Pickled herring, Hoppin' johns part of New Year's tradition

 Found an old New Year's column from 2006, and thought I would post it on the blog. It covers some New Year's traditions...

“Pickled herring for health,” said Lorraine Jones, who grew up in Maine, as she talked about her family’s New Year’s tradition. “You always eat pickled herring on New Year’s Day.”

Resolutions also are a part of start a new year for many people, and for most folks there are a variety of traditions. Many related to food, or maybe those are the one I relate to best.

For my friend Bob Karlstromer, New Year’s Day starts with a hearty breakfast of salt mackerel served with new boiled potatoes topped with sour cream. Bob says this early morning specialty comes from his father’s Swedish heritage.

Later in the day, comes Hoppin’ John, which was started on New Year’s Eve while having a hot buttered rum. The Hoppn’ johns are a southern dish inherited from his mother, who was born and raised in Georgia.

According to Bob, Hoppin’ Johns are black-eyed peas cooked with hog jowls, which are severed over a bed of separately cooked rice. He also said another important part of the meal is fried corn bread. “You have to make it from scratch because all of the commercial mixes have sugar in them. True southern cornbread doesn’t have sugar. That’s a sacrilege. There is a picture in a Savannah restaurant showing a cook being hanged because she put sugar in the cornbread.”

While sitting around with friends and trying to stay awake till the start of the New Year, we talked about a number of the traditions.

One couple said pork and sauerkraut always was on their New Year’s menu.

In our family, corned beef and cabbage is the tradition. Blackeye peas also has been added to the menu. My wife, Phyllis always cooked a clean penny in the corned beef and cabbage for luck throughout the new year.

Black-eyed peas are traditionally southern and have an interesting history. According to one internet website, “Back in the days of the Wild West, Southern gentility, and Northern hostility, our celebrated black-eyed peas were used strictly for the feeding of cattle in the South. During the Civil War battle of Vicksburg, the town was under siege for over 40 days. No supplies went in and none came out The entire town was on the brink of starvation. So they ate those humble "cowpeas," thus starting a southern tradition.

      “Nowadays blackeyes are eaten every New Year's Day to bring good luck for the coming year. All the way back to the days of the Pharaoh, black-eyed peas have been a symbol of luck and fortune. The superstition is that those who eat blackeyes, an inexpensive and modest food, show their humility and save themselves from the wrath of the heavens because of the vanity they might have. Black-eyed peas are neither a pea nor a bean. They are lentils.”

Martha Coultas says she prepares many of the same foods--corn bread, corned beef, cabbage, plus serves jowl bacon and fried potatoes. “Plain and simple foods are best,” said her husband, Doyle.

Mary Thomas also cooks many of the same dishes, however her main course is a Boston Butt pork roast. “The cabbage means money, and the blackeyed peas mean health. “Health and wealth mean happiness,” explained Mary, who said the New Year food traditions go back to her grandmother.

Talking about another tradition, Lorraine Jones said she places several coins on the outside window sill before midnight on New Year’s eve. “When I was young, we were always poor. Someone told me to put the coins on the window sill, and it worked. We were never rich after that, but we always had enough money for school lunches or whatever.  We always had a dollar or two for what we needed. We still do it today.”

(Unfortunately, Bob and Martha have passed since this column was written, but their memories and others remain strong.)

Christmas' shinny red bike led way to many outdoor adventures

It was a shinny red bike. It stood parked by the Christmas tree. Wow, a bike.

I couldn’t have been happier on Christmas morning. A beautiful, full-size bike. It wasn’t new, but I didn’t care. It was new to me, and I couldn’t have been more excited.

Money was scarce when I was growing up. We always had plenty to eat and a warm house, but not a lot more. I didn’t know we were poor.

Someone where my dad found a used Western Flyer bike. He cleaned, painted and polished the old bike, It also had new tires, It looked brand new, beautiful. And to me, it was my ticket to the world. It was my transportation to frog ponds, fishin’ holes, woods, and other neighborhood kid’s home and outdoor games.

I was blessed, electronic games had not been invented.

Another year’s special gift I fondly remember was a Red Ryder BB gun. It came with a package of BB’s.

I spent many hours shooting targets and cans down by the old railroad tracks. It was where I learned some of the early fundamentals of target shooting and hunting. It also helped teach me the value of saving money so I could make trips to Goodwin’s store to purchase more BB’s.

For many old-timers like me, Christmas is a special time -- a time for nostalgia about bikes, BB guns, Christmas Eve church services and trips to Grandma’s house.

Growing up, Christmas Eve started with a trip to a little German country church in rural Clark County, Illinois. The kids of the church practiced  for weeks in advice on a special Christmas program.

The programs were short, probably no more than an hour. But, they seemed an eternity as we had fun things to do afterwards at grandma’s house.

There was a big valley and hill near the church, and it always seemed like it was slick with snow and ice. One farmer kept his tractor at ready to help pull stranded cars up the hill after the service.

After the service, our family all gathered at Grandma and Grandpa Junker’s house. It was small, but we all managed to pack inside.

There was oyster soup and chili, plus sandwiches and homemade Christmas cookies. As a youngster, I disliked (mild words) the oyster stew, but would love to have a bowl today.

Kids were later told to be quiet and listen for Santa’s sleigh bells. Hearing the bells, we were told that Santa had made an early visit to the closed off living room. There we found gifts under the tree One for each youngster. There also were gifts for adults, who following Thanksgiving dinner had drawn names. Later, we kids received the remainder of our Christmas gifts at our homes.

My Christmas memories still fill my head at this time of year, and I have a special recollection of that red bike. It was my access to the wonderful outdoors.

Hope your Christmas this year was a memorable one, and also hope you have as many fond memories as I have retained from the past.

Outdoor people are easy when it comes to Christmas shopping

`Picking a gift for an outdoors person on your Christmas list is easy, and it doesn’t have to be expensive.

Here it is almost Christmas, however there still are a few shopping days left to come up with that special gift for any outdoors person on your list.

The outdoors people on your Christmas list probably are the easiest to satisfy when it comes to giving a gift, but in case you are having some difficulty, here are some ideas.

Remember, an outdoors person can never have too many of most things. You can never have too many fishing  rods and reels, too many lures, too many duck calls, too many camo shirts, too many of almost any outdoor gadget or product.

This year I posted online a request for Christmas gift suggestions, and received several. Here’s some ideas for inexpensive items most any outdoors person would enjoy:

SOURDOUGH BOOK --  After decades of writing about sourdough and conducting sourdough baking seminars across America and Canada, Soc Clay, a legendary photojournalist and member of the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and The Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame, as well as being the Poet Laureate of Kentucky, has written one of the  first all sourdough baking recipe books. It would make a dandy Christmas present..

This unique book contains great stories about sourdough, its history in American and Canadian exploration, plus some of the author’s and Alaskan Legend, Sam Roberson’s historic collections of authentic baking recipes straight out of the gold camps of Alaska and the Yukon.

    Soc Clay’s Mad Trapper Sourdough Baking recipe book is a rare publication, perhaps the only title dedicated completely to sourdough, a leavening agent whose history dates back some six-thousand years. Sourdough provided the only leavening ingredient in bake goods until processed yeast cultures were harnessed during the 1900s. 

The price of the book is $14.95, plus $3.50 shipping and handling from The Catchall Press • 4240 Minmor Drive • Cincinnati, OH 45217. Order onlline at www.catchallpress.com.

UNIQUE STOCKING STUFFER -- A unique stocking stuffer for bass fishermen is offered by Lurenet. The gift  contains nine great bass lures for $19.99. That's a little more than two bucks a bait, and there are two XCalibur lures in the offer, costing more than six dollars each no matter where you get them. The gift pack is available from www.lurenet.com.

ANOTHER STUFFER -- Real Magic Line Treatment is a perfect stocking stuffer. This product increases casting distance while reducing line-memory. This line-memory problem seems worse in colder weather. Great timing. Available at most retailers for less than $10.

INDIANA PARK annual passes cost $40, and gets you and a carload of your friends into any of Indiana's 32 state park properties every day of the year. Disney charges a lot more for one person for one day. Disney is a fantasy world. DNR state parks are the real thing.

FISHING LICENSE -- Buy someone a fishing or hunting license. There is a combination hunting and fishing license, however it available only to Indiana residents. Licenses are available anywhere hunting and fishing licenses are sold, including on line

You can purchase an Indiana gift certificate or many certificates for licenses all at one time. What a perfect gift for that person in your life that has all the hunting, trapping, and fishing equipment they need. Check the Indiana DNR website. 

BEST GIFT - Give of your time and talent to a child, parent, and friend. Just give them a card entitling them to a free day of hunting or fishing with you. It could be a weekend where you make the arrangements, or just a day at a local farm pond. Time and friendship is one of the best and most valuable gifts you can give.

Have a great Christmas everyone, everywhere.

So where did Santa Claus come from? The North Pole or elsewhere?

        So how did Santa come about? Where does hit fit into Christmas?

Old Saint Nick can be traced back to a good monk named St. Nicholas. He apparently was born around 280 A.D. in the country we now call Turkey.

St. Nicholas was highly regarded for his kindness, and he became associated with numerous legends. He reportedly gave away his inherited wealth, and traveled near and far helping the less fortunate.

One of the better known stories involving St. Nick says he saved three poor, young sisters from being sold into slavery by their father by giving them a dowry so they could be married.

As the years passed, St. Nicholas’ popularity became widespread, and he was known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, Dec. 6.

St. Nicholas’s feast day became a popular day to get married or make significant purchases. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the honoring of saints began to be discouraged, he remained popular in Europe, especially in Holland.

The common people loved St. Nicholas and his fame and reputation survived. People continued a tradition of placing nuts, apples, and sweets in shoes left beside beds or in front of fireplaces.

  Sometime later, the good reputation of St. Nicholas was transformed by poets and writers to Santa Claus, the giver of gifts-- in this country and elsewhere. However, if you look deep enough, Santa Claus still is St. Nicholas.

Think you can navigate in fog? Well, maybe, maybe not

Fog hovered over the lake the past three mornings, then cleared before noon, and bright sunshine finished the day. More of the same was forecast for the next day, when my brother-in-law Paul Cooper asked me if I wanted to fish in the morning.

Of course, I wanted to fish, but what about the fog.

“We’ll wait till about eight o’clock to go out,” he suggested. “We don’t need to be in a hurry.”

So, next morning, we checked at eight, however the fog still was quite thick. Maybe, you could see a hundred yards.

“We probably could head out of the marina, and follow the shoreline up to the north end of the lake,” I said, “but why don’t we wait till nine, and see what the situation is then.”

Even though the lake doesn’t have a lot of boat traffic, especially with fog hanging in the area, there was no reason to disregard safety. There was no need to take a chance.

From may days of living along the Ohio River, I am familiar with too many unnecessary accidents in the fog.

With modern electronics, one can travel in a straight line, and from point A to point B in the fog, or at night, but if you don’t have such gear or there is fog, there is no reason to take a chance.

A few years ago, I was scheduled to fish with a friend in a small fishing tournament on Lake Monroe. At starting time, the fog was thick. “I think we can head under the causeway and up the lake slowly and get a good start,” I suggested. 

And that’s what we tried, but we gained nothing. After slow running for a hour, we had just traveled in a circle and were back at the causeway where we started. It is very difficult to travel in a straight line when you have no visual points of reference.

Sometimes a boater can get caught in the fog on the water after starting in the clear. When this happens, there are several safety tips to keep in mind.

Anyone with the boater should be looking for other boats or their wake, buoys and debris while listening for engines or other clues that signal another boat is near you.

A given is that the boat should be slowed to a safe speed.

Use a sound signal of some sort, which is required safety equipment by the U.S. Coast Guard, to signal your position every two minutes. You can use a bell, a loud hailer, a foghorn, or some other approved means for producing sound.

Listen! Stop the motor periodically to listen to your surroundings. Sometimes in the fog, this may be your only way to avoid colliding with something. Listen for other boats, fog horns and other sounds.

Utilize your navigation equipment if you have it. Hopefully you have at minimum a GPS or compass. 

If you become disoriented, stop! Do not keep going if you are unsure of your location, position and direction. Again, proper navigation gear will help you keep your bearings. If you make it to shore, stop until the weather improves.

Boating in the fog is not fun, and can be downright scary and dangerous. Despite your best planning, you may be unable to avoid fog while boating. If you find yourself navigating in the fog, follow these common sense rules. Remember, the other boater probably can’t see you.

After waiting for the fog to clear on our recent trip, we didn’t catch many crappie, but we did have a fun, safe day.

Ice fisherman hope my wife is right about the horses and winter is cold

Last winter was much too warm for any ice fishing in this area, and it is a rare opportunity when there is enough good ice for safely trying your luck in this part of the country. Last year , there was very little good ice even in the far northern U.S.

But when we do get a few winter days with safe ice, it is fun to catch fish through the ice, and it seems like the cold water makes whatever fish you catch mighty tasty.

About two weeks ago, the weather demonstrated signs of developing ice. There was a skiff of ice in some back bays and on small ponds, but then warm weather hit again in early December and some folks were out in their tee shirts.

Most long range forecasts are calling for a much colder winter this year, and I saw one television weatherman predicting 10 snows of one inch depth or more. My wife, Phyllis also predicts a cold winter based on the length of the coats on horses she has observed. So, maybe there will be a chance of a handful of good ice fishing days.

Safety always is a concern in Indiana because the ice is rarely thick and safe for an extended period of time. However during a normal year, it varies greatly from one end of the state to the other. While southern Indiana usually only has a few days of good ice, the northern third of the state may have good ice angling for much of the winter.

When there is good ice in the central portion of the state, the strip mine pits in the western part of the state are good fishing destinations. A good number of the pits are now part of fish and wildlife areas.

Ice anglers should be alert to the dangers of different types of ice. Ice may be safe on one pond, and not on another. A slush type of ice is very dangerous and may be only half as strong as clear, blue ice. Slush ice indicates a weakening of the ice. Clear and blue river ice may be 15 percent weaker than pond or lake ice.

New ice is almost always stronger than old ice because the connection between ice crystals decays with age, according to the Indiana DNR. Dark or honeycombed ice indicates deterioration and should be avoided. Even when a cold snap stops the deterioration process, dark or honeycombed ice will never refreeze to its original strength.

Wind chill affects the "cold" anglers feel. A light wind can accelerate the formation of ice, but strong winds can force water from beneath the ice and accelerate the decay of ice around the edges. 

Snow is a good insulator for ice and helps keep it strong, but it can also keep it from further freezing or even hide cracks or weak ice. Lakes with moving water should be approached with caution. Water movement can slow the freezing process and leave hard-to-detect thin spots.

Ice conditions can and do vary greatly. Because there are so many variables in ice formation, ice forms at different rates. One spot can be an inch thick while another area close by can be almost a foot thick. 

Anglers should be aware of how much weight each ice type and thickness can support. 

The Indiana DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife recommends using the following ice thickness guidelines:

— one inch of ice - do not walk on ice this thin!

— two to three inches of clear, blue ice will support one adult walking. 

— four inches of ice is needed for safe ice fishing. 

— five inches of ice is needed for snowmobiling across ice. 

— eight inches of ice is needed to support the weight of a car or light truck.

— 10 inches of ice is needed to support a medium weight truck. 

These are guidelines and will vary with different types of ice. Anglers and other outdoor recreationists should use good common sense and not take chances. Frankly, I like four inches of ice to feel safe.

When you have good ice, it can be great for fishing. And, panfish never tastes better than when taken from clear, cold water. 

Sauger fishermen love cold weather -- the colder the water the better

About the time hunters are heading to the woods for deer gun season, some hardy anglers are preparing their equipment for sauger fishing.

When the weather starts cooling significantly, maybe even getting lousy, that’s when sauger fishermen begin their season. It almost seems the worse the weather, the better for sauger fishing. 

Sauger are a slightly smaller cousin to the walleye, and primarily are a river fish. They can be caught anywhere, anytime in rivers and streams, but the best fishing comes with cold weather. Sauger congregate below dams, and that’s the best time to catch them. Most people don’t start fishing for sauger until the water temperature has dropped to the 40’s.

Often I’ve picked ice out of the eyes of my rod when fishing for sauger. They seem to love the cold water and cold, winter weather.

Sauger can be unpredictable. An angler can head out before daylight and have only two or three bites during a day-long effort, and another time, fish can be caught by the dozens -- although the limit is six.

Sauger are long and thin with dark backs, brassy sides, dark spots and a pale belly They have a forked tail with a pale streak at the bottom edge. Some sauger have a black spot on their body near where the pectoral fin attaches.

Most people can’t tell a sauger from a walleye. Their shape is similar, but the sauger usually is smaller. The best way to tell the difference is by looking at the dorsal (top) fin. The sauger has spots in this fin, and the walleye does not.

Sauger are found in some large lakes, but mostly in streams, and often may be in the same water with walleye. Sauger prefer cloudy, moving water, and can be caught in streams, such as the Ohio River throughout winter months.

Indiana’s state record for sauger is a six-pound, one-ounce fish taken from the Tippecanoe River by Mark Bigger back in 1983, and the world record is an eight-pound,12-ounce fish caught in 1971 in North Dakota.

Some anglers use minnows for sauger, other use jigs, and some use a combination. For me, it’s whatever seems to work.

They bite much like their cousins--the walleye. Often you feel a light “tap, tap, tap”, and sometimes you can sense the fish has taken the bait or lure into its mouth, but hasn’t attempted to swallow the bait or swim away.

Fishing usually is best on the Ohio River when the water level is near pool stage, and the water is relatively clean with little or no floating debris.

While sauger can be caught from the bank, a boat can enhance the chances of catching fish. A boat provides more options for finding the fish. Where you find one, you probably will find more.

In Indiana, good fishing can be found below the Cannelton and Newburg dams as well as the area around the Falls of the Ohio. In the north central part of the state, the Tippecanoe River is a good stream, and stocking and restoration work has been done on the sauger population in both the East and West forks of the White River.

As water cools, sauger fishing heats up on streams and rivers

        About the time hunters are heading to the woods for deer gun season, some hardy anglers are preparing their equipment for sauger fishing.

When the weather starts cooling significantly, maybe even getting lousy, that’s when sauger fishermen begin their season. It almost seems the worse the weather, the better for sauger fishing. 

Sauger are a slightly smaller cousin to the walleye, and primarily are a river fish. They can be caught anywhere, anytime in rivers and streams, but the best fishing comes with cold weather. Sauger congregate below dams, and that’s the best time to catch them. Most people don’t start fishing for sauger until the water temperature has dropped to the 40’s.

Often I’ve picked ice out of the eyes of my rod when fishing for sauger. They seem to love the cold water and cold, winter weather.

Sauger can be unpredictable. An angler can head out before daylight and have only two or three bites during a day-long effort, and another time, fish can be caught by the dozens -- although the limit is six.

Sauger are long and thin with dark backs, brassy sides, dark spots and a pale belly They have a forked tail with a pale streak at the bottom edge. Some sauger have a black spot on their body near where the pectoral fin attaches.

Most people can’t tell a sauger from a walleye. Their shape is similar, but the sauger usually is smaller. The best way to tell the difference is by looking at the dorsal (top) fin. The sauger has spots in this fin, and the walleye does not.

Sauger are found in some large lakes, but mostly in streams, and often may be in the same water with walleye. Sauger prefer cloudy, moving water, and can be caught in streams, such as the Ohio River throughout winter months.

Indiana’s state record for sauger is a six-pound, one-ounce fish taken from the Tippecanoe River by Mark Bigger back in 1983, and the world record is an eight-pound,12-ounce fish caught in 1971 in North Dakota.

Some anglers use minnows for sauger, other use jigs, and some use a combination. For me, it’s whatever seems to work.

They bite much like their cousins--the walleye. Often you feel a light “tap, tap, tap”, and sometimes you can sense the fish has taken the bait or lure into its mouth, but hasn’t attempted to swallow the bait or swim away.

Fishing usually is best on the Ohio River when the water level is near pool stage, and the water is relatively clean with little or no floating debris.

While sauger can be caught from the bank, a boat can enhance the chances of catching fish. A boat provides more options for finding the fish. Where you find one, you probably will find more.

In Indiana, good fishing can be found below the Cannelton and Newburg dams as well as the area around the Falls of the Ohio. In the north central part of the state, the Tippecanoe River is a good stream, and stocking and restoration work has been done on the sauger population in both the East and West forks of the White River.

Late fall and early winter crappie can provide fish for winter meals

Todd Huckabee displays a fall crappie caught while on a Minnesota fishing trip.

There are three good times to crappie fish. First is during the spring spawn, second is late fall and early winter when waters cool just before really cold weather, and the third is anytime you get a chance to fish.

Lat fall crappie (“slab”) fishing is time for putting crappie in the freezer for winter meals. They taste mighty delicious with fried potatoes and slaw when the wind and snow are swirling around the door sill.

Most anglers prefer spring crappie fishing when the fish will hit almost anything around the time of their spawn. During this time the fish don’t travel much. They are relatively easy to find and catch.

However, fall has its advantages . There usually are fewer people fishing, thus less competition. And, the weather can be beautiful. Spending a day on the water on a crisp, fall day is hard to beat. They usually are some sunny warmer days in December.

It’s true that crappie are likely to move more and be more scattered during the fall. As the water temperature begins to cool, the fish will begin to move from deeper water into the shallow to feed before winter. They are looking for food, especially minnows, and you are likely to find the crappie where you find minnows. Many anglers look for the minnows to find the fish.

Even though crappie may be scattered, they still will move close to the shoreline and shallow water. They can be found around structure such as rocks, weeds, ledges and channels. Then as winter arrives, the fish will start gathering together and form schools once more.

Two other productive fall techniques include drifting and spider rigging trolling. Both ways include multiple hooks. One caution is to make sure the number of hooks you want to use is legal where you are fishing.

Whatever method is used, patience and persistence is important. It may take time to locate the slabs, but when you do, they can be caught. 

Much like early spring, late fall usually has lots of cold front and they can completely change crappie behavior. The fish change may require fisherman change as well. It probably will require a slow presentation of the lure or bait. The fish may be hungry, but still will not hit a fast moving bait.

In the spring if you catch a couple of crappie, you likely will find more in the same area. You probably can fish one general location and have a good outing. In the fall, the fish move and the fisherman needs to do the same. If you aren't catching fish, you need to be on the move.

Since crappie are on the move in the fall, one of the best methods of fishing for them is casting small lures,using techniques much like bass fishing. Not only is it one of the most productive methods in the fall, it also is fun.

As long as I’m catching fish, I’ll stay in the same general area, but once the action slows it is time to move on. If you think the only way to fish for crappie is to sit in one place, you’ll probably think fall fishing isn’t much fun or productive. Trolling is another way to cover a lot of water as well as find fish.

If you are casting, small lures in the range of one-sixteenth ounce work well .Road Runners, jigs, curly tail grubs, and small crankbaits all work well at times. It’s always a good idea to ask local anglers what lure and color seems to be working best.

A guide friend says his motto is dangle the bait if the fish are deep, cast if they are shallow.

When fish aren’t interested in your bait, don’t be afraid to change. What works one time, may not work the next.

A plate of fried crappie is a good way to end the day, but may taste even better when taken from the freezer this winter.

Far more hunters are injured in tree stand mishaps than from guns

Far more hunters are hurt in tree stand accidents than from mishaps with guns.

While deer hunting is a relatively safe sports compared to others, there still are too many injuries -- most  which could be easily avoided.

To the surprise of many, most deer hunting injuries are not caused by guns or bows. They result from accidents caused by improper use of deer stands.

There aren’t a lot of statistics on the subject--and it may be a bit hard to believe--but if viewed over a person’s hunting lifetime, a hunter has one chance in three of receiving a serious injury from tree stand use.

For as long as I’ve been aware of deer hunting with tree stands. the possible dangers associated with them have been in the back of my mind. However a number of years ago, the danger became impressed on my mind.

While visiting a patient in Indianapolis’s Methodist Hospital a number of years ago, a nurse became aware of my outdoor writing. She asked me if I had time to visit a couple of patients on another wing. “I know they would appreciate it,” she said. “Both are hunters.”

The nurse explained both were hospitalized due to unrelated accidents. Both had fallen from tree stands and both were at least temporarily, partially paralyzed from their falls.

Both hunters were upbeat about their situations, but both also wanted people to know about the dangers of tree stands, if proper caution isn’t used.

Already this fall, I’m aware of at least three serious falls in Indiana, and read that a Pennsylvania man died in a mishap.

It is difficult to know just how many hunters are injured every year. Not all accidents are reported, and not everyone who falls required medical attention. And, not all tree stand accidents are recorded as a category at hospitals. There also is no national collection of data.

A nearly 20-year-old study by a deer hunting magazine found that 37 percent of tree stand hunters some time will fall from their stand, and about three percent will suffer some sort of crippling injury.

Three-quarters of the accidents happen while the hunter is climbing up or down on the stand.

Also especially telling was that most hunters injured were not wearing a safety harness or vest.

Whenever a person uses a tree stand, they should be familiar with the equipment and associated safety. Most commercial stands come with instructions, and there also is a quick safety test on-line at www.huntercourse.com/treestandsafety. Also, Kalkomey Enterprises has an on-line hunter education course which contains a section on use of tree stands. (http://my.hunter-ed.com/studyGuide/index/course/201016). Check it out.

Here are some safety items recommended by the Pennsylvania Game Commission:

• Do not set up in a dead or dying tree because those are the unsafe tress. If the bark is already slipping off it it, don’t set up there.

• Read the directions before you put the tree stand together. Manufacturers know best about how to put your new piece of equipment together, make sure to follow their guidelines.

• Inspect the stand before you sit in it, especially, if it’s been sitting out all year and the season has just started. The straps should all still be secure and the nuts and bolts should be tight.

• Pay attention to the weather. If it’s too windy that day, it might not be a safe day to go hunting.

• Use a tow rope to haul up gear once you yourself are safe and secure in the stand.

• And last, but surely not least, wear a harness, the ultimate lifesaver. If you think a harness may be costly, think of the cost of medical care and time spent away from work.

And, the following are a couple rules, I would add:

• Always hunt with a plan, and if possible, with a buddy.  Let others know your exact hunting location, when you plan to return and, who you are hunting with.

• Always carry emergency signal devices, such as a cell phone, whistle, walkie-talkie, signal flare and flashlight on your person at all times and within reach, even when you are suspended in your tree stand. 

Sometimes no plan is the best plan

Rustic cabins at Cedars Resort are a good place to get away and enjoy the great outdoors.

        Some of the best vacation plans are impromptu, maybe no plan at all. Certainly planning can be beneficial, but sometimes it is fun just to do it, “go with the flow” as flow used to say.

For our 25th wedding anniversary, my wife, Phyllis and I had a well planned trip to Ontario, Canada. We visited three different fishing camps. It was a great trip. However, 25 years later, things were different. We had less coins in our pockets, less mobility in our bodies, and less time between doctor appointments.

We had planned to take a trip in June, but that didn’t work out. Then came July, followed by August, and finally September rolled around. There was a week on the calendar with nothing scheduled.

As to planning, we only knew we wanted to head north and we would like to spend at least part of the time in a cabin surrounded by the great outdoors.

Using the internet, I found Michigan’s Pure Michigan tourism site. It is a good site, packed with information on visiting the state whether you are looking for antiques, top-notch hotels or golf resorts, or looking for a northwoods getaway. Somewhat by accident, I found a link to Cedars Resort near the small community of Central Lake in the far northwest corner of the lower peninsula of the state.

It is not unusual to find a place that looks better on the internet than it does in reality. But, after talking with Jo Ellen at Cedars, I decided it was the place with a cabin in the woods on a lake for us. It didn’t disappoint. The cabin, the resort, and the owners were far better than I anticipated.

And, I found heading north after Labor Day, rates at most motels and lodges are less than summer season rates, and most places you visit are less crowded. There may be a few exceptions during peak fall foliage time. We also discovered some businesses close early for the season, and ferries on the lakes run less often.

On the way north, we had a late pleasant lunch at the Streamline Family Restaurant in Rochester, IN, and then spent the night at a local motel at Montague, MI, a pretty little town near Lake Michigan.

The next day we headed on up the west coast and stopped in Ludington to view the lake. At a lakefront park, we also found a dog park where our rat terrier Tyler could get in a run on the beach. Then it was on north to Central Lake and Cedars Resort.

Cedars has five rental cabins on one of several interconnected natural lakes, which eventually make their way to Lake Michigan. The lakes offer plentiful boating and fishing opportunities. Panfish probably are the primary target of most anglers, but there are walleye, northern pike and several area lakes contain muskie.

One of the other cabins was occupied by a pair of young men who specialize in muskie fishing. They primarily fish Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. In the Hoosier state, they concentrate on the Tippecanoe chain of lakes in the northeastern part of the state.

Cedars is centrally located between Traverse City and Petoskey in Antrim County. There also is skiing, snowmobiling, golfing, hunting, kayaking, canoeing, and lots of opportunities for exploring back roads and small towns as well as a large variety of shopping and restaurants.

The Cedars is operated by Chris and Jo Ellen Dick, who have been operating the resort for 14 years. Boats are included with the full-furnished cabins.

We enjoyed side trips to Traverse City, Torch Lake, Petoskey, Charlevoix, and a visit to a friend at Lake City.

As always, we found a wealth of god places to eat, including many locally owned family-type restaurants. One unique spot is the Front Porch in the village of Ellsworth (less than 400 people).

Several years ago the community’s only restaurants went out of business. There was no place for locals to gather for breakfast or lunch, no place for coffee drinkers to gather and discuss the happenings of the day.

So folks got their heads together and opened the Front Porch, It is a nonprofit that was opened by the local ministry. Only the cooks are paid, the rest of the staff are volunteers. There are no fixed prices and the foot is great. People pay what they feel they can afford.

Should you decide to visit Ellsworth and the FRont Porch, there is a wonderful shop across the street that features Michigan raised or built products.

The Junker’s trip was a pleasant getaway with very little planning. For the most part, it just happened. The weather was beautiful and nothing was more enjoyable than a sunset across the lake one evening after a rain. The sky was golden, and I was lucky enough to grab my old Nikon for a photo. It will be a lasting memory of a fun trip with wife, Phyllis, and our dog Tyler. And by the way, Cedars Resort is pet friendly.

If you go, possible websites:

Pure Michigan tourism: www.Michigan.org

Cedars Resort: www.cedars-resort.com

Front Porch: www.frontporchellsworth.org

As fall arrives, so do changes, including deer regs, boat storage

        It’s fall and change is in the air. There are new rules for deer hunting,. It’s time for changing your boat motor from summer fun usage condition to winter storage. And, there is a change to full-time radio contact for conservation officers across the state.

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DEER CHANGES -- There are a number of changes in Indiana deer hunting regulations this season. Among the most significant are”

• A special antlerless deer firearms season will be offered beginning in late December in designated counties. 

• Hunters can use a crossbow during archery season.

• Early archery season and late archery season have been merged into a continuous archery season.

• Youth hunters can now harvest more than one deer during youth season.

• An “earn-a-buck” requirement for hunters working toward urban deer zone bag limits has been made.

• A new deer license bundle is offered. 

More information about these changes and more hunting information is available at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources website: www.in.gov/dnr 

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BOAT STORAGE --  Nearly full tank or nearly empty tank? That is the big question facing boaters now in the midst of preparing their boats for the long winter hibernation. The concern is ethanol - an octane enhancing gasoline additive that has some unfortunate, harmful side effects on marine engines. 

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) has some tips learned from fuel industry insiders on how to store a boat with E-10 gasoline (containing 10% ethanol) over the winter.

• The octane issue: Some boaters choose to leave their boat's gas tank mostly empty over the winter, and then refill in the spring in the hopes of "refreshing" the fuel to regain any octane loss. However, a nearly empty gas tank introduces a bigger problem: the strong possibility of phase separation with the E-10 gas. Incidentally, over long winter storage periods, E-10 gasoline loses octane at about the same rate as non-ethanol gasoline.

• More water, less absorption: The problem with leaving a tank mostly empty is that it increases the tank's "lung capacity" to breath in moist air (water) through the tank's vent. If the tank is mostly empty over the winter, there will also be less E-10 gas in the tank to absorb the moisture. Adding fresh gasoline in the spring would not remedy the problem - the phase-separated ethanol remains separated at the bottom of the tank.

• The Fuel Additive issue: Fuel additives are good for many reasons and should be used when laying up a boat for winter, but no additive will stand up to a good-sized slug of water. And once too much water has entered the tank and the gas has begun to phase separate, no additive will return the fuel to its original state. The only solution to phase-separated gas is to have a professional drain the tank and start anew.

The best advice for storing E-10 in your boat's gas tank over winter:

Keep the tank nearly full. This greatly reduces the volume of moist air that can enter the tank via the fuel tank vent when temperatures fluctuate in the fall and spring. With any fuel, an antioxidant (found in many additives) will help keep it fresh during lay-up. 

Finally, never plug up a fuel tank vent - it creates pressure that could cause dangerous leaks in the fuel system.

For more information go to www.boatus.com/seaworthy/ethanol.asp. A free, downloadable winterizing checklist is available at http://www.BoatUS.com/seaworthy/winter.

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FULL-TIME DISPATCH -- Indiana Conservation Officers  are extending their Central Dispatch Center  to a 24-hour operation in order to maintain radio contact with Conservation Officers across the state.

  The Central Dispatch Center has operated daily from 7 a.m. to midnight. The 24-hour operation was scheduled to begin at midnight Oct. 29. Central Dispatch is located at Paynetown State Recreation Area on Monroe Lake near Bloomington.

  Maj. Michael Portteus said, “For the first time in the history of the DNR Law Enforcement Division, Indiana Conservation Officers may be contacted 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 1-812-837-9536.”

  Central Dispatch provides a way for the public, other law enforcement agencies, and DNR properties to gain immediate assistance and response from DNR Law Enforcement.  The TIP (Turn in a Poacher) reports also can be made to this number.

It's deer season, not just for guns, but also unfortunately for cars

       It’s deer season. It’s the time when hunters take to the woods in hopes of bagging a deer to have venison for the holiday table. It’s also the time when deer and autos meet far too often.

Deer movement peaks in late October and continues through the first part of December. During this time, the deer rut or annual mating season takes place for whitetail deer, and it ‘s also the time some deer are on the move when hunters are in the woods.

Deer-auto accidents are expected to continue to increase. Deer populations are growing in many areas, and their habitats are being displaced by urban sprawl. Some state fish and game officials also have modified bag limits in an effort to manage the size of deer herds.

Each fall, I write about the deer-auto accident problem as a reminder to folks to drive with caution. Not only are the accidents expensive, they can prove fatal.

The folks at State Farm insurance report about 2.3 million deer-auto accidents in a two year period. West Virginia leads the nation with about one mishap for every 42 motorists, while Indiana drivers experience one crash for each 160 drivers.

Over my lifetime, I’ve killed more deer with my autos or trucks than I have with a weapon. While I have trouble attracting them in the woods, I don’t seem to have any problem attracting them  on the highways. My problem is just the opposite.

I thought i (we, including my wife Phyllis) might have a record for deer road kills. As I recall, we have 13. Fortunately, we’ve had no recent mishaps, and fortunately, we’ve never had any injuries.

Our 13, however, is far from a record.  I read where Mark Burdick of Westfield, Pennsylvania, collided with 21 of the critters iduring a 19-year time frame -- with his car and a variety of other vehicles.

From October through December, most of the breeding among white-tailed deer takes place.  For motorists, though, it is November when drivers should be especially cautious to avoid colliding with love-sick deer.

The nature of whitetails is for a buck to chase and follow various does until the doe permits breeding to occur.  Breeding season is the time when deer movement is greater than any other period of the year.  As a result, drivers are more likely to see and encounter deer on or near roads.

Early morning and evening the deer also are more active than mid-day. This also corresponds to the time of day when human vision is the worst.  So what happens, is drivers get right up on the animals before they  see them, and reaction time is cut down some during those low-light periods."

This time of year you have to "expect the unexpected."  City highways or lonely back roads, it doesn't matter. There's not a lot you can do other than keep your eyes open and slow down when you see one.  Deer have a nasty habit of waiting until you get right up on them before they run in front of the car.

If they're standing on the side of the road, don't expect them to stay there. They'll dart out there at the last second.  And where there is one, there is usually more.  Just because one passes across in front of you, you better be looking for that second and third one, too. I’ve learned the hard way--with damaged fenders and grills that it is the deer you didn’t see that you hit.

Motorists need to stay alert and remain patient while nature runs it course, and by using a little extra caution and any luck, hopefully your vehicle won’t have to spend a week at the repair shop.

Predicting fall foliage is more a guess than scientific analysis

Predicting fall foliage brilliance is pretty much a guess.

        It seems to be really difficult to predict the impact summer weather, including drought, has on fall foliage.

Many forecasters projected the drought would mostly eliminate fall tree color to the disappointment of many who enjoy it. Touring the countryside viewing leaves is something anticipated by many, including promoters of fall festivals and many shop owners.

It seems there is a lot known about what causes color in the leaves, but predicting its intensity isn’t easy.

       Abby van den Berg, University of Vermont plant biologist, who has done research on leaf colors, said some data suggest a small amount of physiological stress can result in more brilliant colors.

"The real bottom line is that there's no great way to predict these things," she said. "It's pretty much impossible, especially over a large scale."

The prognosticators predicting less color this year may have been partially right, but there is more color in areas I have visited, than I anticipated. There are more reds and oranges than forecast and the peak of color should still be ahead.

The extreme dry conditions in most areas during early summer through July may have impacted the number of leaves to view more than the color. And in addition to problems caused by the drought, some trees dropped their leaves due to insect infestations.

Drought conditions cause trees to switch to survival mode because of the latest dry spell. Some lose their leaves before they change to the familiar red, yellow or orange, according to nature experts.

"For the trees' well-being, it's do or die," said Jim Eagleman, an interpretive naturalist. "The reaction to drought is they drop leaves to conserve water."

 This was the second straight summer with drought conditions.

Despite the dry conditions, Eagleman said there still will be a plenty of trees healthy enough to please nature lovers.

"We've got so many trees with so many leaves that you're bound to have good color in a lot of them, even though we're under stressful conditions," Eagleman added.

This spring there was plenty of rain, and trees were loaded with healthy, green leaves. They are green because they contain chlorophyll. 

According to one agriculture department website, there is so much chlorophyll in an active leaf that the green masks or overpowers other pigment colors. Light regulates chlorophyll production, so as autumn days grow shorter, less chlorophyll is produced. 

The decomposition rate of chlorophyll remains constant, so the green color starts to fade from leaves.

While that is happening, increasing sugar concentrations cause increased production of anthocyanin pigments. Leaves containing primarily anthocyanins will appear red. 

Another type of pigment, carotenoids are found in some leaves. Carotenoid production is not dependent on light, so levels aren't diminished by shorter days. Carotenoids can be orange, yellow, or red, but most of these pigments found in leaves are yellow. Leaves with good amounts of both anthocyanins and carotenoids will appear orange.

Temperature affects the rate of chemical reactions, including those in leaves, so it plays a part in leaf color. However, it's mainly light levels that are responsible for fall foliage colors. Sunny autumn days are needed for the brightest color displays. Overcast days will lead to more yellows and browns.

Whether or not you care about anthocyanins or carotenoids, there should still be plenty of beauty to be found yet this weekend.

A live leaf camera at four Indiana sites can be found on the internet at:www.chiff.com/travel/indiana-foliage.htm