4-H Shooting Expo Scheduled for Perry County

People will have the opportunity to learn more about shooting sports past and present at the Perry County 4-H Shooting Sports Expo at the county fairgrounds Saturday, Feb. 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

While a variety of firearms will be on display at the Expo, no firearms will be sold at the event, which also will serve as a fund-raiser for 4-H shooting sports.

. Displays will include the following: antique ammo, custom guns, local animal furs provided by David Adams, weapons of World War I and II provided by Norman Held, and muzzleloaders provided by Albert Hagedorn.

Also, archery provided by E & E Guns, plus a Civil War display provided by Mark Laflin.

Admission is free but a container for donations will be available.

Lunch will be available for purchase by visitors.

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DEER BRUHAHA --  A Connersville couple raised a young deer and created a firestorm of media interest after officials originally planned to prosecute them.

Their intentions were good, however it is illegal to possess wild game without a special permit.

The Department of Natural Resources eventually asked that the charges be dismissed against the couple for illegal taking of a deer.

  After reviewing the matter, Gov. Mike Pence recognized public pressure and asked the DNR to reevaluate the case. As a result of the governor’s request, the DNR has reexamined the case and  sought dismissal of the charges.

  The case involves a Connersville couple – Jeff and Jennifer Counceller – who took in a fawn deer in 2010 they said was injured. The couple was told at that time by an Indiana Conservation Officer from the DNR that it is illegal to possess a wild animal without a permit and the best option was to return the fawn to a wooded location.

  They did not, and last summer they were found to still have the deer but no DNR permit authorizing them to possess it.

  The case was turned over to the Fayette County prosecutor.

It would have been easier for the conservation officer to ignore the violation, but then how do they deal with other more serious violations of individuals keeping and or hoarding wild animals?

Common sense prevailed. Maybe?

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ART CONTEST -- Students across the United States have the opportunity to win prizes and national recognition while learning about state-fish species, aquatic habitats, and conservation.  The state-fish art contest uses art to ignite children’s imagination while teaching them about the outdoors.

The 15th annual Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest is open to all students in grades K through 12.  The first place winning artists will be invited to attend the  organization's EXPO to be personally recognized on stage receiving prizes and trophies.  

Entries must be postmarked by March 31, 2013.  Winners will be announced May 3, 2013. 

To enter, young artists nationwide must create an original illustration of their chosen state-fish. A personal one page written essay, story or poem on its behavior, habitat, and conservation needs is also required.

Educators, homeschoolers and parents can learn more about the competition by visiting  a website at www.statefishart.org for complete details and to download the FREE Fish On! Lesson Plan. 

The 15th Annual State-Fish Art EXPO will be held at the Go Fish Education Center in Perry, Georgia on the weekend of July 12 and 13, 2013. 

Winners who attend the EXPO will be treated to the 15th Anniversary Celebration with a wide variety of family events throughout the weekend including a special Awards Ceremony to honor all the winners with prizes and trophies.

As hunting seasons wind down, now time to thank landowners

As hunting seasons come to a close and a new year is underway, now is a good time to thank the landowner where you hunt, fish, or hike and enjoy the outdoors.

Nearly all of the land in Kentucky, Indiana is privately owned, so a significant amount of the state’s outdoor recreation takes place on land owned by an individual or business.

Recently, I came across a story about the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department’s Landowner Relations Program.

Lindsay Webb, who heads up the New Hampshire program said now is an important time to extend thanks to landowners who share access to their land. And, the same applies here where we are dependent on private landowners for much of our recreation.

"Access to private land is a privilege provided to us through the generosity of the landowner," says Webb. "...we need to make sure that these landowners really know how much you appreciate them allowing you access to hunt, fish or watch wildlife on their property." 

Webb went on to point out a few ways sportsmen and women can show their appreciation to landowners:

* Visit the landowner to express your appreciation, and, if possible, share some of your harvest or a favorite wildlife photograph from your time on their property.

* Send a personal note or holiday card to the landowner, thanking them for sharing their land.

* Send a gift basket, or gift certificate to a local restaurant.

* Help them protect their property by documenting and reporting suspicious activities.

* Offer to help with outdoor tasks, or to clean up and properly dispose of illegally dumped materials left on their property.

Or, just offer to donate a day or two to help the landowner make wildlife improvements to the property.

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LATE GOOSE HUNTS --There are two late goose hunts available in Indiana: a late Canada goose zone season from Feb. 1 – 15,  in 30 counties (primarily in the northern part of the state), and a light goose conservation order from Feb. 1 – March 31 statewide (except the late Canada goose zone, which is open for light geese Feb. 16 – March 31.

Greene and Sullivan are amongst the closest late Canada goose counties to southern Indiana

• This season is open on Canada geese only.

• You must have an Indiana hunting license, Indiana waterfowl stamp, federal waterfowl stamp, and a HIP number to participate.

• Shooting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

• Regular waterfowl regulations apply. It is illegal to take Canada geese using electronic callers, shotguns capable of holding more than three shells, or to shoot after sunset.

• The bag limit for this season is 5 Canada geese per day, with a possession limit of 10.

• Report any banded geese taken. You may report these bands by calling toll-free 1-800-327-BAND, or online at http://www.reportband.gov/.

Something new this year, no special  permit is needed for the late Canada Goose season, and birds no longer need to be checked.

Lore related to Ground Hog Day interesting, but Phil's predictions iffy...

     (Here is a column I wrote back in 2011 about Groundhog Day. Thought some of the lore behind he day might be of interest.)

Well, the groundhog didn’t see his shadow, or at least most of them didn’t. Hopefully, the folklore is true and we’ll have an early spring. We need it.

Groundhog day is an important day in my household. I’m truly happy for the hoopla associated with the day. It also is my wife’s birthday, and the attention given the groundhog serves as a reminder that I had better be looking for a card and gift.

Groundhog day comes at a dismal time of the year when most of us also need a reminder that spring will come. However, the groundhog doesn’t have a good record of predicting the arrival of spring.

The world's most famous groundhog predicted an early spring.

Punxsutawney Phil emerged around dawn on Groundhog Day on Wednesday to make his 125th annual weather forecast in front of thousands who braved muddy, icy conditions to hear his handlers reveal that Pennsylvania's prophetic rodent had not seen his shadow.

Phil's support team, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, concoct the forecasts. Several thousand revelers gathered before dawn on a small hill called Gobbler's Knob to hear the prediction.

Before this year’s Groundhog Day, Phil had seen his shadow 98 times and hadn't seen it 15 times since 1887. There are no records for the remaining years, though the group has never failed to issue a forecast.

According to the Stormfax Almanac, Phil is only correct 39  percent of the time. But in Phil’s defense, professional weather forecasters have difficulty predicting three days in advance, let along six weeks.

Seems to me, no matter what Phil’s prediction, weather generally starts to improve in mid-March, and not much before.

The groundhog also is known as a woodchuck, and in some areas is called a land beaver. It is a member of the rodent family, belonging to a group of large ground squirrels, known as marmots. They are found from Canada to Alabama.

Phil is the best-known of the weather predicting groundhogs. He makes his predictions from Punxsutawney, Pa. In Canada, his counterpart is Wiarton Willie from Wiarton, Ontario. A famous southern groundhog, based at a game ranch outside of Atlanta, Ga., is General Beauregard Lee. As far as I know, there are no famous groundhog forecasters in southern Indiana. I don’t know of a Marian Hill Mike or Poseyville Pete.

Sports shows offer outdoor folks reprieve from winter blahs

        Winter has already been colder, snowier and nastier than all of last year, yet there probably is nearly two months of disagreeable weather ahead.

Sure you can work on organizing your tackle boxes (doesn’t everyone have more than one?}, or read a good book while the snow and wind blow outdoors. Football season is over, so what’s to do? Outdoor sports shows can provide and escape for a few of those days, and be a nice winter break.

Shows also are a good place to plan trips, learn about the latest equipment whether fishing tackle, a boat or a recreational vehicle. Information these days is readily available on the web for computer users, but there is nothing like talking to folks face-to-face about their resort, area, RVs, boats, or other outdoor gear. You can see it and touch up, and probably try it up close and personal.

The 2013 Louisville Boat, RV and Sports Show starts Wednesday of this week and runs through the weekend. More than 100,000 square feet have been added for this year’s show at the state fairgrounds in Louisville in the South Wing and East Hall.

According to a new release from the Louisville Show, now sponsored by Progressive insurance, ”When not shopping, visitors to the show can experience the benefits of the outdoors through a variety of new education and entertainment, including the new Paddle Sports Demo & Try-It Pool, a chance to meet the famous R.J and Jay Paul Molinere of ‘Swamp People,’ and Ron and Amy Shirley of ‘Lizard Lick Towing.’ Visitors also can  take a moment to sit and watch performances on the all-new Trampoline Wall, sharpen hunting and fishing skills at daily seminars, and much more.”

The show opens Wednesday at 5 p.m., and will operate Thursday and Friday from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, it will open at 10 a.m. 

The cost of the show is $10 for adults and youngsters 15 and under are free.

Next month, the big Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show is slated for the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. It will be the 59th year for the show that covers more than 650,000 square feet in six buildings at the facility. It’s a long trek to Indianapolis, but if you love the outdoors, the show is worth the time and effort.

  Acres of boats, RV’s, fishing tackle and hunting gear, outdoor destinations, paddle sports equipment, educational seminars, outdoor celebrities and unique and entertaining attractions combine to form a veritable outdoor supernova, which is difficult to be fully experienced in a single visit.  

When I lived closer, I usually tried to schedule several days. Mid-week visiting is good when possible as crowds are smaller.

The Indy show is scheduled Feb. 15-24. It opens at 10 a.m. on weekends, and at 1 p.m. on Monday. Other weekdays, the doors open at 3 p.m.

Scout Day is slated for Feb. 18. All Scouts in uniform  can climb the rock wall for free as well as fish in the trout pond at no cost.

The fourth annual Quiet Sports Expo also will be part of the sports show. According to information provided by Josh Lantz, “Human-powered adventure activities like, hiking, paddling, mountain biking, rock- 

climbing and fly fishing may leave a small ecological footprint, but are as hard-core as the ever- growing number of enthusiasts who practice them.  

“Sometimes referred to as the quiet sports, these activities are some of the fastest-growing outdoor recreational pursuits.  And in this case, quiet certainly doesn't mean dull or mundane.  

“Let's face it.  Indiana may not be the extreme, eco-adventure capitol of the world, but the Quiet Sports Expo is geared up to alter that perception.  How?  By offering existing and would- be quiet sports devotees an unequaled opportunity to see the latest, cutting edge quiet sports gear and learn from some of the best and most experienced adventure paddlers, backpackers, 

mountaineers and other quiet sports moguls in the world.”  

Both the Louisville and Indy shows offer visitors a chance to escape the blahs of winter and look to a year of outdoor fun.

Pro bass angler Alton Jones likes winter fishing; offers techniques

Former Bassmaster Classic champ Alton Jones likes cold weather bass fishing.

Former Bassmaster Classic champion Alton Jones has some surprising thoughts when it comes to winter bass fishing.

Surprisingly, Jones ranks winter as one of his favorite seasons of the year to catch bass, because he can literally fish top to bottom with two of his favorite lures, surface plugs and deep diving crankbaits. These lures aren’t normally associated with cold weather fishing, but the Yamaha Pro has been catching winter bass with them for years. 

As a young outdoor outdoor writer, I was surprised when some of the biggest largemouth of the year were caught during February and March.

“Bass are not always in extremely deep water during the winter months like a lot of fisherman believe,” explains the veteran angler. “Actually, they can be just about anywhere. Once a lake ‘turns over’ and the thermocline goes away, bass are not as limited to specific areas as they are at other times of the year. 

“That’s one of the reasons winter bass fishing can  be difficult, since the fish have so many location choices, but because winter bass usually gather in extremely large schools you can also have excellent action once you do locate them,”  says Alton in a news release provided by Yamaha.

Jones especially likes to use large topwater lures when he’s fishing clear water on calm, bright winter days. With a surface lure he’s always fishing near or over cover, such as bluff walls, deep brush piles, flooded timber, or subsurface vegetation. 

“I prefer a big walking lure I can fish very slowly around these types of targets,” continues the Yamaha Pro. “Bass may come up 20 feet to hit a topwater lure as long as they can see it, which is why this technique only produces well in clear, calm water. 

I usually walk the lure several feet, then let it sit motionless for 15 to 20 seconds before I move it again. I want bass to have plenty of time to decide to hit it.” 

The bass Jones is targeting are suspended over the cover rather than holding on the very bottom. He makes his casts parallel to long, steep bluff walls, for example, because winter bass often locate just eight or 10 feet deep along the wall, even through the water may be 30 feet deep. The same is true around flooded timber where bass may be suspended just a few feet below the surface even though the water is much deeper. 

“Fishing a topwater lure over submerged vegetation can also be extremely productive,” he adds, “especially later in the day. Bass move up and hold right over the top of the vegetation where they can enjoy the sun, but if they can see the surface, they’ll definitely come up to hit a topwater lure.” 

When he’s fishing different conditions, such as cloudy or windy days, Jones changes from a topwater lure to a deep diving crankbait, and instead of looking for submerged cover, he searches for baitfish, which also gather in large schools during the winter. 

“Typically, shad and other baitfish will move to deeper holes in creek and river channels and even in large coves,” Jones explains, “and you can easily see them with your electronics. Bass usually position 

themselves underneath these balls of shad, and frequently you can see them, too, with your electronics. 

“A deep diving crankbait works well because you can trigger reflex strikes from the bass by running the lure through the baitfish as fast as you can reel it. I’ll make a long cast and reel the lure down, pause just a split second, then reel it fast again. 

Jones has an interesting perspective on fishing and why he fishes. "Fishing provides me with a new opportunity for success on every single cast. My faith in Jesus Christ is the most important aspect of my life. I chase little green fish with brains half the size of my thumbnail, yet they often outsmart me. But I can rely on my faith even when the fish don't cooperate. What a wonderful and sometimes humbling sport!" 

With deer season over, now is good time to hunt buck antler sheds

Hunting for buck deer sheds has become popular for multiple reasons.

Hunting seasons are winding down, and the cold keeps the fishing gear of most anglers in the closet, so what’s a person to do on these midwinter days?

Some weekends there are sports and travel shows. Then you can attempt to organize your tackle boxes, or you can head to the woods to look for shed deer antlers.

Yes, hunting shed antlers is becoming a popular pastime among both deer hunters and non-hunters.

There are several reasons for hunting for the shed antlers. They can provide a nice trophy for a “man cave”, they can provide valuable information for hunts next fall, and they can create winter outdoor fun and exercise. And when hunting for sheds, you may get a good view and perspective of the woods and wildlife you might not see during other times of the year.

Hunters know, but not everyone may be aware that whitetail deer bucks loose their antlers every winter, following the annual rut. 

Bucks grow antlers in the spring for use during the fall mating season. When the antlers begin to develop they are covered with a material often referred to as “velvet”. As the antlers mature, the bucks rub off the “velvet” on trees and bushes.

Once the mating season is over, the bucks no longer need the antlers as weapons against other bucks, and the antlers drop off during a period of several weeks. The timing depends on the location, but in this area, usually takes place sometime in January or February. It can happen earlier or later.

By spring it is unlikely antlers will be found. 

The antlers are composed of calcium, and when they are shed, mice rats and other small animals make quick work of them. They become tasty meals for many forest creatures.

Under normal conditions, bucks grow larger antler racks as they age. If you find a large rack, it indicates a big buck made it through hunting season. It may be a good place to consider locating a deer stand next fall.

Racks usually are found in locations where deer spend considerable time. Bedding and feeding areas, plus heavily traveled trails are good place to search. Places where deer jump at a creek or ravine are spots where sometimes the antlers are shaken loose.

Shed hunting can be fun and informative, and iis kid and family friendly. It is a good time to bundle up the family and head out to your favorite hunting grounds in search of antler sheds.

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NEW YEAR PLANS --  As Hoosiers make plans for a new year, they can take a cue from two Indiana University graduate students and a pair of Sheridan High School teachers.

  Laura Harman and her boyfriend Nathan Haffner, both originally from Fort Wayne, resolved this time last year to visit all 24 state parks in Indiana in 2012. They completed their resolution in late December when they visited Brown County State Park, the last on their list.

  Jesse and Abby Linville, the teachers, visited every state park in 2011 and plan to hit every state forest in 2013.

  Coincidentally, both couples accomplished many of the most common resolutions that Americans set for themselves. They exercised, spent more time with each other, traveled to new places, learned new things and de-stressed.

  Harman and Haffner spent at least a day at each park, hiked and bird-watched, visited nature centers, read interpretive markers, took hundreds of photographs, played basketball and tennis, and camped.

Global warming, cooling or whatever, the snow makes good ice cream

Fresh snow is ideal for making snow ice cream.

Blame it on global warming. Blame it on global cooling. Blame it the Mayans. Whatever, we have had snow this early winter. Depending on your perspective, it can be good or bad.

There’s an old saying, “When life gives you lemons. make lemonade.” I’d suggest, when life gives you snow, make snow ice cream.

When I was a youngster growing up in eastern Illinois. and that first measurable snow arrived, Mom would make a bowl of snow cream. It tasted great, and as I grew to grade school age, I was able to help make the tasty stuff. However, my duties usually related to gathering the white stuff. 

Someone often chuckled and added, “Don’t get any of the yellow snow.” I may not have been very old, but knew they were telling me to get clean snow and avoid any area the dogs used as an outdoor restroom.

Later, when we were fortunate enough to have a refrigerator that had a freezer,but it still was fun to make snow ice cream.

Most of the recipes for snow ice cream are quite simple, but there are a few variations.

The simplest, and the way I recall making it, requires only four ingredients. That is one cup milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup sugar and four or five cups of clean snow.

Mix together the milk, vanilla, and the sugar. Stir this mixture until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly add the snow to your mixture, stirring constantly, until it is as thick as the ice cream. Enjoy.

Some recipes add one beaten egg. That makes it a bit richer. Some call for separating the white and yellow of the egg, beating, and then adding together. Others even call for cooking the egg mixture a bit. And some add a dash of salt.

On the internet, I just read a simple recipe from Paula Deen, the well-known southern TV chef.. Her ingredients are eight cups of snow, one 14-ounce can of sweetened condense milk, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Simply place snow into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls.

My cousin, Janet wasn’t big on white milk, so she would add other flavorings to the ice cream.

Keeping it simple seems fine to me. 

One of the good things about freezers these days is you can even save some of your snow ice cream and eat it later.

The EPA or some environmental groups probably today say the snow is full of all sorts of toxins, but go for it. Enjoy it. You won’t be eating that much anyway.

Guess, I’m still a kid at heart. I like snow, and would love a bowl of snow ice cream, although today it would have to be with artificial sweetener.