Fake Wolf-dog Story and Fake Big Deer Story

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Outdoors in Niagara
Mark Daul

Bond Lake
– A Hop, Skip, and a Jump Away – Bring Paper 

Niagara
County’s Bond Lake Park, is a 531 acre park facility, located off Lower
Mountain Road outside of Lewiston. The lake area itself was once a
limestone quarry site back in the late 1800’s spanning into the very
early 1900’s before it closed. Today it is a nature-themed park and is
open to the public. Fishing, hiking, canoeing, picnicking, skiing,
sledding and so much more, and not more than 20 minutes away from any
resident of Niagara County. One thing, in the Lake area especially,
there are NO restrooms, a real shame for a public park as nice as this.
If you picnic at one of the two beautiful picnic pavilions, be prepared
to solve your own problems with your family. I would think the Niagara
County lawmakers could come up with a couple of bucks for a couple of
facilities, that can be bought or rented pretty reasonably. I took a
short 25 foot walk up one trail and was met with stale toilet paper on
each side of me; nice for kids & ladies huh? In the meantime, bring a
roll and go where the bears go, in the woods, after all, maybe that’s
what “nature-themed” means. [No, there aren’t any bears.]

The picture of the girl wearing the great big smile
is because she is out fishing with her parents. Not fishing for exotics,
just ‘out’ fishing! Not fishing in a big lake, not fishing from a boat,
but fishing off shore at Bond Lake.

The little fishergirl in the picture, is Brandi
Love Fischer, a 9 ½ year old [going on 25 yrs. her Mom says] that I met
at Bond Lake fishing with her parents. When I asked her name she
promptly told me ‘Brandi,’ then I asked “how old are you Brandi?”
gleefully, she said ‘10’while she was baiting her own hook for another
cast. Her proud stepdad, Russ, told me she does everything by herself,
and sure loves fishing. In about 5 minutes her mother caught a fish and
Brandi took it off the hook for her, and then before she released it,
she held it up like she was going to give it a big fat kiss. The fish
wiggled unexpectedly, while she was holding it, and Brandi let out a
little scream like 10 year olds do, it was an unexpected surprise. After
her cute theatrics, she leaned over and put it back in the water for
another day. Just from that, you can see Mom and Dad are good teachers.
Its things like this little story that makes my day.

I often get asked by people where there is a good
safe place to take kids fishing, where they’ll catch fish, be safe, and
learn to fish without a boat. Those are good questions for sure,
especially the last one. I can tell you, we have lots of places around
here to do that. Quite often I’m asked about the real young ones, from 3
to 7 years old. Although any age is a good age, I say if they can stand
up on their own, start then. Sometimes attention spans are narrow, so
when you are out, take them around and explore other things. Frogs,
birds, salamanders, butterflies, trees, are all things that they will
remember for the next trip. I realize all parents are not necessarily up
on fishing, and the other things the great outdoors has to offer, but
what better way to learn than when teaching your children, and you’re
learning things for yourself at the same time. I find a lot of parents,
including single parents, would rather have their kids in organized
sports where the teaching and coaching is done by someone else,
sometimes even by strangers. Team sports are wonderful, but nothing
compares to getting out on your own, learning on your own, and as you
grow up, there is just you and a fish, and the outdoors. Fisher people
when fishing are strictly one on one, just “the fisher and the fish.”
The fisher tries to figure out how those fish think, while the fish is
looking for a simple meal, and at the same time outsmarting the fisher.
Like scoring a touchdown or a home run in little league, the fisher gets
a thrill, but all kids can’t score touchdowns or home runs, so guess
what, all kids can catch a fish!

Starting out, remember you won’t get much fishing
in yourself, not until the youngster gets comfortable with baiting their
own hook, and taking their own fish off the hook. Some take longer than
others, but if you show the proper way to do it right from the start,
they will want to learn like you did, or you can learn together.  Maybe
you are not a very good fisherperson yourself, so what, bring a couple
of old rags with you, something like an old terrycloth washcloth or an
old bath towel torn into pieces for your hands. They will help you keep
your fish under control until you unhook it, and get it back in the
water. Getting the fish back in the water is the first lesson in “Catch
& Release.” Releasing fish unharmed back into the water is a good
lesson, because it is protecting what we have for the future
fishermen/gals.

So your trip starts out on the right foot, be sure
to bring sun lotion, insect repellant, a snack of some kind and a
liquid. You might even want a Band-Aid or two, just in case. The experts
say between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm in the afternoon are the hottest times
of a day, so avoid those times. It’s always best to go early.

Take a trip to your neighborhood tackle store and
pick up a 4 or 5 foot spincast rod & reel for your child for starters.
Cost is 10-15 dollars for child size starter set for 3-5 year olds. You
don’t want anything too long or you will be untangling line cast after
cast. and pulling line out of trees. A 6 ½ or 7 foot hand-me-down rod is
fine, if you have an older learner, but make sure it works good. Kids
are fast learners so you don’t want defective tackle, then their
interest is driven away. Of course, you can buy bait, worms in most
cases, in many of these shops and other places along the road. But the
very best thing to do, is go out with the child the night before, go
digging for worms yourselves, or spray your lawn an hour or so before
dusk, and pick them off the grass after dark. They are free then.  Or
you can even try a small ball of fresh bread on your hook.

When kids start out, they don’t want big fish to
scare them, they just want the thrill, a little sunfish or rock bass
will do fine. It’s like hitting that home run I talked about. This is a
good time to teach them about their surroundings, and taking care of
those surroundings. Make sure they don’t leave bait containers, sandwich
wrappers and other junk lying around. Have the kids pick up any
containers, or debris that might be left behind, not you, they won’t
learn a thing if you do it for them, remember someday they’ll be fishing
without you. If there is junk around other people left, make that part
of the cleanup too, the kids don’t mind, they will feel even more
important, and will learn a good lesson.

After all this about taking kids fishing, don’t
forget the elders, they would just love to tag along on a simple little
fishing trip too!

Outdoors in Niagara
Mark Daul
Note: Picture is of author

Fishing With
Don Supon

Who
is Don Supon? That’s your first question I’ll bet. Let me tell you, and
bring you up to date. He lives in Niagara Falls with his wife Myra. Don
is a retired school teacher, and outdoors enthusiast from the git-go.
Don owns a deer camp in the Southern Tier that he maintains and visits
often. It has trail cams set up so when he is not at the camp, he can
watch what wildlife activities appear before the cameras in his absence.
He has shown me cam pictures of turkey, bear, coyote, and of course,
deer. Hunting has always been one of Don’s major pastimes and I’m glad,
because now I have some venison in my freezer.

We met several years ago, when we were both younger
and doing our separate things, never really getting into deep
discussions. Having the same acquaintances, and the same interests, our
relationship increased as we bumped into one another on occasion, and
volunteering for the betterment of outdoor activities. Now, neither of
us do much volunteering, at our age, but still help out wherever we can.
Both of us always remind people to get out and enjoy the outdoors. As
the saying goes, and its origin is uncertain; “Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the
present.”

Don and I took up fishing together a couple of
years ago, and we enjoy each others company, mostly. By mostly, I mean
when we get out fishing together, I am mostly out fished by him. We are
both nuts for perch fishing and that is what we ‘mostly’ do. A couple of
years ago, Don was looking for someone to fish the spring trout and
salmon derby with and I volunteered. When I said I’d fish it, the
weather was pretty nice, so I paid my entry fee and signed up for the
event. The day we went out, the weather changed. We got out in the lake
and set up around the green can [buoy] off the mouth of the Lower
Niagara. I froze on our way out and froze when we settled down after
putting our rigs out, then froze on the way back to shore. The wind was
blowing from the northwest, with a wet drizzle, until the sun broke.
Even then it was still cold, the wind has no mercy. We trolled for hours
and all the while I’m thinking to myself, this is the reason why I gave
up on this type of fishing many years ago. From then on, I will always
remain the ‘sunshine man,’ the type that only goes fishing when the sun
is shining and the thermometer reads over 65 degrees. Don owns a
salmon/lake boat equipped with all the bells and whistles, a roof with
side curtains, and now his lake fishing is all done with a new fisherman
learning the ropes, Dave Anastasia, a Ransomville resident.  I said
learning, but I know Dave catches on fast, especially from a good
teacher.

The fish you see me holding in the picture isn’t
mine, I’m just holding it for Don, like all good guests should do for
the host. I’m dressed in layers with a good quality wind and rain
resistant Sterns jacket on with a hood, and if this was in color, you
could see my hands are beet red.

A few days ago, it wasn’t over 65 degrees, and the
sun wasn’t shining even though Don Paul on Channel 4 said it was going
to be, we took our chances and went to the Lewiston Landing. At 7:45 am,
we paid our $7.00 launch fee to the ever congenial Harbor Master, Pat
Mahoney. Pat was surprised to see us and launching my ‘Outdoors Niagara’
boat there. I told him neither of us is in any shape to launch the boat,
drive up the hill to the parking lot, then walk back down those long
steps, go fishing, come back off the water, go back up those dreadful
steps to bring the trailer back down for the boat. Whew! Mr.
Congeniality, Mahoney, said “Gee, all you need to do is ask. I can pick
you up and drive you down after parking the trailer in the lot, then
drive you back up to the parking lot to get your vehicle.” Aha, Don was
ahead of all of us. He and I came in two vehicles, Don lives in Niagara
Falls, and I live in Youngstown. We met at the parking lot, and Don
parked his truck in the handicap spot at the launch. We launched the
boat so when we take the boat out of the water, all he had to do was
drive up the hill and bring the car and trailer back down. Good thinking
on his part, but one of us still had to park boat and trailer above. Don
volunteered to do that and walk back down to the boat. Isn’t he a
wonderful ‘volunteer?’

Let me tell you about our perch trip that day. Of
course, we were both excited to be out on the water. Don sat up in the
bow, and I in the stern. I had to run the motor, set the anchor, and
make sure we were in the right spot with Don Paul’s reportedly 15 to 20
mph wind blowing from a southerly direction. Anchors don’t hold too well
in that wind, but it finally did catch something on the bottom, and did
its job. We moved to another spot, dropped the anchor, grabbed something
again, but when we went to move, the anchor was stuck solid. Thinking I
needed to cut the anchor rope to get free, I fired up the 25 hp Mercury,
and slowly pulled the anchor free.

Perching was good for the guy up front. He was
catching double headers on his $1.19 perch rig and I was catching
nothing on mine from the back of the boat. Being the nice guy that Don
is, he said, “Mark, move up about 20 feet, just opposite the dock over
there” I pulled the anchor, moved up, dropped the anchor again, and
started fishing. By moving up, now I’m fishing where he was dropping his
line at. Good deal I thought, now I can do some catching in his spot.
Not so, I never got a touch. The fish followed him those 20 feet and
continued pestering his bait offerings even though we were using
identical baits. Jokingly, I said to Don, how about taking my rod,
catching me a fish, then hand the rod to me, and let me reel it in. As
time went on, and silence was bliss, whenever Don caught an undersized
fish, he would throw it toward my line, like saying “you want a fish?
here’s one for you, now catch it.” Really rubbing it in I thought. Then
Bam! I caught a legal size bass on my minnow. Yeah, it went in the
cooler for my wife, she loves bass. About 10 minutes later, again, Bam!
This time a really nice size bass, I was really excited latching on to
two fish in a matter of 10 minutes. As I was looking at the strain on my
light line and watching it, I saw it moving to the surface with the fish
pulling it, then, it decided to show off, and go acrobatic. It broke
water, winked one of those red eyes at me, even though fish don’t close
their eyes, this one winked.  After showing me how pretty his colors
are, he spit the hook back at the boat. I think it was still airborne
when it did that. I know it was big, and as friend, and outdoor writer,
now deceased, Joe Ognibene used to say, “if it got away, you can make it
any size you want it to be.” He was right. Ok, lets say the one I lost
had to be a State record fish. Ha!

I guess fishing took up a good part of my life, and
at this time of life, it is really great to have a fishing friend to
share the days with, get out and sit on or near the water, have some
conversation about anything, go home and think about your next outing.

Remember to take a kid fishing, and don’t forget
the elderly, they love it too.

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Outdoors in Niagara
Mark Daul

Does Niagara have
Beavers? Yes, it does! 

Although
mainly a nocturnal animal, beavers can be spotted occasionally during
the day, and their homes or “lodges” I suppose they can be seen around
the County along different streams and creeks. There is a “lodge” along
the park trail at Four Mile Creek in the State Park; along your walk on
the path, you can see trees that are chomped upon by these little
lumberjacks. I must admit, this summer I haven’t taken my walks along
Four Mile creek, but in prior years I have seen many beaver signs and
the gnawing of trees.

I live about 1,500 feet west from the mouth of Four
Mile Creek. In the calm evenings, when the sun is about ready to drop
down into the lake, occasionally we can watch one or two beavers taking
a cruise along the lake shoreline, probably exploring their
surroundings. You don’t hear them coming, you’ll just see a big “V” in
the water as they are swimming by.  If you startle them they will raise
that big paddle-shaped tail of theirs and slap it on the water and take
a dive, then you won’t see them anymore that evening.  The slap is loud,
and it is to warn others to beware of danger. The extreme low water
levels in the creek this year may have affected their habitat as we
haven’t seen any since early spring. The water is so low you can walk
across the mouth of the creek where it enters the lake.

One time this area was great beaver country, and a
great asset to Native Americans. They used beaver pelts for bartering in
the 17^th century, trading to Europeans for metal tools and
implements. The Europeans used the pelts for clothing and hats. It is
said back in those days upper class Europeans separated the fur from the
skin to be used in the production of felt to be made into hats by using
poisonous mercury. Hat makers were called “hatters” and after time they
would become sick and disorientated from absorbing the mercury, thus the
expression “mad hatters” or “mad as a hatter.” In New York State beaver
populations dropped in the 1800’s, to where they were nearly extinct,
but made remarkable recoveries in the 1900’s by proper management by the
DEC. Trapping and transferring them to better habitat, and management of
hunting and trapping seasons kept them to desirable levels.

Recently, Ed Rogers of Youngstown told me he saw
beavers cruising down the river some mornings around 6:00 am while
walking his dog on Water Street near the Youngstown Yacht Club. He said
the Villa Apartments on the river in Youngstown had a problem with them
chewing on young trees about 7-8 years ago, and to prevent additional
damage, they put screening around the base of the trees. Rogers said he
walked down the river to see where they were going or where they came
from, and as he tried to follow them, they just disappeared.

Last fall, a hiker down in the gorge trail sent me
the photo seen here of a large felled tree and two more large ones that
were gnawed through, proving that beavers are occupying that section of
the river. These trees are right on the edge of the water. If you are
adventurous, a day spent hiking the gorge trails can be very rewarding.
Forgetting a camera for the hike would be a sin. Look at what this hiker
saw! Carry a fishing rod too; there are lots of places to fish.

In February of this year, Ray Dietz, husband of
Town of Porter Historian, Sue Dietz, was hiking in the Niagara Gorge on
the Canadian side and came across some maple trees that were being dined
on by these semi-aquatic rodents. I don’t know if they swim from the
U.S. to Canada but they better have papers, or at least phone CANPASS!

The industrious beaver is considered good for the
environment, but at times they are considered a nuisance.  Beavers will
burrow in the banks of rivers and lakes building their lodges that
sometimes turn into dams along streams. They can transform landscapes
with their dams; building beaver ponds and marshlands and turn them into
habitat for fish, birds and other four legged critters. However, they
can also do damage to man made structures, contaminate water supplies,
and cause crop damage to farmers with their dams. The law says you may
not remove or interfere with a beaver dam unless you have a permit from
the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation. In New York
State, beaver control is managed by the NYSDEC. Hunting and trapping
season for beavers in our part of the state is from November 1, 2012 to
April 7, 2013, and there is no bag limit. You can check all the details
at

www.nysdec.ny.gov, and while you are there, check the information
they have on beavers.

Please don’t forget to get those kids out fishing.
You will be surprised at the excitement YOU will have watching them land
a fish or two. Teach them well.

Outdoors in Niagara
Mark Daul

Before
iPads, Cell Phones and Facebook, Fishing Filled Our Time

Occasionally I bump into a long time friend of mine
and we get into some great conversations, and a few evenings ago was no
different. Bob Rougeaux and I were natives of Niagara Falls, and, now we
both live in the Town of Porter. We both went to Sacred Heart grade
school at the same time, and both had similar after school passions. We
didn’t have anything near what occupies kids today, like all those
sophisticated electronics. We had tube radios, 12 inch B&W televisions,
and yes, TV’s had tubes too, and test patterns that came on at midnight.
Our telephones were the rotary dial kind that kids of today have trouble
trying to operate and big hands and little hands on our watches. Does
anyone know where there is a pay phone on a corner somewhere today?
Friday nights were the big night for TV in my neighborhood with the
Friday Night fights; first, wrestling was on TV from Memorial Auditorium
in Buffalo, with Yukon Eric, Gorgeous George, and a guy named Farmer
Don, who always brought a pig with him into the ring. One guy had a ring
name like, “The Little Flower of Italy,” a bad guy. The next program on
Friday nights was boxing. I can remember some legends like Jersey Joe
Walcott, Sonny Liston and Joe Louis “The Brown Bomber,” because they
were my Father’s favorites, and so was Gillette Blue Blades, Pabst Blue
Ribbon Beer, and the cameo girl “Genny.” Betcha some of you old guys
remember the name “Willie Pep.”

Times sure have changed, but basic fishing remains
the same as it ever was. Back then, all that was ever needed was a
stick, a hook, some line, and that could even be a piece of string, plus
a weight to bring it all down to where the fish were. A bobber could be
just a twig lying around the creek side or an old bottle cork you found
lying around the house. Sometimes our weights would be an old spark plug
or a nut that was lying around the garage. Bob and I were into the days
when we would fish Hyde Park Creek for bullheads and rock bass with our
“equipment.” It was never called it fishing tackle because that is what
they sold in stores like Noah’s Ark and Western Auto, or Behren’s Tackle
Shop on Pierce Avenue. There was no money for that. Bob and I fished at
the same age, but separately. Bob fished all around Hyde Park Lake, and
I fished the creek at the “rocks,” which were two big rocks at the edge
of the creek right near greens number 7 on the golf course at that time.
We never fished together because I didn’t know he liked fishing after
school and Saturdays, neither did he know that I did.

Sometimes worms were picked for bait out of the
back yard or we packed some “Wonder Bread” as Bob called it. Yep, Wonder
Bread, the kind that “builds strong bodies 8 ways.”  The bread had to be
fresh so you could roll it up in tiny balls and it would stick on your
hook. Two or three of slices were all you would need for half a day.
Toss that tasty treat out and there would be an underwater battle
between the bullheads and the rock bass. Big bullheads were kept to
bring home and brag to the neighborhood kids what you caught. How cool
is that! My father would put water in our concrete stationary tub in the
basement for my fish, and they would keep for a few days, and eventually
we would give them to Mr. Say, a neighbor two doors away, who would eat
anything that could swim including eels.

Those were the early days of fishing for us, and
eventually we graduated into bigger things, like getting new rods &
reels, along with real sinkers and hooks with no rust. Boats came later.
Then we needed tackle boxes to keep all our stuff in. Through our
growing years and later, it was a rare occasion Bob and I would see one
another because raising families, paying mortgages, and things like that
occupied much or our time, but it was agreed, we always managed to find
time to fish through those years.

In our conversation, Bob started rattling off all
the places in Ontario, Canada he traveled to catch walleye. “Walleyes
like that” as he stretched out his hands showing me how big, and his
eyes almost popped out of his head with his expressions. You would swear
he just caught it at that moment while talking about them. Bobcaygeon
Ontario, a small community located on the Trent-Severn waterways in
Ontario Canada, was at the top of his list. Then his memory exploded and
started rattling off the names of the guys he traveled with. Names like,
Obie Brown, John Smeal, Fire Chief Ted Forrester, among others. The
others I couldn’t remember fast enough. All these names were fellow
Niagara Falls firefighters of which Bob Rougeaux has retired from.

Eventually, Bob graduated into the salmon fishing
scene on Lake Ontario for a while, but walleye and some bass fishing
sticks in his heart today, right along with his stick and string and
Wonder Bread.

I went over to Bob’s house hoping to get a picture
of him holding a fish up or fishing or something for this story, and he
said,  “don’t have any, I never had one, in those days we weren’t into
picture taking.” This reminds me to tell my readers, “don’t go fishing
without a camera!” You will wish you had.

My short story turned into a long one here, but
what I am trying to convey, is I agree with cell phones, iPads,
notebooks more organized sports than we ever had, and whatever, but in
this new day and age, I also strongly feel there are things in life that
many of these children are missing out on today, and that is
experiencing the outdoors and the lifelong memories. There is so much to
do, not just fishing or hunting, there is a world full of adventure out
there for them, and along with those adventures are memories that will
last until the day they pass. As Bob and I say, as long as we can still
stand up and take nourishment, our memories will continue to carry us
through a lifetime of participating in the great outdoors.

My message is to always take a kid fishing, but how
about the elderly people that would enjoy it too. Some of them have no
transportation, or even fishing equipment, and would give you their
right arm to have an opportunity to wet a line once more in their life.
Kids and elders both like to feel included, catching a fish can be
secondary, just being out there is the great reward.

Your comments and suggestions are welcomed, use
your electronic gadget and email me at:
[email protected]  or
[email protected] .
If you want some fishing hints and updates locally, go to
www.OutdoorsNiagara.com

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Outdoors in
Niagara
Mark Daul

A New
Fisherman Joining Our Ranks!

When
I was coming home from the coffee shop after chatting with the guys and
listening to some fishing stories the other day, one of my neighbors,
Dan Argona, was in his driveway fiddling around with his boat. I
stopped, and asked him how the fishing was treating him lately. He
couldn’t complain he said, it was a little bit slow, and we both agreed,
probably because of the high temps we are experiencing, might be what is
making the bass sluggish and not too hungry. “But I’m still catching
fish” he said, and the little moss that was there didn’t seem to matter.
Dan got a new Crestliner boat last year that is worthy of the Lake
Ontario chops and his boat never sits too long. He has it all equipped
for Spring trout and salmon fishing, and now that the bass season is
here, Dan has been trying his luck with Bass in the river and the mouth
of the river, and on the bar in the lake. He often takes his brother or
another friend out fishing, and privately, I regard him as the newest
Lake/River Guide because he has been so successful in such a short time.

In our little chat, he said to me how he enjoys my
articles in the weekly Sentinel, and likes how at the end of my articles
when I always suggest to whomever is reading it, to “Take a Kid
Fishing.” Well, he did, and the experience was more than words can
express. Dan took his son, Phil, Phil’s friend, Justin Tomaszewski and
Justin’s son Tyler, six years old fishing one day. Little Tyler had
never fished before, and for his first time ever fishing, and from a
boat. The quartet fished around for a while, and when the first fish
hit, Tyler had the honor of reeling in the first of the day, with the
help of his dad. The next bass caught was a muscular 3 pound smallmouth
bass, and Tyler was handed the rod & reel to wrestle this scrappy finned
critter, and shortly after hooking it, the 6 year old said, “dad, you
have to help me!” It was a tough one for a youngster at that age.

The third and biggest fish of the day happened to
be the fish you see in the picture. It is a good sized sheephead,
[freshwater drum] and considered by some to be the world’s most useless
fish. Not true. They were put in our waters by our creator, and he knew
what he was doing. When fishing is slow, slow, you can always count on a
sheephead swimming by, and giving you a thrill at the end of your line,
not knowing what it is until you fight it up to the side of the boat.
Bring it in the boat and usually it will croak similar to a frog, and I
have seen grown men stand back from one, wondering what the heck that
noise is, shy about getting too close.  Not to get too technical, the
noise is believed to be made from the fish’s earbone, called an “otolith.”
People think these fish are not good eating, well, they don’t taste like
a bass or walleye, but if you put them on ice immediately, clean them
like any other fish, and being an oily fish, they are actually good
smoked. The way I have had them after being smoked, is chopped up like
you would a tuna salad, with the same ingredients, and spread on
crackers. After you try one, you will want to keep one once in a while
for a tasty snack on your next fishing trip. Carp can be done the same
way. I know what some of you guys are thinking; you want to ask “how do
I get them lit to be able to smoke ‘em?” Ha, old joke.

Let’s get back to Tyler, the newest fisherman
joining our ranks. Dan said, “Tyler had his hands full and gave it all
he’s got” when tackling the surprised sheephead, and it turned out this
youngster wasn’t about to give up. After this “croaker” got in the boat,
Tyler was exhausted and said, “I think someone has to get the next
fish.”

Dan said, “I had more fun watching him and seeing
his excitement! Priceless, is the correct phrase! I think we have a new
fisherman on board.” The newest fishing Guide, Dan Argona, added, “this
will be a day Tyler will never forget” then after thinking, he added,
“it’s a day I’ll never forget!”

There ya go! Go to it. Find a kid then take them
fishing, and it doesn’t always necessarily, need to be a boy, girls love
to fish too. Believe me. Always remember to bring a camera!

 Comments and suggestions,
email me at [email protected]  or contact the Sentinel at
[email protected].

As a footnote; those “otoliths,” also known as earstones, work on
a fish much like our own ears, helping us keep our balance and navigate.
All freshwater fish have them. In the early days, this small, hard
oval-like material was crafted into prized lucky charms, and worn around
the neck.

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Outdoors in
Niagara
Mark Daul
Picture is of Danny and son Jesse

Bass Fishing – A Niagara River
Adventure – Coast Guard Encounter

Last Saturday my grandson Jesse, son Danny, and I
went on a little fishing excursion for bass on the Lower Niagara. It was
a bright, no wind, and event filled day as it seemed the fish wanted to
show off. Danny latched onto the first fish, and it was a monster.
Apparently, he was fishing with a dull hook because he got it to the
edge of the boat and the fish winked at him, jiggled his head, spit the
hook, and swam away. He must have told the others to watch out for
plastic motor oil colored tube jigs and to don’t be fooled, stay away
from those things. After that, the little ones that didn’t listen would
come around once in a while and bite one.  They were put back in the
water while we waited, for the big boys. Forty minutes later the bigger
guys moved in and we invited some for dinner. Six of them came.

I’m sure you have all heard of the stories about
the guy in the front of the boat gets all the fish while the guy in the
back struggles. Well, I was the guy in the back. The guy in the middle
was my grandson, Jesse, and he struggled with me. It was the guy in the
bow with the hot hand. If we turned the boat around, putting the front
where the back was, it was the same, the guy in the bow was nailing
them. I just can’t figure that out. Jesse did well, as he enjoyed the
ride, while listening to his father’s advice on how to jig his rod, and
how to concentrate. It didn’t matter, same bait, same place, same
results for him, nada.

While we were fishing, we saw the Coast Guard
checking boats, and eventually they came around to us, pulling up
alongside of our “vessel,” we were greeted with, “how’s the fishing?”
After that introduction, they asked, “when was the last time your boat
was boarded?” [for inspection] Captain Danny of our vessel, told him
“about two weeks ago.” They wanted to know if we had the paper showing
it was boarded. Our Captain showed it, the young Guardsman passed it to
his commanding officer, or coxswain, who inspected it with a magnifying
glass, handed it back and thanked us. Then all they wanted to see was
three life preservers, after that we chatted. Part of that conversation
was about why the Canadian law enforcement officials are pulling
American boats over that wander into their waters. They said our U.S.
State Department has been working on it, trying to resolve this issue in
someway, but the Canadian officials have not responded. We questioned
about not landing, and just passing through. They told us if you wander
over there, don’t shut off your engine to drift or anything like that,
just to keep your motor running. Never thought to ask about sailboats
moving with their sails only. When the Coastguardsmen were getting ready
to part, they said “please start your engine so we can hear it.”  By
that gesture they wanted to make sure they weren’t driving away leaving
us stranded, I suppose.

We continued to fish along the shore just north of
Joseph Davis Park near the pipeline that comes from CWM, which is a good
hotspot, and is frequented by smallmouth bass. For naysayers, the
pipeline has no water flow now and when it does, it’s like one day, once
a year. I remember when that pipeline was going in, a CWM official
saying that water coming out of there was so pure, he offered to drink a
glass of it for his audience. He’s not with us anymore, and I often
wondered if he ever did take a sip.

After we caught all the fish in that location we
decided to take a trip to the Coast Guard drift, and try our hand there.
As we traveled north, we spotted two boats together near the middle of
the river, and we thought they were partying. As we got closer, we saw a
large black pontoon boat with small blue lights flashing and a tiny,
what looked like, a 4×6 maple leaf flag on a stick, waving off the
stern. Yup, some American citizen, a dad, with is wife and young son
about 8 yrs. old were pulled over, and being questioned/harassed by the
Canadian authorities. Maybe dad took them out and they were fishing on
New York’s Free Fishing Days weekend? [June 23-24] We were wondering how
many others have been pulled over today and ticketed or fined. Sometimes
I wonder if all this continued enforcement is in the name of Canadian
Homeland Security or if it’s just another money grab, trying to balance
the budget. I’ll bet it’s the latter. For you that don’t have a clue
where the international border line is, get a map or Google it. One
example, where the Youngstown sailboats are moored, there is a thin
strip of water between them and the border. Look it up.

Anyway, as we approached Youngstown, the water had
whitecaps on it and it was too rough for our boat with the wind blowing
from the west, so we headed into the ramp.  We only kept one limit and
took it home, cleaned them, and had a fresh smallmouth bass dinner with
some leftover macaroni salad my wife made the day before. Well, she
called it macaroni salad, but it had everything in it but the kitchen
sink, and that included tuna fish, and Green Giant peas. Umm, no more
leftovers.

One last thing, Our U.S. Guardsmen don’t hassle
Canadians or others, only if landing on U.S. soil, then it is handled by
the U.S. Border Patrol. I would really like to compliment our Niagara
Station United States Coast Guard for being so courteous and efficient,
in doing the job they were sent out to do. When they come up to you,
greet them as they will surely greet you, but have all your safety
things ready and up to date and you’ll be on your way in a flash. Also,
I live by the lake, and I frequently see those young men out there in
any weather, any time, searching for, or saving lives, risking their
own. Good to have you around! Thank You.

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Outdoors in
Niagara
Mark Daul
Picture is of  Steve Drabczyk tossing feed
pellets to baby fish

IS IT A STEELHEAD OR A RAINBOW
TROUT?- Niagara River Anglers Pen
Rearing

OK,
you heard it here. What is a steelhead trout and a rainbow trout? Around
here in our watershed, you could say they are the same, and people like
to call them all “steelhead” it just sounds better maybe. Genetically
they are both the same.  A rainbow trout is a trout that spent its
entire lifetime in freshwater and a steelhead is a fish that grew up in
saltwater such as the Pacific Ocean, and come back to streams to spawn.
Now I’m going to confuse you. All steelhead are rainbow trout, not all
rainbow trout are steelhead. Steelhead is the name given to rainbows
that migrate to the ocean, [Pacific, in particular] grow, and come back
to the streams to spawn. Got that? Confused? Really, who cares at this
point but to simplify, if the fish did not have access to the Pacific it
would be called a Rainbow trout. Who cares anyway?  Ask ten different
fishermen and you will get ten different answers. They look the same,
catch the same, cook the same, and are fantastic on the palette, baked,
smoked, fried, on the grille or even canned. Fresh run trout are a
gorgeous looking fish, and I feel only a brook trout could surpass it
for being the best looking freshwater fish in the universe.

The Niagara River Anglers Association, in
cooperation with the NY DEC on Thursday April 12, stocked 10,000
fingerling [baby] steelhead in their rearing pen that is located in
Youngstown at the Youngstown visitor’s overnight boat slip. A fingerling
is about as long as your finger. A mans finger that is, and ladies, you
won’t qualify. If you want to see this operation, take a ride down Water
Street and just before you get to the bottom of the hill, make a sharp
right. Go down that short road to the end and the project is right
there. Drive very slowly down that road as workers are putting boats in
their moorings for the season. Don’t go in the fenced area to the pens.

The Anglers is one of the pioneers in pen rearing
trout and salmon in New York State. There are a total of seven projects
dotted all across Lake Ontario from Rochester to the Niagara River and
all managed by volunteers from fishing clubs. Plus, there are a group of
guys in Wilson NY that is headed up by Captain Mike Lis, Wilson
Councilmember Brad Clark and a handful of dedicated volunteers.  They
manage a highly successful project as does the dedicated members of the
Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association [LOTSA] who have been doing
this for several years also.

The reason for volunteers to work so hard and give
of their time in rearing projects is to maintain a fishery for their
sport, and down the line, hopefully, many of these fish will spawn
naturally creating an even better fishery for future generations.

The reason for pen rearing is that these fish,
[salmon too] get imprinted to the waters where they were raised as
babies other than the fish hatchery, grow into what they call “smolts”
[a little more grown up] then they move out to the big waters of the
lake, grow, and return to the waters they came from to reproduce and
complete their life cycle. Scientists call that “homing” Each stream has
a unique chemical composition, a distinctive odor, and somehow they
return home with the help of their maker in the sky.  Anyway, that’s all
you need to know for now about imprinting and “smolts.”

I visited the NRAA pen project this week with its
project volunteer chairman Captain Steve Drabczyk from Lewiston, and his
right hand man, Ed Garcia. Drabczyk told me it will be about another
approximately 2 more weeks before these fish will be released. They have
already grown about two inches since being put in the pen Drabczyk said.
These pen projects are a very intensive project that requires planning,
preparation of pens before the baby fish arrive, and then after they
arrive they need to be fed five times a day, every day, starting at 7:00
am, every three hours by an army of feeding volunteers. The feeding
schedule needs to be strictly followed. They are fed prepared fish
pellets like they get in the hatchery, and that trains these little guys
to feed on their own so when they reach the wide open waters, instinct
takes over and off they go fending for themselves. Feed is measured out
ahead of time so as they grow, and requiring more feed, they get the
proper amounts that are pre-planned by DEC biologists. If you would like
to help in any of these projects, these volunteers would love to add
even more volunteers. Email me and I can put you in contact with any of
these fish masters.

The Anglers pens, in a couple of weeks or days,
will see an additional inoculation of Chinook [commonly known as a King]
salmon in their other side-by-side pen. These babies will be fed,
imprinted, and released in the same way as the steelhead [Steelies] are,
and then released in about 3 weeks to go on their merry journey, all in
tip-top shape and all imprinted. The average, freshwater raised,
lifespan of a Chinook salmon is 3 to 4 years, and most common size
caught in New York State is between 15 and 35 pounds; however the NYS
record King was weighed in at an astounding 47 pounds, 13 ounces, in the
Fall of 1991.

“So what, if you have caught a
Rainbow trout, it may also be a steelhead.”

Smolt about to be released >

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Outdoors in Niagara
Mark Daul

Eating Crow…….really

Sometime
ago, I wrote this story about crows. My story routine is, I hand it to
my wife for story content, and to make sure all the T’s are crossed and
the I’s are dotted. When she finished reading it, I said, “well?” she
crinkled her nose, and said she didn’t think the story was interesting
enough. A couple of weeks later I was sitting with a couple of guys
shooting the breeze, and a crow conversation started. I told them about
this story I wrote, and they were all ears when I told them about it.
When I went home, and after thinking about it, I dug the story up out of
my computer, and I thought if these guys thought crows were interesting,
then others should be too. So, here it is:

Crows always fascinated me since I was a young kid.
The neighbor down the street had a pet crow called “Ansy” and a pet
rabbit. They both were well taken care of, but it was Ansy that always
had my attention. I swear that crow knew me when I would come around to
the back of the house. It would get excited when he or she would see me,
and my dog, Pete. It would start talking and saying things like
“hellooo” or “hie” for hi. Or sometimes it would “chirp” fluctuating
between high tones and low tones, probably mimicking other backyard
birds. It also seemed like it would ask me, “what time is it?” I never
knew if it was a he or she, but it was a cool bird. At that time, my
mother had parakeets, and they had a much larger vocabulary than this
crow, but it was the crow that had my attention. Ansy had a great big
homemade cage that was fastened to the porch railing. It didn’t fly
because its wings were clipped so it couldn’t, but it sure could get
around with short flights and hops. It would flutter down off the porch
railing, hop over to me, follow me around, and be my friend. It liked
Pete, and Pete was pretty proud that Ansy would allow him to give
him/her a ride. Pete was a medium sized mongrel, kind and gentle.
Sometimes they would just stare at each other and Ansy would repeatedly
say hie. I knew where the food was kept, and Ansy knew that I knew. It
would stand tall, look at me, spread its wings out, make talking noises,
and let me feed it and pet it. I felt we bonded whenever I visited, and
it sure liked my peanuts when I brought them, but dry dog or cat food
was a regular diet feed for this birdie. [And the rabbit too.] I am sure
when it squawked and cawed, it was telling me something, and sometimes I
guess I would make up in my mind what it was saying, and I would talk
back.  When our visit was over, I would apologize and tell him he had to
go back in its cage, and understanding me, I would guide him back to it,
and he would gladly hop right back in.

The story about how Ansy became a pet, was that the
neighbor found this crow when it was very young on the ground apparently
falling out of its nest, but no nest was visible, and suffering some
kind of trauma. He comforted it, nursed it, and they became friends.
However, it is not recommended to rescue any wildlife because sometimes
they are better off being left alone, and, rescuing Ansy was back in the
“old days” maybe before laws were made to prevent illegal possession of
wild creatures.  The belief, at the time, was Ansy would be able to talk
better if his tongue was split, but that seemed to be cruel and mean, so
my neighbor never did that. Ansy eventually talked anyway.

During the fall and winter, just before dark, a
couple of my friends and I would venture out to the Niagara Falls Golf
course [Hyde Park] at the very end of North Avenue. Across the green
there was a woods where the creek would flow through, and at night the
crows would gather in huge flocks, probably in the thousands, way up in
the trees where they would make all kinds of noise cawing among one
another, just socializing.  We would make crow noises back at them and
all of a sudden all those crows would turn silent for a few moments then
start socializing all over again. We thought that was fun. It is said
crows are the most intelligent birds in all of North America and I am a
believer. A flock of crows is called a “murder” of crows to be precise,
and that has a good story too. Folklore has it that crows will gather
and decide the death of another crow, and the other thought is, that
they would circle in large numbers where other animals or people were
expected to die.

Crows are very sociable, often when you see them in
groups, they are families. Crow, are seen all over North America and
around here you will see them in corn fields, golf courses and other
places, including your backyard, and you often see them on the road
feeding on a dead mouse or other kind of carrion, but they will eat just
about anything. On the roads you might see one or two feeding on
carrion, and maybe three, four or more, sitting up on the power lines
looking down waiting for their turn, more than likely, they could be
siblings.

They say wild crows don’t collect shiny objects
but, Ansy would collect mostly bottle caps, and it would especially like
Christmas tree tinsel it would find in the gravel driveway. Back then
most Christmas tinsel was made of fine shiny metal strips like lead.
Ravens are the birds that love to collect. They’ll find things from
anyplace and hide them somewhere. Ravens and crows are identical in
color and shape, but the raven is about 1/3 larger in size than its
counterpart.

Hunting Crows in New York State is legal, and a
hunting license is required. It is legal from September 1 to March 31
and only from Friday thru Monday from sunrise to sunset between those
dates. Besides shotgun, rifles are permitted on hunts. Although the PETA
people are against killing crows or anything else that has “meat,” crow
hunting is considered a great sport and a necessary one for controlling
these sometimes huge flocks that can become destructive, and a vehicle
to support various diseases such as the West Nile Virus.  Hunters call
crows with mechanical hand callers or with electronic bird callers, and
are quite successful. Even predator callers are successful into making
the crows think a predator just made a kill, and now there is something
for all to eat. Calling crows can be fun and a great adventure for
youngsters, and spring will be here shortly so that is the time to get
out, look around you and see what Mother Nature brings you. It’s also
time to get to your sporting goods store, and take a look at the crow
decoys and calling aids that are available, and even learn your own hand
calling techniques. Don’t forget to take the young‘uns. Discover the
outdoors!

So, the crux of my story is, yes, I ate crow once,
have you? Delectable. /Comments to this story: email
[email protected]

More articles on our archived
page HERE

Outdoors in
Niagara
Mark Daul
Picture below submitted by Joe DiMino, Lewiston,
taken with his trailcam

Residents
Report More Bobcat Sightings …… Maybe Canada
Lynx?

From the
time I wrote the bobcat article until now, a lot of people have come up
to me and said “gee, I think I’ve seen one of those things too.” I
agree, they are so fast, it is hard to believe your eyes if you do see
one.

Needless to say, I feel a lot better after writing in the Sentinel about
bobcats in the Niagara area. Now I know I’m not alone about what I saw.
My friend, Mike Gillis, should rest easier too, knowing that our
sightings collaborated our stories with what we saw were bobcats.

The
emails and replies were fantastic as you can see, as you read down
further.

Someone
asked about the Canada Lynx being mistaken for a bobcat. Yes, they
could, but highly unlikely to be found around here. They are similar in
appearance, same food habits, same delights for dinner, and habitat the
same, and they even have the short tails and the pointed ears with the
black fluff at the tip. They are a little larger in size, but extremely
rare in New York State. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service [USFWS] has
them on the endangered species list all across the
contiguous
United States, since early
2000. They are more docile than the bobcat, and habitat destruction, and
competition with the more aggressive bobcat as the reason given for
being on the endangered list. Obviously, bobcats are more adaptable to
their surroundings.

George
Green, a Lewiston resident who lives on Mt. Hope Road, between
Garlow and Walmore roads, sighted one in his back yard, and his wife,
and daughter are witnesses. George said he has deer and other wild
creatures visit his backyard, and the night of his sighting, he went out
on his back porch with his night vision scope to see what he could see,
and he saw an animal on the hill in the back. George said he looked at
it and thought, “What the hell, looks like a bobcat!” He called his wife
to take a look and asked her what she thought it was. “As she was
looking through the scope, I stepped out on the porch that turned on the
motion light, and it lit up the area, and sure enough it had the
brownish color and lighter colored belly, little tail and pointy ears.”
George said, “the light went out and we waved to turn it back on, but
the animal had gone on the other side of the hill, and all we could see
were eyes and ears.” George’s mother lives next door, and has chickens,
and she had noticed some have been missing lately. She said some roost
in a small tree, and some roost in the barn where the door is always
open. Aha, just what these critters eat for their midnight snacks!
Chicken! I’ll bet that barn door will be closed from now on.

Joe Kilmer
emailed me and said he saw the bobcat article in the Sentinel, and it
jogged his mind about his story.  In mid October, Joe and his wife
Marie, went out one evening around 10:00 o’clock on their way to
Bandanas for a bite to eat.  They left Youngstown via Main Street, to
Jackson Street, as they approached the curve to Old Lake Road, he
started to accelerate and saw eyes glowing in the road way.  The object
was low to the ground, no tail, stubby face and pointy ears, it happened
so fast.  It was heading into the Fort, and he said, “I could not
believe what I thought I saw or did not see.” First, he thought it was
it a fox, and turned around as fast as he could while explaining to
Marie what he thought he saw. Joe said he pointed the car into the road
to the Fort with his headlights shining, and saw nothing, it was gone
that fast. Joe said, “I might have doubted what I thought I saw until
today after reading your article. I have also doubted my wife’s and
father-in-law’s sighting less than a year ago in the back field behind
his house on Dickersonville Road, south of Langdon Road.” 

Joe DiMino,
from Lewiston, and I talked, and he reported recording bobcats three
different times on his trail cam, at his hunting cabin down near
Wellsville NY.  He said the first one he saw was recorded on his
Trail-Cam in August just this past summer, and another in October, then
the third in November. Also in November, while he was bow hunting, about
25 yards away, one ran across his path. He said it went so fast he
couldn’t get his camera out of his fanny pack quick enough, but he knew
right away what it was.

Jim White emailed me
and said one crossed right in front of him on Upper Mountain Road a
while back, and there is no mistaking it was a bobcat. White also said
there were reports of a Black Panther in the area, but that is highly
unlikely here in NYS according to the NYS DEC: “No cougar [AKA panther,
puma, cougar] sightings documented in New York State.”

Thanks to everyone
that responded to the bobcat story, it was very interesting for sure,
and it was fun doing it.

Lewistonian, Jerry
Farrell, and I, attended a Niagara Pioneers Sportsman’s Club meeting
recently, and he gave the members a quick synopsis of his purple martin,
and other bird tagging activities over the past 25 years at the 3-F Club
on Swann Road.  I made notes, and took in as much as I could, and asked
Jerry if I could contact him if I have anymore questions regarding his
purple martin tagging efforts for a future Sentinel article. Being the
sportsman, and the only federally licensed bird bander in the area, he
agreed wholeheartedly. Watch the Sentinel for a purple martin tracking
story reported by a nationally, and internationally known local bird
expert.

Fishing updates can
be found on

www.OutdoorsNiagara.com and if you would like to add your thoughts
or would like to read others thoughts on the local fishing scene, follow
the link to the Outdoor Forum. On the website you will find an archive
of Sentinel Outdoor Stories. If you have something you would like to add
here please email me at

[email protected] 

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