Back to the Basics

Hunting for

snapping turtles

Hot patterns

for cool walleyes

June 2013

OUTDOORCONNECTION

When many peo-ple hear thewords snap-ping turtle,they cringe

thinking about what that sharp,hook-shaped mouth could do to anunsuspecting finger! Yet there areindividuals who relish the opportu-nity and the challenge of catching,cleaning and eating snapping tur-tles.

At the same time, there areapproximately100 commercialharvesters in the state of Iowa thatwill catch or buy turtles from oth-ers, and then clean and sell turtlemeat to a growing customer base.

Iowa Department of NaturalResources (DNR) regulationsallow the non-commercial takingof turtles by Iowans to a maximumof 100 pounds live weight per yearor 50 pounds of cleaned turtlemeat. These individuals are onlyrequired to have a fishing license.Commercial harvesters, mean-while, can trap an unlimited num-ber of turtles the year around. Theymust pay a $100 annual license feeand report their harvest monthly tothe DNR.

DNR regulations allow turtles tobe taken only by hand, turtle hook,turtle trap or hook and line. Turtletraps must have no more than onethroat or funneling device. All tur-tle traps must have a functionalescape hole provided with a mini-mum diameter in all directions of7-1/2 inches to allow passage offish and small turtles. On hooptype traps the 7-1/2 inch escapehole shall be located in the lasthoop to the tail-line. Any unattend-ed gear used to take turtles musthave a metal tag bearing theowner’s name and address. All tur-tle traps must be lifted and emptied

of their catch at least once every72 hours.

Certainly, snapping turtles aresometimes caught by accident, butto purposely catch one requiresknowledge of the snapping turtle’slife, its environment and what iteats.

Catching snapping turtlesTo share this part of the story, I

visited with a northwest Iowa man,who spent over 50 of his 77 yearscatching snapping turtles: EdKabele from Spirit Lake. “When Iwas 15 years old, I was working atStoller’s Fisheries in Spirit Lake.So did Red Thompson. He caughtturtles and asked me one day if Iwanted to hunt turtles. I said sure.”Kabele remembers that they got$.08 a pound for live turtles. “Thatwas good money then consideringwe were getting paid $.75 an hourat Stoller’s.”

That began a lifetime of huntingsnapping turtles, first for himself,and then as a commercial harvesterand owner of Kabele’s TradingPost, where he and his wife, Aliceran a baitshop in the front and latera fur harvester business in the backaddition. It was here that Kabelebrought his own turtles to clean,along with turtles brought in byothers. He even began dressing outturtles for two major companies.Kabele remembers prices creepingup over the years from $.30 to$.50 and eventually up to $5.00 apound for cleaned turtle meatwhen he retired. The spike inprices came with the increaseddemand for turtle meat in the Asianmarket.

“You can figure on a 15-poundsnapper that you can get about 1/3meat.” At first, Kabele wouldplace the meat in cans packed inice, but later he would vacuum-pack them in 1½-pound packages.In addition, he had a source for theturtle shells and the claws.

According to Kabele, there aremany ways to hunt snapping tur-tles, but the turtle trap is hisfavorite. “I would build 150 trapsa year, because a lot would get tornapart or go downstream in highwater. So, I was always rebuilding

traps. Snapping turtles will eat a lotof things, but they really like a carphead. I would put the carp head ina wire basket attached to the cornerof the trap.” Kabele would checkthe traps every couple of days andoften have several in an individualtrap.

Kabele also found that mid-October to the end of Novemberwas prime time to find snappingturtles in holes along the riverbanks as they got ready to hiber-nate. For this type of hunting,Kabele would use a probe, whichis a long rod with a curved hook.He would probe back in the holeuntil he “felt” the turtle and wouldthen hook it out. Many times, hefound them stacked in the holecatching anywhere from 10 to 50turtles in one hole.

Another means of taking snap-ping turtles is the milk jug methodwith a line, hook and bait attachedto the jug. “I’ve used this methodin gravel pits, because the shore-line drops off so fast. The jugworks in this case, because oncethe turtle takes the bait, it will thenswim to the shoreline. Then all youhave to do is walk the shoreline,hook the jug and line and pull theturtle up the bank.” This is the leastfavorite means for Kabele, becauseit takes so much time.

50 years and lots of stories.Listening to him reminisce, I trulybelieve that he remembers everybig snapper and each spot. Mostprominent, though, is the 73pounder he caught in NorthDakota, and then there’s the pic-ture of four snappers on the clean-ing table, all over 50 pounds, andthen there’s the 44 pounder hecaught out of the Little Sioux Riverin 1972, which sits as a mount in acase in Kabele’s Trading Post, andthen there’s the…the memories goon and on.

Words of advice: Be cautiousafter catching the turtle. Knowwhere the head is at all times. With50 years of turtle catching in thebag, Kabele has only been bittenonce. That’s right. No missing fin-gers or anything. Pretty amazingwhen you have a stock tank filledwith water and snapping turtles

waiting to be cleaned. The onetime? “I was hauling out a gunnysack full over my back and I musthave had one situated a littlewrong. All of a sudden it bitthrough the sack and right into myback. All I could do was drop thesack and let it tear the meat off myback!” Kabele’s preferred way isto pick one up is by the tail withbody and feet toward you. “I’vefound they can bite out but notunder.”

Certainly, Kabele has made somegood money over the years, but healso says with a smile, “I’ve eatena lot of turtle. They say there areseven kinds of meat on a turtle. Iknow for sure that some tastes likechicken, some like frog legs, somelike venison and some like beef.My favorite way of preparing it isto brown it and then put it in aroaster in the oven for at least anhour and a half. This really helpsget the meat tender.”

2-Estherville (Ia.) Outdoor Connection, FRIDAY, June 7, 2013

STEVEWEISMANOUTDOOR EDITOR

Ed Kabele with the 44-pound snapping turtle that he took fromthe Little Sioux River.

Photo submitted

HUNTING SNAPPING TURTLES NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

Estherville (Ia.) Outdoor Connection, FRIDAY, June 7, 2013-3

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ITHACA, N.Y. — A novel dis-ease in songbirds has rapidlyevolved to become more harmfulto its host on at least two separateoccasions in just two decades,according to a new study. Theresearch provides a real-life modelto help understand how diseasesthat threaten humans can beexpected to change in virulence asthey emerge.

"Everybody who’s had the fluhas probably wondered at somepoint, 'Why do I feel so bad?'" saidDana Hawley of Virginia Tech,the lead author of the study to bepublished in PLOS Biology onMay 28, 2013. "That’s whatwe’re studying: Why dopathogens cause harm to the veryhosts they depend on? And whyare some life-threatening, whileothers only give you the sniffles?"

Disease virulence is somethingof a paradox. In order to spread,viruses and bacteria have to repro-duce in great numbers. But as theirnumbers increase inside a host’sbody, the host gets more and moreill. So a highly virulent diseaseruns the risk of killing or debilitat-ing its hosts before they get achance to pass the bug along. Itfinds the right balance throughevolution, and the new studyshows it can happen in just a few

years.Hawley and her coauthors stud-

ied House Finch eye disease, aform of conjunctivitis, or pinkeye,caused by the bacteriaMycoplasma gallisepticum. It firstappeared around Washington,D.C., in the 1990s. The HouseFinch is native to the Southwestbut has spread to towns and back-yards across North America. Thebacteria is not harmful to humans,which makes it a good model forstudying the evolution of danger-ous diseases such as SARS, Ebola,and avian flu.

"There’s an expectation that avery virulent disease like this onewill become milder over time, toimprove its ability to spread.Otherwise, it just kills the host andthat’s the end of it for the organ-ism," said André Dhondt, directorof Bird Population Studies at theCornell Lab of Ornithology and acoauthor of the study. "HouseFinch eye disease gave us anopportunity to test this—and wewere surprised to see it actuallybecome worse rather than milder."

The researchers used frozen bac-terial samples taken from sickbirds in California and the EasternSeaboard at five dates between1994 and 2010, as the pathogenwas evolving and spreading. The

samples came from an archivemaintained by coauthor David Leyof North Carolina StateUniversity, who first isolated andidentified the causative organism.The team experimentally infectedwild-caught House Finches,

allowing them to measure howsick the birds got with each sam-ple. They kept the birds in cages asthey fell ill and then recovered(none of the birds died from thedisease).

Contrary to expectations, theyfound that in both regions the dis-ease had evolved to become morevirulent over time. Birds exposedto later disease strains developedmore swollen eyes that tooklonger to heal. In another intrigu-ing finding, it was a less-virulentstrain that spread westward acrossthe continent. Once established inCalifornia, the bacteria againbegan evolving higher virulence.

In evolutionary terms, somestrains of the bacteria were betteradapted to spreading across thecontinent, while others were moresuited to becoming established inone spot. "For the disease to dis-perse westward, a sick bird has tofly a little farther, and survive forlonger, to pass on the infection.That will select for strains thatmake the birds less sick," Hawleysaid. "But when it gets establishedin a new location, there are lots ofother potential hosts, especiallyaround bird feeders. It can evolvetoward being a nastier illnessbecause it’s getting transmittedmore quickly."

House Finch eye disease wasfirst observed in 1994 when birdwatchers reported birds withweepy, inflamed eyes to ProjectFeederWatch, a citizen sciencestudy run by the Cornell Lab.Though the disease does not killbirds directly, it weakens them andmakes them easy targets for pred-ators. The disease quickly spreadsouth along the Eastern Seaboard,north and west across the GreatPlains, and down the West Coast.By 1998 the House Finch popula-tion in the eastern United Stateshad dropped by half—a loss of anestimated 40 million birds.

Bird watchers can do their part tohelp House Finches and otherbackyard birds by washing theirfeeders in a 10 percent bleachsolution twice a month. More tipsfor bird feeder maintenance can befound at http://www.allabout-birds.org/clean-feeders.

Along with Hawley, Dhondt, andLey, the study’s authors includeErik Osnas and Andrew Dobsonof Princeton, and WesleyHochachka of the Cornell Lab ofOrnithology. The research wasfunded by the joint NationalScience Foundation–NationalInstitutes of Health program inEcology and Evolution ofInfectious Diseases (EEID).

Evolution in the ʻblink of an eyeʼ

House Finches that contract eyedisease develop swollen, weepyeyes. They become lethargic,suffer reduced vision, and maysuccumb to adverse weather orbe caught by predators such ashawks and cats. The diseaseled to an estimated populationdecline of 40 million HouseFinches in its first five years.

Photo by Andy Davis, Cornell Lab

BY JASON MITCHELL

This 2013 season looks to be a later spring whereeverything is behind schedule from a biologicalperspective. Colder water temperatures can be adouble-edged sword. Some patterns happen

later or don’t happen at all. When we have had cool, latesprings in the past, good solid patterns for shallow waterheld on much longer than usual and resulted in overallgood fishing conditions.

Overall, some of our best open water seasons on DevilsLake, ND have been the years where we had late springsand cool summers. When the water never really does warmup and the patterns don’t change much… watch out. Greatfishing lies ahead.

Weed factorIf there is one effect from colder than normal water tem-

peratures that surprises some anglers, it might be the weedfactor. On lakes that have weeds, weed growth can some-times really accelerate when the water stays cold. Thatdoesn’t sound correct does it? You would think weedgrowth would be behind, because even on land during alate spring… trees bud later and everything takes longer.

On many bodies of water, the water will actually green upas it warms up so as the water warms up, light penetrationis reduced. When the water stays cold, it often clears upand the overall visibility is good. This better light penetra-tion and good visibility often speeds up or accelerates weedgrowth dramatically. The weeds seemingly shoot up likethey are on some performance enhancement drugs.

So often, cold water will enhance weed patterns on somefisheries and because these weeds are growing so fast dur-ing these conditions, staying dialed into weed related pat-terns takes some diligence.

During these cool water, good light penetration scenarios,the distance weeds will grow in a day are remarkable. Ihave found instances where the weeds would actually growa foot in one day. As the weeds grow from the bottom andreach towards the surface, the open window or lane inwhich you can often catch walleyes changes dramatically.The window closes and gets smaller each day.

You might start out with eight feet of water above theweeds and after a month, the open water above the tops ofthe weeds might be a foot. From my experiences, wheneveryou get situations where the weed growth gets extremelyaccelerated, the fishing is typically pretty solid in theselocations. Fast growing weeds attract fish.

Look to the flatsMy favorite location for this fast weed growth scenario

are big shallow flats. Flats that are anywhere from six totwenty feet with ten feet being about an average. Big flatsthat have a soft bottom and have good weeds are perfectand one great way to fish these locations is by pullingcrank baits.

If you have weeds that are four feet high in ten feet ofwater, run cranks about four or five feet down over the topsof the weeds and hang on Crank baits cover a lot of waterand have enough vibration and noise to pull fish out of theweeds. Not always, but hard vibrating cranks often workbest as they seem to call in more fish and also shake off

weeds better. The old school Hot n Tots with the metal bills were

always good for this type of fishing. Today, the SalmoHornet is king for a hard vibrating crank that tears upwalleyes.

When it comes to trolling, I like to use planer boards attimes especially early in the season when I am pullingthese shallow weed flats. I will also often use my electrictrolling motor if it is really flat. Not because of the quietfactor but because I can save routes and make tighter turnsallowing me to work tighter spots.

There are times however especially when the fish are get-ting triggered by speed when pulling the cranks rightbehind the prop works best. This typically happens more sohowever later on in the summer when the water does reallygreen up where visibility is reduced and the fish are attract-ed to the flash and turbulence of the prop.

Just remember to fish the baits high. As the window clos-es and the gap of open water between the tops of the weedsand the surfaces gets smaller, there will come a time whenyou just run out of open water to work cranks. When thewindow does get small, shallow running stick baits orcrawler harnesses are a few good options.

Many anglers have this perception to move towards deep-er diving and bigger cranks as the season wears on but onthis pattern, you move towards shallower running baits asyou have less water to work. Typically, the louder and hard-er vibrating shallow running minnow baits work the best.Usually, I don’t have as good of luck with the real subtleminnow lures that have a real soft and rolling wobble in thissituation. Kind of baits I have done well with are the ReefRunner Little Ripper (shallow runner) and Salmo Sting.

Understand the weedsThe whole key to these weed flats patterns is understand-

ing how high the weeds are in order to fish cranks throughthese locations effectively. Don’t be afraid to fish the lureshigh. Now that is something that can be tough for someanglers to do… pulling a lure four feet down over twelvefeet of water is a tough adjustment for anglers who are usedto pulling cranks near the bottom.

With weeds however, you have to fish high and let thefish come up out of the weeds for the bait. Remember thatno lure will catch fish if you are pulling a foot of weedsbehind the lure. You have to run the baits clean so thatmeans fishing high and raising fish. Most electronics willreveal weeds and show you the zone to fish. Another goodtool is the Precision Trolling Book for quick adjustmentswith baits.

Big weed flats can be a nightmare to fish if you don’t fishthese locations correctly but if you can get in the rightmindset and fish these locations high in the water column,these locations can be extremely productive and hold atremendous number of fish. Trolling with crank baits is oneof my favorite ways to fish these types of locations but thisis obviously not the only way. You can swim jigs and softplastics, you can cast cranks or even spinner baits. Forworking big spots however and just amassing gross poundsof fish, trolling keeps so many lines in the water and istough to beat.

Editor’s note: The author, Jason Mitchell earned a repu-tation as a top walleye guide on Devils Lake, NorthDakota. Today, Mitchell produces the outdoor programJason Mitchell Outdoors that airs on Fox Sports North andFox Sports Midwest (www.jasonmitchelloutdoors.com).

4-Estherville (Ia.) Outdoor Connection, FRIDAY, June 7, 2013

Hot patterns for cool walleyes

One of the best crank baits for walleyes today is a number five Salmo Hornet. The hard vibration of this lure willpull walleyes up out of weeds.

Photo submitted

Estherville (Ia.) Outdoor Connection, FRIDAY, June 7, 2013-5

It doesn’t get any sim-pler than a hook and asinker. I’m pretty surethat’s how I caught my

first fish when I was a kid.Just put a worm, leach orminnow on the hook and youcan catch just about anythingin the lake. Nearly a half cen-tury later this method stillcatches fish when otherswon’t.

I call it “Split ShotRigging,” a 3/0 or BB EagleClaw split shot about 16 to18 inches above a #4 LazerTrokar Octopus hook. Theline I choose to use is the key.Six-pound Berkley Nanofilallows you to throw the light-est splitshots and baits acountry mile. Then to theNanofi I’ll tie an 8 lb.Berkley 100 percent fluoro-carbon leader…about two tothree feet long.

It started off sounding sim-

ple didn’t it? It is, but thiscombination of makes it allwork just right.

The light BB or 3/0 shotallows the bait to fall slowly

and naturally through thewater column. You’ll be sur-prised how many times thatbait gets hit while it’s falling.

The light shot also helps thewhile fishing over aweedbed.

The split shot is usually notheavy enough to sink downinto the weeds. It’ll sit righton top while the bait swims

around in the weed tops.I use the Lazer Trokar

Octopus hooks because theyare the sharpest in the world.No other hook comes close.If a fish choses to try to eatthe hook, it’ll have a veryhard time trying to spit it out.

I use the Berkley Nanofilfor this rig because of its cast-ing performance. No otherline casts as far. It’s a fact.When throwing a BB or 3/0shot that is ultra light…Nanofil is a must.

Then there’s the Berkley100 percent Fluorocarbonleader. Fluorocarbon line isvirtually invisible in water.This line provides the stealthyou need to fish this slow,finesse style presentation.

Minnows get hookedthrough the lips. I want themto stay alive and swim free.Leeches get hooked once justbehind the big sucker for the

same reason, and worms gethooked once or twice throughthe middle…letting the endsdangle.

Do not wad your bait up onthe hook. That will catchbullheads. Unless, of course,bullheads are the target.

Now cast the rig out as faras you can without throwingyour bait off. Give it time.Let it sink, maybe two min-utes or more. Give it time tofall. You might even see yourline start to run to one side orthe other before it hits the

bottom. If it settles to the bottom,

tighten your line and do a biggiant sweep upward. Liftingyour bait 6 to 10 feet off thebottom. Then let it settleagain. Take your time.

If you think you are goingslow, you’re still probablynot working it slow enough.It’s not your action that’scatching the fish. It’s theaction of your live bait whilethe line is settling or sittingon top the weeds.

Slow and natural is thekey…and the simple hookand sinker gets it done!

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The authorʼs son Calvin with a nice smallmouth basstaken with a split shot rig.

Photo by John Grosvenor

JOHNGROSVENORJTG EXPEDITIONS

Back to the basics: A hook and a sinker

Stewardship Tip: Cigarette buttsBY BEN LEAL

PROGRAM DIRECTOR, RECYCLED FISH

For smokers, the flick is an easy move. As anex-smoker, I know this first hand. Sending abutt flying with a well-timed flick of the indexor social finger is one of the first skills that asmoker learns. Most smokers acquire the flickbefore they can blow smoke rings.Unfortunately, though, the flick is a move thatcan damage the environment.

Consider,■ In laboratory experiments, Kathleen

Register, founder of Clean VirginiaWaterways, noted that 100 percent of Daphniadied after 48 hours of exposure in concentra-tions that were equivalent to only two used cig-arette filters per liter of water. The transparentcrustacean Daphnia (often called a water flea)is a planktonic animal that occupies a criticalposition in aquatic ecosystems; they transferenergy and organic matter from algae to higherconsumers such as fish.

■ Richard Gersberg, a professor ofEnvironmental Health at San Diego StateUniversity, found that the chemicals from justone filtered cigarette butt had the ability to killfish living in a one-liter bucket of water.Gersberg’s most notable finding was that “itseems to be the filter, or rather what's in theleft-over filter that is most dangerous to our

water."

Many studies have documented that cigarettebutts are the most prevalent item that is foundin litter. According to the Ocean Conservancy,cigarette butts are the number one item that isfound is annual cleanups. According to theTexas Department of Transportation, thirteenpercent of the one billion pieces of litter onTexas highways are cigarette butts.

Iowa is vast and wide open in some areas.Large bodies of water dot the country side, theIowa Great Lakes, Saylorville, Big CreekLake, Red Rock Lake and down in the south-east part of the state Rathbun Lake. These lakesare vast, and like any wide open area it is easyto say, “How much effect can this one cigarettebutt have?” Now multiply that thought timesthe thousands of anglers and smokers that fre-quent not only these fisheries, but many othersthat are much smaller. Remember yours is notthe only flick.

The flick is an easy move. But the time hascome to replace the flick with the stuff. If yousmoke, make sure to stuff your cigarette buttsin a smoker’s pole or an ashtray. If you are outand about, carry an old band-aid tin, an old cof-fee can, a film canister, or a baggie. Partiallyfill the container with kitty litter and use it toextinguish and carry your cigarette butts.When you have filled your container, dispose

Recently, the Iowa DNRreleased a story about apoaching “bust” of fourLouisiana men, who werecaught in an investigationthat began in November of2011. The four men came tosouthwest Iowa specificallyto hunt trophy bucks duringthe rut. Of course, they hadno licenses or tags. Just flatout poaching!

It turns out that the initiallead came from a TIP callmade by a concerned citi-zen. Kudos to that individ-ual and the resulting arrestsand convictions that costthese men lots and lots ofmoney!

Then in mid-May, aDavenport couple wascharged with three counts ofbeing over possession ofwhite bass (332 fish overtheir limit). Once again, it

all came about because of ananonymous call to the localconservation officer.

Another TIP call that led toan arrest!

Kudos also to all that havetaken the time to be the eyesof the law and to provide aTIP for law enforcementofficials. It’s really all aboutethics and caring for our nat-ural resources. Poaching isnothing more than stealing,stealing OUR fish andwildlife resources. The more

that the poaching goes onand we turn our heads, themore harm that is done toour resources. Here is a littlemore about the history of theTIP program in Iowa andhow the program works.This information came fromthe Iowa DNR website.

Turn In Poachers (TIP)The TIP program, which

originated in August of1985, was established byconcerned sportsmen andwomen under the guidanceof the Iowa Department ofNatural Resources LawEnforcement Bureau. Bothgroups recognized the needfor an added dimension tofish and game law enforce-ment in the State of Iowa toaid in the fight againstpoaching.

TIP is an organized non-profit corporation with dedi-

cated sportsmen and womenfrom all over Iowa whoserve as board memberswith each board memberrepresenting a conservationorganization from aroundthe state.

Responsibility for the TIPprogram is shared by TIPand the Iowa DNR. Thedepartment receives andrecords reports of fish orgame violations through atoll-free telephone number(800-532-2020). It thenroutes the confidential infor-mation to DNR officers forinvestigation and arrangesreward payments to inform-ants through the TIP board.

In order for a TIPreport/case to be eligible fora cash reward, the investi-gating officer must havewritten at least one citation,although a conviction is notnecessary.

TIP Reward❏ $150 – small game,

fish, birds and furbearinganimals

❏ $200 – wild turkey andraptors

❏ $300 – deer, elk, mooseand black bear

❏ $1000 – threatened orendangered species or com-mercial poaching operations

All of the rewards comefrom private funds that theTIP board has collectedthrough membership fees,private donations and sale ofpromotional items such asT-shirts and caps.

Another matter of ethicsI want to digress a little

here and talk about a form oflittering. Again, this is aboutethics and taking care of ournatural resources. A readerof mine and a listener of myradio show brought this“disgusting” example of lit-tering to my attention.

He and his young sonenjoy going to area lakes innorthwest Iowa and fishing

from shore. However, intheir travels, they have comeacross piles, and I do meanpiles, of carp left to decom-pose and make for a stom-ach churning smell!

It appears that people havebeen bow hunting for carp,which is legal, but then tocelebrate their shootingprowess, they have beencollecting them for a pictureand then leaving them.

In visiting with northwestIowa DNR law enforcementsupervisor, Rich Jordet, hesaid this constitutes litteringand a citation will be issuedand a fine be levied. Onceagain, here is where the gen-eral public can help conser-vation officers if they seethings like this happening.

It’s about doing the rightthing! Treat both naturalresources and other outdoorenthusiasts with the samerespect, and everything willbe than much better!

6-Estherville (Ia.) Outdoor Connection, FRIDAY, June 7, 201381

809

Des Moines – With the Memorial Dayweekend marking the unofficial start tothe peak boating season, the IowaDepartment of Natural Resources(DNR) is reminding boaters andanglers to “Clean, Drain, and Dry”their boats and equipment to protectIowa lakes and rivers from aquatichitchhikers.

Zebra mussels and Eurasian water-milfoil are two examples of aquaticinvasive species that have spreadacross Iowa by hitchhiking on boats, inbait buckets, and with other equip-ment used in the water.

Bighead and silver carp are aquaticinvasive species that have beenspreading on their own throughoutIowa as the result of recent floods.These aquatic invaders can createserious problems when they becomeestablished in our waters.

“Public awareness and action arekeys to preventing the spread ofaquatic invasive species,” said KimBogenschutz, aquatic invasivespecies program coordinator for theIowa Department of NaturalResources.

To help raise awareness of aquaticinvasive species, DNR employees willbe doing watercraft inspections andinvasive species education at publicboat ramps across Iowa throughoutthe summer.

“Overland transport of boats is one ofthe most common ways aquatic inva-sive species are spread,” saidBogenschutz. “By taking some simpleprecautions – clean, drain, dry –boaters and anglers can help stopaquatic hitchhikers.”

• CLEAN any plants, animals, or mud

Protect Iowa waters –stop aquatic hitchhikers

Protecting our natural resources

STEVEWEISMANOUTDOOR EDITOR

Turn to HITCHHIKERS, Page 7

BY CAROLE LOCHMILLERBIRD HAVEN

There is probably notone person in ourcorner of the world

who was not totally joyousover the arrival of spring. Ihave various areas where Ilook for certain signs ofspring.

Hot pink creeping phloxwas in full bloom today atRae of Sun in Spirit Lake.They have an excellent andvery pretty perennial gar-den, which has somethingblooming all the way to thelast of the growing season.

I also look for lilacs andthere are many hedgesaround. Then there are thecrab apples. Now those twodo not usually bloomtogether but for this yearthey are. The crabappleswill provide lots of berry-size fruit for the birds.

Newer varieties ofcrabapples have persistentfruit that stays on the treesuntil eaten or when the treestarts growing in the spring.

My yard has 19 big old oaktrees. Among that forest Ihave found spots for 5small-size ornamentaltrees. Those trees each"belong " to someone.

Right now Bailey'scrabapple is bloomingbeautifully. Last time Imentioned Bailey in a col-umn, a lady came into thestore telling me I forgot tosay who is Bailey. Well, heis my long-haired dachs-hund.

Last year his soft, fluffyhair was used in a wren'snest. I brushed him wellbefore his last groomingand put it in with othernesting material, in a suetcage. The birds in your yardwill appreciate that extraeffort.

Another small tree in myyard "belongs" to a 3-yearold friend of mine, and hisDaddy planted the tree. The"Cockspur" Hawthorn isprobably my #1 favoriteornamental tree. It is a treeof character (kinda sprawly

in a good way) with whiteflowers in the spring andproduces red berries.

That will surely bringCedar Waxwings to myyard. It also has dark green,shiny foliage that turns redin the fall. This will be itsthird growing season so Ilook forward to lots ofgrowing, just like myyoung friend.

When you buy a tree,bush or anything in a nurs-ery container, the roots arecontained in a small space.You plant it well and all ofa sudden the roots haveroom to spread, which theydo. When those roots arecozy and happy in theirnew home, you will see thetop-growth you've beenwaiting for--be patient.

This has been an amazingspring for bird watching.While you are working onspring planting, it is a goodtime to plant more that willattract birds.

There are many varietiesof viburnums with various

colors of fruit and lots ofdogwoods, too.Hummingbirds will go toanything brightly coloredand specifically with tubu-lar flowers.

My favorite for hummersare weigela bushes andthere are certainly lots ofvarieties available. Not allare tall, some werehybridized for smallspaces. Remember annualstoo as they will containnectar right away.Columbines are an earlyblooming perennial thatwill attract hummers.

Our spring photo contestis nearly complete. Thefirst to bring in a 4" x 6"hard copy of a bird on ourlist will receive 5# of bird

seed of your choice. Onlytwo birds remain on ourspring list, the northernFlicker and Bobolink.

Winners to date: EasternKingbird / Linda Petersen;Carolina Wren / MikeFredrickson; Yellow-head-ed Blackbird / Jesse Juarez;Red-headed Woodpecker/Linda Anderson; HouseWren / Ryer Donkersloot;Pileated Woodpecker /Greg Johnson; BrownThrasher /Leona Koele;Red-Winged Blackbird /Leona Koele; and Catbird /Linda Petersen.

Another good idea toattract more birds is to givethem a pest-free environ-ment. Many bird are insecteaters so they will help you

with pest control.And for My Favorite

Story…Last year I bought aChickadee nest box madelocally by Dale G. Therealways have been manychickadees coming to myfeeders, and they tend toroost in my neighbor’s bigoak tree. The box was hungso we could both see it.There is a very tidy nestwith a diligent roostingfemale and 7 tiny eggs.

Wendell always has manynest boxes at Bird Havenbut this is my first experi-ence other than wrens. Dalesuggested I somehowattach a feeding station tothe nest box so the soon tobe busy parents won't haveto fly so far. An idea!

Estherville (Ia.) Outdoor Connection, FRIDAY, June 7, 2013-7

712-338-2136712-338-2136

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from boat and equipmentbefore leaving a waterbody.

• DRAIN water from allequipment (motor, livewell, bilge, transom well,bait bucket) before leav-ing a water body.

• DRY anything thatcomes into contact withwater (boats, trailers,equipment, boots, cloth-ing, dogs). Before trans-porting to another waterbody either spray yourboat and trailer with hot,high-pressure water ordry your boat and equip-ment for at least 5 days.

• Never release plants,

fish, or animals into awater body unless theycame out of that waterbody and empty unwant-ed bait in the trash.

Law ChangesComing July 1

It is currently illegal topossess or transport pro-hibited aquatic invasivespecies in Iowa. StartingJuly 1, it will also be ille-gal to transport anyaquatic plants on water-related equipment.Boaters must also drainall water from boats andequipment before leav-ing a water body and

must keep drain plugsremoved or opened dur-ing transport beginningJuly 1. It is illegal tointroduce any live fish,except for hooked bait,into public waters.

Signs are posted atpublic accesses toremind boaters to stopaquatic hitchhikers andto identify infestedwaters. More informa-tion about aquatic inva-sive species and a list ofinfested waters can befound in the 2013 IowaFishing Regulationsbooklet or online.

HITCHHIKERS, Continued from Page 6

BY BOB JENSENFISHING THE MIDWEST FISHING TEAM

Walleyes are often thought of asa fish that inhabits the depths, andthere are times when most of themwill be found in deep water.However, there are other times,more than you may think, whenyou can catch walleyes shallow,shallow being eight feet or less.Here are some ideas for takingwalleyes in shallow water.

Walleyes spawn in shallowwater, water so shallow sometimestheir dorsal fin will be above thesurface of the water. After thespawn they move into the mid-depths to recover from the rigorsof spawning, or maybe they stay inthe shallows and just don't eatmuch. But a few days after spawn-ing has ended, walleyes will getactive in the shallows. This iswhen they get easy to catch.

Look for shallow walleyes wher-ever the shiners or other baitfishare spawning. Shorelines withsmall rocks, areas with vegetationstarting to come up, points relatedto shorelines, these areas will allhold shallow walleyes early in thesummer, and there are lots of waysto catch'em when they're in theselocations.

Crankbaits, slip-bobber rigs, livebait rigs, they'll all catch shallow

walleyes. But the folks who catchwalleyes most regularly are proba-bly throwing a jig tipped witheither a minnow or plastic.

When the walleyes have justrecovered from the spawn, they'llbe most susceptible to a jig andminnow combination. In somebodies of water the walleyes willeat a jig tipped with a fathead min-now: In other bodies of water ashiner on the back of a jig will befar more productive. I almostalways have shiners and fatheadsin the boat. Shiners can be toughto keep lively, so I put them in aFrabill 1404 aerated container.This unit keeps shiners in a fish-catching attitude.

I'm hooking the minnow to aneighth ounce stand-up Fire-Balljig almost all of the time. Thestand-up design of this jig enablesme to pause my retrieve, but thejig stands up, remaining in fullview of the fish. A round head jiglies flat on the bottom at rest, mak-ing it harder for the fish to see. Asthe water warms, the walleyesbecome more susceptible to ajig/plastic presentation. Where acouple of days ago we were crawl-ing the jig/minnow along the bot-tom, with the plastic we'll be snap-ping it pretty aggressively.Walleyes in warmer water will

eagerly whack a jig/plastic combothat is moving quickly along thebottom.

Many of the strikes will come asthe jig is gliding back to the bot-tom after it has been snapped. ARock-It jig tipped with somethinglike an Impulse Paddle Minnow istough to beat.

Fish the jig/plastic with eight orten pound test Bionic WalleyeBraid. The braid works better withthe snapping retrieve. Fish thejig/minnow on six, seven, or eightpound test Bionic Walleyemonofilament.

Walleyes can be found in shal-low water year 'round in mostlakes, rivers, and reservoirs wher-ever walleyes swim, but youshould look for them in the shal-lows especially in late spring andearly summer. Make long casts,keep a low profile, and be quiet. Ifyou do these things, you'll findyourself catching walleyes shal-lower than you might have imag-ined.

8-Estherville (Ia.) Outdoor Connection, FRIDAY, June 7, 2013

Walleye ace Dana Pitt caught this walleye in six feet of wateron a jig. Check the shallows for walleyes right now.

Photo by Bob Jensen

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Tips for taking shallow water walleyes