Monthly Archives: October 2014

Who Tracks Smalltooth Sawfish?

FFWCC Continues Sawfish Research

Today’s feature on smalltooth sawfish, comes to us from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission. Though sawfish are scarce these days in most parts of Florida, there’s a small continuing population along the southwest coast, with the muddy creeks of the lower Everglades often a good spot to see one of these unique creatures. They’re also found in the lower Caloosahatchee and Peace Rivers and in Charlotte Harbor.
from The Fishing Wire

Studying Sawfish

The endangered smalltooth sawfish is the only sawfish species found in Florida waters. It is a type of ray.

Researchers are studying the ecology and life history of the endangered smalltooth sawfish to aid recovery efforts.

Considered by some to be a symbol of strength and spirituality, the sawfish is culturally important to many tribal societies around the world. Belonging to the family Pristidae, derived from a Greek term meaning saw, sawfish possess a characteristic long, flattened, toothed rostrum, often referred to as the “saw,” which is used for feeding and defense against sharks, their only known predators. There are five species of sawfish worldwide.

The only species found in Florida waters is the smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata). It is part of a group of fishes called elasmobranchs that includes all other rays and sharks. This protected species is listed federally under the Endangered Species Act because its population experienced significant decline and range reduction over the last century due to unintentional overfishing and its limited reproductive potential.

To learn more about the ecology and life history of the smalltooth sawfish and monitor its recovery, staff from the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s Charlotte Harbor Field Laboratory have spent over a decade monitoring and sampling juveniles in the estuaries of the Caloosahatchee River, Peace River and Charlotte Harbor. The project, led by biologist Dr. Gregg Poulakis, began with researchers compiling reports of angler encounters (which is still ongoing) and has evolved into a sampling program that addresses many of the priorities identified in NOAA’s Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Plan icon_pdf.gif.

Smalltooth sawfish

Though most sawfish seen today are small ones, the species is known to exceed 15 feet including their lengthy bill or saw, at full maturity.

Researchers tag each sawfish, which allows them to document the fish’s movements and determine which habitats they use. Researchers also collect a fin clip from each sawfish captured. These small samples have the potential to help scientists answer a variety of questions about the biology and ecology of the smalltooth sawfish. Researchers have already gathered information from these samples on population health, stability, habitat use and feeding biology.

Public participation is an important component of this research project, as reports of sawfish encounters provide a primary data source for determining the historic and current distribution of the population. For example, data provided by the public were instrumental in designating official critical habitat areas for juvenile sawfish – an important step in the recovery process. Members of the public are encouraged to report sawfish captures or sightings by email at [email protected] or phone at 941-255-7403. It is important to note that captures or sightings of even one sawfish are useful to the research team.

Through their work so far, Dr. Poulakis and his team have discovered some interesting facts about smalltooth sawfish. They determined that juveniles double in size during their first year, growing from a birth length of 2.5 feet up to 5 feet, and continue to grow relatively fast in their second year. Researchers also determined that sawfish are affected by marine debris, such as discarded fishing line, but can heal quickly if freed from the debris. Data also show that juveniles sometimes occur near specific locations for months, are found in natural creeks and man-made canals, and respond to large increases in river flow by moving downriver.

Dr. Poulakis and his team receive funding from the National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct this research, which addresses the ongoing management needs of multiple agencies and stakeholder groups

Who Tracks Baby Tarpon In Florida?

BTT Tracks Baby Tarpon in Southwest Florida
from The Fishing Wire

Checking baby tarpon

The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust continues their efforts at improving Florida’s flats fisheries with efforts to map the nursery areas used by juvenile tarpon on Florida’s southwest coast.

Last week, scientists at Bonefish and Tarpon Trust broke ground at their newest Juvenile Tarpon Habitat Restoration site by setting up antenna arrays that will be used to track juvenile tarpon movements within a series of canals. This project, being done in conjunction with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Charlotte Harbor Buffer Preserve, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, will turn what are now old canals from a long-abandoned development into juvenile tarpon habitats. The crew made their way into the new site early Tuesday morning and were able to assemble 4 antenna arrays at a number of strategic locations. “The first step is to see how the fish currently use the canal system,” said JoEllen Wilson, BTT’s Juvenile Tarpon Habitat Program Manager. “Then once the restoration is complete, we will continue to sample to see if the tarpon prefer one type of habitat over another.”

BTT scientists will return later this year to begin the sampling. Sampling includes capturing juvenile tarpon with cast nets and seine nets, taking measurements, and then tagging the individual fish with PIT tags. When a tagged fish passes through one of the antenna arrays the antenna will log the date, time, and the unique tag number.

Juvenile tarpon depend upon shallow, backwater habitats for at least the first 2 to 3 years of their lives. Common characteristics include:

Mangrove or other fringing vegetation that provides structure and protection from bird predators;
A mixture of depths – primarily shallow with some deeper pools for fish to congregate when water levels decrease;
Tidal exchange through narrow, shallow passages that keeps predatory fish away;
Freshwater inflow;
Calm backwaters.

As coastal human populations continue to increase, coastal ecosystems and the fisheries they support are becoming increasingly stressed due to factors such as habitat loss and degradation. Therefore, there is an
urgent need to protect and restore these critically important habitats.

BTT thanks its collaborators the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Charlotte Harbor Buffer Preserve (especially Mr. Jay Garner), and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

For more info on the Juvenile Tarpon Habitat Initiative, or to help out this initiative by becoming a member, please visit www.btt.org

Does Georgia Power Help Fishermen and the Environment?

I enjoyed fishing at Lake Juliette with Jack “Zero” Ridgeway last Sunday. We were checking out spots for a November Georgia Outdoor News article and caught a lot of bass. The biggest one hooked, a five pounder, jumped a couple of times then got Zero’s line around the trolling motor and broke off.

While we were fishing I kept looking at the smokestacks and cooling towers at the Georgia Power Plant Scherer on the shore. It is a huge facility, the fifth biggest coal fired power plant in the US. It provides electricity for many homes and businesses around here through the Georgia Power Company, Municipal Elect5ric Authority of Georgia, (MEAG) Oglethorpe Power and others.

When we think of Georgia Power we think of power. But when we flip a switch to turn on a light, do a load of clothes or warm food in the microwave it is automatic and we only notice when the power goes out and we don’t have this incredible resource that makes our lives so much easier.

Georgia Power is so much more than just a power company, though. Without them, Lake Juliette, Jackson Lake, Lake Sinclair, Lake Oconee and many others in our area and state would not exist. If you fish or hunt on and around those lakes you can thank Georgia Power.

Many of the boat ramps, picnic areas and campgrounds on Georgia Power lakes are either fully run by Georgia Power or are supported by them with money and facilities. Hunting areas are usually funded by a combination of funds from Georgia Power and the Georgia DNR. And many water fowl projects are a combined effort with Ducks, Unlimited and Georgia Power.

While Zero and I were fishing we heard several quick shotgun blasts early in the morning. Zero said someone must be hunting ducks and I responded there was an early teal season and also goose hunting was open.

All around Lake Juliette there are special waterfowl areas supported by Georgia Power where fields are planted with food ducks and geese like. With the lake right there it is excellent habitat for both. And some of the fields on Rum Creek WMA are managed for doves and are open to the public for shooting at those gray rockets.

Wildlife Management Areas around many lakes are open to the public for deer hunting and many of them are on Georgia Power land. Without them, a lot of deer hunters would have a tough time finding a place to hunt. And they are open small game hunting, too, and managed for all kinds of wildlife. Georgia Power helps fund these areas and provides the land for them.

Fishing is good on Georgia Power lakes and the shoreline on most is owned by the company. Folks with cabins and houses lease many of their lots from the company. Not only do these leases provide great places for the homeowner, the docks they build are great cover for bass, crappie and bream.
Other than the docks, Georgia Power works with the DNR to build fish habitat in the lakes from putting out marked brush piles to planting different kinds of native grasses around the lake. Water quality is monitored by Georgia Power, too.

Lake Sinclair is special to many area bass fishermen in the winter. The warm water discharged from Plant Branch, the coal fired power plant there, warms the lake a little and makes fish bite better in the winter. Due to Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the federal government seems to be trying to shut down such power plants.

Plant Branch is being closed to meet EPA regulations, at a great cost to the company, its employees and its customers. If the current federal government had it way all coal fired power plants would be shut down, and they don’t care how much doing that would raise power costs or the fact electricity might become less reliable due to lowered generating ability.

Some folks complain companies don’t pay enough taxes. They don’t pay any taxes. Their customers and stock owners pay them. So increasing taxes on companies just raise taxes on people like you and me. And you can own some of Georgia Power and get your share of their profits by buying stock. At less than $30 a share right now, it is a good way to build equity and get decent return on your investment.

Everyone complains about their power bill, and Georgia Power offers many ways to conserve electricity and keep it lower. But think what you get for your payment. Could you live around here without an air conditioner in August? Could you do without a refrigerator, microwave, TV, clothes washer or any of the other things you depend on daily?

When you flip a switch to light up a dark room, hunt on a Georgia Power facility or fish on one of their lakes, think about what the company does to make those things happen!

Can I Catch Muskie In Kentucky In the Fall?

Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Muskellunge fishing heats up in fall

By Kevin Kelly
from The Fishing Wire

This is the first installment of a series of articles titled “Fall Fishing Festival” profiling the productive fishing on Kentucky’s lakes, rivers and streams in fall.

FRANKFORT, Ky. – The angler’s whoop traveled fast and loud over the water from the back of Buck Creek on Cave Run Lake.

Bringing a trophy muskellunge to the boat after a spirited fight uncorks raw emotions and provides a unique sense of satisfaction. In this instance, the 45-inch torpedo of a fish was a new personal best and the fourth muskellunge the angler had caught on this cool, calm, overcast Friday in mid-September.

The fall muskellunge bite was turning on, and word traveled quickly. A parking lot that held only a handful of boat trailers on Friday was full Saturday.

The shorter days, brisk nights and cooler water temperatures of early fall trigger the start of some of the finest muskellunge fishing of the year. Cave Run, Green River and Buckhorn lakes are the state’s top destinations as they have been proven to produce trophy fish.

Sarah Terry’s state record came from Cave Run Lake in November 2008 and was caught on a silver Double Cowgirl in-line spinner. It measured 54 inches and 47 pounds.

In recent weeks, muskellunge at Cave Run Lake have been caught in the backs of creeks – many of them loaded with weed beds and standing timber – in 8 feet of water or less. Weed beds near submerged channels and across the main lake flats aren’t to be overlooked either.

“They’re looking for one thing: food to get them through the winter,” said Tom Timmermann, northeastern fisheries district program coordinator with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Bass go through a heavy feeding period in the fall, and muskellunge do the same thing.”

Smaller lures such as a 4-inch balsa wood crankbait in silver and black, a ½-ounce dressed in-line spinner or a ¼-ounce skirted buzz bait can be effective in early fall. As the water cools, consider upsizing to rubber and hard-bodied jerkbaits, and single and double-bladed in-line spinners and spinnerbaits.

“Don’t overlook those smaller baits,” Timmermann said. “If you’ve never fished Cave Run before, you can throw some of those larger bass crankbaits, especially in black and white colors, and do pretty well.”

Buckhorn Lake in Leslie and Perry counties is rated good for muskellunge and holds ample numbers of fish in the 36 to 40-inch range.

In early fall, target the back of creeks and shallower areas that have weed beds. The best fishing once the lake level has reached winter pool is on the lower end of the lake by the dam, said Kevin Frey, eastern fisheries district program coordinator with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.

Crank baits, jerk baits and bucktail spinners are proven producers. Generally, orange and sucker-imitating colors work well in the creeks while silver, purple or chartreuse are go-to colors for the main lake.

“There are several good spawns of shad throughout the year,” Frey said. “There will be a lot of smaller shad, so there could be an opportunity to try some muskie-sized baits and some bass-sized baits.”

Leatherwood Creek, Otter Creek and Meetinghouse Branch are a few of the best spots for fall muskie on Buckhorn Lake. The tailwaters can be excellent for muskellunge as well.

“There’s lots of bank access,” Frey said. “There’s also a small creek that comes into the tailwater. Over the years, that’s been popular with local anglers.”

Fisheries biologists routinely see muskellunge exceeding 45 inches on Green River Lake, which is rated excellent for the species.

“It certainly still has big fish potential,” said Eric Cummins, southwestern fisheries district program coordinator with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.

While a lot of the standing timber is gone, Russell Branch is one notable exception. Try the slides on main lake bluffs and the edges of flats. Robinson Creek features expansive flats with some isolated brush piles and flooded timber.

The upper reaches of creek arms often will hold muskellunge.

“It’s just a little cooler than the main lake itself,” Cummins said, “and they can find whatever they’re eating.”

Where there are shad, muskellunge probably aren’t far away. Give a shad-imitating crankbait a try. Jerkbaits also produce on Green River Lake.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife maintains these fisheries and others around the state by stocking them with 13-inch long muskellunge reared at Minor E. Clark Fish Hatchery in Morehead.

Cave Run, Buckhorn and Green River lakes received stockings of the sub-adult fish this week. On average, it takes five to six years for a muskellunge to reach 36 inches, the minimum size limit in these impoundments.

Lake level and outflow information for Cave Run, Buckhorn and Green River lakes can be found online via the Louisville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ webpage at www.lrl.usace.army.mil.

Kevin Kelly is a staff writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Get the latest from Kevin and the entire Kentucky Afield staff by following them on Twitter: @kyafield.

Should I Fish A Spinnerbait Around Grass In Lake Sinclair In December?

I was taught a lesson about fishing a spinnerbait in grass beds on Lake Sinlair one December. Charles Redding allowed me to fish with him at Sinclair to get information for a Georgia Outdoor News article. We caught nine nice keeper bass on a pattern I would not have fished.

It was in the early 1970’s that I first heard Charles’ name. He pretty much invented spoon jigging at Lanier. Over the years I got to know him as one of the best spinnerbait fishermen in Georgia. He was a member of the South Cobb Bass Club, the club that won 9 Top Six tournaments in a row! He now fishes team tournaments many weekends and usually is in the top fishermen.

Sinclair has lots of grass beds. In the spring, you can cast a spinnerbait into them and expect to catch bass. I do not think of that as a December pattern, but that is what we did. Although the water was dropping and that always makes shallow water fishing less productive, Charles showed me bass can be caught shallow even under unusual conditions.

Water temperature ranged from 58 to 63 degrees in the areas we fish, and we tried grass beds from Nancy Creek all the way up into Rooty Creek. Charles kept the boat close to the grass, making short, quick cast and then moving on. He said he expected to find feeding fish somewhere during the day while fishing like that. His success in tournaments proves him correct.

If you try Sinclair during the winter, Charles says fish hit all winter long on the grass bed pattern. Just don’t give up on it.

Is the Smallmouth Bass Fishing Good On Bays de Noc In Michigan?

Bays de Noc Smallmouth Bass Fishery Shines on National Stage
from The Fishing Wire

Big smallmouth

ESCANABA, Mich. – Mention Lake Michigan’s Bays de Noc to most anglers and they’ll immediately start talking about fishing for walleye.

But in the wake of September’s high-profile Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship – which brought 50 of America’s top anglers to Escanaba to ply the waters of Big and Little Bays de Noc – what was once seemingly relegated to “also-ran” status is now national news: The Bays are loaded with trophy bass, too.

“The fishery has always been kind of walleye-centric,” said Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Darren Kramer. “Bass is kind of an up-and-coming, emerging fishery. Every year we see more and more bass boats, and more out of state anglers, taking advantage of the fishery. There’s a lot of traffic out on Big Bay de Noc after the bass opener. That fishery’s really taken off in the last five or six years.

“Our creel data indicates there’s increasing angler effort and we think that’s attributable to bass,” Kramer continued. “Bass harvest has stayed the same, but use of the resource is going up along with angler success, which implies we’re recruiting more catch-and-release bass anglers to the area.”

The Bassmaster Angler-of-the-Year Championship started with a bang: On the first day, 12 competitors brought in five-fish limits with a total weight in excess of 20 pounds.

Catching bass that weigh more than four pounds each isn’t often accomplished in tournaments, even on some of America’s best big-bass lakes.

Although the tournament hit a minor snag, with high winds causing delays that shortened the event to two days rather than three, the weather couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the competing pro anglers who described the fishery as “awesome,” “incredible,” “unbelievable” and “amazing.”

Paul Elias, a Laurel, Mississippi, resident who won the BASS Classic in 1982, was effusive in his praise.

“It’s as good as, or better than, any smallmouth fishery we fish,” he said. And Elias’ comments were echoed by virtually all the competitors.

Fayetteville, Tennessee, bass pro Brandon Lester, who brought in the biggest bass of the first day’s competition – a six-pound, four-ounce smallmouth, said, “I’ve never seen so many big smallmouths in my life. They’re not everywhere, but when you find one, you’ll find a group of them. When you get around them, you can light them up real quick.”

Said Skeet Reese, a top angler from Auburn, California, at the weigh-in: “That’s the best day of smallmouth fishing I’ve ever had in my life. This is an incredible fishery.”

While many of the anglers were surprised by the quality of the fishery, Kevin Short of Mayflower, Arkansas, said the results were just what he expected.

Short first fished the waters off Escanaba in 2008 when he recognized that the area would undoubtedly host a future tournament, and has come back every year since just to fish for fun.

“If there’s any place in the whole country we would move to for nine months of the year, this would be it,” Short said. “The first couple of trips we really didn’t catch that many, but once we figured it out, holy smokes. It’s a really special place. I’d drive 18 hours just to come up here and fish a few days.”

Bass anglers familiar with the fishery had predicted an outstanding tournament.

Scott Cormier, a 42-year-old recreational vehicle salesman and lifelong bass angler from Gladstone, said the tournament was “going to open up a lot of eyes” across the country.

“There’s a big deep-water fishery out there that nobody’s really fishing,” Cormier said. “There are fish out there in 40 feet of water that have never seen a lure before.”

Indeed, most of the anglers were fishing shallow water during the tournament, concentrating on the rocky shoals that were only a few feet deep on the top or on the weedy flats adjoining drop-offs.

Dan Anderson, a 48-year-old maintenance supervisor from Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, who fishes Bays de Noc regularly and was on hand to take photographers out on the lake during the tournament, said the fishery is capable of yielding 100-bass days at any time.

“They’re biting good by opening day,” he said. “You can catch them by May 1st and fish right up to deer season.”

That such an outstanding bass fishery flew under the radar for so long is just a matter of the Upper Peninsula fishing culture, Kramer said.

“Many anglers in the U.P. are typically looking for panfish or walleye,” Kramer said. “A lot of the bass fishermen we see are from downstate or out of state. But I predict that might begin to change.”

Added Jessica Mistak, the DNR’s fisheries management supervisor for northern Lake Michigan: “We think this is a world-class fishery that’s really been overshadowed by the walleye fishery. Now that anglers see that there are fish to catch other than walleyes in the Bays, they’ll be eager to come here and try it.”

Although invasive species are typically talked about in a negative light, Mistak said water clarity changes – brought on by zebra and quagga mussels – and new prey species, such as gobies, may have helped the smallmouth population.

Certainly, the smallmouths are thriving, a fact that is not so secret any more.

“This place is unbelievable,” said Jacob Powroznik of Port Haywood, Virginia, who brought in a limit weighing 24-pounds and one-ounce, good for third place after the first day of competition. “I hope we come back real soon.”

A Saturday Kids-Buddy Tournament and A Sunday Club Tournament At Bartletts Ferry

There is nothing quite like seeing the excitement on a kid’s face when they catch a fish. They light up and almost vibrate they are so happy. Last Saturday at the Spalding County Sportsman Club Youth/Buddy tournament at Bartletts Ferry three kids showed us that joy.

We were disappointed there were only three youth in the tournament, but it was well worth the effort to put on the tournament. Raymond English brought his grandson Preston and he won the youth side with three keepers weighing 3.39 pounds. Russell Prevatt’s grandson Bryson had two weighing 1.52 pounds for second and Zane Fleck’s grandson Dakota had three weighing 1.22 pounds for third.

I am glad they all caught fish. The fishing was tough but they worked hard for seven hours to land fish on a tough day. I will long remember watching Bryson, the youngest angler in the tournament at seven years old, bring a bag of fish up to the scales.

The weigh-in bag looked almost as big as he is and with water and fish in it, it was very heavy. Although he struggled with it, he wanted no help! He was so excited he couldn’t stop talking. It was great.

Kids win prizes rather than money and I was disappointed I didn’t have the tackle bags ready. I am trying to get some donations and will present the prizes at the next club meeting. Unfortunately, I have used up all the tackle I had collected for prizes.

In the Buddy side of the tournament Raymond and Preston won with five fish weighing 9.63 pounds. The way the tournament works is kids weigh in the fish, up to five 12 inch largemouth and any size spots since there is no legal limit on them, and the adult and kid combine their best five for the team weight. Spots have to be 12 inches long in the buddy tournament due to club rules.

A father and son were supposed to fish with me but due to a last minute problem they couldn’t make it, so I fished as a “team” by myself. I had three keepers weighing 6.49 pounds for second and my 3.70 pound largemouth was good for big fish. Russell and Bryson had four weighing 3.13 for third and Zane and Dakota had four weighing 2.25 for fourth.

Fish hit a little bit of everything, from Trick worms to spinner baits. I caught one at daylight on a spinner bait, one at 11:00 on a Texas rigged Mag 2 worm and the big fish hit a jig head worm at noon. The fish were scattered on the cloudy, cool day and there was not much of a pattern. I caught fish from one foot deep to 22 feet deep.

During the buddy tournament I decided to look for new places to fish and it worked. The first two hit on places I had never fished before, and the third one hit on a point that has always looked great but I have never caught a fish before, so I had quit fishing it years ago.

On Sunday ten members of the Sportsman Club fished our September tournament on Bartletts. After eight hours of casting we brought in 26 keepers weighing about 33 pounds. There were three five-fish limits and two people didn’t catch a keeper. We had six largemouth, 18 spots and two shoal bass weighed in.

I won with five weighing 6.98 pounds and had a 3.16 pound largemouth for big fish. Sam Smith had four weighing 5.41 pounds for second, Niles Murray had a limit weighing 4.87 pounds for third and his partner Raymond English had five weighing 4.57 pounds for fourth.

I started out where I had caught my first fish the day before but got no bites. Then I ran to where I caught my second fish and again got no bites. By 7:45 I was where I had landed the big one the day before and quickly caught a barely 12 inch long spot, then a largemouth the same size.

At noon I had fished a lot of places and still had just two keepers. In desperation I went out on a point and saw fish near the bottom, and used a drop shot worm to catch three keeper spots and several throwbacks. That gave me my limit with an hour left to fish, but they were all small.

For the last hour I decided to go to the point where I had never fished before Saturday but had caught a keeper that day. There were fish on the bottom and I missed some bites on the drop shot worm, and thought they must be bream. Then, with five minutes left to fish, the big fish hit. I didn’t think I would ever land it but managed to net it after a long fight.

This is my favorite time of year to fish. The weather is beautiful and fish tend to bite better. And boat traffic is supposed to be lower, since Labor Day is supposed to be the end of boating season, but it was not that way Sunday. The beautiful weather had a lot of pleasure boaters on the lake and I rocked and I rocked and rolled all day from their wakes.

How Long Should I Use A Spinnerbait Before It May Break On A Fish?

Fishing was fantastic one weekend several years ago – if you could find water that was clearer than a dirt road. I fished at Eufaula on Saturday and Bartlett’s Ferry on Sunday. The results were very different.

At Eufaula, the creeks upriver were clearing and bass and crappie were feeding. Bass were hitting spinnerbaits on shallow grass and wood cover. Hybrids were running in the river. I saw a fishermen in a boat anchored in the mouth of Uchee Creek reeling in a hybrid as I went out at 9:30 am. When I returned at 4:45, someone in that same boat was reeling in another one.

Bartlett’s was tougher. I could not find any decent water anywhere. The lake was muddy and the creeks too stained to fish. Fifteen Flint River Bass Club members practiced casting for 8 1/2 hours and managed to bring in 16 bass weighing 21 pounds.

New member Shane Graham, in his second tournament, won with three bass weighing 3-10. He caught them on worms. I got desperate after lunch since I had not caught a fish and started throwing a spinnerbait at everything I could see. I had one strike and caught a 3-6 bass that won second and big fish. Ricky Skipper, another new member, caught three at 3-4 for third and old member Tom Perdue caught 2 at 2-5 for fourth.

I was fishing by myself and when I got my fish to the boat, the net was tangled in another rod. Rather than waste time, I lifted the fish over the side with the rod. As it cleared the water, it fell, hitting the side of the boat and going into the boat. When I got it, my spinnerbait had broken just above the hook.

A professional fisherman who makes his own spinnerbaits once told me to quit using a spinnerbait after catching three bass on it. I think I will remember his advice from now on. If my bass had gone back into the lake, I would have been sick!

How Much Training Do Conservation Officers Receive?

New conservation officers put to the test with 18-week field training
from The Fishing Wire

Editor’s Note: We often underestimate the education and training officers that enforce fish and wildlife laws across the country receive. That’s why we thought you’d enjoy this look at a portion of the 18 week field training portion of Conservation Officers in Michigan- after they graduate from the law enforcement academy.

Standing high on a bluff overlooking the Muskegon River in late August, Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers Jeff Ginn and Saykham Keophalychanh spotted an angler on the river below. Without saying a word, Keophalychanh immediately began making his way down the path to the river bank, hoping to make contact with the angler.New officer Keo with his field training officer Ginn

Natural Resources Conservation Officers Jeff Ginn and Saykham Keophalychanh

One of 23 graduates from the Department of Natural Resources’ most recent law enforcement academy, Keophalychanh is currently working under the supervision of Ginn, his field training officer (FTO). Like his classmates, Keophalychanh will spend 18 weeks afield with veteran conservation officers to learn the ropes before reporting to his assigned county.

“I want him to have a lot of contacts during the field training,” said Ginn, a CO in Newaygo County. “The more people he talks to that aren’t suspicious, the more someone who is suspicious will stand out to him.”

Keophalychanh, who is halfway through his second of three six-week sessions with an FTO, said he’s already learned 10 times as much about the job as he did at the academy.

“It’s kind of like doing lab work in a science class, to use an analogy,” Keophalychanh said. “Sometimes five minutes in the lab can teach you as much as five hours with a book. What we learned in the academy is 20 miles wide, but only an inch deep. The FTO process fine-tunes you, reinforces what you learned in the academy.”

Ginn, an eight-year veteran of the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division, said his job as a FTO is to make sure Keophalychanh understands what’s expected of him and to teach by example.

“The academy provides a great foundation for our officers,” he said, “but when they get in the field, that’s when they put their skills to the test.”

Keophalychanh said Ginn has really helped him learn what he should focus on in the field.

“I was a clean slate coming in,” Keophalychanh said. “It’s good to have direction. Just being able to see how it’s done is a good experience for me.”

Getting these 23 new officers through the training is crucial to the DNR’s mission to protect, manage and conserve Michigan’s natural resources. Prior to the academy this year, the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division was operating at an all-time low for the number of conservation officers in the field, with some counties not having the full-time presence of a CO.

The field training portion of a new officer’s overall training is an integral part of what prepares the officer for the job, said Sgt. Jay Person, commander of the DNR’s conservation officer recruit school.

“The field training is segmented so that the new officer moves from an observational role to an active role over the course of 18 weeks,” Person said. “When completed, the new officer has a very good idea what the job is really like, and pairing them with different FTOs throughout the field training maximizes their exposure to highly trained, experienced conservation officers who have a lot of knowledge to share about the job and the area where the new officer is assigned.”

First Aid from Conservation Officers

During the first six weeks of field training, the new officers were paired with a more experienced officer in or near their assigned county. In the second six-week segment, the new officers were moved to another region of Michigan, sometimes to an area completely different than their assigned county, allowing the new officers to be exposed to different areas of the state and the different activities encountered – an officer assigned to a more rural county may spend the next six weeks in a more urban area and vice versa.

In between the first and second sessions, there was a one-week training session at the DNR’s Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center at Higgins Lake that focused on marine operations, boat handling and tribal awareness.

After the second six-week segment, another one-week training period focusing on waterfowl training and enforcement will be held just prior to the opening of most waterfowl hunting seasons in Michigan.

In the first six weeks, the new officers spend more time observing the more experienced officer handling contacts or assignments. In the second week, the new officers take the lead more on contacts. In the final segment, the new officers fully take the lead on contacts and investigations.

“The field training gradually ramps up as it moves along,” said Person. “At the end, the new officers will be completely ready to perform their duties as assigned.”

Keophalychanh’s view of the field training experience is echoed by his classmates.

“It’s an awesome way to learn,” said Tim Rosochacki, a 26-year-old former DNR park ranger who is a newly minted CO. “They’ve got a lot of tips and tricks that they’ve learned and they know what a fresh officer is going through.

“My training officers have been great – they’ve let me learn on my own, but they’ve also added to it. They’ll tell you their own experiences and that gives you a better mental picture of the routes or avenues you can take. Now you’re getting to put all the stuff you learned in the academy to use. You’re getting to see firsthand how it all fits together.

“They get you thinking one way and then you get out in the field and you begin to see why you were trained that way.”

As Ginn and Keophalychanh continue their patrol, they cruise past a launch ramp on Hardy Pond and spot another angler fishing in a boat not far from shore. Keophalychanh asks Ginn if they should wave him in to check him. Ginn’s response?

“Let’s talk about that a minute,” Ginn said. “Let’s say we see him catching fish hand-over-fist and then when you contact him, he just motors off. What are we going to do? What options are available to us?”

Keophalychanh said the first thing he would do is look for the boat’s registration numbers. He puts his field glasses to his eyes, notes the vessel’s MC numbers, and gets on the radio. Minutes later, he learns the boat is registered to someone who has a senior citizens’ fishing license. That seems to jibe with what Keophalychanh has seen.

As Ginn put it, the pair found out what they needed to know without disrupting the angler’s recreation.

“There are countless ways to do this job,” Ginn said. “It doesn’t matter which approach you take if you get the right outcome. After we have an interaction, we often talk about how we might have done it differently. I like to tell him about things I think I’ve done wrong. There are times when I say, ‘I should have done it this way …'”

Richard Cardenas, a 26-year-old recent academy graduate from Ionia County said working with an established CO has really helped him understand how to interact with the public.

“You’re working with a fellow officer who helps you get in your groove and develop your own style,” Cardenas said. “Each community is different and the academy can’t teach you that – how to interact with different cultures, different age groups, different types of sportsmen. The scenarios they give you at the academy are just that – scenarios. This is real life.”

Cardenas, who spent his first six-week session with an officer in Livingston County, said he spent a lot of time at Belle Isle, a far different atmosphere than rural Ionia County. He’s found a supportive community in Detroit.

“Most of the people we encounter are very happy we’re there,” he said. “They support what we’re doing and are enjoying the new atmosphere at Belle Isle.”

The new COs will begin their third six-week session of field training shortly. Then they’ll be hitting the ground on their own just when things really get busy for conservation officers – right before the firearms deer season. By all accounts, the officers can hardly wait.

“The job is what I thought it would be and then some,” Rosochacki said. “Every day I’m amazed at what I get to do and what I experience. You’re on the lake one day and the next day you’re out in the woods. The dynamics of the job and the variety are awesome.”

Ginn said his stint as an FTO has been a learning experience for him, too.

“I’ve learned things from Keo,” he said. “We’re both in the same boat. I’ve been in his shoes and I’m falling back on my experiences to learn what kind of an FTO I want to be. This is a new chapter in my career, too.”

For his part, Keophalychanh is looking forward to getting out on his own.

“It’s a point of pride to earn your badge and begin putting everything you’ve learned into action,” he said. “It’s exciting to know that day is just around the corner.”

Learn more about Michigan DNR’s conservation officer academy and the recruitment process at: www.michigan.gov/conservationofficers.

Global Warming and Fishing

Remember the Polar Vortex last winter that produced record cold weather around here and all over the US and the northern hemisphere? The extremely cold days and nights that lasted several days each time it hit? It was produced by a change in wind patterns that brought artic cold further south than normal. The terrible cold made hunting and fishing miserable.

A team of scientists from the US and Korea have come up with the reason, and I guess their conclusions should come as no surprise even if they don’t make sense. The reason? Global warming, of course.

You gotta wonder how scientists can “prove” or even theorize that warming produces record cold. That just shows you can “prove” anything you want to. Right now there is big money behind any efforts to prove global warming exists, and researchers know they won’t get funded unless they produce the desired results.

The whole theory of colder winters due to global warming is based on the Artic ice cap getting smaller. Strangely enough, the data does not show a shrinking ice cap for the past few years. Instead, according to the “National Snow and Ice Data Center,” the Artic ice melt this year has been lower than last year, and the extent of the ice cap size will set a record this winter and will continue to increase.

Some believe in global warming based on their past experiences. They might say this summer was the hottest they can remember, without looking at temperature records. Or for a while winters were claimed to be warmer, again not looking at temperature records.

My experiences make me think we have weather, not climate change. For years I spent Christmas holidays at Clarks Hill. One year, two days before Christmas, I had been fishing barefoot and shirtless for several days. But other years I had to wear a snowmobile suit during the same time period.

When I was working on my first Masters Degree in the mid 1970e at West Georgia College I had to write a report on the coming ice age. I used information from Time magazine the month the cover proclaimed scientists predicted a new ice age within 20 years or so, and articles explained how we would suffer from the extreme cold in coming years.

There is a lot at stake for us on how this debate turns out. One claimed way to lessen global warming is to reduce coal use. But even if we reduce it in the US, and we have been doing that for years with no new coal fired power plants approved for a long time, what other effects will it have?

Almost all of our electricity around here comes from coal even though we have a lot of hydroelectric power dams in Georgia. The coal fired plant in Forsyth is the biggest in the US, and uses an incredible amount of coal each day. If such plants are shut down expect your power rates to get much, much higher and less reliability of power supply.

I hate it when the power goes out, or even when it is reduced in a brown out due to storms. Electrical motors and appliances do not work right. Expect that to be the rule, rather than the exception, if we shut down coal fired power plants.

Georgia Power is already working on closing the coal fired power plant on Lake Sinclair. It has been reduced to one working boiler if my information is correct. Why are they shutting this plant? Because new EPA rules require them to make upgrades that cost so much it is not economically feasible to do them.

One effect of shutting that plant down will be no more warm water released into Beaverdam Creek. That warm water keeps most of the lake downstream a little warmer than other lakes around here. The warmer water makes bass bite better. Almost every bass club in middle Georgia schedule winter tournaments there for that reason.

The effect on fish and wildlife is another claim the true believers in global warming make is something else I find hard to take for true. Computer models predict about a four degree warming in the next one hundred years. Even though the computer models have been far off in their predictions for the past 20 years, assume they are right.

Game and fish undergo changes in water and air temperature of many degrees each day. For wildlife, last week is a good example. In the mornings we had temperatures in the low sixties that climbed into the eighties each afternoon. That is over 20 degree in a few hours. So how is a change of four degrees in one hundred years going to make a difference?

In August the surface water temperature on area lakes was in the upper eighties. By late October they will be in the seventies, and by February in the low forties. That is a fifty degree change in six months. So four degrees in one hundred years is going to kill off all our fish?

When global warming claims make more sense I will believe them.

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