Hook size isn't complicated, but terminology can be confusing

The larger the nunber, the smaller the hook.

Understanding the size of a fish hook isn’t as simple and obvious as it seems.

Well, it really is pretty simple if you understand the terminology and rules. There are many different sizes and shapes, so it is important to get it right when ordering hooks or having someone pick up a package for you at the bait store.

My friend T.J. Stallings at Diachi Hooks says anglers often are confused over hook size. He recently wrote about hooks in his blog.

T.J. wrote: “The angler on the phone says, “Yeah, I need size fours for my Shad Assassins”. 

“So you really need ‘four-ought”, right?” I ask. “Uh, yeah.” 

Either this person is too tired to say, “Ought” or he’s clueless. There is one heck of a difference between what he said and what he needed.

To that end, let us review how hook sizes work.

Regarding sizes below one-ought, (1/0) the larger the number, the smaller the hook. The opposite is true above size 1/0. The photo really simplifies things.

Circle hooks are another issue. Hook manufacturers will never agree on circle hook sizing. So forget the sizing. That’s right. Throw the numbers out the window. 

T.J. advises to look at the gap between point and the shank. Will it fit the lip of the fish your are fishing for? Will it allow room for the bait you are using? Then you may be looking at the right size for you.

Tip: put the card from your hook package in your tackle box. Now drop the the hooks on top of the card. When you get low, pull the card and take it with you to your favorite tackle retailer. That’s much better than guessing!

(T.J.’s blog can be found at: tjstallings.wordpress.com)

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PATOKA TRIATHLON -- Registration is underway for the Patoka Lake Triathlon taking place at Patoka Lake beach Aug. 24.

Participants in the triathlon will swim 500 yards in the lake,  bike 12.8 miles along paved roads within the property, and run 5K along groomed gravel roads and a paved bike trail. 

All proceeds from this event will go to support Patoka’s non-releasable raptors; a red-tailed hawk and eastern screech owl.  It also may save the life of a bald eagle by acquiring a non-releasable eagle for Patoka’s raptor education program.

To register or for more information contact the office at Patoka Lake.

It started as Decoration Day, then became Memorial Day, and we must remember the reason for the day

Memorial Day is a busy boating day, and wearing life jackets is important.

It started as Decoration Day, then it became Memorial Day, and it still is today. But, it has lost some of it’s original purpose and meaning, and now probably is best known as the weekend that starts summer.

Besides barbecues, fishing, and hiking, it also is the first big weekend for boaters. It can be tragic, if safety rules aren’t followed.

It’s important we recall the original purpose of the day or weekend before we celebrate the start of the fun days of summer.

Only three years after the Civil War ended, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day. The purpose was a time to decorate the graves of war dead with flowers, and it came at a time of the year when flowers were in bloom in most of the country. 

The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

According to Wikipedia, local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. 

Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.

        Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most of the war dead were buried.

In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the “birthplace” of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War. 

Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters of Waterloo’s claim say earlier observances in other places were either informal, not community-wide or one-time events.

By the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as people visited the graves of their deceased relatives in church cemeteries, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family gatherings, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events.

Memorial Day is different from Veterans Day; Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, living or dead.

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LIFE JACKETS -- Memorial  weekend has become one of the biggest boating weekends of the year, thus also one of the most dangerous to folks just wanting to have fun.

Life jackets are really important, and excuses for not wearing them when boating abound.

  "It's too hot! It doesn't look cool. I know how to swim. Nothing is going to happen to me."

Approximately 700 people drown in the United States each year from recreational boating accidents. The vast majority of those drowning victims probably used one of these excuses.

Just last week, a rental boat sank in the Gulf off the coast of Clearwater, FL, with 13 people on board. All were rescued by the Coast Guard. All 13 were wearing life jackets.

  "Most, if not all, drownings can be prevented by wearing a life jacket,” said Indiana Conservation Officer Lt. Bill Browne. “If we can keep people's head above water we can prevent drownings. Wearing a life jacket is the only prevention measure that is foolproof.”

  Conservation officers are also urging people to boat sober, and plan for a designated boat driver if alcohol will be on board. Conservation officers arrested 337 people in Indiana during 2012 for operating a motorboat while intoxicated.

Memorial Day is a time to remember those who served and those serving today. Have fun, but remember, and the also remember to be safe.

Bottle brush tree a little late blooming this year, but now coming on strong

Bottle brush tree blooms are beautiful and look much like and old-fashion bottle brush.

My Florida bottle brush tree is blooming. It had a few blooms earlier, but now is coming on strong.

The bottle brush actually is a callistemon. It is a tropical tree or shrub and gets its name from the flowers which are a beautiful red and look like a cylindrical brush similar to the type in the good old days we used to clean a milk or other bottle. (I doubt anyone cleans a bottle these days.)

There are several varieties of the bottle brush, including several of a weeping nature.

I have one outside my window at my little Florida place at Lake Rosalie.

Even when not blooming, the birds really seem to enjoy the evergreen nature throughout the year.

Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge now open near Madison, Indiana

Old Timbers Lake at Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge offers fishing as well as photo opportunities. A photography blind has been constructed for visitor use at Big Tree Point (Big Oak)

Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Indiana recently opened to public use. It’s an old military test ground facility now benefiting wildlife.

For the public, Big Oaks offers hunting, fishing, bird watching and more. An area in the northeast section of the refuge is available for public day use, and additional acreage around the facility is open during hunting seasons.

Located about six miles north of Madison, IN, (and just across the Ohio River from Milton, KY) the new refuge opened for public use this spring with the availability of fishing at Old Timbers Lake, wildflower photography, morel mushroom hunting, and turkey hunting.

Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 50,000 acres in three counties (Jefferson, Jennings, and Ripley) and overlays that portion of the former Jefferson Proving Ground that lies north of the historic firing line where munitions were once tested. 

The Indiana Air National Guard operates an air-to-ground bombing range on the remaining 1,033 acres of the former proving ground north of the firing line and this property is surrounded by but not designated as part of the refuge. 

Jefferson Proving Ground was established by the Army in 1940 as an ordnance testing installation and closed in 1995. Beginning in 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managed the wildlife resources of the proving ground. 

Big Oaks Refuge was established in June 2000 as an “overlay” national wildlife refuge through a 25-year real estate permit from the U.S. Army. As an overlay refuge, the Army retains ownership and the Fish and Wildlife Service manages the property as Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge.  

Upcoming are special events like Outdoor Women at Big Oaks (June 8, reservation required), Take a Kid Fishing Day (July 20), annual Butterfly Survey (August 3) and refuge tours. 

Tours of the refuge can be arranged by calling the refuge office two weeks in advance for a special group tour. Call the Muscatatuck NWR office (812-522-4352 ext 12) for tour or other refuge information, or check out the refuge website: http://www.fws.gov/refuge/big_oaks 

Recreational fishing is allowed in the 165-acre Old Timbers Lake from April through November on Mondays, Fridays, and the second and fourth Saturdays. There is a 30 boat limit on the lake. (Only electric trolling motors permitted.) The lakes gets its name from the standing timber left in the impoundment.

A trail and a photo blind are ready for wildlife photographers and nature lovers at Big Tree Point at Old Timbers Lake. Off trail hiking is also allowed in the northeast portion of the refuge known as the public use area. 

  Since the refuge is part of an old military test facility, all refuge visitors must view the safety briefing once per calendar year, and sign an acknowledgment of danger form. 

A daily pass to the refuge costs $3, an annual pass is $15, and hunt permits are $15. Holders of an interagency Access/Senior Pass would be charged a reduced rate. For information about how to obtain an Access/Senior Pass call the refuge office.

Big Oaks  has one of the largest contiguous forest blocks in the southeastern part of Indiana as well as one of the largest grassland complexes in the state, both of which provide excellent wildlife viewing opportunities to refuge visitors. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats. 

The Service manages the 150 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses nearly 555 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. 

For more information about Big Oaks, and/or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit the refuge’s home page at http://midwest.fws.gov/bigoaks.

Mother's Day has a long history dating back to the days before the card and candy companies gave it a boost

       (Looking back in my old files, I came across this Mother's Day column from several years back...thought readers might enjoy...phil)

        Obviously, my wife isn’t my mother, but on Mother’s Day she expects special treatment from her husband.

All occasions like birthdays are important to Phyllis. For my part, I would be happy to forget them, but not Phyllis. If you put candles on my cake, the volunteer fire department would be headed my way.

While headed for the checkout counter on a fishing trip to Kentucky Lake last week, I was lucky. Another fisherman (I suppose he was as he looked pretty grubby like me) was picking out a Mother’s Day card. “Great idea”, I thought. “I better buy one too. That way, I won’t be racing out somewhere Saturday night or early Sunday morning looking for one.”

My Mother’s Day gift for Phyllis was a trip to see the kids and grandkids. For us that is about a 400 mile round trip, but I figured it was a cheap price to pay since I had been gone on a guy’s fishing trip the week before.

However, it started me thinking. Who created Mother’s Day anyway? Was it Hallmark?

Mothers Day can be loosely linked back to ancient Greece when in the spring a celebration honored Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. 

Then in the 1600’s in England, Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday of Lent honored English moms. Also during this time, many of England’s poor worked as indentured servants and lived at the home of their employers some distance from their families. On this one day, many of the employers gave their servants the day off and encouraged them to travel home and spend some time with their mothers. 

Some baked a special cake for the occasion called a mothering cake. Just what this was made of seems unclear. It may have been made from what ingredients were available at the time, however apparently it was highly decorated. The mother reportedly prepared for the visitors a dish of furmety, similar to rice pudding, but made with wheat instead of rice.

Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, in 1872 first suggest a day of peace and held Mother’s Day meetings every year in Boston.

A woman named Ana Jarvis in 1907 started an effort for a national Mother’s Day and convinced her church in Grafton, W. Va., to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death which was the second Sunday in May. She and other women wrote to pastor’s in other churches and the celebration spread.

By 1911, Mother’s Day was celebrated in every state and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson announced the day as a national holiday. It also is celebrated in a number of other countries, but in most cases on different days of the year.

Ana Jarvis became disenchanted with the commercialization of the day and even filed suit to try to stop it. She eventually died unhappily in a mental hospital and proclaimed she wished she had never started the day. However, the day lives on.

It is good to honor mothers. They have tough jobs raising kids and husbands.

Mother's day is special; many moms teach kids about great outdoors

Today, many youngsters learn their outdoors skills from their mothers, and this weekend is the time to honor them.

Mother’s Day is a special day. It is a time to remember and honor Mom. 

There’s the traditional flowers and candy, or a trip to the restaurant for Mom, but how about giving her an outing, a trip to a state park, or even a trip fishing.

Many moms enjoy fishing, and if fishing really isn’t something they like, most would enjoy a day outdoors. In many cases, it was Mom who helped introduce we to the outdoors, and often today in single-parent families it is Mom who is teaching youngsters to hunt, fish, or otherwise enjoy nature.

My Mother was an important part of my early days in the outdoors, and much later when our family lived on a small farm. Mom would visit and spend hours fishing in the small pond behind the house. Besides bass and bluegill, it had some large channel catfish. They always were her target, and after she caught one, I would help her return it to the water, but first I would have take a photo.

For Mother’s Day, consider taking Mom fishing. It appears the weather will be good in the Central Kentucky area. The early week forecast calls for mid-60’s and sunny. Ideal for sunny spring outing.

You might also consider taking her on a fishing trip for a day or two to a place like Kentucky Lake or some other lake where you could fish with a guide. She might enjoy such a treat, however if the budget doesn’t permit, a trip to a nearby pond or lake would be fun.

If you choose to take mom fishing for the day, pack a lunch. Bring out the lawn chairs. Plan everything. Make sure all Mom has to do is show up and have fun. Remember, fishing isn't just about catching fish. It's fun even if no one catches a whopper. Talking, laughing, and just spending quality time makes the day.

And, if you aren’t confident, Mom would enjoy fishing, a picnic would be fun. The trees and wildflowers this year are beautiful, and something Mom will appreciate. Also, a number of parks have inns where a nice meal can be enjoyed before or after visiting the rest of the park.

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HISTORY -- Mothers Day can be loosely linked back to ancient Greece when in the spring a celebration honored Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. 

Then in the 1600’s in England, Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday of Lent honored English moms. During this time, many of England’s poor worked as indentured servants and lived at the home of their employers some distance from their families. On this one day, many of the employers gave their servants the day off and encouraged them to travel home and spend some time with their mothers. 

In the O.S. a woman named Ana Jarvis in 1907 started an effort for a national Mother’s Day and convinced her church in Grafton, W. Va., to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death which was the second Sunday in May. She and other women wrote to pastors in other churches and the celebration spread.

By 1911, Mother’s Day was celebrated in every state and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson announced the day as a national holiday. It also is celebrated in a number of other countries, but in most cases on different days of the year.

It is good to honor mothers. They have tough jobs raising kids and husbands.

Stream flooded fields can be great place to catch stringer of catfish

Every spring brings with it rain, and this year has been no exception. In fact, for many there has been too much rain to really enjoy the season’s fishing.

Hopefully, flooding has passed. But if we get river waters back over the fields, it can be a time to catch catfish. There's no better place to catch a stringer of fish on some spring days than in a corn field.  

The fishing action can be hectic at times, and an angler can put a lot of fish on the stringer. Sounds a little crazy, but true. Conditions have to be just right.

A corn field or other field for that matter, can produce some mighty good fishing. I’ve experienced it a number of times when the waters of the Ohio River were on the rise.

When river or stream waters are rising and spilling over into fields, the result often is excellent fishing for small catfish, often referred to locally as pollywogs or bullheads.  These and other fish make their way into shallow water, especially corn fields, in search of food.  They can be caught in 18 inches of water.

Fish move in and bite only when water is  rising.  As soon as the water begins to recede, the fish seem to know it is time to head back to deeper water, and the fishing actions slows dramatically.

The little cats will bite on most any bait. Worms and nightcrawlers work well. Most cornfield anglers use bobbers on their lines, however at times a tight line can be effective.

One of the most significant problems facing cornfield fishermen is getting the fishing line through the old floating corn stocks and other debris. A rake can be used to clear a fishin' hole. And, of course, anglers need landowner permission to fish private fields.

A long pole also can be useful to help place the bait just where you want it.

One of the exciting aspects of this cornfield fishing is the surprises it can be bring.  Pollywogs, bullheads or little catfish  (whatever you choose to call them) are usually what you find on the end of the line, but occasionally you'll find a big channel cat, crappie, bluegill, carp, or any type fish you'll find in any river or stream.  It's fun and exciting.

The polywogs are great eating.  While they are small when compared to some catfish, they are mighty tasty and certainly worth the work of cleaning them and preparing them for the dinner table.

Most people roll them in a batter and deep fry them like any fiddler catfish.

Hopefully, we won’t have any addition significant water rise in streams the rest of spring and early summer, but if happens, remember cornfield catfish.

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TRIATHLON -- Registration is underway for the Patoka Lake Triathlon taking place at Patoka Lake beach Aug. 24.

Participants in the triathlon will swim 500 yards in the lake,  bike 12.8 miles along paved roads within the property, and run 5K along groomed gravel roads and a paved bike trail. 

All proceeds from this event will go to support Patoka’s non-releasable raptors; a red-tailed hawk and eastern screech owl.  It also may save the life of a bald eagle by acquiring a non-releasable eagle for Patoka raptor education program.

To register or for more information, contact:"http: http://patokatriathlon.dnr.in.gov, or contact the office at Patoka Lake.