Signs of Spring

Spring isn't here yet but the signs are all pointing in that direction. Working close to the river I get to experience some of the early signs daily. First is the sea gulls, they're rooking up or whatever it's call to start mating. Circling in large balls of avian mass screeching in their own special way to attract a mate. Today I saw a lone worm trying to cross a sidewalk. Now with the warmer days the smell of the river is wafting up. This is a mixture of fresh to gamy fish mixed in with a mild aroma of rotting seaweed. It's sweet ambrosia for anyone yearning to have a walleye attach to the end of their fishing line. Which leads to another sign of spring.
Two friends decided to chase some walleye like they have each winter for the last 50 years. They were fishing the Thames River just outside of Tilbury Canada. Jim is in his 70s over 6 feet tall and over 300lbs. Ray is in his 80s and a regular outdoor person. The pair was fishing out of Jim’s rowboat. About 14 foot but very rounded bottom vs a flat. The two would always communicate when they were to change positions. Well this time they didn’t and both did something at the same time and neither knows what. Ray said he was sitting there one second and the next second he was under water and as he looked up saw the outline of the boat. He said he kicked like hell and popped up next to the boat. Jim was also in the water and hanging onto the boat. Jim somehow managed to not get wet from his shoulder up. Mind you these guys were dressed for ice fishing, Sorel pack boots, insulated coveralls, long underwear, and another layer or two of warm clothes.

The boat was totally filled with water. An oar was floating along with a life jacket. Ray was able to reach both but does not recall if he let the boat go to get to the oar. He said it was a long reach though.
Ray tried to climb in but the boat would rock and he couldn’t do it. He worked his way to the back of the boat and with Jim keeping it steady Ray was finally able to pull himself inside the submerged boat. Jim then tried to get back inside the boat but was unable. Ray was not able to get him in so decided to row to shore. He placed both oars in the locks but one kept floating back out. Jim still in the water and hanging onto the stern of the boat moved and this raised that side of the boat enough to keep the oar in. Ray placed the only remaining life jacket so Jim could reach it. The other life jacket had already floated away. Ray said he didn’t even know how Jim would have gotten it on if needed. Ray started to row the boat to the closest side but it was not the side they were parked on. Jim told him he was going the wrong way. Ray told him to just hang on and that he was going the right way. Jim asked Ray if he ever rowed a sunken boat before Ray said he kept Jim talking to see if his speech was getting slurred. It didn’t and Jim said he was not cold and neither was Ray. As Ray rowed he said two cars drove by on shore but must not have seen them. They finally got the boat touching shore but Jim could not reach bottom. Ray positioned the boat to where Jim could touch and he climbed up and out. They had to reposition the sunken but still floating boat so he could get out.

The two then tried to get as much of the boat out of water. Jim removed the plug in the back and after a while most of the water was out. They got back in the boat and this time Jim rowed. They had to first hug the shore to stay out of the wind and go upstream. After they went up they then crossed the river to where they were parked. They beached the boat and went for Jim’s van. Inside they removed some of the wet clothes and headed for Jim’s house. At Jim’s house they both put on dry clothes and returned to the boat to get the rest of the water and gear out of it. At this time they both started shaking but neither felt cold. They were either too numb to realize they were cold or just in shock the whole ordeal didn’t take more the ten minutes. I bet it had to be at least double and maybe triple what he thought.

They were both very lucky! They are lucky neither suffered a heart attack from the incident. They don’t know how but both fishing poles were still in the boat. Lost one life jacket, the minnow bucket lid, and two plastic bottles with a couple jigs inside. Neither were wearing the life jackets and that they both know better! It’s like fishing with the Grumpy Old Men! Ray’s reply ” Hey I got a 33.5 incher”.

As mentioned before in these blogs: I don’t wear a lifejacket as much as I should but I want everyone to know the dangers of fishing or just being around the water at this time of year. The water is in its 30s right now. At that temp survival time is only 30-60 mins and that includes getting warmed up again. That doesn’t sound too serious but in the last week(2009) I’ve heard of 20+ deaths from drowning in the news media. A father lost his son within the Detroit metro area. There were 2 deaths in Pennsylvania, An older man in Missouri that fell off his dock and before he could be found it was too late. My buddy Yezj had a close call at the marina he keeps his boat in. He was helping a friend getting his boat in and leaving the dock thought he was on his dock and missed the small section at the end that went off on a 45 degree angle. Sploosh he was in and no ladders in sight. The only thing that saved him was his buddy’s boat he just helped put in. How does it feel to fall in?

• You begin gasping for air immediately

• You find it harder to breathe

• Less blood goes to your brain making you disoriented, faint, and more likely to drown

• Increased heart rate overworks your heart

• You may suffer from heart failure or die

• Blood flow to your arms and legs decreases

• Limbs and hands become numb

• You lose the use of your fingers and are unable to grasp rescue lines or reach onto a rescue boat

• You lose your ability to swim

• When swimming, you are in a vertical position. With more of your body underwater you have a greater chance of drowning

So if you're going out on this cold water remember to wear that lifejacket because you never know what may happen.

Get Outdoors Downriver.

Come to the Rama, Outdoorama that is

What is it with the outdoor sporting events? I see commercials for Outdoorama on TV but I haven't seen any live coverage from any of the channels. Yet every morning from Wed. on one of the stations is live at Autorama. Maybe it's because Autorama was around first as a rama. The origins of Outdoorama however go farther back than the auto version. In 1974 the Detroit outdoor shows were officially named Outdoorama and put on by the MUCC. These were big shows with big attendance. However, interest waned and even the bear wrestling features couldn't hold interest amongst the general public. I'm sure that's why the coverage is so sparse now but for true outdoor people it's just as much fun as it was 38 years ago.

It's always nice to meet new friends but even better to see some old ones. Fred Abbas was manning the A-Way Hunting booth and I picked up a sweet turkey hunting box call that I hope brings in the toms like the old one I got 10 years ago. Fred says it will. I also talked to Captain Dan from Stormy Chinook Charters. I've written about Dan before and am very impressed with his knowledge of fishing and the fisheries he uses.

The show is still a great adventure from hunting in Africa, America and Canada to fishing in remote Canada and catching Grayling in Michigan for the first time in 80 years. Plus many other outdoor activities and live animals.
So until the water warms up a little bit you need to...

Get Outdoors Downriver.

I Say C C CWD

Oh see what you have done done. CWD is a neurological disease that is limited to deer, elk, moose and other members of the deer family, known as "cervids." CWD is spread by animal-to-animal contact or by animal contact with soil that contains prions from urine, feces or the decomposition of an infected animal. Deer and other cervids with signs of CWD show changes in natural behavior and can exhibit extreme weight loss, excessive salivation, stumbling and tremors. CWD can spread through natural movements of infected animals, transportation of infected live captive animals, or the transportation of infected carcasses.
As you can see from the photo this disease is a heart breaker just like the focus of the song. This is why most of the 21 states it's found in are very cautious of the outcome if the disease takes hold. When 3 free ranging deer were found in Wisconsin, to have CWD, in 2003 the Mi DNR devised a plan to try and control any outbreak in our state. When a penned or ranch deer was found in Kent County in MI the plan was enforced and baiting was outlawed in the lower peninsula and restricted in the UP. So far, 7,999 deer statewide have tested free of chronic wasting disease, experts said. Testing was ordered after the fatal neurological disorder was found in that pen-raised deer. Experts collected deer heads from hunters to test for the disease. The collection was mandatory for any deer killed in a nine-township surveillance area adjacent to Algoma Township. Throughout the rest of the state, giving up deer heads was voluntary, though officials had a goal of 300 from each county touching Kent.
CWD monitoring has cost the state about $960,000 in 2008. Deer killed in the nine- township Kent County surveillance zone will continue to be tested through the end of the year, when bowhunting ends.
The money for testing comes from several sources, including:
• $1.8 million from taxpayers in a general fund appropriation to the DNR for wildlife disease work.
• $75,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture for CWD work.
• $500,000 from the Michigan Game & Fish Fund, which is supported by hunters and anglers through license fees and federal surcharges on outdoor equipment. Processing and testing deer heads for CWD costs almost $120 per deer, Schmitt said. Expenses include testing by Michigan State University, collecting and transporting the heads, incineration and public outreach.
So now after 5 years with no cases of CWD found we have baiting back. All the Elmer Fudd hunters are happy again. Deer hunting is quite different for different people in different places and lifestyles. Most of the hunters I know bait to try to see more deer. They hunt less than a week a year and the bait gives them a warm fuzzy feeling but not much else. The bait needs to be out for quite a while longer for deer to come to the bait on a regular basis. None of the baiters I know of take the bait out of the woods after thier 3-4 day stint so the bait stays there and allows deer to find it and congregate around it causing body contact and exchange of fluids from sneezing on each other. So the ban on baiting was used in the NE Lower Peninsula to control Bovine TB, another devestating disease that could wipe out the herd. The baiting ban, however, really had little effect on CWD so why was it used? CWD is passed on through prions which are on the ground, deposited trough urine or feces. So prions could be on the bait, but the use of food plots and standing crops, which are more prevelant, also produce the same effect. Maybe it's something that another state has done.
No, sorry, you'll have to come up with your own opinion on why Michigan stopped baiting. Other states have CWD problems but haven't had the same knee jerk reaction we have had. The impetus of this article was a report from Missouri that they had 2 free ranging deer tested positive for CWD. Kathy Etling, a famous outdoor writer, covered the story in the St. Louis paper. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) received two positive test results for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from 1,077 tissue samples taken from free-ranging deer harvested by hunters in north-central Missouri during the 2011 fall firearms deer season. Both positive test results were from adult bucks harvested by Missouri hunters in Macon County, and are the first CWD-positive results for free-ranging deer in Missouri. Two years ago the state had a scare with a deer ranch. Agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made an indemnification offer to Rob Brasher, who is the owner of Heartland Wildlife Ranches in Ethel, Mo., to cover the costs of destroying the remainder of the whitetail deer and red elk now inhabiting the high-fenced pasture where last fall a single CWD-positive whitetail buck was found. Heartland Wildlife Ranch is located in Linn County in the heart of Missouri's big buck country. The ranch is not double fenced since Missouri law does not require it, so wild whitetails can easily contact animals inside, some of which may now be infected with CWD.
According to Tim Ripperger of the Missouri Department of Conservation, Brasher turned down the USDA's indemnification offer. Sources have stated off the record that officials with the USDA are planning to make further adjustments to the offer in hopes that the next amount will be more acceptable.
The CWD-infected whitetail, an animal which had spent its entire life at Heartland Wildlife Ranches, died last fall. The pasture inhabited by the buck prior to its death is near Buckland, Mo. No red flags, supposedly, were waved at the time of the buck's death but when its tissue was later tested as part of the state's voluntary CWD surveillance program — believe it or not only a small percentage of deer and elk who die or are killed in any Missouri high-fenced area are tested for CWD — it was determined that the buck had CWD. For how long was anybody's guess.
The CWD-infected whitetail had been living in the 800-acre, high-fenced pasture together with about 50 other whitetail deer and about 150 red elk. Since CWD is an infectious disease of cervids — whitetails, mule deer, elk and moose — it is very likely that other animals have already been exposed to the infectious prions. Scientists believe CWD is transmitted through urine and feces and possibly other bodily fluids such as saliva.
The buck died in the fall. Soon afterward the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA), which has jurisdiction over high-fenced shooting operations like Heartland's, ordered the removal and testing of 50 additional animals from the pasture in which the infected buck had been living and 20 animals from another of Heartland's pastures. All tested negative for CWD.
In mid-March employees of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), together with a team of sharpshooters and landowners, culled 150 wild whitetails within a 5-mile radius of Heartland. Tissue from those 150 deer, three additional road-killed deer and 72 deer which had been shot during the 2009 hunting season was also tested. All tested negative for CWD. I count 300, 70 ranched deer and 222 free ranging, deer tested.
Now Maryland has discovered a CWD deer on 2/10/2011 after intensive testing for 10 years. We have tested intensively for this disease and see this as an unfortunate but somewhat inevitable outcome. Hurray! One out of 6800 deer tested.
So it seems every state is excited to welcome this disease. Eager to stop it's spread before any other state can. Huh? All the info is very reachable on a search, I'm not making anything up but just touching the surface. Look up CWD in Wiscinsin, Missouri, Maryland and Michigan. Now the discouraging part. What's it cost for all of this testing? Well $1 mil in 2008 in Michigan @ $120/test, $65 in Wisconsin / test and $17 / test in Colorado, the first state to discover CWD. Why so cheap in Coloradao? Well they were the first state and if you donate a deer for the community food bank the deer has to be tested. Go figure.
Who pays for all this testing? You and me partner. The Federal budget has included up to $13.9 mil per year up to 2011. For 2012 the alotted budget is $1.9 mil, look for the caution and the ammount of testing to go way down here on in.

Get Outdoors Downriver.

Michigan Muskie Show

MBT Expo Center in Monroe Mi.

Admission
Kids 15-Under – $5.00
Adults – $10.00
Three Day Pass - $20.00

http://www.michiganmuskieshow.com/

Follow my To Do Downriver link for more activities.

Get Outdoors Downriver

Seek a Paradise, look about you

A few months ago Warren Riggen passed away. You may have read about him in the News Herald years back. He was retired in his 70s and still trapping at Point Moullie State Refuge. He was born in Arkansas, fought in WWII including Omaha beach and then came to Detroit for a job in the automotive industry.
In his free time Warren loved to trap and Point Moullie was a favorite stop. He trapped muskrat, mink and coon. He became a mink trapping expert and had even trained DNR CO's in the finer points of trapping mink. In his full life long journey you could say Warren found paradise at Point Moullie.
Now there are about a dozen other trappers still plying their trade in Warren's old classroom and they still catch many muskrat and mink. This helps keep the dykes safe and helping control the vegetation which helps the ducks in the fall migrations. At one time 13,000 muskrats were trapped in one year but those numbers are way down now. Still there a lot of opportunities for catches at Point Moullie. Now for a different opportunity.
The opportunity came with a $284,477 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant acquired by Ducks Unlimited in partnership with the DNR in 2011. The 66-acre Dusseau tract is being converted to 38 acres of productive emergent wetlands and 28 acres of high-quality lake plain prairie grassland over the next two years.
DNR biologist Joe Robison recognizes the critical role partnerships like this one play in accomplishing conservation goals that benefit native species. "We've seen a decline in hunting license sales in recent years, the proceeds of which go directly back to species management projects on our State Game Areas. Partners like Ducks Unlimited, with their wetland restoration expertise and aid in grant-seeking opportunities, make a big difference in what habitat improvement work we are able to do on our State Game Areas."
Whatever we can do to keep paradise alive.

Get Outdoors Downriver

Mickey Z

After talking to Redcan on Super Bowl Sunday about how he and his buddies almost blew up Riverview. This winter blast, has reminded me of an article written by the former outdoor writer for the News Herald, Mike Zelinski. Mike was quite the outdoorsman and a fluent talker which was a perfect combo for his News Herald position. Mike could come up with 2 articles at the mention of any outdoor pursuit. The article that the cold front reminded me of was late season goose hunting on the Detroit River. Emphasis on late here, this year the season lasted until January 29th. There was good weather this year and from the sounds of shooting the hunters had plenty of action. You have to be a die hard to hunt in the conditions Mike wrote about.
Holy cow, as you can see from the picture the boys are just south of Sugar Island. That's not just a hop skip and a jump from Gibraltar, where Mike lived, but a white knuckled boat ride. These waterfowlers are a little different. I've been in a boat late in February on the river and even if everything goes right and ice flows aren't encountered there's always that uneasy feeling about getting locked in ice. Mike wrote well about the whole experience especially about safety in the case anything bad may happen. From the set up of decoys to the blind set up or just dressing in the white camo and laying on the ice somehow Mike made it sound like anyone could do it.
On the day Mike reported on there must have been a warmer front move in because a heavy fog surrounded them and they could hear the birds flying but couldn't see them until they had committed and were very close. So add another chance for disaster, a 20 pound bird flying in fog coming in to your calling and just being able to see a landing spot seconds before landing. A slight miscalculation by the bird and you could become an episode on Mythbusters. Oh those wildfowlers, a little different and die hards just like Mickey.

Get Outdoors Downriver

Happy Super Bowl/ Start of 2012 fishing season on the Detroit River Day

Go Tom Brady. It's hard to pick from these 2 teams but Brady is a MI man so let's go with the Pats. Hopefully a close game with action on some squares is in your future. The super bowl comes every year at about the same time just like taxes. This year however is special because of the weather.

The first day of the 2012 fishing season in the Detroit River? From the reports I'm getting the fish are biting. Well biting as hard as they can in 37 degree water. But the fish are there and willing if you can find them and you can find them in your boat this year because of the weather we've had. It may still get cold for a while but ice formation should be held back allowing boat fishing in the river for the rest of winter.
Some parts of the river always freeze allowing icefishing, like Airport Bay on he south end of Grs Isle, but the big problem for river fishing by boat is the ice flows coming down from Lake St. Clair. I'm sure there'll be so ice coming down like Car fixer John found out last week heading over to Duffy's in Amherstburg, Canada. His group got thru the hole in the wall but couldn't get to Duffy's because of an ice flow dam.
So be carefull out there and call your local bait shop for reports, that's all the papers do. You can get all the numbers in my bait shop link. The other link is MI-sportsman.com, near the bottom, check this site for the river forum. GT Charters is catching perch on their outings and some reports from the river state they're catching walleyes. Hopefully a long season for walleye fishing in the river is in order following last spring's horibble waether and low catch rate.

Get Outdoors Downriver.

WWD Day

Not a World War or a new Wrestling organization but a day to celebrate. Ground hog's day and Lucy's birthday are now sharing February 2nd with the World Wetlands Day. Not to associate wetlands with ground hogs or any other mammal, especially in the everglades where the populations of mammals have decreased by 90% because of the introduction of snakes like the Burmese python. Documented cases of 75 pound deer and 6 foot long aligators are some of their larger prey.
Since its inception in 1997, World Wetlands Day has been observed worldwide each year on February 2nd in recognition of the date the international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands was signed at the Ramsar Convention in 1971. The Ramsar Convention maintains a list of wetlands across the globe that have been deemed worthy of international importance; a list totaling nearly 2,000 sites.
In many ways, the commemoration of such a monumental event is an appropriate thing to do here in Michigan, a state that, in many ways, is defined by its environment and natural resources. The designation of Humbug Marsh, a unit of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, as Michigan’s only “Wetland of International Importance” in 2010 makes the decision to commemorate the holiday locally even more fitting.
The 3rd Annual celebration of World Wetlands Day will take place on Thursday, February 2nd at Gibraltar Carlson High School from 8:30am to 3:00pm. The event will feature a Wetlands Exposition that will showcase over 20 displays dedicated to wetland conservation from a number of environmental organizations. In addition, students and visitors will be treated to a World Wetlands Day program, slated to begin at 12:30pm, which will include an appearance by U.S. National Ramsar Committee Chairperson, Suzanne Pittenger-Slear. In addition, Monroe Power Plant Manager Brian Rice will speak on behalf of DTE Energy, Kathy Klein will speak in representation of Waste Management, and special guest, Humbug Marsha, will make her public debut and share wetland adventures with program participants. A short celebration for the Refuge’s 10th birthday with the National Wildlife Refuge System mascot Puddles the Blue Goose will follow. The World Wetlands Day event will be open to the public from 12:30pm – 3:00pm

Puddles

The World Wetlands Day Celebration is sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, International Wildlife Refuge Alliance, Gibraltar Carlson High School, DTE Energy, Waste Management, and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. This event is subject to cancellation in the event of inclement weather. If necessary, the alternate weather date is Feb. 9. Please contact Gibralter Carlson HS Principal Bill Stevenson for event status at 734.379.7100.