believe how affordable this space is.

There are other publications that cover some of the outdoor experience in Vermont and this little slice of Heaven they call northern New England. They do a good job, but none of them cover the depth and breadth of the topics you’ll read about in Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine.

So contact us today to ensure we can get your advertisement in the next monthly issue of a growing and exciting publication that covers the topics that are important to you and your business.

Email: ads@vtgreatoutdoorsmag.com Phone: (802) 331-0130 Page 21 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing:

Otter Creek Brookie

Local fishing guide Jesse Haller landed this brook trout that is estimated to have been about 20 inches. It was released.

M

arch is a month filled with potential and hope. The skiers know that they will probably get one more large storm, while the lovers of Spring welcome the longer days and warmer temps.

This year, March slammed a cold

door of indifference on those waiting for Spring. Repetitive low pressure systems increased our snowpack and brought winter back to the Green Mountains in a hurry.

But like the emerging winter stoneflies, Vermont's fly anglers start climbing out from behind their tying benches. Tripping over the

mountainous stack of fishing DVDs that seemed to tease them all winter long.

Typically in late March, the last of the winter stoneflies, the taeniopterygidae, make an appearance. Slightly larger then the tiny black stone that showed up a few weeks prior, this more brown

Page 22 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing: then black stonefly offers a sizable emergence that wakes hibernating Vermont trout.

Beneath the surface of the water, millions of these nymphs are working their way to the side of the river to hatch. On a sunny day, you can find rocks near highly oxygenated water on Otter Creek, covered with the adult stoneflies.

If your at the right spot, you will see them bobbing along, flying through the air. Like most stoneflies, they seem to struggle a bit with their weight as they fly, and don't quite have the beautiful elegance of flight that some mayflies do.

Most of Vermont's fly anglers can attest that much of the winter fly fishing is going though the motions.

From mid-December through February its difficult to catch fish.

You will undoubtedly pick a few up here and there, but the fish to hours invested ratio is not generous.

Some of the fish I have caught in January, I think just had their mouths frozen open and my fly just

happened to drift in. So when the the Taenio shows up, its exciting.

Its always a coin flip if your going to be able to fish the hatch on Otter Creek or not. Statistically snow runoff has the river at peak water level during this time of the year.

This season the snow has eased its way off the hill. For the second year in a row this hatch has been applicable.

The trout have responded well to the increasing water temperatures and on that day the thermometer came out reading 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

The cloud cover had made the morning feel like yet another winter day in Vermont. But by the time I had worked my way to the run I wanted to fish, an occasional patch of blue sky was beginning push through the gray veil.

I sat on a mid-river rock, set down my second fly rod, and re-rigged the one I wanted to fish.

Fly selection isn't rocket science this time of the year, as matching the naturals requires you to pick

from a small selection of the available species. I chose a pair of nymphs I thought would work well in tandem, and rigged my rod.

In the few minutes it had taken me to complete this task, several of the adult small brown stonefly adults had climbed onto my Simms waders and were working their way up my body.

Its not a special run, or a secret hole. As a matter of fact, I imagine this section of Otter Creek gets fished more then most.

So I was happy when on the first drift through I hooked and landed a 14-inch brown.

Feeling confident, the second cast rolled out with ease, and the mend was perfect. When everything tightened up, I set the hook with authority.

It was a snag.

Rather then make a huge disturbance, I broke the line. Years of guiding has taught me that the fish in the run are worth more then the fly that is snagged.

I backed out of the run and re-tied.

Brook Trout – Tale of the Tape

Page 23 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing:

By this time, the sun had popped out and their were several small brown stones buzzing through the air.

A quick look around, again showed not one person in sight.

With my head down focused on retying, the sound of the broken water filled my ears.

The sun was warm, and for the first time, it felt like a Spring day.

Glancing back up, I surveyed the run again. The outside seam had some slower and deeper water adjacent to it. I targeted a cast a few inches further. The trout had not

committed to the fast water yet this season.

On warmer days they may move in to score some quick calories when a fair amount of bugs are in the water column, but they don't stay there for long.

The deeper portion of the run looked like a nice holding spot.

I had drifted through the area I thought was the best part of the run and was entering the back half of my drift when it happened.

I firmly brought the rod up to set and their was a brief moment where it felt so solid I thought I was

snagged again.

The slow pulsating quickly wiped that thought away.

While reeling in the slack line, the fish came to the top for a momentary rumble just under the surface. It was so lightly colored compared to the brown I had landed just a few minutes before.

Its not uncommon for trout in Otter Creek to get a washed-out look. The fish pushed up a bit in the run, right toward the area I managed to get snagged earlier.

I dropped my rod tip to the side a few times and managed to turn the

Page 24 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing: fish's head and steer it away from the potential obstruction.

It was a bulldog. It had no interest in darting around, but rather using brute force to get to the bottom.

The drag on my reel hadn't had a workout since last year, but the smooth consistent pressure of it was starting to wear the fish out.

Reaching for my hand net on my hip pack waist belt, I took a few steps back to ease the fish into slower water. Surprisingly, it cooperated.

It was in the slick clear water of the eddy that I could tell it wasn't a brown or a rainbow. But I honestly still didn't believe what I was seeing.

After about 4 minutes, the fish was in my net and I was looking at a 19-plus-inch brook trout.

In certain areas in New England, you can catch brook trout close to this size. But in Vermont, out of a river, it is remarkable.

Otter Creek, Vermont's longest river, is not known for producing large brook trout. Especially in its lower reaches.

As I quickly worked to document this fish with my iPhone camera.

I knew it was special. How

special, wouldn't hit me until I later had time to reflect.

Laying the fish on my net, with my rod above, I took a picture. I took another of it in the net from above as well.

The mouth on the fish was very large and, as I do, I took a moment to open it and peer inside for a clue to its diet. It opened in a way that resembled a largemouth bass.

No other nymphs. This was a predator, and why it had chosen to eat such a small nymph will always puzzle me.

It is the same rigging I would use to target a 12-inch rainbow trout.

As I lowered it into the water in the calm eddy I landed it in, it stayed in my cradled hands for a moment.

It was at that time, when the fish began to move, awe started to settle in.

As it moved gently out of my hands, I wished it would stay a bit longer to marvel at. But the large tail slid past my index finger and with one push the dark shadow disappeared to the deep.

I spent the next fifteen minutes, just sitting next to the run.

Of the many thoughts a person

has after catching a nice fish, the one that repeated was “this is an amazing river.”

People often wish to be on a Rocky Mountain stream with diverse and dense trout populations.

But we often overlook what we have.

I spent 10 years in Colorado, guiding for half of them. Otter Creek is one of the least pressured, large river fisheries I have fished.

This brookie came from one of the most pressure areas.

Within 5 minutes of Middlebury, it is possible to catch a 40-inch northern pike, a 24-inch brown trout, and, apparently, a large brookie on Otter Creek. All on a fly rod. Many places in the world aren't that lucky.

Otter Creek still has many secrets, and I was lucky enough to have the chance to see one.

Maybe you will too.

Jesse G. Haller has been a flyfishing guide for 10 years. He is the president of the New Haven River Anglers Association, works and guides for the Middlebury Mountaineer, and is a member of the Simms Professional Fly Fishing Team.

Contributing Writers and Photographers We have had some interest by people who would like to write or submit photos to Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine. We welcome submissions by writers and photographers but keep three things in mind: ● Understand our budget doesn’t allow for payment. If you want to write because you love it, we can afford that, but we’re not paying any writers or photographers right away. ● You will be edited. The best writers still need editors – some more than others. If it makes you feel better, I’ve been writing and editing professionally for 20 years. I won’t hack your work to death. ● Query with an idea. Don’t write 1,000 words only to find VGOM doesn’t publish vampire fiction, even if the vampire sucks the blood of an 8-pointer. Let’s talk about your idea and decide if it’s right for this magazine. Then we’ll do it.

Page 25 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing:

Opening Day

A spring steelhead from Lewis Creek.

A

pril’s opening day of trout season arrives after a long winter of anticipation.

The gear has been prepped. Now it’s time to start thinking about the methods you can use during early season to help guarantee you a successful opportunity in fighting early season trout.

When fishing bodies of water, anglers always have to consider the water column, or depth, they anticipate fish to either be holding or

feeding.

During the spring, or cold water months of the year, fish will most often be found holding and feeding in the deepest water column and generally in slower currents.

In order to target fish at those depths, anglers need to consider three things: fly selection and color, terminal tackle and fishing tactics.

When considering fly selection and color, always keep in mind that early season trout have been waiting all winter for spring feeding opportunities.

As water temperatures rise in the spring, the metabolism of fish begins to increase. They start foraging and responding more to feeding

Page 26 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing:

Wooly Buggers in some productive early season colors including black, olive, brown and white.

opportunities, so larger sized fly patterns in darker shades will trigger trout to feed.

Whether they are streamer patterns that imitate bait fish or larger sized nymphs or larvae, fish will always respond better to these bigger bites.

Streamer favorites in the early spring include wooly buggers in black, olive, brown and sometimes white.

Don’t be afraid to try a couple of my color favorites, yellow and purple.

Adding flashaboo color material to your flies will add more sparkle to these patterns, especially in cloudy water conditions.

Other streamer patterns to consider would be silver minnow, black ghost, mickey fin and golden demon.

Other early season fly patterns that

work great are large stone fly patterns that would include colors black, brown and golden.

I prefer tying these patterns with tungsten beads to ensure the fly travels deep and with rubber legs to add life and movement to the fly.

Thinking outside the “fly box,” no pun intended, other early season favorites of mine include egg patterns in various colors, and San Juan Worms.

If all else fails, I’ll always finish an unproductive pool by dredging a Vermont stream favorite, crayfish pattern, to add that filet mignon approach to my fly selection.

ensure better fly performance when fishing.

Spring conditions will require terminal tackle that aids in keeping the fly deep, including split shot, sink tip lines, and sink leaders.

Strike indicators (bobbers) are a must for most subsurface fly fishers.

Trout sip and strike softly this time of year in many cases and those strikes will often be missed by even the most seasoned anglers.

However, with the assistance of a strike indicator your hook-up should increase.

I prefer to use sink tip leaders in 3-foot, 5-foot, and 7-foot lengths. The shorter sink tip leaders are much easier Terminal tackle refers to all the to mend and control.

You can manage the depth they are accessories that you will need to help

Page 27 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing:

From left, top row, sinking leaders 3 foot, 5 foot and 7 foot. Bottom: Raven floats and connective tubing, Thingamabobber, Teardrop floats.

fished more easily than traditional sink tips, which usually start at 15-foot lengths.

Here at the Fly Rod Shop, we manufacture these leaders using Scientific Anglers, SA 14+express sink line cut to preferred lengths.

I then attach the sink tip leader to our floating fly line systems. At the end of the sink tip section of my leader, I attach 3- to 5-foot lengths of either 12-pound, 10-pound, or 8pound fluorocarbon tippet.

By using the shorter length tippet sections, this allows the fly to travel close to the same sink rate as the sink tip leader.

When fishing these leaders, try to maintain a consistent depth, and a consistent speed. This will allow the fly to travel at a slow enough speed for fish to respond.

Strike indicator fishing for most fly

fisherman seems to be the most complex fishing method.

Remember folks, it’s a bobber.

Selecting indicators in the correct size for the conditions and needed weight is not as complex as we make it.

Keep in mind in the early season, you must add sufficient weight to the leader to sink your fly to the proper depth. Indicator sizes need to be large enough to hold this weight off the bottom.

Weighted strike indicator leaders systems that present the fly to the trout with a vertical drift is the most effective method of nymph fishing.

My preference in indicator brands is Raven Floats, Football Floats, and Thing-A-Ma-Bobbers.

All of these indicators are manufactured in various sizes and diameters to allow anglers to select the correct size for the weight needed.

Some of my biggest trout of the season are caught early in the year before most of the dry fly fishing even begins.

So remember to run it deep, fish it slow and bring the fly to the fish.

Don’t expect the fish to come to your fly.

My best advice for those venturing out on their own to learn these methods is to practice, practice, practice.

Bob Shannon is the owner and head guide at The Fly Rod Shop (www.flyrodshop.com) in Stowe. He has more than 25 years of experience teaching fly fishing and is a member of the St. Croix Pro Staff as well as an ambassador for Simms Fishing Products. He currently serves on the board for Lake Champlain International and is on the Vermont Fish & Wildlife board. Contact him at angler@flyrodshop.com.

Page 28 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing:

Preseason Fishing

A Lake Champlain tributary Steelhead caught March 27 on a "Batman" nymph using a Rock River Rods 8½ foot, 5 weight.

Brian Cadoret of Stream and Brook Fly Fishing, a Vermont guide service, and Rock River Rods, a Waitsfield company selling fly rods and reels, caught this great steelhead March 27.

Cadoret said he caught the steelhead on a Batman nymph in a Lake Champlain tributary.

He was fishing a “huge” Golden Stonefly as the lead fly with the Batman tied at the end of 20 inches of line attached to the bend of the hook.

He was, of course, using a Rock River Rods 8½ foot, 5 weight.

“The ‘Metalhead’ was fat, super colorful and put up quite a battle in the swift water,” Cadoret said.

He said it helps to use a strike indicator like a Thingamabobber about 3 or 4 feet above the first fly.

“The shallower the water the closer you have it to your first fly,” Cadoret said. “The key is to get the flies on the bottom and keep them there for long drifts. If you are not getting snagged

on the bottom once in a while add a few tiny splitshot weights above the first fly or use heavier flies and or adjust the Thingamabobber for deeper water and slide it up the leader a few feet.”

As March turned into April, Cadoret said hot nymphs for Lake Champlain steelhead include the Golden Stonefly, Copper John, Hare's Ear, Black Stonefly, Lime Green Caddis Pupa, Pheasant Tail and Batman.

Page 29 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing:

Early Season Trout

A relaxing spring day of stream fishing for brook, brown or rainbow trout in Vermont is great therapy after that long, snowy winter. Vermont’s trout fishing season starts Saturday, April 13, this year. Watch the weather and plan accordingly.

Vermont’s traditional trout fishing season opens Saturday, April 13, and anglers are looking forward to fishing for brook, brown and rainbow trout in the Green Mountain State’s lakes and streams.

Until then, eager anglers can capitalize on year-round catch-andrelease trout fishing opportunities on nine river sections.

“We know anglers are keen to wet a line as early as possible,” said

Vermont Director of Fisheries Eric Palmer. “If weather conditions cooperate, these river sections will provide a great opportunity to do some catch-and-release trout fishing with artificials between now and the traditional start of trout season in April.”

Vermont is known for excellent fishing opportunities for wild trout, and some of the biggest brown and rainbow trout are caught during

early spring in many rivers throughout the state.

“Willoughby River steelhead provide a popular spring fishery in the Northeast Kingdom at the Village of Orleans,” Palmer said.

“These steelhead are on their spring spawning run from Lake Memphremagog, and they always attract a lot of interest, partly because they can be seen jumping the falls in Orleans.”

Page 30 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing: As an added bonus, Vermont’s catch-and-release bass fishing season in lakes starts the same day as trout season on April 13 and continues through June 7. Only lures and flies may be used, and bass must be immediately released.

The Fish & Wildlife Department reminds anglers that the use of felt-soled boots or waders in Vermont waters is prohibited in order to prevent the spread of the invasive algae called didymo.

Anglers also are reminded to use sinkers that are not made of lead. It is unlawful to use a lead sinker weighing one-half ounce or less while fishing in Vermont.

Weighted fly line, lead-core line, downrigger cannonballs, weighted flies, lure, spoons, or jig heads are not prohibited.

Planning a Vermont spring fishing trip is easy. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has a 2013 Vermont Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Laws and Guide that includes maps showing lakes and streams as well as fishing access areas and public lands.

It also lists the fish species found in each body of water and it includes fishing regulations.

Copies are available where fishing licenses are sold, or from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. You also can download sections of the publication from their website.

The Vermont Outdoor Guide Association offers help in locating fishing guides and some overnight facilities on its website at www.VOGA.org.

Fishing license fees are $25 for adult residents, $8 for residents 15-17 years of age, $50 for adult nonresidents, and $15 for nonresidents 15-17 years old.

One, three and seven day fishing licenses also are

Tommy Baker of Rutland shows off an early season brook trout.

available for nonresidents. Children 14 and younger do not need a fishing license in Vermont.

Licenses are available on Fish & Wildlife’s website at www.vtfishandwildlife.com and at agents statewide.

Preseason trout fishing opportunities The following Vermont river sections are open for year-round trout fishing using artificial lures or flies. All trout caught must be immediately released where they are caught.

– From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the top of the Lovejoy Dam in Springfield.

– From the Lake Champlain boundary (top of Peterson Dam in Milton) upstream to the top of the hydroelectric Dam at Fairfax Falls.

– From the Lake Champlain boundary upstream to the State Prison Hollow Road bridge in Starksboro.

– From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the Union Village Dam in Thetford.

– From the Lake Champlain boundary upstream to top of Center Rutland Falls in Rutland.

– From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the Townshend Dam to Connecticut River boundary.

– From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the bridge on Route 107 in Bethel.

– From the Connecticut River boundary upstream to the top of the dam at Brockway Mills Falls in Rockingham.

– From the Lake Champlain boundary upstream to the Bolton Dam in Duxbury and Waterbury.

Page 31 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing:

Setting the Standard

Robert Scott of Poultney with Vermont’s new state record channel catfish he caught last year at Lake St. Catherine. The big cat measured 41 inches long and weighed 35 pounds, 15 ounces.

V

ermont’s lakes and streams continue to produce amazing numbers of big fish year after year. In 2012, three new state records were established for burbot, channel catfish and pumpkinseed sunfish.

In February 2012, Swanton angler Brian LaBelle started the year off by catching a new state record through the ice, an 8.81-pound burbot from Lake Champlain. This is the second year in a row a new state record has been set for this species, and it is a testament to the increasing popularity

of this tasty fish.

The burbot is the only freshwater member of the Cod family, and in Vermont they can be found in a number of the deep, cold Northeast Kingdom lakes such as Willoughby and Memphremagog, as well as Lake Champlain.

Most anglers target burbot after dark with dead bait set on the bottom in 15 to 30 feet of water in areas adjacent to deeper water. The previous record burbot caught in February 2011 weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces.

In June 2012, Robert Scott of Poultney was fishing with a live golden shiner off his dock on Lake St. Catherine when he hooked into what proved to be the new state record channel catfish. The big cat measured 41-inches long and weighed a whopping 35 pounds, 15 ounces, besting the previous record by more than a pound.

A month later, another shore angler fishing from a popular location on Lake Bomoseen landed a pumpkinseed sunfish measuring 10.5-inches and weighing 1.25-

Page 32 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Fishing:

Logan Bathalon of Bomoseen, shows off a mount of the new state record pumpkinseed, which weighed 1.25 pounds.

pounds. Fourteen-year-old Logan Bathalon of Bomoseen was fishing from the Float Bridge with a worm and a bobber when he hooked the giant panfish, which weighed a full quarter pound more than the previous record pumpkinseed. As with LaBelle’s burbot, this was the second year in a row that the pumpkinseed record was beaten.

Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department fisheries biologist Shawn Good, who coordinates Vermont’s Record Fish Program, says it’s no surprise new records continue to be set every year.

“We’ve had a really good run of record breaking fish catches in Vermont,” Good said. “Eighteen records set since 2001, and eight of them coming since 2010. No other state in the region can boast this many new state record fish over the same time period.”

What is even more encouraging is that 2012’s catches prove anglers don’t need fancy equipment or expensive boats for a chance at catching a state record fish.

“All three state record catches this year were caught either from shore or through the ice,” added Good.

“Anglers just need to get outdoors with a rod and reel and spend time fishing. You never know what you’ll catch! It’s a great family activity and a great way for kids to decompress from their busy lives.”

The Vermont State Record Fish Program was established in 1969 and maintains a list of the largest fish caught from Vermont waters in the last 44 years. All records are available to the public on the Fish & Wildlife Department’s website. Records can be searched by waterbody, fish species, or year of entry. Entry forms can be found there as well.

Page 33 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Sacred Hunter:

Bullpoutin’ With the Boys

B

ullhead, mud cat, hornpout, bullpout. Call it want you want, but I like calling them bullpout because that’s how they were “introduced” to me. And they kinda’ look like they’re “poutin” when you catch them and they burp like a baby when you squeeze them.

Call ’em what you want, either way, it’s an annual rite of spring.

Sitting on the muddy clay shores of a murky backwater, drinking iced tea and sitting on milk crates, watching our 8-pound test lines dance in the breeze.

Mating mallards fly over, the hens testing the aerobatic skills of potential suitors. Canada geese honk in the distance, practicing their nesting in the bowels of the swamp.

Page 34 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Sacred Hunter:

Trucks and cars line the road. The sun shines down upon the early spring revelers as they cast their lines out into the shallows where migrating bullhead feed on their way to the spawning grounds.

We watch our lines intently for any movement, carefully discerning

wind snap from genuine nibbles. At the end of the line is an oval shaped sinker, concave on the bottom to sink into the muddy bottom, and above that, two No. 2 hooks approximately 18 inches apart, tipped with chunky Canadian crawler.

We cast into the deeper pools just off of the shallow sides, where current is slow or nonexistent, then we place the rods on “Y” shaped sticks, and adjust the line so that there is just a hint of slack leading down in a 45 degree angle to the surface.

Page 35 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Sacred Hunter:

Then we sit back and enjoy our favorite beverage, depending on the time of day.

Yes, it’s a redneck sport and no, it does not necessarily mean setting tires on fire at night and leaving litter all over the shoreline.

That aspect of fishermanship is left to the low-life variety. We have more than once picked up someone else’s garbage and delivered it to them or placed it in the backseat of their vehicle.

Bullpoutin’ may be a Vermont tradition, but littering is not.

We set up folding chairs on shore and the legs sink into the mud

making the occasional spectacle of the sittee flailing his arms in chicken-like fashion as his body arcs slowly downward toward the primordial ooze.

It happens every year and it’s always a source of comedic relief.

We gaze at the skyline and, with the corner of our eye, watch for the slightest line movement. It always seems to happen when we are looking away, lost in reverie, perhaps at a goose cupping up and gliding into the distance.

The line twitches, ever so gently.

Then, slowly it begins to take out the slack and the belly becomes

taught with resistance.

We count to “three” and lift the rod quickly to set the hook. A good tug and the fight is on!

We reel furiously, lifting the weight of a twisting, turning, writhing body off of the muddy bottom and into the murky half-light.

The fish surfaces and begins its distinctive bullhead roll, flashing gold and brown on the top of the water.

The fight is one of a thrashing roll like a small gator, using the surface of the water for resistance.

As the fish gets closer, we recognize it and acknowledge its size.

Page 36 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Sacred Hunter:

“Nice one!” says Big Bob, who sits next to us.

Big Bob has reeled in three dozen this size already. Nonetheless, he congratulates us on our first big one of the day.

He lifts the fish out of the water and swings it toward his outstretched hands. Everyone knows that you can’t handle a bullpout swinging around in the air.

Except Big Bob. He deftly calculates the swinging arc of the fish and times his burly hands to accept the slimy body in such a way that the “spines” of the pectoral and dorsal fin land

squarely above his outstretched fingers and thumb.

I don’t know how he does it. Big Bob is a bullhead Master and his understanding of their movements and instincts is Zen-like. He is the Kung-Fu Master of the bullhead world.

We land ours on the shoreline and walk up behind it, carefully, consciously placing our thumb and forefinger behind its flared fins.

We hold him up to the sunlight and feel his heft. He is a slimy gold and brown as his soft leather-like skin reflects the sunlight.

His body weight feels good in our

hand. As we squeeze his belly to keep hold, he gives up the proprietary “buuuuurp” and we smile at him, lost in a moment of pure bliss.

We are one with the aquatic world.

For a brief moment, we share in the fascination of this prehistoric creature, which has evolved little in a world that changes with exponential speed.

For now, time has stopped.

Progress is unmetered. Life is experienced in the present.

For this we are deeply grateful.

We thank our brother, the bullpout,

Page 37 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Sacred Hunter: Sacred Hunt Game Dinner

and place him in a bucket of cold water to join his peers.

We sit, enjoying the early spring warmth and the still cool breeze as it sweeps over the water and we chat with our friends.

A young man down the bank pulls up a pair of crappies and is thrilled at his success with a species that occasionally run at the same time as bullhead. He flashes a toothy grin and proclaims “The crappies are here!”

A major shift in attention turns from the shorelines to the side of the bridge as many ne’er-do-wells slide in next to the young man and begin to ply the water with small plastic swim baits and microbobbers.

Then another shout rings out from the other direction. It’s our friend Zack Gregory, who has lit into a sizable carp on his micro-rod used for ice fishing.

The battle is a tenacious one, given that the carp is about 6 pounds of fight and the line is only

4-pound test and rigged to a light action rod about 24 inches long.

This one should be good!

After about 10 minutes of rodsnapping action, he slowly horses the tired fish onto the muddy shore and claims his prize.

“Carpe Diem!” I shout.

Then it’s back to bullpoutin’.

Within four hours we have a bucketful of fish that the Native American tribe, Ojibwe, use as their clan symbol.

“Winimac” is a tasty fish, filleted and rolled in corn meal, or pan-fried covered in dark Cajun seasonings.

See you this month on the shore.

Pull up a chair and share a beverage with us!

Bradley Carleton is executive director of Sacred Hunter.org, a nonprofit organization that is being formed to educate the public on the spiritual connection of man to nature and raises funds for Traditions Outdoor Mentoring.org, which mentors at-risk young men in outdoor pursuits.

As an addendum to my column this month, I want to thank all of you who inquired and attended our first Sacred Hunt Game Dinner on March 23.

It was a phenomenal success, raising much needed funds for our mentoring program, Traditions Outdoor Mentoring.

The food was stellar, being created by three of the finest chefs I have known: Steve Osborne, of past Perry Restaurant Group fame; Rod Rehwinkel, of Clear Culinary Consulting; and Andy Rose, executive chef for The Lodge at Shelburne Bay. Nina Koch, of East Shore Vineyards, held a magnificent wine tasting area, pairing wines like Cabernet Francs with goose liver pate’ (foie’ gras).

John Lesher, of JDL Consulting, ran a very busy bar serving East Shore Vineyard wines and local micro-brewery, Fiddlehead IPA. A silent auction was held that awarded prizes for a two-day striper fishing trip with Scott Buchmayr out of Newburyport, Mass., a Vermont duck hunt, a Vermont goose hunt, some tremendous prints from Reed Prescott, of Verde Mountain in Bristol, some beautiful hand-tied and framed salmon flies from Alan Holcomb, flyologist, from South Burlington and a couple of coveted gift subscriptions to The Upland Almanac.

The staff of The Lodge was uberprofessional and gracious enough to make Martha Stewart envious.

For those of you, who are not aware of our efforts, please visit our website at www.sacredhunter.org and our Facebook page, Sacred Hunter. “Like” us if you do!

Page 38 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

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Page 39 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Hunting:

The Harbinger

Like every young Vermont boy of my generation who had aspirations of killing a big buck, I read Larry Benoit’s “How to bag the Biggest Buck of Your Life” in awe and amazement at the impressionable age of 17.

Page 40 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Hunting:

Y

ou never forget your first ... buck that is. Like every young Vermont boy of my generation who had aspirations of killing a big buck, I read Larry Benoit’s “How to bag the Biggest Buck of Your Life” in awe and amazement at the impressionable age of 17.

The photographs of antlers and barrel chested bucks accompanied by instructions on tracking these giants remain engrained in my mind 25 years later.

Just weeks after reading this classic, I found myself in the woods of St. Lawrence County in New York after a dumping of more than a foot of heavy, wet snow blanketed the November landscape.

My father (having tagged out one week earlier), my 11-year-old

brother, and I were spending the weekend at our newly acquired camp in South Colton, N.Y., along the Raquette River.

We had not owned the camp for long but were very excited and optimistic about the hunting and

fishing opportunities that surrounded this very rural section of the Empire State.

Neither agricultural nor mountainous, this part of St. Lawrence County can best be described as a plateau that joins both.

My father dropped me off at daybreak at an area that I had hunted earlier in the season about 7 miles from our camp. The forecast was calling for warming temperatures that would reduce the snow depth throughout the day. No cell phone, GPS or hand held radio … just a compass, flashlight, and what I thought I would need for a day’s hunt.

My father and I agreed that he would return around lunch time to check in and again at the end of the

Page 41 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Hunting:

day to retrieve me. I was ready to track … to bag the biggest buck of my life.

As I watched my father drive off through the fog, I loaded my Remington Model 700 bolt action .243 and headed into the woods looking for signs of a buck in the dense melting snow.

It didn’t take me long to stumble on to what appeared to be a decent track, so I took it. The deer seemed to wander aimlessly and eventually stopped to rub a small tree.

At least I knew I was tracking a buck. That was reassuring,

especially for a 17-year-old kid who had only killed a couple of antlerless deer back home in Vermont.

I am sure I did everything wrong while I followed that buck.

I wasn’t checking to see if he was browsing on buds, an indication that the deer may be preparing to bed. I wasn’t trying to move at a pace that would allow me to see an ear twitch or an antler flash. I paid no attention to the wind direction.

I was an impatient teenager slogging through the snow like a 15-inch beagle chasing a snowshoe

hare.

To this day I can’t recall the series of events immediately preceding the first shot. All I know is he was accompanied by other deer when I found him in my scope, and as I squeezed the trigger, flags were flying in several directions.

I quickly slid the bolt open, then closed, and headed in his direction wondering what I had done.

As I approached the area where the deer were, movement to my left caught my attention. The buck was struggling up a small rise, pulling himself along with his front legs.

Page 42 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Hunting:

As soon as I thought I had him, he was back up on all fours and gone.

This is when the hunt began.

I didn’t give him any time to lie down and die. I’m not sure I knew enough to. I got right after him and didn’t let up.

At one point, I was approaching a section of thick balsams and could hear him breathing ... heavily, but couldn’t see him.

I got extremely close before he grew tired of my presence and as he

bolted, I fired, missing cleanly.

I never checked my compass and was totally unaware of my surroundings.

I pressed on, jumping him time and time again. Luckily he had made a semi-circle and brought us back to the road my father and I traveled when he dropped me off just a few short hours ago.

After crossing the pavement, he headed straight for the open water of Blake Reservoir.

His tracks stopped at the

shoreline and I wasn’t sure what to do. I walked up and down the shoreline in case he decided not to cross the 100-plus yards of water in order to reach the other side.

I scanned the reservoir with my scope expecting to see a floating buck waiting for me to retrieve him.

Nothing … no sign of him anywhere.

I walked back to the road confused, discouraged and tired.

Since lunch was more than an hour (and seven miles) away, I

Page 43 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Hunting: decided to start walking back to camp and if a vehicle happened to pass by, I would throw my thumb out not expecting the driver to stop.

Sure enough, a vehicle with two men stopped, picked me up and drove me back to camp.

South Colton is after all a rural area and most people in these parts hunt or understand why their neighbors do.

Those guys enjoyed my story, wished me luck and dropped me off to my unsuspecting father.

Having practiced my storytelling once with my gracious transporters, I began again with my father and younger brother, both of them listening intently.

My father took out a large paper map of the area, one of several that he used when searching for a camp to purchase and land to hunt.

After pointing out where I thought the buck had crossed Blake, we decided to drive around the northeast end of the reservoir, drive down a dead-end road, park and resume the chase.

None of us thought we had any chance of seeing that buck again.

We didn’t talk much if at all while we drove around the reservoir.

The snow was melting, the wind was picking up, it had been over an hour and that buck could have gone anywhere.

After reaching our destination, we parked the car and split up. My brother joined me and my father was headed for the shoreline.

I was to walk along the remainder of the dead end road past an old girl

scout camp to the end of a peninsula and we would eventually meet somewhere in the middle, hopefully locating the swimming buck's arrival to shore.

We hadn’t gone far when my father began yelling to us.

The wind muffled his message but we were both excited and began running immediately.

By the time we reached my father, I was out of breath and wondering why we were running.

It turns out that as my father was approaching the shoreline he walked directly into the buck. It was bedded not 20 yards from him and they just stared into each other’s eyes helplessly.

With no weapon over his shoulder, or a radio or cell phone to contact me, all he could do was wait.

After the buck summoned enough energy to get up, he returned to the water and, incredibly, entered the water, swimming back to the shoreline where I initially left him.

My father watched patiently and once the buck reached the other shoreline, it bedded immediately.

That’s when the yelling began ...

He pointed the buck out to us and I must admit; I was shaking uncontrollably. The sun was glaring off his antlers and this was my first good look at him. He looked impressive.

I anchored myself against a tree, took some deep breaths and slid the safety off.

I was trembling while a combination of excitement and fatigue overwhelmed me.

The first shot didn’t even faze him. My father said he saw some

Page 44 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Hunting: snow kick up high and right. I tried once more with a similar result.

The buck decided not to stick around for a third offer and slipped back into the woods.

He was noticeably weak and had a right to be. Not only was he wounded but in addition to the land I chased him across, he swam a few hundred yards during his escape.

We had no choice but to drive back to the other side and continue the hunt.

I led my father and brother to the shoreline, my mind absent of any thought that we would recover this animal.

I was nearing defeat.

We found the bed where he swam ashore awaiting my two misplaced shots.

As quickly as my spirits were raised, they plummeted when the tracks disappeared once again into the reservoir.

Looking back at my father and brother, I was ready to throw in the towel. My father convinced me that we should at the very least walk the shoreline to a small point up ahead, before giving up.

Almost half way there I stopped and turned back to be sure they were still following me when the buck exploded out of a small clump of alders nestled on the shoreline not 15 yards from me.

I shouldered my rifle and let him have it.

He continued crashing into the water and appeared to be swimming away … reluctantly. We quickly retreated just inside the tree line and took cover.

The buck swam a couple of circles and thank goodness decided to make his way back to shore.

As he reached land one final time, I ended the chase with a well placed shot ending the animal’s life.

That buck was my first. He was the biggest buck of my life, at age 17.

He was also a harbinger.

Somehow I manage to make most of my hunting and fishing experiences into an adventure.

They rarely end, and usually begin, when I pull the trigger … the first time.

I have shot and killed several deer since my first and some of them have become the biggest.

I plan to continue sharing these tall tales with you here through Shed Antlers.

Jeremy Baker chases whitetails passionately with friends and family throughout the Green Mountains and Adirondacks of New York State.

Feel free to send him an email: jeremyrbaker@comcast.net.

Page 45 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Hunting:

Governor hosts youth turkey hunt In an effort to promote youth hunting in Vermont, Gov. Peter Shumlin is hosting a Governor’s Youth Turkey Hunt this spring.

The governor is scheduled to attend a luncheon April 21 at the Waterbury Fish & Game Club, where he plans to lead a discussion on the importance of the hunting tradition in Vermont.

The following weekend, the young hunters will take part in a guided turkey hunt to coincide with Vermont’s youth turkey hunting weekend April 27-28.

The event is sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation and is open to any licensed hunter under the age of 16. Previous hunting experience is not required to participate.

“Youth participation in hunting across the country, including Vermont, has been on the decline,” said NWTF chapter president Don Isabelle. “We hope our inaugural Governor’s Youth Turkey Hunt will help reverse this trend and entice young people in Vermont back to hunting.”

“Governor Shumlin is an ideal leader for this program,” Isabelle continued. “As a lifelong hunter, he understands the importance of this tradition.”

Fish & Wildlife Department turkey project leader Forrest Hammond said the kids should have a good hunt.

“The youth turkey hunt is a safe and fun way to get young people into hunting,” Hammond said. “Between the excellent mentors and the hunt

Gov. Peter Shumlin will host a Governor’s Youth Turkey Hunt on April 21.

occurring before the start of regular turkey season, young hunters stand a very good chance of hearing turkey calls and seeing birds, and a high success rate is likely.”

An initiative of the Vermont State Chapter of the NWTF, the Governor’s Youth Turkey Hunt

coincides with this year’s Jakes’ event, an annual youth turkey hunting event held by the NWTF to educate youth about wildlife conservation and stewardship of Vermont’s natural resources.

Each youth hunter will be provided a guide from the NWTF.

Page 46 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

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Page 47 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Hunting:

Once Upon a Morning in Mendon I was out at 4:30 this morning listening for turkeys across the road from our house. Opening day of the spring season is tomorrow.

I had a cup of coffee hot and ready while I set up my folding chair at the base of the mountain range on the edge of a secluded meadow.

There was a male woodcock performing his sky dance and a bat that kept flying back and forth along the scots pines gathering insects above my head.

I waited for a few minutes before I let out a barred owl “hoot,” the only reply was another owl. He was most likely disappointed by my false advertising.

We were fully engaged in our exchange when finally Mr. Tom replied with the first gobble of the morning. I hooted again a few times without a response from either the owl or the turkey.

Daylight was drifting in and the

robins, veeries, and hermit thrush were busy delivering notes through the leafless treetops.

I pulled out my crow call and gave that a try. It was immediately followed by thundering gobbles.

I had their attention now.

Every offering seemed to escalate their excitement.

My attention was no longer directed towards the woodcock, robins or thrush.

These turkeys were high on the ridge and answering my crow calls like an operator on a switchboard.

I pulled myself away from the meadow, realizing work awaited me. As I walked along a path connecting two meadows, a loud crash got my attention.

I stopped, looked around and could not identify the source.

Taking a few more steps I peered through the hardwoods toward a pasture and noticed a yearling bull moose nose to nose with “Peppy” the neighbor’s horse.

Peppy was not impressed and

galloped off snorting like an angry deer.

I climbed through the fence and carefully approached the young bull.

He seemed confused and showed no fear of my presence.

Mom probably gave him the boot and he now has the rest of his life awaiting him, like an awkward teenager.

As he stood in the pasture he had a lonesome look on his face.

Evicted by mom and rejected by a horse.

I found myself feeling sorry for the poor fella.

Tomorrow will be a day full of anticipation – the confidence of knowing the birds are up there somewhere will push me up that ridge at a feverish pace.

Will they still be there waiting for me?

It doesn't really matter.

The entertainment and activities of this morning were as rewarding as any hunt will ever be.

Hunting, Fishing, Hiking, Backpacking, ATVing, Biking, Camping, Skiing, Snowshoeing, Snowmobiling, Bird Watching, Climbing, Photography, Power Boating, Paddling, Skijoring, Conservation, Four Wheeling, Dog Sledding, and … try us!

Most races and competitions. There will be some allowance for fishing tournaments, some shooting events, and a few others, but we’re not interested in 5k, 10k, half marathons, triathlons, bike races, ski races, swim meets, auto/motorcycle races, adventure races and similar events that are already covered by other publications and local newspapers. Also, no golf, Frisbee games, dog shows (unless they’re bird dogs), gardening, backyard birding, polo, team sports, well you get the idea. We have to draw the line somewhere, and this is a good starting point. Some things will be on a case-by-case basis. It never hurts to ask.

Page 48 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

VGOM:

Like that special tree stand from which you always see deer, or that stretch of river where the trout always rise, there are just some places that are unique. A spot that holds a place in your heart so special that you keep it to yourself.

If you’re looking for an advertising opportunity to share your message, this can be your special place.

This prime spot can be yours next month.

By advertising in Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine, you’ll not only be supporting a growing publication that is generating a lot of excitement in the Green Mountain State, but you’ll also place your message in front of avid and dedicated outdoor enthusiasts.

And you won’t believe how affordable this space is.

There are other publications that cover some of the outdoor experience in Vermont and this little slice of Heaven they call northern New England. They do a good job, but none of them cover the depth and breadth of the topics you’ll read about in Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine.

So contact us today to ensure we can get your advertisement in the next monthly issue of a growing and exciting publication that covers the topics that are important to you and your business.

Email: ads@vtgreatoutdoorsmag.com Phone: (802) 331-0130 Page 49 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Lake Champlain International:

Kamp Kill Kare State Park

T

he Lake Champlain Basin serves as a treasure trove of oddities and rich history.

This month finds a gem hidden among a region full of recreational experiences.

Founded as a sophisticated lakeshore resort hotel in the 1870s

by the St Albans Boating and Fishing Club, the site is now home to Vermont’s Kamp Kill Kare State Park.

According to the Vermont State Parks website, “this state park is named for Kamp Kill Kare, a summer camp for boys, which operated on this site from 1912 until 1966. Located on the

southwestern tip of St. Albans Point, a three-mile peninsula that defines St. Albans Bay, Kamp Kill Kare is surrounded on three sides by the sparkling water of Lake Champlain.”

These waters continue to provide ample recreational opportunities for those who seek them out.

Page 50 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Lake Champlain International:

Those people familiar with Burton Island State Park have likely spent some time at Kamp Kill Kare. For about the cost of a large coffee, campers, hikers and fishing enthusiasts can take the Island Runner ferry to nearby Burton Island.

An onsite boat ramp ensures access to Lake Champlain for boat owners and kayak rentals are offered as well. Swimming at the sand and shale beach, picnicking and birding round out the outdoor activities available at Kamp Kill Kare.

In the mid-1970s, poor water quality in St. Albans Bay prompted greater recreational use of this nearby park.

Now host to a variety of gatherings, Kamp Kill Kare State Park makes an inviting seasonal location for weddings and family reunions. From the Rocky Point House meeting space to the 26-foot by 40-foot pavilion to an expansive lawn ringed with trees and grills, there is no shortage of space to enjoy Vermont and Lake Champlain up close.

Kamp Kill Kare State Park used to be a boys summer camp called Kamp Kill Kare.

For more information ● www.vtstateparks.com/htm/killkare.htm ● www.killkare.org/News.html ● www.archive.org/stream/centennialhistor00adam/centennialhistor00adam_djvu.txt

Collaboration between the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation and the Vermont Division for Historical Preservation resulted in the 2010 renovation of the Rocky Point House to its original lakeside resort architecture.

The building was rededicated in 2012, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Kamp Kill Kare at St. Albans Point.

Now home to a museum of Kamp Kill Kare history and a venue for small gatherings, the building formerly known as “The Main House” is the only one remaining

from the summer camp years.

Though all of the other original buildings were auctioned off and removed from the property when the state of Vermont purchased Kamp Kill Kare in 1967, one of the cabins remains nearby as a lakeshore cottage addition.

Make a note today to enjoy this hidden jewel of the Lake Champlain Basin this summer and fall. Kamp Kill Kare State Park will not disappoint.

Look forward to another Lake Champlain “secret” next month.

Page 51 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

The Outside Story:

Does Tapping a Tree Hurt It? Our sugarhouse is within walking distance of an elementary school, so we’ve given tapping demonstrations to hundreds of school kids over the years.

At the part where someone drills a hole in the tree and it sort of bleeds, the next question is invariably: “Does tapping hurt the tree?”

The stock answer is no, as long as you don’t overdo it: use the smaller “health” spouts, follow conservative tapping guidelines, give the tree a year off if it looks stressed.

As proof that sugaring is sustainable, we point to some of the trees in our sugarbush that have been tapped for close to a hundred years and are better off for it. Better off because we thin out the trees around them, giving the chosen trees extra light, water, and nutrients.

Their increased vigor, when compared to the maples in unmanaged sections of the forest, is plain to see.

But the sugarmaking being practiced today in many commercial bushes – including our own – is not the same sugarmaking that was practiced even 10 years ago.

New technologies, like high-yield vacuum pumps and spouts that keep tapholes open longer, have vastly increased the amount of sap we’re collecting from each taphole.

Generally speaking, we’re taking

about twice as much sap per tree each spring as my grandfather took – some guys are taking three times as much.

So can a modern sugarmaker take too much sap from a tree?

The short answer is probably still no.

To come up with a longer, more satisfying answer, we’d first need to

figure out how much sap is available to a tree at any given time, and this question gets tricky because there’s the water part of sap and the sugar part.

It’s reasonably safe to assume that water is relatively easy for a tree to come by.

Twenty inches of snow converts to about 54,000 gallons of water per

Page 52 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

The Outside Story: acre, so even if you’re taking 20 gallons of water from presumably the carbohydrate loss is significantly less a tree over the course of a sugaring season, it’s a drop in bigger trees.

To make the allometric model that estimate was in the bucket compared to the moisture that’s available.

The problem is that nobody knows for sure where based on, someone had to dig up a whole tree and the groundwater in the sap you’re collecting came from. record the live weight and dry weight of every piece – Was it melting snow? Or Hurricane Irene in August from the root hairs to the branch tips.

Considering the amount of time, money, and logistics 2011?

The sugar part of sap is no easier to account for, and this entailed, you can understand why no one has created a model using a 30-inch diameter tree. we don’t know its history either.

This isn’t to say that maple researchers aren’t We do know that the soluble sugars in maple sap are re-examining the can-youpart of a tree’s take-too-much-sap nonstructural carbohydrate reserves (otherwise known According to a report published in 1903 by the question from other angles. venerable UVM maple researcher Dr. C.H. In 2010, Mark as tree food).

Picture these reserves Jones, only about 4 percent to 9 percent of an Isselhardt, a researcher at Proctor Maple like a bank account that the 8- to 10-inch-diameter tree’s total carbohydrate the Center in tree adds to when it’s reserves are removed; almost no one taps Research Center, photosynthesizing and trees that small, and presumably the Underhill draws upon in the spring to carbohydrate loss is significantly less in bigger measured the carbohydrate reserves of trees under open its leaves and grow high vacuum before, its early twigs, in the fall to establish cold hardiness, and in the winter to keep during and after the season.

One intriguing finding was that trees under high living cells alive. vacuum had slightly higher levels of carbohydrates in And we can measure these reserves.

Conventional wisdom holds that a traditional early summer, meaning that perhaps the trees mobilized sugarmaker does not take a harmful amount of the reserves to accommodate for the additional loss, and perhaps this diversion of resources came at the expense reserves.

According to a report published in 1903 by the of radial growth, which in the fall of 2011 was slightly venerable UVM maple researcher Dr. C.H. Jones, only less than the gravity-only and the nontapped control about 4 percent to 9 percent of an 8- to 10-inch- trees.

But Isselhardt cautions against taking anything from diameter tree’s total carbohydrate reserves are removed; almost no one taps trees that small, and the study as gospel truth.

Contributing Writers and Photographers We have had some interest by people who would like to write or submit photos to Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine. We welcome submissions by writers and photographers but keep three things in mind: ● Understand our budget doesn’t allow for payment. If you want to write because you love it, we can afford that, but we’re not paying any writers or photographers right away. ● You will be edited. The best writers still need editors – some more than others. If it makes you feel better, I’ve been writing and editing professionally for 20 years. I won’t hack your work to death. ● Query with an idea. Don’t write 1,000 words only to find VGOM doesn’t publish vampire fiction, even if the vampire sucks the blood of an 8-pointer. Let’s talk about your idea and decide if it’s right for this magazine. Then we’ll do it.

Page 53 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

The Outside Story: “It’s tempting to jump to conclusions, but the sample size was small and the data lack statistical power,” Isselhardt said. “At best we can only say that the results add to the mystery.”

And so, for now, we’re still at “no.”

People tend to see scientists as sages who have all the answers – I’m as guilty as anyone in this regard – but the truth is that they’re much better at asking questions than answering them.

This can be frustrating, but it’s also kind of cool.

There’s still so much we don’t know about sugaring, about nature in general. So many puzzles waiting to be solved.

Dave Mance III is the editor of Northern Woodlands. The illustration for this column was drawn by Adelaide Tyrol.

The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: wellborn@nhcf.org.

The Outside Story, provided by Northern Woodlands magazine, is a series of weekly ecology articles that has been appearing in newspapers across New Hampshire and Vermont since 2002. The series is underwritten by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation - Upper Valley Region and edited by Dave Mance at Northern Woodlands.

Page 54 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

State Parks:

Enjoy the State Parks

Soon, groups will be canoeing on lakes at Vermont State Parks and enjoying the summer.

As the snow begins to melt, it is a sure sign that spring is back.

The sun keeps getting higher in the sky, the days are growing longer and the sugar makers are working long days.

The roads may be getting a little

muddy, but there is never a better time than now to begin getting outside again!

Exploring the natural world and getting outdoors makes us healthier and stronger, plus it good for our soul.

There has even been a lot of science in the last several years that shows the

connection between physical and emotional health.

Last month we were visited by internationally known travel writer Richard Bangs.

Check out the end result, which is a video titled Vermont Deficit Disorder.

Get outside and enjoy the parks this spring!

Page 55 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Bird Watching:

Eggs

American Robin nests built on a ladder hanging on the side of a shed. The Robin only used the nest on the left.

Spring is a wonderful time to be in Vermont, and for many, one of the highlights is the return of migratory birds.

Many of the Vermont’s avian breeding species return to Vermont for one purpose, reproducing.

To reach that goal, they need to find a mate, build a nest, lay eggs and support their young. The eggs are one part of the process we don’t (usually) get to see.

Often the closest we come to seeing bird eggs in the wild is finding an empty cracked shell lying along a woodland path or suburban lawn – cast off remains, once vital to a developing bird’s survival – and that’s eggsactly as it should be (legally).

As animals moved onto shores and adapted to a terrestrial life, egg evolution favored a strong, protective covering to house and nurture the fertilized ovum through gestation—strong enough to remain

when the chick has emerged.

Bird eggs are comprised of a calcium-rich, porous shell that surrounds several membranes that cushion, “ventilate,” or remove wastes from the embryo.

The yolk supplies nutritional proteins and fats to the embryo.

Tiny pores in the shell allow for gas exchange. A surface cuticle, whose texture can be described variously as smooth, glossy, chalky, or soapy, gives the shell strength and helps shield the egg against bacteria.

Page 56 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Bird Watching: Just as there are myriad bird species and habitats, the sizes, shapes and colors of eggs are remarkable and evolutionarily significant.

In general, the bigger the bird, the bigger its egg.

Hummingbirds lay the smallest eggs while ostriches produce the largest eggs. Michael Walters, in “Birds’ Eggs,” describes eight different egg shapes: cylindrical, conical, pyriform (pear-shaped), biconical, oval, elliptical, spherical and longitudinal.

Shape is often critical to avoiding egg breakage at a nesting site.

Many seabirds, who lay their egg clutches on steep seaside ledges, characteristically produce pyriform eggs that tend to roll around in circles rather than rolling off.

Interestingly, conical eggs can be arranged in the nest with the pointed ends together affording all the eggs an even distribution of warmth from the brooding parent.

The eggs of cavity nesters are typically spherical in shape, hummingbirds produce cylindrical eggs, and grebes tend toward a biconical shape.

It’s an eggciting and marvelous journey ahead for a newly formed egg cell.

As each ovum travels along the mother bird’s oviduct, it is coated with albumen (the protective “egg white”) before reaching the isthmus where shell membranes are added.

As the egg enters the uterus, a pigment wash covers it before delivery through the cloaca.

Spotting and streaking of color onto the shell occurs due to the egg’s movement during pigmentation.

Essentially, only two pigments are involved with egg coloration, both of which are associated with the red blood pigment, hemoglobin.

Bile is the source of bluish-green and white colors.

Pigments appearing yellow to red or brown and black make up the other basic color; a combination of red and blue pigments results in an even wider range of hues.

Birds such as owls and kingfishers lay white eggs, perhaps to make their eggs are more easily seen in dark tree cavities or tunnels.

Birds that depend on camouflaging coloration for their eggs are typically ground nesters, such as wading and shore birds.

Carved eggs in a hummingbird nest (above) and an Upland Sandpiper.

The Birds of Vermont Museum in Huntington will open its doors May 1 with 502 birds!

An incredible milestone, but of course Bob and the staff have plans for still more.

But have we ever mentioned – in addition to the birds – how many carved eggs can be found at the Museum?

So, get crackin’ and come on by!

You can try to find all 535 unhatched eggs on display. And discover which bird’s eggs have hatched!

And perhaps even answer the age-old question – which came first?

Allison Gergely is the Museum Educator at the Birds of Vermont Museum. For more information about eggs, birds or the Birds of Vermont Museum see www.birdsofvermont.org.

Page 57 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Out & About:

Take Your Kid Fishing A lot of time, money, effort and ink has been expended to try to reverse the trend of declining participation in outdoor recreation – particularly among our youth.

Now, I know what they say about statistics. There's lies, damn lies and statistics.

I don't want to get into slinging around a bunch of numbers, and it could be argued that one organizations stats are better than another.

But the point remains the same despite the percentage points.

Kids today are less likely to participate in outdoor activities than they were just a few years ago.

We all tell the stories. “When I was a kid, we'd leave when the sun came up and come home when it went down.” Or some variation of that tale. Sometimes we were just in the alley, or the neighbor's backyard, but there were plenty of adventures mixed in as well.

Today, according to just one survey, adults tend to be taking up outdoor sports with overall participation staying steady or growing slightly even if individual sports shows gains and losses.

And kids 6-17 have started to show some growth in participation as well according to the Outdoor Foundation, but not enough. Growth year over year was only 1 percent from 2010 to 2011.

The problem is that when

comparing current numbers with those from just five years earlier, it's not such good news.

The same study shows that participation in the outdoors by kids 6 to 12 years old fell 15 percent from 2006 to 2011, according to the Outdoor Foundation.

That's why we have to do something. You don't lose 15 percent of your group very many times before you have nothing left.

Everybody knows it.

On this page in today's paper is a report about a youth turkey hunting opportunity in which the governor will attend an event and then youth turkey hunters will get the chance to be guided by a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

The NWTF gets it and is trying to do something about the problem. As do most outdoor industry groups.

Just about every town in the state that has a recreation program is offering some sort of outdoor activities during the summer.

Schools partner with ski areas to get kids on the slopes. There are youth fishing clinics. And, of course, there are dozens of summer camps to

teach kids about the outdoors.

But you see, the kids have Nintendo.

A digital device has nothing on a tom turkey strutting 15 yards in front of you and then erupting in a thunderous gobble that turns your intestines to jelly.

You and I know that.

We know what it feels like when a big fish takes you under the boat as the rod throbs in your hands and you pray the 6-pound test and your knots are up to it.

The kids know that BattleBlock Theater for the Xbox 360 is due out soon. They want you to give them the money.

I say take that money and buy them a decent rod and reel and a tackle box with a few things to put in it. If your son or daughter is 15 to 17, throw in $8 for a fishing license.

Then take him fishing.

If we don't start getting some of these youngsters hooked on the outdoors, who is going to pay for the conservation of wildlife and wild places in the next generation.

You can't build a deer yard or improve stream-side habitat in SimCity.

But, be careful. If you get your kid into fishing, I hear Rapala Pro Bass Fishing for Xbox is a lot of fun.

Darren Marcy is the editor and publisher of Vermont's Great Outdoors Magazine.

Page 58 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Advertising Rates

ads@vtgreatoutdoorsmag.com

Out & About:

Hunting, Fishing, Hiking, Backpacking, ATVing, Biking, Camping, Skiing, Snowshoeing, Snowmobiling, Bird Watching, Climbing, Photography, Power Boating, Paddling, Skijoring, Conservation, Four Wheeling, Dog Sledding, and … try us!

Page 60 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • April 2013

Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine:

Page 61 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • March 2013