This week’s column is a bit of a rant. So sue me…
A rant about argumentative anglers
May 2, 2011 by John McCoyA spring for W.Va. anglers to forget
April 29, 2011 by John McCoyAfter two years of drought, West Virginia needed a lot of rain.
This is ridiculous, though. For weeks now, anglers throughout the state have had to battle high and muddy water as storm after storm swept dumped rain into rivers and streams.
A casual glance at the DNR’s weekly fishing report (available in its entirety here) shows most minor streams running high and all the major rivers running muddy, and a fair number of lakes either milky or muddy.
It’s been a spring to forget so far, but a couple of weeks of fair weather would allow anglers to make up for lost time during what are arguably the best four angling weeks of the year — from mid-May to mid-June.
Killing baby animals with kindness
April 28, 2011 by John McCoySpring is indeed a time of regeneration, a time when creatures large and small insure the survival of their species by bearing young.
We who are fortunate to live in West Virgina, cheek by jowl with nature, often come upon young animals that appear to have been abandoned. We often feel inclined to try to help. While there’s nothing wrong with feeling that way, plenty can go wrong if we act on our inclinations.
In short, we can end up killing the critters we seek to save. Case in point: Here in West Virginia, white-tailed deer often leave their newborn fawns unattended. The fawns, hunkered down amid grass or weeds, become almost invisible to would-be predators.
All too often, though, we do-gooding humans come along and say, “Gee, a fawn! Poor little thing must have been abandoned by its mom.” We pick the fawn up, take it home with us, decide it’s hungry and feed it a can of evaporated milk. Sounds humane, right?
Wrong. Chances are we’ve just killed the poor little creature. Evaporated milk, cow’s milk and other dairy products wreak havoc on a fawn’s digestive system. Bill Vanscoy, the former superintendent of the West Virginia Wildlife Center, used to complain about it all the time. “They feed these fawns evaporated milk, the fawns come down with the screaming scours [diarrhea], and then when the fawns get in really bad shape they send them to us to ’save,’” Vanscoy grumped.
What’s the better approach? Unless you are 100 percent certain a young animal has been orphaned — and that means you’ve found mama’s carcass — leave it alone!
Every year, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources issues a news release urging folks to leave young wildlife alone. Here’s this year’s edition:
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources advises people to leave all young wildlife alone. “The spring season is the time of year when the woods and fields of West Virginia are full of new life,” said Gene Thorn, wildlife biologist at the West Virginia State Wildlife Center in Upshur County. “People have a great opportunity to view and enjoy young wildlife during this season, but it is especially important for the public to understand the need to avoid touching or disturbing these wild animals.”
Attempts to rescue or rehabilitate young wildlife are often counter-productive. Picking up or getting too close to wildlife greatly increases the chance of harm to the animal and/or the persons involved in this unwise practice. By touching young animals or close approach, humans leave scent that may attract predators. Wildlife viewing is an enjoyable and perfectly acceptable activity; however, the DNR recommends that this pastime be conducted from a safe distance and with the aid of binoculars.
“In addition to being detrimental to the welfare of young animals, handling wildlife can expose humans to various wildlife-associated diseases, parasites and other health-related risks,” said Thorn. “Rabies, roundworms and other parasites such as lice and ticks can be transmitted to humans through the improper handling of wildlife.”
The Wildlife Center and DNR district offices receive numerous calls each year concerning young wildlife, especially fawn deer that have been picked up by well-meaning residents. It is important to note that in almost every case, these young animals have not been abandoned. In fact, the offspring are often hidden as the adult searches for food, and this separation can last for a few hours or all day. Humans are poor substitute parents for wild animals, as young wildlife require special diets and learn survival skills from their parents. Removing the young wildlife from its natural environment almost certainly leads to death of the animal.
Many people often mistake a bedded fawn, with no mother in sight, as abandoned. Hiding the fawn and leaving it while the doe searches for food is an important survival tactic. The spotted pattern and coloration of fawns and their lack of scent afford protection to these young animals and make them difficult for predators to detect. If a predator happens to approach close to a fawn, the young deer will normally hold very still until the threat passes. If discovered by a predator, the fawn will wait until the very last moment before fleeing to safety. Fawns should always be left undisturbed and never be picked up by people.
As a final caution, remember that state laws and regulations prohibit the possession of wildlife without a permit. Under any circumstances, when you pick up a young animal in the wild you have taken it into your possession. The fines for illegal possession of a fawn deer, black bear cub, baby raccoon, squirrel or any other species taken or possessed during the closed season, range from $20 up to a maximum of $1,000 and/or up to 100 days in jail.
“We want everyone to enjoy wildlife in West Virginia,” said Thorn. “For your own health and safety and to protect the state’s wildlife, remember these wild animals should be left alone and allowed to stay wild.”
Orphaned eagles will be raised by humans
April 27, 2011 by John McCoyBad news for the three young Norfolk, Va., bald eaglets who had been starring on the Virginia Botanical Gardens’ “Eagle Cam.”
Their mother was struck and killed by an airplane. The young eagles are being relocated to the Wildlife Center of Virginia, where they will be raised by the center’s staff and released.
Here’s the Associated Press report:
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Wildlife officials plan to relocate three eaglets from their nest at Norfolk Botanical Center to a wildlife center after their mother was hit and killed by an airplane.
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries says its wildlife biologists determined that the 5-week-old eaglets’ father won’t be able to provide sufficient food for them.
The agency said Wednesday in a news release that the eaglets will be moved to The Wildlife Center of Virginia. They will be released into the wild when they are old enough.
The eaglets’ mother was killed Tuesday morning.
Wildlife biologist Stephen Living says it’s likely at least one eaglet wouldn’t survive the next three months without intervention.
Reward offered in panther-shooting case
April 26, 2011 by John McCoyAn endangered Florida panther found dead last month was shot, as it turned out, and Florida authorities have offered a $5,000 reward for information that would lead to the shooter.
A cyclist found the cat in a ditch alongside a rural road in Seminole County. The carcass initially showed no signs of trauma, but authorities have since confirmed that the animal died of a gunshot wound.
If found, the shooter could receive up to a year in jail, a state fine of $1,000 and a federal fine of $100,000.
Fewer than 200 panthers are known to exist in the Sunshine State.
Record paddlefish is 125 pounds of pure ugly
April 25, 2011 by John McCoyI don’t know whether Aaron Stone of Pawhuska, Okla., deserves praise or pity.
One thing’s for sure — Stone had a fight on his hand when his snagging rig made contact with a 125-pound, 7-ounce paddlefish. The 21-year-old angler eventually hauled the fish from the waters of the Arkansas River, and when he did he became the Sooner State’s newest record holder.
Here’s more on the story, from the Tulsa World.
Certainly Stone deserves praise for his record-breaking catch. But let’s pity him, too — after all, if he decides to have the fish mounted, he’s gonna have one honkin’ big pile of ugly hanging on his living-room wall.
Hat tip: J.R. Absher in The Outdoor Pressroom.
Morning’s overture marks another gobbler season
April 23, 2011 by John McCoyIn anticipation of tomorrow’s gobbler-season opener, here’s this week’s column:
It’s dark, and you’re breathing hard. The climb to your favorite turkey-hunting spot seemed a little steeper than you remembered. You sit at the base of a large oak and try to catch your breath.
The woods are quiet. The gray half-light of dawn won’t appear a while yet, so you use the time to put out a decoy, load your shotgun, don your head net and gloves, set a box call on your thigh and pop a diaphragm call into your mouth.
A loud blowing sound shatters the silence. You startle, and then smile, realizing that a deer caught your scent and snorted. The deer’s hoofbeats recede, and silence reclaims the hilltop.
The silhouettes of surrounding trees take form as the sky brightens from inky black to dove gray. Your ears perk up as you listen for …
There! From an adjoining ridge, a turkey greets the dawn with a throaty gobble. To your right, no more than 100 yards away, a long-tongued longbeard thunders its response.
Cautiously, you slip a slate call from your vest. You touch the wooden striker to the slate and scratch out a soft yelp.
The gobbler to your right booms an answer. You want to call again, but experience has shown you’d better play hard-to-get. The gobbler rattles the treetops again. You stay quiet.
Wingbeats! He must have flown down. You know that if you play your cards right, he’ll come looking for that hen he thought he heard. Nervously, you face his direction. You shoulder the shotgun and rest its barrel on your right knee.
Your ears reach out for any telltale sound, any sign at all that the gobbler might be headed your way. An ovenbird’s song — teacher, teacher, teacher! — is all you hear.
Senses shift into overdrive. Your eyes sweep the ridgeline, searching for movement. Nothing.
You yelp again. Six notes this time, and a little louder. No response. Your brow wrinkles. Could that old bird have found a hen already?
Somewhere over your right shoulder, you hear the geese. It’s a flock of Canadas, headed for a nearby lake. You listen as the ha-ronks build to a crescendo, and, after the big black-necked birds pass overhead, you watch the chevron until it fades into the distance.
“Funny,” you think. “All that noise should have caused a gobble or two. Wonder why it didn’t? Is that gobbler gone, or has he just gone silent?”
Serendipity. A woodpecker hammers away at a tree down the hill, and the gobbler breaks his silence. He sounds closer – maybe just over the brow of the ridge – so you firm up your grip on the gunstock.
As quietly as you can, you cluck. Once. Twice. Pause. Thrice.
He gobbles! Seconds later, you hear a spitting sound, followed by a low, resonant boom more easily felt than heard. He’s strutting! Somewhere over the hill, he’s strutting!
Another cluck. This time, silence.
There! A speck of red appears from behind a tree, barely 30 yards away. Heart pounding, you thumb the shotgun’s safety.
Dawn’s curtain has lifted. Opening morning’s overture has played. It’s show time …
Reporting poachers, cyber style
April 22, 2011 by John McCoySince it’s now possible to buy hunting or fishing licenses online, it seems only fitting that sportsmen should be able to go online to report poachers as well. Check this out, from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources:
Reporting poaching activities just became easier. Last week DNR Law Enforcement added a Web page to the WVDNR.gov domain letting sportsman report illegal poaching statewide. When a sportsman reports a violation the information will be e-mailed to the proper supervisor responsible for the area. To view the site click here: http://www.wvdnr.gov/LEnforce/Poachers.shtm
Hunters who carry smart phones should be able to report suspicious activity from the field, quickly and quietly.
Cool stuff, if you ask me…
Liability questions sideline Illinois bass teams
April 21, 2011 by John McCoyAfter two years of torrid growth, high-school bass fishing in Illinois has cooled off a bit.
Participation has leveled off at about 30 percent of the state’s schools. That old bugaboo, liability, is causing some administrators to keep their schools’ would-be bass teams on dry land.
Details can be found here, in the Rockford Register Star.
Seems to me that if kids are willing to put in the hours to represent their schools, grownups should find a way to work out the legal technicalities. Just sayin’.
Youths get first crack at W.Va. gobblers
April 20, 2011 by John McCoySaturday will be a big day for some young Mountain State turkey hunters.
The state’s one-day youth hunt for spring gobblers will be held on that day. The regular spring gobbler season will open two days later, on Monday.
To participate in the youth hunt, youngsters must be at least 8 and less than 18 years old. Youths aged 15 to 17 must be properly licensed. All participants 8 to 14 years of age must be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years old. The adult may not carry a gun or a bow, and must remain close enough to render advice.
Young hunters must use shotguns, and those shotguns may only be loaded with shells containing size 4, 5 or 6 shot.
The bag limit is one bearded turkey, and that turkey will count against a youth hunter’s yearly bag limit of two birds.