Black Bears and Rainbow Trout (Kentucky Version)

Kentucky isn’t on the cusp of becoming a major bear hunting destination but hunting opportunities for bruins will be expanded this year if the General Assembly approves a recommendation by the state game commission.

The nine-member board voted earlier this month to expand the bear hunt zone from four to 16 counties and add a nine-day archery/crossbow bear hunt Nov. 23-Dec. 1. The three-day gun hunt will be Dec. 14-16. Season limits remain very conservative (10 for archery and probably 10 but gun hunters) but expanding the bear range is news to be noted. Bears in the Bluegrass are on the move.

Trout fishing on Kentucky’s Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam has fallen on hard times of late, a consequence of extensive repair work on the dam which lowered the lake and warmed the tailwater. In 2009 Kentucky fishery officials decided to let anglers keep five extra rainbow trout per day. That ends tomorrow (June 15). The dam work is finished and tailwater conditions are improving. Regular rainbow creel limits on the Cumberland are five fish with a 15-20 inch slot and only one rainbow longer than 20 inches.

Details at www.fw.ky.gov.

President Obama Signs Freedom to Fish Moratorium

President Obama has signed into law the Freedom to Fish two-year moratorium, which will halt the Corps of Engineers’ plan to restrict boating access on the Cumberland River system in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The moratorium is effective immediately.

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who spearheaded the two-year ban through the Senate, said, “I appreciate the President signing the legislation into law and reversing the Administration’s decision to place barriers and restrict fishing along the Cumberland River. No one I know in Kentucky supported this plan—not fishermen and boaters, not local elected officials and not the Kentucky Division of Fish and Wildlife. I saw that firsthand when I attended the Freedom to Fish Rally with local leaders at Barkley Dam in April, where I had a chance to talk with many area fishermen and business owners about the disastrous effect the Army Corps plan would have had on their livelihoods.”

The Corps plan to blocking boating access immediately below the 10 dams on the Cumberland River system had drawn considerable fire since it came to light in December of last year.

A permanent ban on blocking tailwater boating access is part of the Water Resources Development Act, which has been passed by the Senate but is awaiting action in the House.

The Secret for a Successful Marriage

Tags

marriage

I was married on a rainy Saturday afternoon in a church I didn’t belong to in front of a preacher I didn’t know.

I was thankful for the rain, as it kept friends who thought it would be cute to decorate the car with soap and other nonsense from performing their deeds. A couple of crafty relatives did manage to tie a can to the rear bumper. As Katy and I ran from the church through the rain to the car, I sliced the string with my pocket knife and we left town as quickly as possible, anxious to begin our life together. The only stumbling block came a few miles later when I decided the rattle coming from the left front tire had to be checked. It was annoying but harmless: Rocks inside the hub cap.

That happy day was 30 years ago, May 21, 1983. The three decades have produced two daughters and more happiness than I thought possible or ever had any right to expect. The reason, I think, is simple. My bride and I did what the preacher said: We took and kept one another.

It’s raining tonight; a sign, perhaps of more good things to come. I can’t image how the next 30 could be better than the last 30. But they might be. It has worked out pretty well so far.

The Corps and the Cumberland . . . an Update

For those who have been following the sage of the Corps of Engineers’ effort to restrict boating access below its 10 dams on the Cumberland River system in Kentucky and Tennessee and what has become a massive effort to halt the Corps at the grass root, state and Congressional level . . . an update:

This morning (May 17) the senate passed by unanimous voice vote a two-year moratorium (Senate Bill 987) introduced by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that would halt the Corps plan to keep anglers from some of the most productive fishing waters on the river. I have a report on this at 
http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/field-notes/2013/05/special-report-cumberland-river-boating-restrictions-halted-2-years
 and at 
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130515/SPORTS09/305150140/Mitch-McConnell-aims-halt-Corps-dam-fishing-ban?nclick_check=1
.

This came in the wake of Senate passage of the Water Resources Development Act (Senate Bill 601), which contains wording from the Freedom to Fish Act that will permanently prevent around-the-clock restriction of tailwater access.

The moratorium passed today now goes to the House, where quick action is expected next week, according to Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) Whitfield spearheaded Congressional action to stop the Corps when he introduced the Freedom to Fish Act in February.

“I thank Senators  (Mitch) McConnell, (Rand) Paul and (Lamar) Alexander for their work getting this legislation passed in the Senate,” Whitfield said through a statement released by his office. “I will work to get the temporary delay bill passed in the House of Representatives next week. This is great news for boating and fishing enthusiasts in Kentucky.”

I’m glad Congress is moving on this but wouldn’t a bit of compromise by Corps paved the way to an easier and more simple solution?

KHSAA Bass Champs

Bracken Robertson and Dillan Starks put themselves into the Kentucky high school record books today by winning the first ever Kentucky High School Athletic Association state bass fishing championship.

Fishing most of the tournament in miserable rainy conditions, the two Calloway County (Ky.) High School seniors won by sacking an 18 pound 4 ounce five-fish limit Saturday for a 34 pound 4 ounce two-day total.

There will be other champions who will catch more fish. But no one else will be first. Good job gentlemen.

KHSAA Fishing Championship: Day 1

Whatever your thoughts are on competitive high school bass fishing – and opinions vary – if you’d witnessed the weigh-in Friday of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s first ever bass fishing championship one thing would be beyond debate: These kids can fish.

Thirty-seven high school teams fished Kentucky Lake today – most of the time in a cold, steady rain. The Day 1 leaders, Zach Warner and Ridge Porter from Muhlenberg County (Ky.) High School, hauled in a 16 pound 3 ounce five fish limit. They weren’t the only competitors who found fish. Less than four pounds separate the top 13 places (three teams are tied for 10th at 12-10). Every team brought at least one fish to the weigh-in.  Fifteen teams weighed limits.

Three five pounders were caught. The largest was 5-12.

Full Day 1 results are at 
http://khsaa.org/bassfishing/2013/state/stateresults.pdf
.

The championship concludes Saturday, weather permitting.

KHSAA Bass State Championship Underway

The first ever Kentucky high school bass fishing state championship is underway on Kentucky Lake. The two-day event wraps up Saturday.

Forty-five teams representing 27 schools are involved. I’ll have notes and photos posted later today via Twitter @garygarth and here and at www.courier-journal.com/outdoors.

Also, if you like the idea of elk hunting in Kentucky then midnight EDT April 30 is the application deadline to get your name in the drawing for one of the 1,000 tags that will be available for the 2013 season. Apply online at www.fw.ky.gov. The application fee is $10. You won’t need to buy a license unless you are drawn for a tag. Results will be posted on the website early next month.

Yes, I alway apply. No, I’ve not been drawn (not yet).

Why I Hate Turkeys

Friends have been plastering photos of themselves on Facebook grinning wildly while hoisting or kneeling beside a large, dead turkey. I’m happy for them. Really, I am.

I have tried repeatedly to bag a turkey this year and what I have to show for my efforts amount to little more than a nasty cut on my left leg (barbwire), an errant collection of tick bites and repeated mistakes that have sent birds scurrying. Although I have yet to fire a shell at live bird I have not been without my chances.

The latest blunder happened this morning. I won’t bore you with details except to say there is a time to call and a time to sit quietly and I apparently have yet to learn when to do what.

Turkeys have a walnut size brain. I’m glad it isn’t the size of an orange. I’d never see one.

Freedom to Fish Rally

Tags

Ed Whitfield, freedom to fish, Larmar Alexander, Mitch McConnell, Paul Rand

A quartet of high-powered politicians converged at Barkley Dam on the lower Cumberland River in Lyon County, Ky., this morning.

Pictured left to right Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) headlined the Freedom to Fish Rally, where they had little new news to share but reiterated their opposition to the Corps of Engineers’ plan to prohibit boat access immediately below 10 dams on the Cumberland River system. The Corps’ Nashville District office has said physical barrier on some tailwaters could be in place by June.

I’ve reported on this for Field & Stream www.fieldandstream.com and The Courier-Journal www.courier-journal.com/outdoors. The basic issue is this: In December, siting public safety concerns and lack of full compliance with a 1996 regulation, the Nashville District Corps office unveiled a plan that would block boating access from 500 to 1,000 below the dam face on nine of 10 of the river’s dams.

The public outcry – especially from fishermen and those who profit from fishing dollars – was immediate and loud.

Soon the politicians became involved. The Corps has refused to budge. Whitfield responded with the Freedom to Fish Act. And he has some congressional big shots who have signed off on the bill and are paying close attention.

Today’s rally didn’t accomplish much on the surface. The speeches were brief and no one said anything the crowd has not already heard. But the glad handing was in full force and one important point was demonstrated: When public outcry is loud enough our elected leaders will respond.

The Neighbor’s Farm Pond

Tags

farm pond, fly fishing

I strung up my battered but still serviceable Orvis www.orvis.com Silver Label 3 weight and walked to my neighbor’s house the other evening and knocked on the back door. He appeared with his customary, friendly greeting.

“Is the invitation to fish still open?” I asked.

“Of course. Help yourself.”

I know this place well. It’s a small pond but like the rest of my neighbor’s property it is neatly kept and well maintained. Manicured, comes to mind.

It’s also loaded with fish – bluegill and catfish, mostly – although some evenings you’d swear there isn’t a fish in it. That wasn’t the case the other day. It wasn’t a fish each cast but close to it. I lost count but I wasn’t really there to keep count anyway.