Father's Day brings back many fond memories of time spent outdoors

Father and son activities create memories.

Father’s Day always brings back memories of my Dad. 

Honestly, I don’t remember a gift or a card, but I do remember my dad.

Although my father passed away when I was in my early twenties,, thinking of Father’s Day still brings fond memories of the many good times we had in the outdoors, and the things I learned from dad.

He primarily was a fisherman. He hunted, but back in those days, the hunting was limited where I grew up in East Central Illinois. There were squirrels and rabbits, but no deer or turkey.

Like most people those days, my dad was a live bait fisherman. He had a few old plugs in a metal box he used for tackle, but I don’t remember him ever using them. He did have a casting rod with a reel containing linen fishing line. However, most of our fishing was limited to cane poles. We did morel mushroom hunt.

During my pre-teen years, we didn’t have a car or truck. Our transportation was our feet. I remember walking several blocks to the Big Four railroad track, and then proceeding a couple miles north to where a railroad bridge crossed Big Creek. There usually were deep pools in the creek around the bridge, and that’s where we fished.

It often was a hot walk to the creek, but trees lined the bank and it was refreshingly cool when we arrived. We rarely caught big fish; mostly, bluegill and sunfish. But after we carried them back home, they made a tasty meal, cooked by mother, who also usually walked to the creek with us.

Sometime around my 10th or 12th birthday, my folks gathered enough money for a down payment on a used Studebaker pickup (yes, Studebaker made one). . That red truck changed our fishing horizons, we could venture to the backwaters of Wabash River, the Embrass River, and several farm ponds. That also meant we could catch catfish.

A prized bait was catalpa worms. My job was to help pick the ugly worms off catalpa tree leaves during the brief period of the summer when they were available. My dad thought they among the best baits for catfish. He also used chicken livers, night crawlers and cheese stink baits. He raised the night crawlers himself. One of the key components in the earth mix where he raised the crawlers was coffee grounds.

Dad had a special recipe for dough balls he used to catch carp. We didn’t fish for carp a lot, but when we caught small ones during early spring in clear water, they were pretty good eating. The secret ingredient in dad’s dough balls was strawberry jello,

The old Studebaker also brought about our first fishing vacation. It was a week at Freeman Lake in north central Indiana. We stayed in a little cabin, complete with a boat and small motor. The boat was just what we needed to put out trot lines. The lines contained as many as 50 hooks and primarily were baited for catfish.

We had good luck and hooked plenty of channel cats. My dad let me run the lines with him several times a day. It was fun to hold the heavy line and feel the cats hooked somewhere ahead tug and pull. I would lean over and hold the big line, while dad netted the fish, and took them off the line.

Fortunately, I have a wealth of fond memories of fishing with dad.

Old catalpa tree provided my refuge; bait for catching catfish

Catalpa trees often host ugly green and black worms in early summer.
 Despite their appearance they are good catfish bait.

Down at the corner of the property grew a large catalpa tree. It was a special tree. It was my favorite tree. It was a special place. 

The broad leaves made a huge canopy roof, keeping out the sun, and light rain. The tree was very climbable for a youngster like me. About eight feet off the ground were limbs that easily adapted to a tree house. Well, it wasn’t really a tree house. I  simply placed several boards on which I could sit and oversee my kingdom below. I could peer out and watch for advancing enemy armies.

The old catalpa tree (some call them catawba trees, and to others they are cigar trees) grew large pod-like seed capsules, which dangled from the tree and were a foot to a foot and a half long. They became swords or other fun “toys” for me and my young friends.

The catalpa has beautiful blossoms that look a bit like an orchid, and the wood of the tree makes very good fence posts. But nobody was going to cut or harm my tree. Actually, it was on my uncle’s property, but it was my tree--at least in my mind.

My dad took a strong interest in the tree for another reason. Later, we shared the interest.

The big green leaves attracted large black and green worms (caterpillar), which commonly are referred to as catalpa worms. They are ugly and messy, and love to munch on the leaves and can do damage to the trees, although they never seemed to hurt my old tree.

My dad learned as much as the worms love to munch on the catalpa leaves, catfish love to munch on catalpa worms.

Dad had a two part metal minnow bucket. The outside was simply a bucket with a handle. It would hold water. An inner bucket had holes in the sides. It also had a handle. You could lift up the inner bucket, some water would drain, and that made it much easier to catch the minnows.

The inner bucket also made a great container to keep catalpa worms for a catfish fishing trip. Dad would hand me the bucket and send me to the tree to collect worms. First, I was to place leaves inside the bucket. Next, I was to pick off all the worms I could reach and place in the bucket. It had a lid to keep the worms captive.

As I recall, the worms made their appearance during early summer. Sometimes there would be a second infestation.

References to their use for bait reportedly date back to the 1870s. When put on a hook, which according to some should be a circle hook with heavy sinkers to make sure the bait rests on the bottom, a bright fluorescent green fluid oozes from its body that smells sweet, which is its attractiveness. It is also reported to "wiggle forever on a hook." This sweet aroma and liveliness of this worm apparently make it appealing to catfish. 

Photographer writer John Maxwell said, “ think my dad used to cut them in half and turn them inside out, which was icky enough for me to try chicken livers instead.”

Friend Teresa Bragg Rice, former publisher of the Mt. Vernon Democrat, recalls, “We had a large catalpa tree in our back yard near Benton, KY. It sat pretty close to the back door of our house. 

“My dad, Bobby Bragg, was an avid fisherman. Every summer the big greenish worms with a black stripe down their backs would show up on the tree. Dad would pluck several of them off, place them in a jar and head off to various places on Kentucky Lake. 

“He used them exclusively for fishing for catfish. They worked pretty good, and he hauled in several fish over the years using them. Mom wasn't too fond of the tree because the worms can be pretty messy. She finally insisted on it being cut down. That was the end of some pretty good and free fishing bait.”

Catalpa worms are an old-time bait that bring back old time memories. 

Kentucky experiences April record hunting, fishing license growth

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources sold more than seven million dollars worth of hunting and fishing licenses in April – an all-time record for the month. That bucks a recent national trend.

"People realize that hunting and fishing are great ways to spend a beautiful spring day with their families," said Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Jon Gassett, Ph.D. "This record month shows our hard work to improve opportunities for the public is paying dividends."

KDFWR Budget Director Scott King said the April sales were encouraging news. "We broke the previous record for the month of April by $140,000," he said. "It's also $800,000 more than our average for April. This is much needed revenue for an agency that's driven by its license sales."

The department in recent years has aggressively pursued both convenience and opportunities for its customers.

A mobile app unveiled by the department last year allows anglers to use their GPS-enabled smart phones to find the nearest place to fish. Hunters can use their smart phones to buy a permit, check their deer or find season dates for all game.

The department's Internet site, which includes a wide range of information about outdoor opportunities in Kentucky, received 17 million hits last year. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife's Facebook site, launched in 2009, now has more than 44,000 followers.

The department's Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) program now stocks fish in 39 community lakes across the state. FINs Coordinator Dane Balsman said the program has generated huge interest among anglers.

In the past few years, the department has established a marketing division to help spread the word about Kentucky's many opportunities: From its 10,000-strong elk herd to generous fish stocking programs to its top five status for trophy deer.

Taking hunter ed course is a good thing, but sometimes an additional boost is needed for encouragement

Many people assumed that if a person took a hunter education course, that a strong interest in hunting and a further pursuit of the hobby would follow. But that isn’t necessarily the case.

Filled classrooms at hunter safety courses are a good thing, but perhaps more important is the number of students that actually participate in hunting after they graduate.  

A recent survey, funded by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and conducted by Southwick Associates, focused on participation levels of students in the years immediately following their graduation from hunter education class.  The survey revealed that a significant percentage of hunter education students do not buy a license after graduating.

That’s not what people who love the sport and natural resources professionals had hoped.

         Twelve state wildlife agencies supplied data for the survey, which profiled the subsequent hunting license buying habits of hunter education graduates from 2006-2011. Just 67. percent of graduates over the six-year period purchased at least one license.

·         While some graduates took hunter education with no intention of hunting, others needed assistance to make the leap to become an avid hunter. That’s the conclusion of the folks at Southwick Associates.

         After six years, only 44percent of graduates still bought licenses.

         Graduates from highly urbanized areas showed the greatest dropout rates indicating a greater need for intervention efforts.

         People graduating in warmer months represented the greatest percentage of graduates who never purchased a license.

         In most states, graduates between the ages of 16 to 24 were less likely to buy a license six years after graduating, which showed the transient nature of young people.  This held true for college students and those in the military.

“This shows us that simply encouraging people to obtain their hunter safety certificate is not enough,” said Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, which designs and conducts surveys such as HunterSurvey.com, ShooterSurvey.com, and AnglerSurvey.com.  

“The hunting community needs ways to encourage new graduates to buy a license and go hunting. Whether that means more programs for state agencies to get people out hunting, private industry intervention, or simply more hunters taking their neighbor’s kid into the woods, remains to be seen. “

  It is the belief of the NSSF that the results from this study will help the hunting community determine where more involvement is needed to maintain hunting participation among newer hunters.

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.