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Award-winning journalist Art Lander Jr. posts news and information
about fishing, hunting, nature and self-sufficient rural living in Kentucky
Text and Photos 2013 Art Lander Jr.
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Posted February 16, 2013
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
Valentine’s Day Start of Best Sauger and Walleye Fishing in Kentucky
If fishing is one of your true loves then think of Valentine’s Day as the start of the best fishing of the year for sauger and walleye in Kentucky rivers and tailwaters. The water may still be cold (high 30s and low 40s), but the fishing can be hot.
“What’s challenging about sauger is it’s either boom or bust,” said fishery biologist Ryan Oster, of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “It’s a seasonal fishery because of their biology.”
The best opportunity of the year to catch sauger in numbers is when they gang up below dams, prior to spawning. “By April, they disperse and migrate back down river,” said Oster. “They are so spread out it’s hard to catch more than one or two.”
Kentucky has six rivers that support quality sauger fisheries – the Mississippi, Ohio, Kentucky, lower Green, lower Tennessee and Cumberland. Statewide, there’s a daily creel limit of six sauger, with no minimum size limit, however special regulations apply in some waters.
Walleye are present in six central and eastern Kentucky lakes -- Lake Cumberland, Laurel River Lake, Carr Fork Lake, Nolin River Lake, Paintsville Lake, and Green River Lake. These fishable populations were established through decades of stockings and intensive management, beginning in the 1960s, when a Lake Erie strain of walleye, which is more suited to lake environments, was first stocked.
In the late winter these walleye also make seasonal runs upstream into tailwaters where they stack up below dams. The tailwaters below Lake Cumberland and Green River Lake probably offer the best opportunities to catch walleye this time of year.
Typically, walleye escape from lakes when there is a sudden rise due to heavy rains or snow melt. Walleye in rivers are attracted to the current that’s created by heavy discharges through dams.
Statewide, there’s a 15-inch minimum size limit on walleye and a six-fish daily creel limit.
Oster said vertical jigging is his go-to presentation for catching both sauger and walleye in late winter. “It’s easy to efficiently probe bottom structure such as humps, rock piles, and deep holes,” said Oster. “Sauger and walleye also like to stack up in eddies and along current seams below dams. They conserve energy by staying out of the current, then dart out to grab a minnow as it swims by.”
By fishing vertically there’s less chance of getting hung up, too. “Use your electronics to locate fish and then put your lure right in front of their noses.” Sauger and walleye typically lay right on or close to the bottom and look up for prey to ambush. “They have good vision and can see the colors green and orange best,” said Oster.
Oster prefers tipping his lead head jigs with plastic curlytail grubs rather than live minnows. “You can catch multiple fish without having to re-bait,” said Oster. “A 3/8 of ½-ounce jig is usually heavy enough to stay in contact with the bottom where I fish, but in deeper water or in heavier current, more weight is needed,” said Oster. “Raise and lower the rod so that the jig swims along about four inches off the bottom.”
A second option is vertical jigging blade baits, thin metal crankbaits with lead heads that imitate a shad. “I lower the bait down until it hits bottom, then I reel it up about six inches,” explained Oster. “I pull the lure up, with a sharp jerk of the rod, and keep the line tight enough to feel the lure wobble back down. Most bites will occur on the fall.”
A third vertical presentation for sauger and walleye in the late winter is rigging a floating crankbait on the 3-way swivel, with the weight on the bottom and a small, floating crankbait tied to an 18 to 24- inch leader that’s tied to the third eyelet.
Sauger and walleye are closely related, members of family Percidae.
Walleye have a prominent dark blotch on the first dorsal fin. Coloration is dark green on the back. The yellowish sides have faint markings, and the belly is milky white.
Sauger are darker, with distinctive brown saddle-like markings across their back and sides.
Posted March 26, 2013
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky.Com
EAB Threatens Kentucky’s Ash Trees
A ½ inch-long dark metallic green beetle is responsible for the loss of tens of thousands of ash trees across northern and central Kentucky.
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) ), Agrilus planipennis, a native to eastern Russia, northern China, Japan and Korea was first documented in the state in 2009.
“EAB has now spread to 19 Kentucky counties at a minimum,” said Jody Thompson, of the Kentucky Division of Forestry. “From three years of trap data we found that one of oldest and largest (infestations) is in northern Franklin County where it adjoins Shelby County.”
Adult beetles emerge in the spring, in May to early June, and feed on ash leaves but cause little damage. After mating occurs, females lay 60 to 90 eggs on a nearby ash tree.
It’s the larvae, the immature stage of the beetle, that does the damage, feeding on the inner bark (phloem), disrupting the tree's ability to transport sugars and other nutrients. “Think of a tree as a bunch of pipes,” said Thompson. “If enough of the flow is cut, or it happens fast enough, the tree will stress and eventually die.”
Small game biologist Ben Robinson, of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, said it would be a big loss to wildlife if Kentucky’s ash trees disappeared. “Ash trees are valuable as a seed source,” said Robinson. “For songbirds, wild turkeys, even wood ducks in bottomland hardwood forests. I’ve killed bobwhite quail that were full of ash seeds.”
The exotic, invasive beetle, probably arrived in North America in wood shipping crates carried by cargo ships originating in Asia. EAB was discovered in Canada in the late 1990s and southeastern Michigan in the summer of 2002. By 2012, EAB had spread to 17 other US states.
Thompson said we tend to view pests as living only in towns or out in the country. “This is not the case with EAB. It affects ash trees everywhere.” Typically it takes about two years for a mature ash tree to succumb. Ash trees in cities and suburbs are just as vulnerable as those in rural woodlands.
In years to come Kentuckians could be looking at a landscape with few, if any ash trees. “Ash trees sucker and grow well from seed, so there’s likely to be a small lingering population.”
All three species of ash trees native to Kentucky are susceptible to EAB, including the Blue Ash, an heirloom of Kentucky’s pre-history that still survives in remnant savannas of the Inner Bluegrass. “Fayette County has been chemically treating some of their large Blue Ash trees,” said Thompson. “To be effective chemical treatment has to be continuous.”
Ash trees are sacred to Native Americans, with many medicinal uses. In a mature forest, ash grown straight and reach enormous heights. They have compound leaves, paddle-shaped seeds and distinctive dark brown bark with diamond-shaped ridges.
Ash wood has a high strength-to-weight ratio and low shrinkage when dried. It is a valuable wood with many commercial uses for everything from flooring and electric guitar bodies, to tool handles, baseball bats and canoe seats, thwarts and yokes. Ash makes great firewood and smoking wood for barbecue. Wood turners seek out large chunks of ash to make artisan salad bowls since the wood has no significant odor or taste.
A quarantine is in effect for 27 Kentucky counties to prevent the spread of the beetles. This prohibits the transportation of firewood, ash nursery stock, green ash lumber, and virtually anything made from ash wood to areas where the beetle is not present.
There are several signs that an ash tree has become infested. Most obvious is the loss of the tree’s bark as woodpeckers try to get at the larvae. Branches in the tree’s canopy die, and sometimes suckers grow from the tree’s trunk.
For the most up-to-date more information on EAB visit the website: www.emeraldashborer.info
Posted June 3, 2013
By Art Lander Jr.
OutdoorsKentucky. Com
Benjamin Trail NP
Air Gun Powerful. Accurate Alternative to .22 Rimfire
It is powerful, accurate and whisper quiet.
The Benjamin Trail NP is an air gun with the look and feel of a modern centerfire rifle, with many of the same features -- a wide range of available calibers, specialty thumbhole stock, sling swivels, and rail to mount a telescopic sight.
For about $250 it’s a real bargain, complete with a 3 X 9 40 mm Center Point scope, with AO (adjustable optical).
“Air guns are a viable alternative for hunting small game,” said Tom Gaylord, who has been writing about air guns since 1994 and is publisher of the blog http://airgun-academy.pyramydair.com/blog/. “The availability and low cost of pellets (500 for about $10) makes air guns an economical option for people who are unable to shoot as much as they would like, due to shortages of .22 rimfire ammunition and other factors.”
The break barrel style of air gun is a popular choice for backyard plinking (where laws allow) and small game hunting.
The barrel is hinged where it meets the receiver. A single cocking stroke compresses a powerful spring and “breaks” the action open so a pellet can be loaded.
When the gun fires, the spring goes forward, pushing a piston and the air in front of it. This shoots the pellet out the barrel in about six milliseconds.
Depending on the model and caliber of the air gun, muzzle velocities can approach or exceed 1,100 feet per second (the speed of sound).
Pellets are typically made of soft metal, usually lead or an alloy. They have a hollow base and are designed to obturate – seal the bore and engage the rifling in the barrel. The seating depth of the pellet can have an effect on velocity and accuracy.
At reasonable distances air guns can be highly effective on small game, and some are as powerful as the .22 short cartridge.
Typically, a .22 caliber air gun shooting a 14.3-grain pellet at about 950 feet per second (f.p.s.) will develop about 23 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle.
By comparison, a standard velocity .22 short launches a 29-grain bullet at about 1,045 f.p.s. and developes about 70 foot pounds of energy (with a 22-inch barrel).
A minimum of six foot pounds of energy is required to humanely dispatch squirrels, rabbits and furbearers.
Today’s air guns are reasonably accurate, too. As a rule of thumb, an air gun’s effective range is the farthest distance it can shoot a one-inch group. With the right pellet, under ideal conditions, .22 break-barrel air guns can be accurate and deadly on small game out to 50 yards.
Today’s air guns are much quieter too. Some models even have shrouded barrels to further suppress the discharge noise, for the ultimate in stealth.
In Kentucky .177 through .25 caliber air guns may be used to take small game but there’s a .22 caliber minimum for hunting furbearers.
These common air gun calibers were developed more than 100 years ago, but guns that fire projectiles by means of compressed air or gas date back to about 1580.
Some General Tips:
Clean the bore before firing the air gun for the first time, and clean it periodically, after every 100 to 200 shots. New guns have a break in period. It may take a couple hundred shots before best accuracy is achieved.
Never fire an air gun without a pellet in the chamber. That can damage the piston or seals in the gun.
Experiment with different brands and weights of pellets. Pellet point styles include: flat (wadcutter), round, hollow or pointed. Solid pellets, pellets made from lighter alloy metals, and pellets with polymer tips are also available.
Generally, domed pellets are the most accurate and the heaviest pellets shoot quieter and are sometimes more accurate.
For more information visit http://www.crosman.com/
Posted on June 4, 2013
By Art Lander Jr.
Outdooors Kentucky. Com
It’s Tick Season in Kentucky --Lyme Disease Associated with Over 300 Diseases
The grass is high and the woods are full of leafed-out vegetation.
It’s tick time in Kentucky.
The Envita Medical Center is Arizona is a leader in the treatment of tick-borne ailments. Telephone (602) 569-4144. For detailed information visit their website at: www.envita.com
Here’s some information from a recent post:
“Lyme Disease is transferred through insect bites, particularly ticks. As a cousin to syphilis, it may spread from a mother to her fetus or through sexual contact, but this connection has not yet been proven.
Lyme is characterized by a spirochete infection called Borrelia, which is a tube-like bacterium that works by releasing bacterial lipoproteins (BLPs). These BLPs are a type of neurotoxin that lead to memory problems; hormonal imbalances; burning neurological pain; generalized inflammation; gastrointestinal discomfort and numbness; not to mention symptoms like swollen lymph nodes; fever and chills; headache and stiff neck; muscle and joint paint; and the most common symptom, lack of energy.
A spirochete is covered in antigens, which act like fingerprints, identifying itself to the immune system. When your Killer T Cells find these antigens, they know to destroy the invading bacteria. However, when the borrelia spirochete burrows into the body, its antigens are smeared over healthy tissue, which the killer T cells attack because they cannot differentiate between healthy and unhealthy tissue. When this happens, it’s called an “autoimmune disease.” This is one explanation that may describe why borrelia can be commonly found in autoimmune and rheumatic disease patients.
The more the spirochete moves through the body, the more BLPs it releases, impairing the immune system, creating inflammations, irritations and wreaking havoc to the peripheral and central nervous systems and the entire neural endocrine system. As a result, Lyme disease and its coinfections can be associated with more than 300 other diseases, including chronic fatigue syndrome and numerous autoimmune diseases.”
