Third-Grader Whips 95-Pound Catfish

Spring break had started, and 10-year-old Dakota Hinson of Natchez, Miss., was enjoying a fun day of fishing with a cousin and family friend. The trio were fishing the Mississippi River south of Natchez, hoping to catch a catfish on shad bait, when Dakota hooked what he thought was a log. Instead of a log, however, he’d hooked the biggest fish anyone in the boat had ever seen – a 95-pound blue catfish that took the youngster 20 minutes to subdue. The huge fish was 55 inches long and 41 inches in girth. It weighed 2 pounds more than the previous Magnolia State record, another Mississippi River cat caught in 1997.

“We’re always excited when a state record gets broken,” said Ron Garavelli, fisheries director for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “It’s even better when one of our younger anglers is the one getting the big fish.”

Big Business Takes On Carp

Asian carp have grown to pestilential numbers in the Mississippi River and its tributaries, causing serious concerns among anglers, who have seen game fish numbers plummet, and boaters, who must dodge high-leaping fish that can cause serious injuries. Now an intriguing new idea for carp control has been put forward by a private company called Heartland Processing, which plans to open five carp-rendering plants in the Mississippi River Valley in the next five years. The first, on the Illinois River at Havana, Ill., started processing carp in April 2009.

Using an odor- and pollution-free process developed at Auburn University, the plants will convert whole fish (purchased from local fishermen) to pure fish meal for animal feed, and Omega-3 fish oil for pharmaceutical uses. And there’s a nearly limitless supply of fish. State biologists found 18,260 pounds of Asian carp per mile in the 80-mile stretch of the Illinois River between Peoria and Beardstown.

The Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star reported, “While we’d take a car plant, too, a carp plant will do what it can’t: take on a non-native pest that the Illinois River’s ecosystem can do without.”

Lost Man Rescued, Charged

Some guys can’t win for losing. Take Cheboygan, Mich., resident Howard Keshick, who got lost while hunting during a snowstorm last winter. After walking all day trying to find his way out of the woods, Keshick finally used his cell phone to call help. When a helicopter crew flew over him in the darkness that night, Keshick waved a flashlight that was seen by the rescuers. Lucky for him because Keshick was suffering mild hypothermia after 13 hours in the woods.

“I think he was pretty ecstatic and happy to see us,” said U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Noel Hutton. Not for long, however. Keshick, you see, is a convicted felon barred from owning or using firearms. Too bad for him he was carrying a 50-caliber muzzleloader when found. Police who helped rescue him learned Keshick previously was convicted for home invasion, and informed him possession of the firearm would result in another felony charge.

Keshick pleaded guilty in Cheboygan County’s 53rd Circuit Court to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He’ll have to pay all expenses incurred for his rescue.

Fishy Phone Tale

Strange things turn up in fish bellies, British trawler fisherman Glen Kerley told a reporter. “I’ve found plastic cups, stones, teaspoons, batteries and I’ve also heard of someone finding false teeth in one.” When Kerley opened the belly of a 25-pound cod he’d caught, however, he found one of the weirdest things ever: a cell phone.

Andrew Cheatle, the phone’s owner, thought he’d lost his Nokia on a beach. “My phone must have fallen out of my pocket and been swept out in a swell,” he said. “I kept calling it but gave up hope after a couple of days.”

Kerley tried using the phone, but it didn’t work. So he took out the SIM card and put it in his phone to try tracing the owner. He managed to reach Cheatle’s girlfriend who put Cheatle on the phone.

“I thought he was winding me up,” Cheatle said, “but he assured me he had found it in a cod he was gutting that morning … I didn’t believe him but went to meet him and found it was my phone, a bit smelly and battered, but incredibly it still worked after I let it dry out.”

Cheatle says he still uses the phone and swears this fishy tale is 100-percent true.

Survey Provides Info On Woodcock Hunters

Results of nationwide survey of woodcock hunters, the first of its kind ever conducted, suggest a typical woodcock hunter is a 40-plus-year old male who hunts woodcocks primarily while hunting for other game animals, hunts woodcocks 10 days or less each year and harvests 10 or fewer woodcocks each season. Conducted by the Ruffed Grouse Society, the mailed questionnaire randomly queried 2,025 hunters.

When it came to woodcock harvest numbers over the last five years, 56 percent of respondents said they shot five or fewer, 24 percent between six and 10, 14 percent 11 to 20 and 6 percent killed between 21 and 50. No one harvested 50 or more.

Although most respondents (38 percent) stated the overall quality of woodcock hunting has remained about the same during the past five years, hunters who feel it has gotten worse (33 percent) far outnumber those who feel it has gotten better (17 percent). Likewise, although most woodcock hunters (52 percent) are hunting about the same number of days as they were five years ago, 26 percent said they are hunting less, while 13 percent said they are hunting more. Nine percent haven’t hunted woodcocks at all.

Additional information from the study can be found at www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.

Omnibus Public Lands Act Passed By Congress

March 2009 was a month of historic good news for fish, wildlife and outdoor enthusiasts in the United States as Congress passed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act (H.R. 146) that includes three of the largest public-land conservation measures in decades. The bill was supported by many hunting, fishing, hiking and boating groups. The package of more than 150 public-lands, water and resource bills, which President Obama signed March 30, 2009, includes:

•    The National Landscape Conservation System Act, which gives congressional recognition to 26 million acres of the Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System. These lands include prime hunting, fishing and camping locations and more than 5,000 miles of National Scenic and Historic Trails.

•    The second-largest Wild and Scenic Rivers package in history, which will safeguard more than 1,100 miles of rivers in Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, California and Massachusetts. The legislation includes important protections for 350,000 acres of land along 86 new Wild and Scenic Rivers, and contains new wilderness designations for more than 2 million acres of public land.

•    Wyoming Range Legacy Act, which will sustain more than 1 million acres of prime big-game habitat and native trout waters in an iconic American landscape that has been threatened by oil and gas leasing.

•    The Altmire amendment, which will maintain access for hunters and anglers in areas open to those activities and uphold the ability of states to manage fish and wildlife populations.

Snippets

Idaho: In anticipation of the forthcoming removal of the gray wolf from federal protection in Idaho and other states, the Fish and Game Commission set the state’s first wolf-hunting season to open Sept. 15 and run through Dec. 31.

Iowa: Since instituting an annual urban deer bowhunt, Cedar Rapids has seen the number of deer-car crashes fall from 453 in 2004 to 250 in 2008. Other cities in eastern Iowa with urban bowhunts report similar results, as well as decreasing deer harvest numbers.

Kansas: Residents will vote next year on whether to change the state’s constitution to guarantee individual gun rights, reports The Wichita Eagle. “It is the law of the land today in every state. They (supporters) would like to make sure it stays that way in Kansas,” said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt (R-Independence).

Maine: Jeffrey Russell of Hartford suffered a broken collarbone after being knocked off his motorcycle and temporarily rendered unconscious by a flying wild turkey. “That’s like hitting a bowling ball at 45 miles per hour,” said state trooper Corey Huckins. “It took the driver right off the seat.”

New York: Reports of hunting-related shooting incidents indicate 2008 was the safest year in the history of New York hunting. Twenty-seven incidents were reported, compared to the 66-per-year average during the 1990s. State officials credit increased safety awareness to the 3,000 volunteers who teach hunter safety courses

Ohio: The Division of Wildlife reports deer hunters in the Buckeye State took a record 252,017 whitetails during 2008 deer seasons, marking the first time the harvest has climbed above the 250,000 mark.

Oklahoma: The state Senate approved the creation of a bear-hunting season in southeastern Oklahoma. The House previously approved the measure, so a limited hunt for about 20 black bears could take place as early as this fall.

Pennsylvania: For the first time since 2001, the sale of adult resident hunting licenses in Pennsylvania showed an increase from the previous year, with 656,474 sold during the 2008-09 season, compared to 651,589 in 2007-08.

Vermont: Marcel Fournier, 19, of Concord, admitted to illegally killing a whitetail doe at night, then using epoxy and lag bolts to affix a 10-point rack to its head so he could check it as a buck. Fournier’s amateurish taxidermy, documented in a “trophy” photo snapped at a check station, put authorities on his trail. He was fined $400, received a 10-day jail sentence and had his hunting license revoked for three years.

West Virginia: When Albert Dancy Jr., 50, of Sutton died earlier this year, his son Adam arranged for his late father to be buried according to his wishes – in his 1967 Chevy pickup truck. Dressed in his hunting camo, the elder Dancy also was buried with his Old Timer pocketknife and Remington .243 deer rifle.