12-21-2017 Hunting & Fishing

SUCCESSFUL DEER HUNTING SEASON… pic-tured here (from the left) with their trophies are dad Ben, Marissa Lowell, and sister Morgan. See story below.

King of the Hill

By Marissa Lowell

Berrien County Straight Shooters 4H Club reporter

 Opening day of gun season was very rainy and miserable. But, after school, I got off the bus and changed into my hunting clothes and went out hunting with my dad. Once we got to our hunting spot, my dad put the doe decoy up in the field about 30 yards from our box blind. Then we sat for about an hour without seeing anything.

Our neighbor texted and said he was coming out to hunt in his woods not far from us.  About 10 minutes later a doe appeared on top on the hill in the field in front of us. She was standing still in the perfect position to shoot, but I didn’t buy a doe tag so I had to let her go.  I was sitting there about ready to cry when a buck came out following the doe about a minute or two later.  So I hit my dad and said, “Deer, it’s a buck!” He got the gun up in the window and asked me if I wanted him to shoot it.  I said, “No, I want to shoot it!”

The buck was facing us straight on about 60 yards away on the same hill as the doe, and looking at our decoy. He looked as if he was the King of the Hill, standing tall and proud.  I could see he was about to run away, so I didn’t take any chances by waiting too long.  Earlier in bow season, I waited too long for a perfect shot on a 6-point that he never gave me… so I had to let him go.

I shot right in the middle of the body with the .50 cal muzzleloader and then I didn’t see him anymore after the smoke cleared.  I started to worry but not for long because we waited about 10 minutes without seeing any movement on the other side of the hill. Then we got up and slowly made our way to the top of the hill.  He had dropped right where I shot him, but just over the top of the hill he was standing on!

This was a special deer to me because he was my first ever deer and because he was an 8-point buck!  It is also special because my dad’s first deer was an 8-point, and my big sisters first deer was an 8-point… just like mine! I guess it’s sort of a family tradition, and I got to keep it going!

Earlier in the year Morgan, my big sister, shot a 9-point buck. And a few days after I shot mine, my dad shot an 8-point buck too.  We had a very blessed and successful hunting season this year!

‘Tis the season for wearing turtlenecks. The human version is not nearly as remarkable as the reptile version.

A turtle’s shell provides a good deal of protection but only if the owner can store its vital parts inside. A turtle can pull its head into the shell by folding the long neck, either to the side or into a vertical S-shape. The folding causes the loose skin to bunch up which, apparently, some clothing designer thought would be a stylish look.

The nature center’s Florida softshell turtle constantly displays this ability. When he utilizes the basking area, he can stretch his flexible neck four to five inches. If he senses someone nearby he quickly retracts the neck so that only his formidable biting mouth is visible.

The length of the softshell’s neck allows it to stay submerged while breathing at the surface. Thus, only a small part of its body is apparent to any predators hunting from above. It also utilizes the length when it is the hunter by hiding under sand or mud and shooting out to nab unsuspecting fish.

Remember (if Santa brings more snow for Christmas) to explore the nature center on cross country skis or snowshoes. Two-hour rentals are: skis $10 for adults, $5 for children; snowshoes $5 for adults, $3 for children. Call (269) 927-4832 to check snow conditions.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports that ice was building on the inland lakes last week, but most did not have safe ice yet. Just remember, first ice is dangerous ice and extreme caution needs to be used.

The DNR’s fishing tip of the week is how to target popular fish species through the ice. Here are tips for the four-species popular with anglers in the winter.

Walleye: Early-ice Walleyes are known to be active and aggressive. Use tip-ups at varying depths around the lake (anywhere from 15 to 35 feet deep) to appeal to this fish. Regardless of the depth, always set the live minnow under the tip-up to swim 12 to 15 inches off the bottom.

Crappie: Consider using plastic bait, rather than live bait, when fishing for crappie. Focus on weed lines to find them. A lot of times, crappie will hang out in the middle of the water column half-way between the ice and bottom.

Northern Pike: You’ll find these aggressive fish near off-shore structures and weed lines, so try these types of spots on your favorite pike lakes first.

Yellow Perch: Attract bigger perch by using tip-ups with minnows, that’s what they’re primarily eating this time of the year. Sticking a minnow on an ice fishing rod is also very productive.

For more information on fishing during Michigan’s winter, visit www.michigan.gov/fishing.

Captain Kenny Bard of Rampage Fishing Charters out of South Haven reported that there hasn’t been much pier fishing, but when anglers could get out, they were catching steelhead and white fish. The rivers in the area have gone down to normal and with the warm up fishing was very good on the Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Black rivers. The skim ice was lost to the warm up.

Ellinee Bait & Tackle on Paw Paw Lake by Coloma reports very little fishing action on the local inland lakes. During the calm spell, skim ice had covered Rush Lake and anglers were looking forward to the ice build-up, but the warm weather put an end to that.

They said they have plenty of bait for the hardy souls that would like to go out on the (sorry) wet water and catch a mess of fish for dinner.

In Grand Haven the whitefish activity has slowed as the run is just about over. Anglers were starting to catch a good number of perch in Lake Michigan.

Philanthropy continues to have a prominent role in the historic reintroduction of the Arctic Grayling in Michigan, with the award of an $180,000 gift from the Henry E. and Consuelo S. Wenger Foundation to the DNR. The funds will support a research project as part of the Arctic Grayling initiative.

The initiative is a statewide partnership effort focused on restoring self-sustaining populations of this native fish and was founded by the DNR and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians in June 2016. The partnership now includes more than 40 organizations.

HUNTING

The DNR announced that an additional antlerless deer firearm hunt has been added in the northeast Lower Peninsula to help with bovine tuberculosis (TB) management. Hunt dates are January 4-7 and January 11-24, 2018. The hunt will occur on private land in Alpena County, south of M-32.

For the January hunt, eligible landowners can receive a lease payment of up to $7.50 per acre for allowing deer hunting on their lands. The size of an enrolled property will help determine the maximum number of hunters allowed on the property.

Hunters interested in donating their harvest can bring their deer to any of the DNR check stations that are open for this hunt. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is working with Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger and the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to ensure that donated deer are processed free of charge and distributed to local food banks. Each deer donated provides 33 meals to those in need in Northeast Michigan.

Beginning in 2018, the DNR will initiate a pilot program for an extended archery season in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, known as the Urban Deer Management Zone. This program will extend the archery season until January 31, 2018 in these counties.

All rules and regulations for the archery season apply. The DNR reminds hunters that baiting is not allowed after January 1. Bait may not be used during this extended season. Licenses including a deer license, combination deer license or antlerless deer license will be valid during the extended season.

The season will continue for three years, with an evaluation completed after the 2019 season to determine if the season should be extended.

The DNR reminds hunters that you have until December 31 to put in an application for the 2018 Pure Michigan Hunt. The drawing results will be posted online, January 22, 2018.