Summer was hot and just raced by. As I get older, much older time fliies much faster than I anticipated. Enjoy the days we have. We never know how many wakeups we have left.
     Age has overtaken me, but I still enjoy nature and the outdoors. I am limited in my mobility, but I am fortunate to be able to sit on my back patio, and see deer, an occasional turkey and many other wonderful birds.
     And yes, I have many fond memories of adventures past, and the wonderful friends who shared them with me.
     If I can get this old keyboard working better, I hope to share some old guy stories in the coming months.
     Get out and enjoy the outdoors, In this crazy world in which we live today, we need something to clear are minds of the hate and selfishness that fills our politics and news. Maybe watching a squirrel prepare for fall, would be good for the sole.

Return from the past, I'm back

     With numerous things happening in my life, and years piling on top of each other, writing in the blog fell by the wayside.
     Maybe now is a time for a revival. If only I can figure out how to do it. I'm trying to learn how to once again access the blog to update.

Granddaughter catches mystery fish

When Molly (left) and Kennedy visit, they are always ready to fish. On a recent outing,
Molly caught a fish that looked much like a rock bass.

        When my granddaughters visit, they always want to fish.

I’m fortunate. I have four granddaughters and all like to fish. The good thing is they don’t care about the size, and I’m fortunate to live on a small lake where the bluegill usually cooperate and provide fun for the girls.

During a recent visit by Molly and Kennedy, both caught fish. However, Molly landed a mystery fish.

She was fishing with a worm on a hook under a small bobber. Apparently a bluegill bit the worm and was hooked. however it managed to get off the hook as she wound in the line.

Just as she was ready to lift the line from the water, a fish hit the remaining worm on the line just about three or four feet from shore. She landed the fish. But what was it./

Molly’s catch appeared to be a rock bass. (Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera handy and didn’t take a picture...bad grandpa.)

We live on a small man-made lake. It probably is about three acres or so, and has produced lots of bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass and catfish.

Over the years, I’ve caught a number of rock bass in creeks and rivers, but never in a pond or small lake.

Rock bass are also known as goggle-eye, red eyes, and rock perch. They actually are members of the perch family. They usually are found in relatively clear, clean and rocky streams.

Indiana’s record rock bass weighed three pounds and was caught back in 1969 by David Thomas in Sugar Creek in Hancock County.

Molly’s fish was more elongated than a bluegill, and looked much like a small rock bass. However, I didn’t notice the red eyes normally found on rock bass.

I would be interested in receiving an email from any reader who has caught bass bass in a small lake or pond. The email is: outdoorscribe@yahoo.com

Snipe hunt no joke

        Back in the day, when kids played outdoors as darkness fell, it always was special when a new kid arrived to play in the evening. It was snipe hunt time.

The newbie was told before he or she could enter into evening games, they had to help us with a snipe hunt. It was their assignment to catch the snipe.

The youngster usually was given a burlap bag and a flashlight to assist with their duties.

According to Tom Cadden, public information officer, Arizona Game and Fish Department, the ritual goes like this: The unsuspecting newbie is told about a unique bird called a snipe and is given some ridiculous method of catching it, such as running around the woods with a bag while making strange noises or banging sticks. 

In our neighborhood, the kid was then told to hold the bag and the snipes would come to the bag for capture. In the meantime, we went on about playing our games while the bag holder waited.

The practical joke leaves the recipient red-faced and the rest of the kids had a good laugh.

Today, probably few people have heard of or played snipe hunt. However, many folks, including some hunters, might be surprised to know that snipe not only exist, but offer some enjoyable, sporty hunting opportunities.

“Snipe are one of the most overlooked game birds,” says Randy Babb, information and education program manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Mesa region. 

“They flush similar to quail, and their zig-zag flight patterns make for a challenging target.

Snipe prefer marshy habitats along rivers and lakes and will also use flooded agricultural areas. Birds can often be spotted by the hunter prior to entering an area by glassing the water’s edge with binoculars.

Babb advises hunters to check snipe habitat often, as the birds tend to suddenly appear and disappear in the feeding areas.

“Snipe offer a great ‘extra’ for duck hunters,” says Babb. “After a morning duck hunt, hunters should walk the nearby marshy areas or other flooded vegetation. If you prefer to jump-shoot ducks, snipe are common visitors to stock tanks.”

The Indiana season dates for common snipe this year are Sept. 1 to Dec. 16. The daily bag limit is eight.

Kentucky’s snipe season is Sept. 21 to Oct. 30,and then Nov. 24 through Jan. 29.

Fall turkey hunting requires different tactics for success

Fall turkey hunting requires different tactics than  spring hunts.

Fall presents many choices and opportunities for people who like to hunt and fish--almost too many.

Hunters in both Indiana and Kentucky now have fall turkey hunting seasons. Indiana just opened fall turkey season a couple years ago.

Whether there too many options for hunters or whether fall turkey hunting is tough or for whatever reason far fewer hunters bag the birds during fall seasons.

Indiana’s fall turkey archery hunt season starts Oct. 1 and runs through Oct. 30, and reopens Dec. 3 and runs thorough Jan. 1. Shotgun season is Oct. 19-30. Separate licenses are required for spring and fall seasons, and one bird of either sex may be harvested.

While most Indiana counties are open to fall turkey hunting, some are not. Among those counties where they may be hunted are: Perry, Spencer and Posey.

Most people who hunt fall turkeys find it considerably different than spring gobbler hunting. They also find it more challenging, and that says a lot. Spring turkey hunting itself is a test of outdoor skills.

Fall turkey season is different from the spring hunt when toms are attracted to calls due to the mating season. 

And while fall gun hunting can be challenging, it is hard to imagine shooting one with a bow and arrow. But some people love it because of the challenge and also because it is one of the earliest hunting seasons.

Fall turkey hunting in simple terms involves less calling and more scouting to find the birds--at least that is the experience of most hunters. Some hunters say the secret to fall birds is breaking up a flock and then waiting for the birds to come back into shooting range whether with a bow or shotgun.

Matt Lindler, a friend who worked for the National Wild Turkey Federation suggests several tactics can be used successfully during fall hunts, depending on the locality and state laws.

“Historically, one of the most common tactics is to sneak up on a feeding flock, run through the middle of it to break it up. The goal is to get the birds to fly in different directions,” said Matt.

He then suggests using a “ki, ki” type distress call or a “lost hen” type call to encourage the birds to reassemble. “A long series of yelps (10 or 12) works, progressively getting louder and longer.”

According to Matt, a group of gobblers also will regroup, but it usually takes them longer.

Summer months race by, but good fall fishing remains

Fall fishing is some of he best of the year.

As youngsters, it seemed time crawled. It seemed like the clock was in slow motion as kids awaited Christmas, or for school to be out, or a scheduled birthday party.

Now, after the years have pilled up, one on top of another, decade on top of decade, it seems the clock is spinning to set a new land speed record. Time races by. It seems like we should just be planting flowers and tomato plants, not digging them up with the arrival of fall.

These days it seems once Labor Day arrives, summer is gone. It really isn’t, but it seems that way. In fact, shortly after the Fourth of July, talk of youngsters returning to school is well underway.

Now, Labor Day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean it is time to put away the fishing gear for the year. There probably is even time to use bathing suits a few more times.

For many, Labor Day marks the end of summer. It’s the time when guys who wear long pants, put away white pants for the year (does anyone wear white pants anymore?). It’s the time for high school, college and pro football, as well as the kickoff of hunting seasons. Squirrel and dove season already are underway.

According to the TV weather folks, we still can expect a number of hot days in September.

However, leaves are beginning to swirl to the ground. Their color is changing. The change is subtle, but noticeable. Seasons are changing.

Fall probably is my favorite season. However, I have very little enthusiasm for what follows. Winter. 

It is true, Winter has some virtues, although the old brain in my head struggles to enumerate many. It seems the number shrinks as my age increases.

Summer really isn’t over. There will be more warm days and the water temperature is still warm. It is a time when big catfish are feeding prior to winter months. There isn’t a better time to land a big catfish. Their feeding frenzy, especially in rivers and big lakes, usually lasts through the middle of September when the water begins to cool.

And when the water begins to cool, it marks a time for crappie fishing action to pick up.

Crappie fishing can be as good in the fall as it is during the spring spawn. In fact, it can be just as much fun and productive as there are fewer people and boats on lakes and streams making noise and spooking the fish.

Fall crappie fishing can be a bit more challenging than spring action because often the fish are more scattered. They are harder to find. They also may be more unpredictable.

During fall, the water temperature eventually becomes about the same at all levels and crappie can be found at most any depth. However, once you find them, they can be caught.

During fall, a day in the outdoors can combine squirrel hunting and crappie fishing. My old friend Bayou Bill Scoffers used to call it “squirrelshing”.

A cookout with fried squirrel and fried crappie, and homemade slaw...It doesn’t get much better.