DROUGHT IS ROUGH

Drought conditions have persisted for much of Kansas for the last two summers.  You wouldn't think that last year's problems could get worse but water-wise they may have done just that this summer.  We're seeing the first rain in some time as I write this but it won't be enough to call an end to dry conditions over much of the state.  But it's a start.

Drought affects all kinds of wildlife, either directly or indirectly.  Obviously, species like fish need water to survive.  Pheasants need adequate nesting cover.  Pheasant chicks need protection from the elements in ground cover, as well as the insects utilizing those same plants.  Dry conditions are a one-two punch for pheasants.  Add an early wheat harvest and it doesn't look promising.

And despite a better-than-most-years prediction for migrating waterfowl numbers it isn't looking good for the home team.  Ducks need water and that's at a premium in many parts.  A buddy and I went to check out a spot we hunt on the Arkansas River recently to assess the situation.  Wow!  That pretty much sums up what we found.  Riding ATV's for about 7 miles of river we found 95 percent of the water measured in inches.  The deepest was just over my knees and I'm short.  Sad indeed (the lack of water, not that I'm short).

Standing where we normally sit to hunt I remembered past photos with smiling duck hunters and ample water.  I tried to guess as to the composition of those photos for comparison.  I got surprisingly close.  If you look at the treeline in these two photos I'm within a couple feet of the same location where I took each photo.  Oh what a difference a couple years makes.

Granted, rivers like that are constantly changing.  New sandbars form from one season to the next and log jams change places.  As duck hunters we adjust to those conditions but as long as there's water we're good to go.  But when things dry up that's not good news for ducks or duck hunters.  Here's hoping we get a couple toad stranglers between now and opening day.    

SARAH'S FIRST FISH

It's not uncommon for friends of my kids to show an interest in the outdoors.  Many of them have never hunted, fished or trapped.  I've never turned down one of their requests to tag along and several of them have grown to love the outdoors.

My daughter's friend, Sarah, just graduated from high school.  She's been a regular around our house for the last year or so.  She accompanied Ashley and I on several trapping expeditions last winter and enjoyed it as we caught beavers and raccoons. 

One day earlier this summer Sarah made the comment she'd never caught a fish.  I couldn't believe it and told her we'd make sure she could check that off her list of "Things To Do Before I Go Off To College."  She was excited at the prospects.

Sarah actually caught her first fish without my help.  She'd accompanied some of her friends to a pond one evening where they caught "perch."  I told her they were likely green sunfish and only inches long shouldn't count as her first "real" fish. 

It was hard to schedule an early morning trip as both Ashley and Sarah worked summer jobs during the week and weekends were busy.  We loaded up the boat and headed to the lake one evening hoping to tangle with some big channel catfish.  It was 103 degrees when we launched at 5:30 p.m. so the evening was far from pleasant. 

Unfortunately, we fished until about 9:30 p.m. and while others in the boat caught only a few fish Sarah never had a bite.  I told her we'd do better in a couple weeks when she went camping with us.

Our wake-up call was at 5:30 a.m. but Sarah said she was up at 4:30 a.m. and wide awake.  I teased her that she was too "exthited to thleeeep" like that little kid on the commercial going to Disney World.  We loaded the boat with gear and were off as it got light.

It didn't take Sarah long to catch her first "real" fish.  She set the hook and the pole didn't budge and I knew she had a nice channel cat on the other end.  With a little coaching she had the nearly 5-pound fish flopping at the surface in no time.  She was excited and her smile said it all as she posed for photos.

Sarah's luck was good that morning and she caught another half-dozen just like it.  Our boat ended up with 20 keepers in just a few hours so it was indeed a productive trip. 

We weren't even back to the ramp when Sarah asked if I'd text her those photos so she could send them along to friends and family.  She couldn't wait to download them to her Facebook page.   

Sarah will remember that fishing trip for a long time.  I will as well.  It's always nice to see someone discover the joy of the outdoors and I was glad to be a part of it.       

SPOON FED

Summer is definitely here.  Temperatures are scorching now and it's really not unexpected for July or August in Kansas.  Another given for fishing this time of year is a tactic that gets as hot as the afternoon sun.  Spooning for various species of white fish is a killer technique and works well.

Spoons of assorted sizes and styles work well.  The shad hatch has been going on for weeks now and anything that resembles this dead or dying bait fish is a good choice.  An old standby is the Kastmaster which has been around for decades.  Others work similarly well when fished vertical or pitched and retrieved.  Much of it is personal preference.  As long as it has some flash and a good treble hook it will surely catch fish.

I headed out one evening recently to El Dorado Reservoir with my twin 13-year-old sons, a buddy and his 19-year-old son for a pleasant evening on the water.  I graphed a nice break and some fish in about 18-feet of water and dropped a marker.  Before I could get my boat turned back around fish were being caught from several seats.  The action was fast and furious as spoons were fished and jigged on or near the bottom.  Most fish were small wipers, but the occasional decent fish was tricked, too.  We caught 40 fish in the first 30 minutes.  Regardless of size, my boys were having a blast and I was having fun watching them.

The action slowed so we motored around looking for more schools of fish.  It wasn't long and we found some, but nothing compared to the first action we encountered.  We fished for another few hours and caught more wipers and white bass, crappie, walleye and some monstrous drum on our spoons.  Our final tally stood at 87 fish.  We didn't have many really nice fish and I wasn't interested in cleaning any anyway, so all were returned to the water.  

The spoon action will remain good for weeks.  It's a great way to beat the heat and an evening on the water is a perfect ending to any day.  Give it a try.  You might be surprised how simple it is and most of the time it really works!    

FRIDAY THE 13TH NOT TOO UNLUCKY

I've never been a big believer in superstition.  Granted, I don't make it a habit to walk under ladders or break mirrors, but I don't worry about it too much.  So when another Friday the 13th rolled around last week it wasn't even on my radar.  I was on vacation camping with my family so it was all good.

My daughter and I planned to hit the lake early with hopes of catching some big ol' channel cats.  My twin boys were still in town at the last day of a week-long tennis camp so my boat was emptier than normal.  That's okay as it gave Ashley and I a chance to spend some time together before she heads back to her second year of college shortly.

We were on the water at about sunrise and it was a pretty morning.  Temperatures were in the mid-70s and still comfortable when we dropped anchor on a hump and started fishing.  It wasn't long and the action heated up.  Ashley was having a little trouble feeling the bite so I gave her my rod spooled with Power Pro line.  She liked its sensitivity much better and was catching nice cats routinely in no time.  It didn't help her confidence much when I grabbed her rod and started using it and doing the same.

"I guess it's not the rod, huh?" she laughed.

"I've had more practice," I smiled back at her.    

We had a blast netting fish and pitching a few back that most anglers would keep.  I was keeping a mental tally of fish in the livewell and we were in the mid-teens when I counted to double-check my math.  I told Ashley we needed to make the last few fish good ones to make the morning last as it was barely 8 a.m.  She agreed.

The last few cats added to the livewell were in the 6-7 pound range.  It was about 9:30 a.m. when we decided to call it a morning and go clean fish back at the camper.  Actually, "we" didn't clean fish but Ashley added moral support as she texted pictures on my phone of our successful morning to all her friends and a few of mine, her brothers and grandparents. 

"Wow, today is Friday the 13th, too," Ashley laughed when she glanced at the date on my phone.  "I guess it wasn't too unlucky, huh?"

 It was anything but unlucky.  There likely won't be too many more Daddy/Daughter (she doesn't call me Daddy much anymore, except earlier that morning when she tangled with a fish big enough to nearly pull the rod completely under the boat and she pleaded for help..."DAAAADDDEEEEEEEE!") trips as she finishes up college and starts her own life.  It was indeed a fine morning and likely one of the things I remember as she drives off to school again next month.

4TH OF JULY FUN

Independence Day is a great time to celebrate.  Fireworks, cookouts and time with friends and family are all on the day's agenda.  It's not a bad time to get in a little fishing, either.  That's exactly what a couple friends, Jim and Rodger, and I decided to do bright and early before all the day's festivities. 

We all commented aloud about the early wake-up call at 0-dark-thirty.  We've all hunted waterfowl together for a couple decades now and normally our pre-dawn meetings involve big black (or sometimes yellow) dogs, lots of decoys and MUCH cooler weather.  We didn't have any dogs or decoys and the temperature was already 81 degrees and the sun wasn't even in the picture yet.  And today rather than greenheads and gadwalls we were after whiskered ones with stinkbait and chum, the latter aromatic enough to gag a maggot. 

We anchored my boat at both ends and dropped baits.  It wasn't long and we were catching fish.  Some were nice ones in the 3-5 pound range and we had plenty of "dinks" to contend with as well.  The highlight of the day was a big, fat, bullheaded channel cat that stretched Rodgers line for quite some time and later tipped the scale at nearly 9 pounds.  Fishing was good but catching wasn't spectacular.  Just the Sunday prior Jim and I had caught a near-limit of big channels in less than 90 minutes.  Today wasn't as good for whatever reason but we did manage a dozen nice keepers to clean to quench Rodgers fresh fish hunger. 

Even though it wasn't a 5-star fishing day it was still fun.  We all hadn't been together in some time and the jokes and jabs were flowing freely.  As we fished we chatted and pointed out this spot or that spot where we'd killed ducks in the past. It was nice to think of cooler times as the morning's sun quickly heated things up to the mid-90's well before noon.  It's all good in the great outdoors.        

TOO HOT TO FISH...ALMOST

Yeah, there's not much doubt that it's hot and miserable outside.  This summer is shaping up to follow last summer's lead and I don't much care for it.  These continuous weeks with 100-degree-plus days flat-out suck.  The old country song that mentions, "Too hot to fish," isn't far off and nearly true. 

But I still really like fishing.  And it's often the highlight of summer camping trips with me and my sister's families.  There's only one way really to beat the heat and that's to get up and go early.  Which leads to another problem as I've got a couple just-turned teenage boys who like to sleep.  And my daughter works all week and is taking a couple online summer college courses so she's tired by weeks end and not likely to get up with the chickens.  I don't blame them a bit.  But I'd rather lose sleep than skip fishing.  Plus, I've become the master at a big ol' power nap mid-afternoon and I'm good at it. 

We try to get on the water by at least 7 a.m. or so.  I'd rather go earlier but figure I'm pressing my luck with that departure time.  It gives us 3-4 hours of solid fishing which is usually plenty, particularly if the wind isn't blowing.  The heat index goes up way too quick with no breeze.  If it's breezy we're good 'til noon or so if the fish are biting. 

We had some luck on our last camping trip catching walleye, catfish, white bass and wipers.  Fishing wasn't fast and furious but it was still fun.  Early morning is a nice time to spend with family on the water and the boat traffic is typically not too bad.  It doesn't look much better for the coming weeks so I guess it's up and at 'em early again.     

BAND ON THE RUN



Clarissa Peterson holds a Canada goose gosling about to be fitted with a
leg band and released.  Information gathered from band recoveries will help
guide the future management of Canada geese in Kansas.
Photos Courtesy of Clarissa Peterson

 Fish and wildlife management can be interesting work.  Biologists gather field data and evaluate their findings to determine the best plan of attack for providing opportunities for wise use of these resources as well as goals for future management.  One way to gather data on waterfowl species like ducks and geese is to band them.  

Bird banding has been around since the 1800s.  A simple leg band is placed on a captured bird and released to live its life.  Band recoveries can provide information on movement, reproduction, harvest and a myriad of other data.  The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) currently has a couple bird banding studies underway now.  One focuses on doves and the other is looking at gathering information on resident Canada geese.  The latter is in full swing right now.

Canada geese adults are flightless as they go through a molt each summer.  It typically lasts several weeks and the birds don't venture far from water as it's their only means of escape during this time.  It's also the perfect time to round them up and do a little reasearch. 

Framed nets are laid flat on the ground in an octagon-like shape.  Adults and goslings are herded into the center and the frames are lifted and walked towards the middle to form an enclosure.  Both adults and goslings are fitted with a numbered, metal leg band issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.  The bird is then sexed to determine its gender and this information is recorded and now corresponds to a specific bird.  It's released and other than some new "bling" and possibly a few ruffled feathers no worse for wear.  

More than 600 Canada geese were banded last week in the greater Wichita area.  About 8 KDWPT employees from several divisions took part in the effort.  It was a long day that started shortly before sunrise and lasted until about sunset.  It's a hot, sweaty job and geese aren't always friendly, nor do they smell good when they all get nervous and loose green tootsie rolls everywhere. 

It was interesting, though, and nice to know that efforts like these will help guide the future of Canada goose management in Kansas.