{"id":303,"date":"2021-08-25T12:21:02","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T12:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outdoorsniagara.com\/?p=303"},"modified":"2021-09-02T18:54:14","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T18:54:14","slug":"sentinel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outdoorsniagara.com\/sentinel\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake Wolf-dog Story and Fake Big Deer Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n


\n
\nSTORIES ABOUT THE OUTDOORS IN NIAGARA AS SEEN IN WNY PAPERS
\n<\/span><\/span><\/a>Sentinel<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/b>Sports
\nSection!<\/span><\/p>\n


\n
\n<\/span><\/span> <![if !vml]>\"Sentinel\"<![endif]>
\n<\/span><\/b>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/a>Lewiston-Porter
\n<\/span><\/span><\/b>
\nwww.wnypapers.com<\/a>
\n“Your need-to-read newspaper” A local paper enjoyed by thousands<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


\nSENTINEL “OUTDOORS IN NIAGARA” ARTICLES <\/b><\/span>by Mark Daul
\n– Outdoors Advocate<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\nMore articles on our archived page HERE<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\n


\nA
\nNote from Mark Daul<\/i>:<\/b> The Lewiston-Porter Sentinel is a free weekly paper
\n[Saturdays] under the umbrella of Niagara Frontier Publications [NFP] and
\ndistributed to homes and businesses from throughout the area and touts itself as
\n“WNY’s best local coverage”.\u00a0 The LP Sentinel is one of three local papers
\nunder this umbrella and the others are the Grand Island Dispatch and the
\nNiagara-Wheatfield Tribune.<\/span><\/p>\n

Periodically I write Outdoor articles for the
\nSentinel and they are here for those that would like to read them if you don’t
\nget this publication. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy writing them.
\nThere will be more articles submitted to the Sentinel and as they are printed
\nthey will be put here so be sure to check back about every other week. Make sure you read the stories about E10
\ngasoline!……………… ENJOY!<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bass Fishing using Tube Jigs<\/a><\/td>\nOsprey
\nliving among us<\/a><\/td>\n		Baby Deer Kill<\/a><\/td>\nPossum or
\nOpossum?<\/a><\/td>\n		<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sea Lamprey<\/a><\/td>\nCoyotes
\nin Niagara<\/a><\/td>\n
\nMore Bobcat sightings? <\/a><\/td>\n		Before iPads,
\nFacebook, fishing filled our time<\/a><\/td>\n
\nEating Crow….Really<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A New
\nFisherman Joining Ranks!<\/a><\/td>\n		Grand Island
\nFishing Opportunity<\/a><\/td>\n		Beavers in Niagara?<\/a><\/td>\nBobcats
\nin Niagara<\/a><\/td>\n		Niagara River Anglers Pen Rearing<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bond Lake – Niagara County<\/a><\/td>\n‘A tidy boat is a happy boat’<\/a><\/td>\nFishing & Coast Guard Encounter<\/a><\/td>\nSquirrels Fascinate
\nPeople<\/a><\/td>\n		Alpacas in
\nNiagara County<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fishing with Don
\nSupon<\/a><\/td>\n		Water Witches –
\nDowsing<\/a><\/td>\n		Why Fish Hatcheries?<\/td>\nFish Stocking-see how and why<\/a><\/td>\nThree Men in a Boat Saved <\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n


\nMore articles on our archived
\npage HERE<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n\n\n\n
\n

Summer
\n<\/a>Bass Fishing using Tube Jigs
\nfor bait<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Bass.
\nYou can catch them from shore, you can catch them by boat, catch
\nthem on live bait, catch them on artificial bait, you can troll for
\nthem, or stillfish for them, and it makes no difference. This
\nsummer, in Western New York, we have enjoyed some of the best
\nsmallmouth bass fishing available anywhere, and we can expect it to
\ncontinue right into Fall. Bass season closes on November 30th. I am
\ntalking about smallmouth bass here, and we also have largemouth bass
\nbut the \u201csmallies\u201d are most sought after by our local population of
\nfishermen. Yes, largemouth are just as tasty, and just as much fun
\nto catch. Wilson Harbor gave up a 6 \u00bd pound largemouth specimen last
\nyear.<\/p>\n

The guys that are able to fish out of the
\nBuffalo harbor on Lake Erie have been taking limits of huge
\nsmallmouth from the opening day, [3rd<\/sup>. Saturday in June]
\nall summer, fishing the reefs. They use everything but the kitchen
\nsink to latch on to those fighting warriors of the deep.\u00a0 Live bait,
\ndead bait, no bait, it didn\u2019t make any difference. The challenge was
\nto catch a daily legal limit of five, which in most cases would
\nrange from three pounds and up, and that would be considered big
\nsmallmouth bass!<\/p>\n

I know I will be criticized by some, but of all
\nthe freshwater fish, I hold bass as second to none, from fishing
\naction, right up to the frying pan and on my plate.<\/p>\n

Those that fish closer to home, Upper Niagara,
\nLower Niagara, and the bar at Fort Niagara out to the green buoy can
\nbrag that there aren\u2019t many days when you can\u2019t get on the water and
\nbring home a limit. Even those trolling with hard baits along the
\nLake Ontario shoreline extending from the Niagara River as far as
\nWilson are having good results.<\/p>\n

I asked a die hard salmon\/trout fisherman that
\nwas having a lull in salmon\/trout, and had just recently turned his
\nefforts to bass fishing using lighter lines and smaller bait, which
\nfish was more fun to catch, a bass or a salmon on heavy line and off
\na downrigger? The answer was bass fishing off much lighter line.
\nWhen you latch on to a bass, you never know what it is going to do.
\nIt will dive and dig deep, or all of a sudden change course, making
\nyou think he got away, all the while swimming to the surface, and
\nthen all of a sudden, 15-20 feet away, he\u2019ll burst out of the water
\nall the while you are rushing to reel in the slack line so he
\ndoesn\u2019t get away. Sometimes, when you least expect it, the lure will
\ncome loose from the fish when he is jumping, and you pulling, \u00a0the
\nlure will come flying back to you like it was on a rubber band. You
\nhad better duck!<\/p>\n

My summer fishing has been fun with the bass
\ncooperating anytime I got out with my son and grandson. I got my
\nears pinned back thinking I was going to use live bait and have an
\nadvantage on them because they were using artificial soft plastic
\nbaits called \u2018tube-jigs.\u2019 Truthfully, I have always been a live bait
\nman, and always believed in it, seldom using artificial. I\u2019ve always
\nliked the feel of a fish grabbing on my bait presentation, and me
\nsetting the hook at the right time. This time out, I said to myself,
\n\u201cWhen in Rome, do what the Romans do, and use artificial bait just
\nlike they do.\u201d I learned that the last time out when I got skunked
\nusing live bait, and they caught all the fish. I always have live
\nbait with me just in case for back-up though. So this time we went
\nout, the first thing I picked up was a tube-jig, an artificial
\nhollow soft plastic bait around 4 inches long with little wiggly
\ntails molded at the business end, just like they were using.<\/p>\n

In the photo you see here, the top tube-jig
\nskirt is a 3 inch crawdad color skirt with a \u00bc ounce jig head above
\nit. Bottom is a 4 inch Junebug color tube-jig skirt, with a 3\/8
\nounce jig head above it. Notice the 60 degree bend at the eye end of
\nthe hook. Hooks are size 4\/0. Both have metal flakes and salt and
\ngarlic imbedded in the skirts.<\/p>\n

The crawfish color bait was hot that day, but after experimenting
\nwith different colors by grandson Jesse, it seemed any color would
\nwork with him testing different ones. We started the day out going
\nto the Johnson Drift, a slow drift along shore just north of the
\nPeggy\u2019s Eddy drift which is just North of Joseph Davis State Park.
\nAfter Captain Dan, got the boat positioned and moving in 17-20 feet
\nof water, the first cry out was \u201cI GOT ONE\u201d and that was by the
\ncaptain of our ship, Dan. I\u2019m glad I taught him so well when he was
\nyoung on how to fish. Ha! He has surpassed me, and anything I could
\never teach him in his younger days. He is now teaching his new
\nmethods to me and anyone else that fishes with him. Back then we
\nnever had baits like tube jigs that we are using today.<\/p>\n

16 year old Jesse got an itch, and was nagging
\nto go out to the bar in front of Fort Niagara to fish there. He
\nwanted to catch bigger bass. After about an hour of putting him off,
\nand we had nearly a boat limit, [limit is five per person] off we
\nwent, out to the bar. Once again, the captain maneuvered the boat
\naround to get the right drift, and within minutes the first fish was
\nlanded. I don\u2019t want to name the person that got the biggest
\nsmallmouth bass of the day, but if you look at the top of this
\nstory, and look at the authors\u2019 name, you\u2019ll know. Yes, it was
\ncaught at the bar just like Jesse figured; that\u2019s where the big ones
\nwere.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need an engineer\u2019s degree to fish
\nwith tube-jig bait. It isn\u2019t difficult, just use a simple method. \u00a0I
\nuse a 6 \u00bd foot, fast action tip Fenwick graphite rod, with 6 pound
\ntest monofilament line on my spinning reel. Kind of a light outfit
\nfor most people, but I think that is where the thrill is, and using
\nlight equipment increases the thrill. Try catching a 3 pound jumping
\nbass on that outfit and you have your hands full. Of course if I was
\njust fishing for food, I wouldn\u2019t be fooling around with that light
\nequipment. Our captain is outfitted with a 7 \u00bd foot bass rod and
\nbass casting reel with the new thinner but heavier pound test
\nFluorocarbon line. That has to be the new modern way to fish I
\nguess.<\/p>\n

If fishing one of these tube jigs for bass or
\neven walleye, you should make sure you are fishing bottom, letting
\nenough line out to be sure. Even shore fishermen use this method by
\ncasting out, make sure you are on bottom, then reel in slowly, all
\nthe while doing what the name implies, jig it. Boat fishermen, need
\nto do the same. While drifting, reel in slowly, jig the lure or
\ntwitch it just enough to make that bass think the \u2018thing\u2019 is alive
\ndown there, all the while cranking in the line slowly. Those little
\ntails on the business end will flutter, and that would excite any
\nfish into biting, making it think it heard the ding! ding! of the
\ndinner bell. When you buy the tubes make sure they are scented,
\ndon\u2019t buy them if they are not. I had one that was used for so long,
\nmy fishing went dead until I gave it a lick and discovered the taste
\nand scent was gone. Changed the tube and within 5 minutes I was
\nhollering \u201cGOT ONE!\u201d Everything was caught using tube-jigs that day.<\/p>\n

We all know some days, fish just don\u2019t
\ncooperate, and that is when you need to change methods and bait, but
\nfor now, learn how to fish with those tube jigs!<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/a>Osprey
\nliving among us<\/span><\/b>There is a magnificent
\nbird of prey that lives
\namong us, one that’s
\nrarely identified by
\nanyone who truly knows
\nwhat it is. Last June, I
\nreceived an email from
\nJohn Eddy, an
\noutdoorsman friend of
\nmine who sent me a link
\nto a video showing an
\nosprey “fishing” for its
\nnext meal.It is truly a
\nfascinating video if you
\nhave never seen it
\nbefore. You’ll see this
\nbird in flight, locate
\nits dinner underwater,
\nput its feet forward
\nwith its talons spread
\naimed at the prey, and
\nthen drop its head like
\na diver does as it hits
\nthe water. It then grabs
\nthe fish under water and
\nflies away. Another part
\nshows it grabbing what
\nlooked like a 5-6 pound
\nrainbow trout. I must
\nhave watched this video
\nprobably six times in a
\nrow in complete
\namazement.Visit the
\n
\nwww.Arkive.org<\/a>
\nwebsite and find out
\nmore about this highly
\nskilled bird of prey.
\nThere are many osprey
\nvideos to view, such as
\none showing a great
\nAmerican Eagle attacking
\nan osprey’s young chicks
\nbeing fed by its mom,
\nand so much more. Visit
\n
\nwww.arkive.org\/osprey\/pandion-haliaetus\/video-00.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I received an
\ninteresting email from
\nPorter resident Skip
\nWalton shortly after I
\nwrote the deer and
\nvulture story. He told
\nof spotting an osprey at
\nthe north end of
\nDickersonville Road
\nsitting on top of a
\ntelephone pole with a
\nlarge fish in its
\ntalons. Walton
\ncommented, “I know the
\nosprey well having lived
\nin central Virginia for
\n15 years, and see them
\nquite often on some
\nwater close to where we
\nhave a house. Just
\ncurious to know if
\nanyone else has reported
\nseeing an osprey in that
\narea? I have seen them
\non the Niagara near
\nLewiston, but not that
\nfar out, and inland one
\nhalf to 1 mile from the
\nlake.”<\/p>\n

I assured Skip I
\nwould let him know if
\nanyone else around here
\nhas spotted any.<\/p>\n

Lo and behold, I
\nreceived an email from a
\n“mystery woman,” a
\nresident of Youngstown
\nwho was reluctant to
\nhave her name used. She
\nsaid she is “an amateur
\nnaturalist and has been
\nfor some years.” I
\nbelieve her because her
\nemail was quite lengthy,
\ndescribing the many
\ndifferent creatures of
\nGod that roam our
\nbackyards and woods day
\nor night. I’ll refer to
\nthem in future stories,
\nbut right now let’s
\ncenter on osprey.<\/p>\n

In her email relating
\nto this great bird, she
\nstarts by noting she is
\na “long standing member
\nof the Georgian Bay
\nOsprey Society, having
\noriginally been roped
\ninto it by a childhood
\nbuddy who was one of the
\nfounders. I’ve also
\nwatched osprey
\nextensively in Florida,
\nand once even seen a
\nnest from which a large
\nmetal fisherman’s net
\nwas hanging. She must
\nhave stolen the net and
\nits fish!” the woman
\nwrote.<\/p>\n

I asked her about the
\nosprey spotted on
\nDickersonville Road by
\nScott Walton. She
\nresponded, “I can tell
\nyou that osprey are
\nexcellent fliers and
\nthat seeing them inland,
\nso long as there are
\nponds or canals (still
\nwater) containing fish,
\nwouldn’t be too strange.
\nBut they won’t go very
\nfar from significant
\nsources of fish.
\nDickersonville Road is
\nstill only a stone’s
\nthrow from Lake Ontario
\nand not too far from
\nBond’s Lake.”<\/p>\n

This mystery woman
\ntold of having a nesting
\nfalcon (a merlin) on her
\nCanadian property one
\nseason; the mother
\nfalcon screamed an
\nannoying screech day in
\nand day out at any bird
\ncoming within a country
\nmile of her nest. She
\nrelated, “I saw an
\nosprey take one of her
\nchicks. It flew right
\npast my window and three
\nof us saw it. The osprey
\ncarried it away, with
\nthe mother in screaming
\npursuit.”<\/p>\n

“She was fast, but
\nthe osprey made off with
\nthe baby anyhow.”<\/p>\n

Mother Nature at work
\nhere.<\/p>\n

Osprey poles are
\nerected for the purpose
\nof helping osprey
\npropagate in certain
\nareas. These are tall
\npoles, some as tall as
\n30 feet with a platform
\nat the top with nesting
\ntwigs and sticks to
\nencourage this great
\nbird to nest. Ospreys
\nare true “snowbirds” and
\nmigrate to Florida and
\nwarmer climes in the
\nwinter. But they always
\nreturn.<\/p>\n

In her email she
\noffered a great idea
\nthat some civic
\norganization could
\npursue. Perhaps a Boy
\nScout troop, maybe an
\noutdoor club’s project,
\nit could even be an
\neducational activity for
\na school project.<\/p>\n

“There are two or
\nthree osprey ‘poles’
\nlocated near my Canadian
\nproperty,” the woman
\nwrote, “and everybody
\nthere takes a huge
\ninterest in which
\nnesting poles are
\noccupied, which produce
\nchicks, and
\nadditionally, in
\nstewarding them to
\nmaintain their privacy
\nand safety. It has
\nbecome a community-wide
\nbond. All to the good!”<\/p>\n

“I would be happy to
\nsee poles along the
\nNiagara River, since
\nI’ve seen osprey both
\nalong the lower river on
\nup to Fort Niagara,” she
\nwrote.<\/p>\n

When I asked this
\nwoman if I could quote
\nher on some things and
\nuse her name for a
\nfuture article, she
\nwasn’t immediately in
\nagreement. “My kids
\nthink I am already an
\neccentric embarrassment
\nand that would put them
\naround the bend, almost
\nas much as having their
\nfriends find road kill
\nin the freezer,” she
\nresponded.<\/p>\n

I laughed pretty hard
\nat that statement. I
\nthought it would be a
\ngood thing for her kids,
\nand they would be proud
\nof their mother for
\nbeing a long-time
\namateur naturalist who
\nhas observed these
\nthings for many years.
\nIn asking her
\npermission, I told her,
\n“I’m sure your info will
\nbe very informing and
\ninteresting to the rest
\nof my Sentinel readers.”<\/p>\n

She responded, “So,
\nOK, you can use my name;
\nhow about just the first
\nname (Andrea)? Or my
\nnickname (Lynn)?”<\/p>\n

So now everyone knows
\nwho this is mystery
\nwoman is. Her name is
\nAndrea, and she’s been a
\nresident of Youngstown
\nfor more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

And she has more to
\ntell us about other
\ninteresting things, but
\nI can’t get it all in
\nthis story. Later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n


\n<\/a>Baby
\nDeer Kill on Lake Road \u2013 Vulture Sighting<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday morning my wife and I were coming back
\nfrom breakfast in Youngstown, and we passed someone in a pickup
\ntruck going in the opposite direction, and my wife noticed he had
\nhis tailgate down and what looked to her like a dead fox with its
\nhead hanging down over the tailgate. Being nosey, [I could say
\ncurious] I turned the car around to follow the vehicle to see just
\nwhat it was. About a mile or so later, the guy saw me and pulled
\nover and it was my friend Dave Gombert, who is the Deputy Town of
\nPorter Highway Superintendent, and a guy that loves his hunting and
\ntrapping more that anyone else I know.<\/p>\n

It turned out to be a late June or early July
\nborn white tail deer fawn, a little smaller than Bambi, and no red
\nlight on its nose. When I got out of my car Dave started telling me
\nthe story of how someone \u201ckilled his baby with their car.\u201d Stating,
\n\u201cprobably speeding of course, that\u2019s why I cut the grass far back on
\nthe side of the road so these \u2018idiots\u2019 could see if something was
\ngoing to cross.\u201d Angrily, he started spitting nails. His hunting
\ngrounds are somewhere around Lake Road and that\u2019s all I\u2019m allowed to
\ntell you, I know where, but I had to take the Hunters Oath. Dave was
\na little upset because about an hour earlier he was on a mission,
\nand drove by his hunting grounds, and here was mom and her baby fawn
\nstanding in the field far off the side of the road just looking
\naround. Dave was pretty proud of that moment. About an hour or so
\nlater after his mission was completed, and going back the same way,
\nhere was the baby lying on the white line in the middle of the road
\nexpired, still warm and floppy like.<\/p>\n

Dave and I were standing at the back of the
\ntruck admiring the beauty of the markings of the recently born fawn.
\nStill warm to the touch, and its coat was as soft as that of a new
\nborn child\u2019s hair; it was clean, bright and pretty, with the white
\nspots mixed in with the rest of the chestnut colored coat. As we
\nwere standing there talking, I could see the anger and the hurt in
\nthis hunters eyes. I had a sinking feeling in my belly, thinking how
\nthe mother feels, because she had to be right there with it when it
\nhappened. The supposed speeder apparently just kept right on going.
\nNo signs of skid marks on the road just the grim looks of a crumpled
\nup baby deer.<\/p>\n

If you remember an earlier story about Gombert,
\nit was about the big dog that came into range on his hunting trail
\ncamera, a camera that is mounted to a tree or a post and will takes
\npictures 24\/7 of any movement that passes by the lens, so a hunter
\nwould know by viewing the picture if he was in a fertile hunting
\narea or not. In that story a large Newfoundland dog, a dog that can
\nweigh up to 150 pounds, and belonged to someone in the neighborhood
\nwas photographed. It left everyone thinking it was the big black
\nbear that was sighted a couple of years earlier in the Town of
\nLewiston and again in Newfane. \u00a0That same camera keeps track of the
\ncomings and goings of any two legged or four legged critter that
\ncomes across the lens, Dave knows his hunting grounds are protected.
\nHe also knew that mom and the newborn were there too.<\/p>\n

Being a Deputy Supervisor for Town of Porter
\nHighway Department, Dave lives by the rules, and this little
\ncreature was disposed of in the proper manner. So if you are
\ntraveling Lake Road, keep your eye out for momma deer, she has
\nalready suffered enough grief, and probably pops is moping around in
\nthe woods too after the loss. NO SPEEDING!<\/p>\n


\nPlenty of Vultures<\/b><\/p>\n

Monday, about 9:30 am, traveling down Oneida
\nStreet near North Fourth in the Village of Lewiston, the sky was
\nalive with a kettle of vultures circling around. As fast as I could
\ncount, I counted 18 or 20 of them just in my view. They must have
\nhad some fresh carrion on the ground they spotted, because they hunt
\nfor food in flight. There must have been enough to feed a family of
\nthese waste collectors. Referring to an earlier story from last
\nMarch, I referred to them as being \u201cwaste collectors.\u201d There was a
\ngood example; 18-20 vultures were about ready to clean up either a
\nroad kill or a dead rodent of some kind in the neighborhood, maybe
\nsomeone\u2019s yard right in the Village. \u00a0Remember,
\nvultures circling in flight, is
\ncalled a \u2018Kettle,\u2019 when on the ground in numbers it is called a
\nvenue, meaning a place to gather. [and eat] <\/span><\/p>\n

When you see
\nthese creatures, remember they are protected under the Migratory
\nBird Treaty Act of 1918, and you can not harm them in any way. When
\nthey glide and soar, they are using the air currents caused from the
\nwarming air from the ground to the sky. Once in a while, they will
\nflap their wings in flight but not often. <\/span><\/p>\n

A lot of times,
\nwe don\u2019t pay attention of our surroundings, and in this case
\nprobably people at home in that neighborhood, were maybe doing yard
\nwork, mowing grass, etc. never think to look up. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n


\n<\/a>Possum or Opossum?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

When
\nfamous Country singer George Jones passed away recently at the age
\nof 81, the TV and radio broadcasters went with the tag name Jones
\nearned during his career as \u201cno show Jones\u201d because in his younger
\nyears he had an alcohol problem, and didn\u2019t show up for some of his
\nshows.\u00a0 The other tag name he earned was \u201cThe Possum\u201d which was
\nsupposedly an inside joke about his looks, or facial features. I
\ncould never see that but there it was.<\/p>\n

Possum or opossum, whichever you want to use is
\nyour choice. I am not a Grammarist by any means, so lets stick with
\npossum. A possum can be regarded as being kind of ugly, but at the
\nsame time cute, even with their long pointy nose, funny ears, naked
\nnose, and long scaly tail. Some of you older folks should remember
\nthe comic strip \u201cPogo,\u201d a very popular comic strip featuring all
\nanimals as its characters, and Pogo was the center of it all. Pogo
\nran in newspapers through the late 1940\u2019s, up until the very early
\n1990\u2019s. A loveable character he was. All possums are not as loveable
\nlike Pogo was. Adult possums don\u2019t hang in trees by their tails like
\nyou think, only the real young do. \u201cPlaying dead like a possum\u201d is
\nnot folklore. They really do when frightened by a predator, and
\npredators generally won\u2019t eat something they didn\u2019t kill. Possum are
\n\u201cmarsupials\u201d meaning an animal that carries their young in a front
\npouch much like kangaroos do.<\/p>\n

One day I was walking around my neighbors\u2019
\nhouse that was vacant at the time, and I was also checking the
\nshoreline erosion down near his shed. I started walking back up a
\nslight incline along the side of the shed, and all of a sudden I
\nheard this growling and hissing. I thought, what the heck is that. I
\nturned and looked, and here was a possum, mad as hell at me, and
\nrunning in a sideways fashion after me all the while growling and
\nshowing me his sharp pointed teeth, all 50 of them, like a feral
\ncat. The picture you see is what this guy chasing me looked like.<\/p>\n

I did what anyone else would do, I ran like the
\ndickens up the incline toward my own yard, and in one jump, I hit
\nthe seat of my picnic table, and the other foot got me on top of it.
\nThinking to myself this animal is nuts! When I got on top of the
\ntable I looked down and this little guy was still running right like
\nhe was the one being chased. He ran right by me, straight to under
\nmy shed. While normally slow, I couldn\u2019t believe this little
\ncreature could be so fast and so brave, and I was so frightened. I
\nsat on the table watching for him to come out from under the shed,
\nand he never did. The thought went through my head that what if it
\ndies under there and the stink is so bad I can\u2019t go into my shed. It
\ndidn\u2019t happen anyway. I got to thinking that possum might have
\nrabies or something, and later I was told rabies is highly unlikely
\nin possums, plus they are known to seldom bite. Possum are normally
\nnocturnal. Actually they are for the most part, a harmless animal
\nthat roams the countryside, and backyards, always looking for their
\nnext dinner spread. Mostly a possum\u2019s home is in trees, and you
\nnever want one under your house or porch if you have a crawl space.
\nThey will tear up anything under there, like wiring, insulation,
\netc. They eat a variety of foods like grubs, chicken eggs, snails,
\nand even human garbage, so keep your garbage lid on!<\/p>\n

Some people make pets out of them, why I\u2019m not
\nsure, but I would bet that is illegal. [and silly] In some southern
\nstates, possum is table fare for some families in stews, sauces, and
\ncreamed etc. The label on the can you see pictured says, \u201cCreamed
\nPossum, with Sweet Potatoes, Garnished in Coon Fat Gravy.\u201d Several
\nyears ago a friend of mine took a fishing trip to Florida and
\nbrought back a can of canned possum meat for me. I didn\u2019t believe
\nwhat it was because I never heard of it before.\u00a0 But I guess it was
\nwhat it was, I never opened it, and if I look hard enough, its still
\nhanging around someplace if it didn\u2019t ferment and blow up by now.
\nBelieve it or not, all across New York State there is actually a
\nhunting season for them that runs from October to February. There is
\nno bag limit, and I know of no one around here that is a possum
\nhunter. They are hunted for their fine fur, food, and sport.<\/p>\n

About the size of a cat, these critters are not
\nafraid of anything, not even cars. As slow as they are, they\u2019ll
\nwander right out in front of your car, daring you to swerve, and you
\nwon\u2019t even know it until you feel the thump with your front tire,
\nquickly followed by a thump of the rear tire. The next morning the
\nTurkey Buzzards will be right there to clean up the mess. Talking
\nabout Turkey Vultures, you won\u2019t see their majestic flights unless
\nyou look up to the sky.<\/p>\n

Remember, \u201cA good day fishing is better than a
\nbad day at work,\u201d Take that neighborhood kid fishing if you don\u2019t
\nhave any of your own, and do not forget the elderly, they would love
\nto go too. Be sure to visit
\n
\nwww.OutdoorsNiagara.com<\/a> for the latest in fishing information,
\nand be sure to check the Lake Ontario webcam while you are there. It
\nwill give you live lake conditions for sailing, boating, or fishing
\nreal time. Comments, suggestions email me at
\n
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n


\n<\/a>Three Men in a Boat Saved
\nby Youngstown\u2019s United States Coast Guard<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

No
\ndoubt everyone in the area heard about the boat that capsized out
\nnear the red buoy off Fort Niagara Saturday April 6th<\/sup>.
\nThe incident was reported by all local media outlets, now, here\u2019s
\nwhat really happened. According to the boat\u2019s owner 49 year old Dan
\nCrowner from Wellsville N.Y., the three men went out fishing about
\n7:30-8:00 a.m. that day and the lake had a little chop, but nothing
\nserious. There were other boats out there fishing the same area and
\nthe fish were hitting quite well. As time went on, the chop picked
\nup a little more into waves and not noticing the seriousness, a
\nlarge wave came over the stern, and then another before anyone
\nrealized what was happening. The boat\u2019s owner\/captain for the day,
\nCrowner, had his passengers quickly move to the front of the 19 foot
\nCrestliner to try and balance the boat from the weight of the water.
\nThen Crowner tried starting the 115 HP Mercury hoping to splash some
\nof the water out the same way it got in, but it wouldn\u2019t start right
\naway, and that\u2019s when the boat took a flip from another wave.<\/p>\n

Naturally, when the boat flipped, a lot fishing
\nequipment went into the drink with the three men. Besides Dan
\nCrowner, his brother-in-law, 49 year old Bob Guinnip, also of
\nWellsville, and 59 year old fishing buddy Bruce Blank, from Andover
\nN.Y., held on to the capsized boat until help arrived an hour or
\nmore later. Good thing the three men were wearing their flotation
\nvests like the law dictates. Luckily, Crowner had his cell phone in
\nhis shirt pocket, and it didn\u2019t get wet so he could call 911
\nemergencies. Crowner wondered why it took so many rings to 911
\nbefore anyone picked up the phone. Of course, when you are in a
\npanic like that, three rings would have seemed like a lifetime. The
\nSheriff\u2019s Department was notified, which in turn notified the ever
\nso dutiful United States Coast Guard in Youngstown. The crew from
\nthe Coast Guard was assembled quickly, but had to trailer their
\nrescue boat about 7 miles south to the Lewiston launch ramp to get
\nin the water because the water level is so low, they couldn\u2019t use
\nthe Fort Niagara ramps. Then they had to travel another 7 miles
\nback, and out to the red buoy which is another 3.7 miles out into
\nthe lake.<\/p>\n

While
\nthe men were struggling to climb on top of the upside down boat,
\nBlank\u2019s clothing was stuck on something and couldn\u2019t get up there,
\nCrowner was already there, and being cold himself from the 36 degree
\nwater, and seeing Blank in serious trouble, grabbed Blank, and with
\nsuper human strength, pulled him free to keep him from going back
\nunder the boat. What felt like an eternity, the Coast Guard arrived,
\nand shortly afterward a rescue helicopter appeared in the sky. The
\nmen were safely rescued but the boat had to be abandoned and left in
\nits capsized position.<\/p>\n

On the following Wednesday, Dan Crowner and his
\nbrother-in-law Bob Guinnip, were out searching the shoreline hoping
\nto find their boat. Sure as heck, it was found still up-side-down
\nnear the shoreline of Four Mile Creek. While struggling with the
\nthought of how they were going to retrieve the boat, one of my
\nneighbors asked what they were doing, and he directed them to my
\nhouse and told them there is a possibility I would know someone who
\ncould help retrieve their boat.<\/p>\n

It was funny, here was a guy knocking at my
\ndoor, and when I answered, this gentleman asked if I was Mark, I
\ntold him \u201cyes,\u201d he said, with an outstretched hand, \u201cmy name is Dan
\nCrowner\u201d I must have had a blank look on my face when he said, \u201cI\u2019m
\none of the guys that was rescued in the lake last Saturday.\u201d He was
\nthinking I would recognize his name, but I didn\u2019t. I said to him,
\nHoly Smokes! you are a lucky man to be alive. He agreed, with a hand
\nover his heart.\u00a0 He went on to tell me the story about the rescue
\nand how much people around here in Lewiston and Youngstown, were so
\nkind, generous and helpful. He even stressed how the people at Saint
\nMary\u2019s hospital took care of them in such a professional and caring
\nway treating their hypothermia, and how much so many other people
\ncared about others around here, all the while commenting on how much
\nthe Coast Guard meant to them.<\/p>\n

The only name that popped into my head for
\nhelping them retrieve their boat was Josh Stack of The Boatworks on
\nBlairville Road in Youngstown. I called Josh and told him of the
\nmen\u2019s dilemma and put Dan on the phone with him. Josh got over to
\nthe creek as soon as he could to assess the situation. After looking
\nthings over, he noticed gas was just starting to drip out of the
\nboat and knew something had to be done quickly. Josh phoned the NYS
\nPark Police and told them what was happening, and told them the only
\nway he could get to it is if he drove his Toyota four wheeler
\nthrough the walking trail in the woods so he could upright the boat.
\nOn the phone, he was told to go ahead and do whatever needs to be
\ndone quickly, we don\u2019t want another disaster on our hands. So, Stack
\nand his helpers, Rew Hooker, and his father Pat Stack, managed to
\nmaneuver that Toyota through the narrow trail, and was able to hook
\na heavy rope from the Toyota\u2019s roll bar to the boat side rail, and
\nupright the Crestliner. The minor gas spill was taken care of in a
\nquick fashion, and getting that Toyota four wheeler in and out of
\nthere was a chore. Josh said a door was banged in, the front and
\nrear fenders suffered, along with other bumps and bruises because it
\nwas muddy and the vehicle was slipping sideways, bumping into trees,
\nwhile blazing a wider trail to get to the boat.<\/p>\n

I guess you could say I am a critic of cell
\nphones, saying hell, what did we do before we got cell phones?
\nHere\u2019s what we did: We went to the corner and dropped a dime to call
\nsomeone. But what would Josh have done when he saw gasoline starting
\nto leak? Run to a corner? What about the three men in the capsized
\nboat do? Swim to a corner phone? Cell phones are an important part
\nof our lives today, so I guess I\u2019ll just eat crow, and shut up. But
\na funny thing did happen as Dan was telling me that when they were
\ndiscussing things on shore after being rescued, one of the young
\nCoast Guard men asked Dan without thinking I suppose, \u201cdon\u2019t you
\nhave a marine radio on your boat?\u201d Probably thinking why he didn\u2019t
\nuse it. Dan said \u201cYeah, but it wouldn\u2019t work, it was under water
\nwith the rest of my boat equipment\u201d\u00a0 Oops!<\/p>\n

Just to keep things on an even \u201ckeel\u201d here, Dan
\nis not new to Lake Ontario or the Lower Niagara, and not new to
\nboating and fishing around Lake Erie and Ontario, but fishes mostly
\nat Chautauqua Lake where the waters there are more forgiving. He
\nsaid he has been around boats and fishing with his dad ever since he
\nwas a little kid in single digits, it wasn\u2019t a case of carelessness
\nor anything like that, things just happened that way.<\/p>\n

To end this story, because of rough waters, it
\nwasn\u2019t until Sunday morning that the boat could be towed back safely
\nto the launch ramp, and taken to the Boatworks boat yard for further
\nevaluation.<\/p>\n

Lesson learned: Don\u2019t go boating without proper
\nsafety equipment, life saving equipment, and use common sense for
\nwhatever conditions you encounter.<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n\n\n\n
\n
Water <\/a>Witches around the
\nLewiston-Porter Area <\/span>
\n<\/span>Outdoors in Niagara
\n<\/b>
\nOK,
\nyou don’t need an imagination here, what I am going to tell you,
\nI believe is true. Water Witches are people that can find water,
\nunscientifically, deep under the ground with a tree branch
\nshaped like a Y or two wires bent in the shape of an L, made
\nfrom a simple wire coat hanger, the ones I have seen. In fact,
\nthere are scientists, engineers, and professors that will argue
\nuntil they are blue in the face, that you can’t find water
\nunderground by using a Y stick or bent wire like an L. They’ll
\ntell you there is no scientific evidence that anyone can find
\nwater in this way.<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Water Witches in more modern days are called “Dowsers,” and
\ndowsing it is said, is a very unscientific way of finding water
\nunderground. A few weeks ago the Discovery channel had a show
\ncalled ‘Backyard Oil’ I saw men dowsing for oil, and very
\nsuccessfully I might add. When dowsers are looking for oil, it
\nis called “doodlebugging.” The show I saw, a man was
\ndoodlebugging, and pointed out an area to drill for oil. The
\nshow takes place somewhere in Kentucky, and a lot of these
\npeople have become what they describe as backyard millionaires,
\ndowsing and drilling their own wells. Drilling wells can become
\nexpensive, and scientific exploration can add to that cost.
\nDoodlebugging they found was a more accurate way of finding oil.<\/p>\n

Dowsing goes back to ancient times, the times of the Pharaohs,
\nMoses, and others of those eras. As in everything else, there
\nare skeptics like those engineers, scientists and such as
\nmentioned above. Guess what, like many of you that have
\nexperienced dowsing by doing it yourself, maybe you know someone
\nthat is actually a dowser, maybe you never heard of dowsing.<\/p>\n

I am not a dowser, I found that out as I stood next to a friend
\nthat was one. He tried to show me how to clear my head, with a
\ndowser stick in my hand, and walked me through the process all
\nthe while his stick was pointing to the ground showing me how
\nhis was working, and how his stick was pointing to the ground.
\nHis stick even showed which way the water was flowing
\nunderground.<\/p>\n

A friend of mine, John “Johnnie Greengrass” Tower, who worked
\nfor the Town of Porter, was a dowser. When the sewer\/water
\ndepartment needed to locate a waterline that was unmapped
\nunderground, he was the go-to man. He took out his divining
\nrods, he had the L shaped devices, and would be able to tell you
\nwhere that underground water pipe or drain was, and which way
\nthe water was flowing. This all sounds paranormal, something
\nthat takes place outside of scientific explanations, but here it
\nis.<\/p>\n

My Brother Ed, and his wife Gerri bought a house in Cambria
\nseveral years ago, and every spring their basement would flood.
\nThey were warned by the former owner that this house had that
\nproblem since it was built. After a couple very wet springs,
\neven with additional sump pumps running, the flooding always got
\nout of control. They called a contractor to see what could be
\ndone. The contractor, Bob MacVie Construction in Youngstown,
\nwent to the rescue. After looking around the area in question,
\nand not being able to identify exactly where the water was
\ncoming from or going to, he had an idea, but advised to get a
\ndowser to make a decision as to exactly where to dig. A dowser
\nwas called, a lady from Lewiston that is well known for her
\nexperience, and in a matter of minutes, described to MacVie
\nexactly where to dig, how wide, and how deep to go. She
\ndescribed it as an underground stream that would overflow and
\nconsequently end up flooding the basement, because it flowed
\nright beneath the house. Lo, and behold, she was right on the
\nmoney. MacVie dug and installed a large drain pipe, and diverted
\nthe water to a lower ditch, ending the problem.<\/p>\n

Art King, a Youngstown native was another dowser known in the
\narea. For years, King would be called on by his neighbors and
\nfriends to come to their place, dowse, and tell them where to
\ndig for water in their yards. Again, he was the go-to man. He
\ndowsed for his own well, dug, and found water in his back of his
\nyard.<\/p>\n

Dr. Paul Vendrell, an educator at the University of Georgia
\nwould visit my neighbors each summer for a couple of weeks. He
\nwas an avid fisherman, and a well schooled individual. He and I
\nwould go at it, when it came to dowsing and dowsers. He was a
\nnon-believer, and he ran with the fact that there is no
\nscientific evidence of it being possible. He might have been
\nright by saying there is no scientific evidence, but am saying I
\nam right, I saw it happen in front of my own eyes.<\/p>\n

I would like to know what other people think, and if you have
\nhad experiences in dowsing. Do you know a Water Witch? Did you
\never witness it being done? Let me know. Email me at
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Food for thought: If you lost your left arm, then your right arm
\nwould be left\u2026..Huh? More food for thought: Take that
\nneighborhood kid fishing if you don’t have any of your own, and
\ndo not forget the elderly, they would love to go too. Be sure to
\nvisit
\nwww.OutdoorsNiagara.com<\/a>\u00a0 for the latest in fishing
\ninformation, and be sure to check the Lake Ontario webcam while
\nyou are there. It will give you live lake conditions for
\nsailing, boating, or fishing real time. Comments, suggestions
\nemail me at
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a> .<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\u00a0‘A tidy boat
\nis a happy boat;’ ………..U.S.
\nCoast Guard stirring things up
\n<\/span>Outdoors in Niagara
\n<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

\"\"Famous ‘Erie Dearie’ pictured<\/b>A short while back, I wrote a story about doing some fishing for a couple of days with my son, Joe, at Chautauqua Lake in Chautauqua County. While we were having conversations, something popped in my head about walleye fishing, and out of the back of my head a memory came back about the times my fishing pal Joe Ognibene and I made trips to Port Clinton, Ohio, also known as the “Walleye Capitol of the World.” A few times we hauled a boat with us and as time went by, somehow Joe got tied up with Capt. Jim Fofrich who fished out of Port Clinton. Fofrich asked if we wanted to take a trip out with him on his 25-foot SportCraft. Of course, the offer was gracefully accepted and it was free. Who wouldn’t like to take a fishing trip with a seasoned charter captain like Fofrich? We did, and learned things that will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n

Fofrich supplied all the bait, the lures, and shared his knowledge on how to fish a weight-forward spinner for walleye. A popular spinner at the time in Ohio was the “Erie Dearie.” It had a special shaped lead weight on the front followed by a spinner, red beads, and then a long-shank No. 2 gold hook with a worm. The “Erie Dearie” was invented by another Lake Erie captain, Dan Galbincea, in 1961. In 2010, the spinner was purchased by a larger company, but it’s still making the revolutionary Erie Dearie. The photo you see is an original Dearie from my tackle box.<\/p>\n

The western end of Lake Erie is well known for walleye, and bass is the second most sought-after fish. Around here, we enjoy the eastern end of Erie anywhere from the Pennsylvania border to Buffalo for walleye, bass, and jumbo lake perch.<\/p>\n

Fofrich liked drift fishing using these spinners and if the wind got too “heavy,” which made drifting too fast, he brought out a sea anchor.<\/p>\n

A sea anchor is nothing new, but this one was to me at the time. It consists of a cone-shaped bag made of light canvas or something similar, and at the top end of the cone three ropes are fastened around the circle; a long rope is attached to them, which is fastened to the boat. At the bottom of the cone is a hole in the center to let the water flow through it, much like a funnel. It was a brainy idea probably thought up by some sea faring captain, somewhere.<\/p>\n

There is a second rope that is fastened to the bottom of that funnel, and that’s for pulling in your anchor. You’ll need to pull that rope in order to pull the bottom to the top to release the water, so you will need strength to it pull back in. It’s like turning it inside out.<\/p>\n

The first time we went out with Fofrich he stressed his feelings about having a tidy and clean boat, which makes for a happy boat. There were four other guys on this trip – all great fishing enthusiasts. I can remember one guy was a “Noodler” and he entertained us by telling some of his Noodling stories that day.<\/p>\n

Noodling is the art of catching catfish, sometimes referred to as mudcats by your hands reaching underwater along the shoreline with only your bare hands far into holes and crevices. You can probably find videos of Noodlers on YouTube if you would like to see how it’s done.<\/p>\n

Another guy owned a patent on his own walleye fishing lure. Funny thing was, he never used it on this trip.<\/p>\n

Back to the captain’s “tidy boat, happy boat.” If someone took a worm out of the bait box that sat on the engine cover and dropped some bedding, Fofrich would reach over, pick it up, put it in the box where it belonged, and say to everyone, “a tidy boat is a happy boat.” Before long, he had us all saying it either to ourselves or singing it out loud to our own made up music.<\/p>\n

Today, as I write this story it is singing in my head. Try it yourself; say the words while putting your own melody to the words. It sticks. It’s like listening to a song you haven’t heard in ages, and then when you do it sticks in your head all day. If someone of the six of us dropped as much as a gum wrapper or moved a rope out of place, someone in the crew would say, “a tidy boat is a happy boat,” and it would be picked up immediately.<\/p>\n

It was a great lesson learning that. How many times have we been out and just laid things down, or dropped things on the floor, or maybe just pulled the boat anchor in and let the rope sit to walk on or trip over? A fishing rod had to be put in its proper place; the landing net had its own place. Nothing laying around made for a safer, happy boat.<\/p>\n

Oh, and a fish. Fofrich would never allow us to bring a fish in and just flop it on the floor. If it was to be released, you unhooked it over the side and let it go. If was a keeper, you took the hook out over the side and dropped it in the live well. Plus, the only thing you tossed into his Lake Erie was a fish or a worm, never any “junk.”<\/p>\n

I lost track of Capt. Fofrich over the years and hopefully he is still around teaching fishermen and new potential fishermen the ropes. He was a really great Lake Erie fisherman, teacher, and environmentalist.<\/p>\n

U.S. Coast Guard loses its fury on western Lake Erie<\/strong><\/p>\n

Talk about stirring things up. Charter boat operators on the west end of Lake Erie got a lesson from the U.S. Coast Guard recently when some over-reacting Guardsman crew pulled a captain over after a day of fishing. They were seeking documents as proof if his boat was made in the U.S. All his other documentation was in order except for being able to produce proof of where his boat was manufactured. When he couldn’t produce it, he was warned that he could be fined $40,000 for the first offense, and a half-million for any further offenses. The captain had to leave his vessel docked for five days while things got straightened out. He claims he lost nearly $3,000 while in port.<\/p>\n

The boat this captain owns is a SportCraft like the one Fofrich ran, and these boats were made in the U.S., however he had no documentation. The law the USCG was enforcing is an old 1920 law that is called the “Coastwise Trade Act,” also known as the “Jones Act.” The act was formed back in 1920, just two years after World War I to protect American shipbuilders against foreign competition, mainly large ships. In those days, the act was more concerned with shipping of merchandise in U.S. coastal waters, never a tiny little vessel like a Great Lakes fishing boat. After lawyers got involved and the Charter Captain Association got rolling, the Coast Guard apparently decided it was a bad move, and is backing off for now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n
\n

What <\/a>
\nkind of fish has no jaws but prey on fish many times its size?
\n<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Outdoors in
\nNiagara
\n<\/span><\/b>Mark Daul<\/i><\/p>\n

Wonder
\nno more, the answer is here. Some will argue they are not a fish but
\nare \u201cVertebrates.\u201d If you really want to know what a \u201cVertebrate\u201d
\nis, Google it, but, in the meantime lets treat them as a
\npre-historic, blood sucking fish that attaches itself to other fish
\nand proceeds to suck the blood and the life out of fish 10 times
\ntheir size. According to the NY Department of Environmental
\nConservation, [DEC]\u00a0 \u201cSea lamprey have two separated fins on their
\nback (dorsal fins) and suction disk mouth filled with small sharp,
\nrasping teeth and a file-like tongue.\u201d\u2026\u2026\u2026. \u201cThe sea lamprey is a
\njawless parasite that feeds on the body fluids of fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sea lamprey, an eel that has created havoc
\nwith our trout and salmon fishery for years, is a parasitic creature
\nthat will attach to not just trout and salmon, but to walleye,
\nnorthern pike, and many others including our native, prehistoric
\nlake sturgeon, which by the way, are listed by the NY DEC as being
\nan endangered species.<\/p>\n

On the Outdoors Niagara website there is a
\nforum where anyone can post fishing questions or facts or inquiries
\nof any kind. It is a well read forum, mostly postings by locals. We
\ndo get visitors from around the world occasionally, and we had a
\nperson by the name of Simon McCabe from Great Britain [UK] looking
\nto buy Lamprey eels as fishing bait in his UK stores. This inquiry
\nfrom Great Britain was responded to by a local Youngstown fisherman,
\nand nearly retired, Mike Gillis who replied \u201cThere are plenty of
\nlampreys in the lower Great Lakes. Other than pulling them off of
\nparasitized fish, how would one go about catching lampreys? I’m sure
\nthat we would love to export as many of these pests as we can to
\nyou.\u201d\u00a0 McCabe replied; \u201cHi Mike,\u00a0 \u201cWhat I was looking for is a
\ncommercial supplier for Lamprey. We have had contacts in Latvia and
\nLithuania who have supplied us in the past, but they are not able to
\nsupply. I believe that they catch them in eel traps. In the UK we
\nuse Lamprey as bait for Pike. It is considered to be very effective
\nbait over here. We would probably need about a tonne of the suckers
\nto get us started.\u201d Wow, 2,000 pounds! If they are ever shipped from
\na supplier in the U.S. they would naturally have to be frozen and
\nthat is the way they would want them.<\/p>\n

Then more recently, there was a posting from a
\nrather large fishing bait supplier in Oregon saying, \u201cI am looking
\nto buy 3-7 thousand pounds of lamprey, trying to find a supplier for
\nthem. Please get hold of me.\u201d This supplier is Extreme Northwest
\nBait Company, Lebanon OR. [http:\/\/xtremenorthwest.com<\/a>
\n]<\/p>\n

Sea lamprey is considered a nuisance fish to us
\non the eastern seaboard and every effort is being made to control
\nthem because of the damage they do to other species. The scientists
\nhave come up with a partial solution, they developed a chemical
\ncalled \u201cLampricide\u201d [TFM] a chemical treatment put into creeks,
\nrivers and streams to stem the population of them in the larval
\nstage, where the first three to six years of their life is spent in
\nthe soft bottoms of these waterways before they mature into adults
\nand grow to their parasitic adult form. \u00a0Total life span from eggs
\nto larval stage, to adult is said to be five to eight years. The
\nadults die after spawning.<\/p>\n

There was another interesting post on the
\nOutdoors Forum by a person named \u201cBlue Bonnett\u201d, certainly a pen
\nname, but he stated: \u201cWhen I catch a trout or salmon with one
\nattached, I immediately kill the lamprey. The fishery commission
\nlikes anyone who fishes the Great Lakes to report their catches to
\nhelp them study these invaders. The commission is interested in the
\nnumber of your catch, the species, whether your catch had an
\nattached lamprey, or if your catch had a scar, they want to know
\nwhere you were fishing. All of this information helps the commission
\ncombat these invaders by their control programs, and these programs
\nhave helped to remove almost 90% of them. Your help is needed to
\ncontinue the commission\u2019s efforts in controlling the lamprey
\npopulations of the Great Lakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years ago, when these eel were first being
\nrecognized as a threat to our trout and salmon fishery, I caught a
\nsalmon with one attached, and pulled it off the fish, then tossed it
\nin the fish box. When I got to my shop, I put it in an aquarium with
\nwater to show people what these newly recognized critters were all
\nabout. It lasted about two weeks with no complications, and then one
\nmorning as I opened the store for the day, I noticed he\/she had
\njumped out, right over the top of a 30 gallon aquarium with low
\nwater. Still alive, it was put back in the aquarium. Two days later,
\nthe same thing, but after this time I put a piece of \u00bc inch hardware
\ncloth over the top. The lamprey lasted about two more days before it
\nsquirmed out at the edge of the cover before he\/she was found
\nexpired and squirming no more. It was an interesting thing to watch
\nwhile it lasted, and for people to learn about. The kids used to
\nstop by after school to \u201csee the fish at the tackle store.\u201d<\/p>\n

Picture from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission
\nwebsite. Lots of info and more:
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.glfc.org\/sealamp\/how.php<\/a><\/p>\n

Please \u201cTake a Kid Fishing,\u201d and teach them
\nright, like the old Chinese proverb says, \u201cGive a man a fish and you
\nfeed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a
\nlifetime.\u201d\u00a0 Comments, or suggestions for this column, contact
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/a> or go to www.OutdoorsNiagara.com for loads of
\noutdoor information.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
A
\n<\/a>fascinating
\nanimal found in Niagara County<\/span><\/b>
\nOutdoors in Niagara
\n<\/span><\/b>
\nMark Daul<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Did
\nyou ever hear of an animal that can pay
\nfor its own yearly maintenance, like
\nveterinarians fees, room and board, and
\nbe a great pet at the same time? In
\nNiagara County, the
\nLewiston-Porter-Newfane areas
\nespecially, there are some people
\nharboring critters that can do those
\nthings, while at the same time making a
\nhobby of raising and caring for these
\ndocile animals. Of course, there are
\nmany of these critters in other counties
\nacross the state and the country, but
\nNiagara County has its own distinction.<\/p>\n

These animals stand between 32 and 39
\ninches tall at the shoulders, weigh
\nbetween 105 and 185 pounds, have
\nstraight legs when looked at from the
\nfront or the back, and each foot has
\nonly two toes. Their back legs have a
\n45-degree bend like those of other
\nfour-legged creatures when looked at
\nfrom the side.<\/p>\n

Looking closer, you see that their ears
\nare spear-shaped, like those relic
\nIndian spears we have all seen pictures
\nof. These animals are related to the
\ncamel family, but they normally don’t
\nspit at humans like their bigger
\nrelatives do. They are known as alpacas,
\nan animal that the Chavin culture in the
\nAndes (Peru) in South America some 6,000
\nyears ago harbored for meat, work, and
\nfleece. Later, the Incas were credited
\nwith domesticating these pack animals,
\nand they were raised for their fleece,
\nwhich was woven into fine clothing,
\nparticularly reserved for royalty at the
\ntime.<\/p>\n

It is estimated there are about 3
\nmillion Alpacas worldwide and only about
\n17,000 of them in the U.S. Alpacas are
\nnot used for meat production like they
\nwere centuries ago. Today they are used
\nfor the production of a highly
\nsought-after fleece, which is higher
\nquality, much softer than sheep’s wool,
\nlighter, stronger, hypoallergenic, and
\nhaving no prickly feel like wool. They
\nwere introduced in this country in 1983.<\/p>\n

Robert and Dee Oberlander have a horse
\nfarm on Braley Road in the Town of
\nPorter, boarding horses for local
\nowners. They had an extra barn that was
\nunderused and decided to get two alpacas
\nfor a hobby. In six short years the
\nfamily has grown to 14.<\/p>\n

Robert (Obie) and Dee harvest their own
\nfleece from a herd of alpacas they
\nharbor on their farm and keep all 14 of
\nthem. Obie says, “You never know, we
\nkeep adding to our family now and
\nagain.” He added, “Holy smokes, we just
\nadopted a Suri the other day.”<\/p>\n

There are two breeds of alpacas, and the
\nOberlanders favor the Huacaya,
\n(pronounced “wa-ki-ya”) because it is
\neasier to treat and prepare the fleece
\nfor weaving. The other is called the
\nSuri (pronounced “surrey”). The fleece
\nof the Suri is stringy with longer curly
\nfibers that make it harder to work with,
\nalthough it feels softer and fluffier
\nwhen woven.<\/p>\n

From raising, to feeding, caring for,
\nshearing, washing, dying, carding,
\nweaving, and knitting; to creating hats,
\ngloves, sweaters, scarves, capes and
\nsocks for their family and friends, the
\nOberlanders do it all themselves. Their
\nherd is sheared every spring, and each
\nanimal gives up about five to seven
\npounds of fiber.<\/p>\n

On a visit, I saw scarves, sweaters,
\ncapes, purses and hats, all handmade
\nfrom alpaca fleece by Dee from scratch.
\nObie says they shear in the spring; this
\nway the summer heat isn’t so hard on
\ntheir “family.” The Oberlanders note
\nthere are about 20 to 22 different
\nshades of color that alpacas have, and
\nwhite can be dyed any color. White and
\nblack are the favorites among many. Dee
\nuses a food coloring process and warns
\nnot to use clothing dyes like Ritz. She
\nalso warns not to use aluminum pots for
\nthe dye, only enamel or stainless steel.
\nThe food dyes work perfectly like they
\ndo on Easter eggs, because they both
\nhave a lot of protein.<\/p>\n

Carding is a process where the raw
\nfleece of the alpaca is broken up into
\nclumps of fiber, and then aligned to
\nindividual fibers that prepare the fiber
\nfor easier weaving into strands called a
\n“cloud.” After the cloud is hand-rolled
\ninto strands, it is then separated as it
\nis being run through the spinning
\nprocess. Dee started out with hand
\ncarding, but quickly turned to drum
\ncarding. Seen in the photo, the drum
\ncarder machine is hand-cranked and makes
\nthe process much easier, putting strands
\ninto a treadle-powered spinning wheel.
\nDee took lessons to learn this process.
\nHer teacher showed how it was done back
\nin ancient times, by making yarn by hand
\nspinning. It’s an art still used today
\nin some countries and with hobbyists.<\/p>\n

She started out with a small spinning
\nwheel, then graduated to a better one,
\nthen another, and finally settled on the
\none she is using today. Her household
\ncontains four of these wheels and all
\nare still operable. It goes to show how
\nhobbies can become an obsession. Her
\nhobby occupies two rooms, one downstairs
\nfor the carding process, cleaning,
\ndrying, and storage. The upstairs room
\nis the spinning room, where everything
\nfinally comes together.<\/p>\n

One day while driving by I stopped and
\nvisited with the alpacas. They were
\nfriendly and unusually nosey. One after
\nthe other came over to see me. One hung
\naround staring me in the face, and made
\na low, clucking, friendly type of a
\nsound. I had a conversation with him,
\nand he seemed to know what I was saying
\nover the fence. I asked if he would
\nsmile at the camera, and the picture you
\nsee is what I got. What an elegant pose.<\/p>\n

One interesting thing I learned on my
\nvisit is that alpacas are very tidy;
\nthey use a communal dung pile somewhere
\nin a corner of their corral where they
\ndo not graze. Females have a tendency to
\n“follow the leader.” When one goes, the
\nrest of the females line up at the same
\ntime, and go in the same place one at a
\ntime.<\/p>\n

A few days later, I again visited the
\nOberlander’s at their farm, and asked
\nabout that “friendly guy” that greeted
\nme at the fence. Obie said, “Oh, you
\nmust be talking about the ‘Old Man!’ ”
\nHe explained the “Old Man” was his very
\nfirst alpaca of the pack and is a really
\nfriendly character. “He likes
\neverybody,” I was told.<\/p>\n

Alpacas of Niagara, located on Tonawanda
\nCreek Road in Lockport, is a large
\nWestern New York breeding farm, offering
\nall kinds of services to other owners
\nand breeders. Recently they held the
\narea’s first “Alpaca Fiber and Harvest
\nFestival” at the former Amherst Museum,
\nfeaturing an Alpaca fashion show, a
\nfirst in Western New York. Among the
\nmany assorted vendors, there were live
\nalpacas and dozens of vendors with
\nhandmade and selected imported alpaca
\nproducts.
\nThe farm includes an Alpaca Shop where
\nyou can purchase alpaca knitted goods
\nwith an emphasis on locally produced,
\nhand-made, and made-in-the-USA items.
\nVisit their website for more information
\nand location:
\n
\nwww.alpacaniagara.com<\/a> .<\/p>\n

Those with elementary-aged children
\nmight want to think about taking a trip
\nto visit these friendly alpacas. The
\nOberlanders welcome children and would
\nshow them all about these ancient beasts
\nof burden. The alpaca is a clean and
\nfascinating creature, and children could
\neven take them for a walk without being
\nspit upon. Phone Dee at 716-745-3173 for
\narrangements in the spring; maybe you
\ncan even watch the shearing and learn
\nhow that is done.<\/p>\n

Yes, the great outdoors is where it’s
\nat. Enjoy it frequently.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

\n<\/a>Fish
\nstocking: See how it’s done and
\nwhy<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

New York state operates 12 fish
\nhatcheries throughout the state,
\nraising muskellunge, walleye, brook
\ntrout, brown trout, lake trout,
\nrainbow, Coho and Chinook salmon.<\/p>\n

Money is all derived from license
\nfees and in each state throughout
\nthe U.S., a 10 percent flat federal
\ntax is collected on recreational
\ngoods, from the Wallop-Breaux Tax
\nAct. Everything purchased is taxed
\nfrom fishing tackle, guns and ammo,
\nboats, gasoline, etc. The federal
\ntax collected is then doled out to
\neach state, with amounts depending
\non license sales and the land and
\nwater area in each state on a 60-40
\nsplit. This program was initiated by
\nsportsmen and conservationists to
\nprovide the states with funding for
\nfish and wildlife management and
\nresearch, habitat acquisition and
\nsportsmen educational programs. In
\nother words, sportsmen pay their own
\nway, not just fishing, but hunting,
\ntoo.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, April 9, there will be
\na state Department of Environmental
\nConservation hatchery truck arriving
\nto stock a load of baby brown trout,
\nnumbering roughly 4,440, at the
\nLewiston Landing. These tiny tots
\nwill be about 8-9 inches when
\nstocked. The truck should arrive at
\nabout 10:45 a.m. The trucks are
\nlarge, equipped with oxygenated
\ntanks, and if you go bring a camera
\nand stay out of the way of the
\nworkers. Releasing these fish
\ndoesn’t take long, so get there
\nearly in case the truck arrives
\nearly. It’s a good event for the
\nkids to learn about, and maybe a
\ngood thing for a school project.<\/p>\n

When you see how small these
\nlittle brown trout are when they are
\nstocked – then grow in size up to 30
\npounds – you will be amazed. A New
\nYork state-record brown tipped the
\nscales at 33 pounds, two ounces,
\ncaught in Lake Ontario, in June
\n1997. These baby browns were
\nincubated and raised at the Rome
\nFish Hatchery north of the city of
\nRome, east of Oneida Lake. Annual
\nfish production in New York alone
\nreaches 1 million pounds of baby
\nfish, salmon, trout, etc., raised
\nand stocked in freshwater waters
\nthroughout the state. Why? Two good
\nreasons, and off the top of my head:
\nto improve and sustain recreational
\nfishing, and to restore native
\nspecies that once called our waters
\nhome.<\/p>\n

Pictured is a little brown trout
\nthat jumped out of the tank at a
\nstocking site in Wilson while
\nattempting to transfer it to his new
\nhome.<\/p>\n

Other spring hatchery trout
\nstocking in Niagara County waters
\nwill be taking place through April
\nand May. Gill Creek and Hyde Park
\nLake will see almost 2,500 brown
\ntrout introduced in April, plus
\nanother 100 browns and 200 rainbow
\nstocked at Oppenhiem Park pond in
\nWheatfield. This spring, Olcott and
\nWilson will receive 12,500 rainbow
\ntrout and 22,180 brown trout each.
\nAll counted here is a total of
\nalmost 77,000 fish in Niagara County
\nalone, with more to come. Actual
\nstocking dates cannot be determined
\nvery far ahead of time because of
\nweather, maturity, hatchery
\nschedules, water temperatures, etc.
\nAnother thing that should make local
\nfishermen happy is if there are
\nsurplus fish in the hatcheries, they
\nare directed to our area waters;
\nstocking dates go unannounced.<\/p>\n

As spring arrives, stocking of
\narea waters gets into full swing
\nalong Lake Ontario and the Niagara
\nRiver. The Lake Ontario Trout and
\nSalmon Association starts their pen
\nraising project with Chinook salmon
\nand rainbow trout, as does the
\nNiagara River Anglers Association
\npen raising steelhead (rainbow)
\ntrout. Wilson has a loose
\nassociation of dedicated fishermen
\nthat created a highly successful
\npen-rearing project a few years ago
\nin 12-mile Creek. These projects are
\nall volunteer-based, and the work
\ndone by dedicated sportsmen. The
\nrearing of these newborn fish get
\nimprinted to these waters, and after
\nbeing released the great majority
\nreturn as adults to waters that is
\nfamiliar to them, spawn, and this
\ngives sportsmen a run for their
\nmoney and efforts. A great cycle.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
\n
The <\/a>squirrel represents
\ndifferent things to different people <\/span><\/b>
\nOutdoors in Niagara <\/span><\/b>
\nMark Daul <\/i><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Whenever
\nI hear the word “rodent,” right away I think of mice and rats, but
\nin the rodent “family” there are many different sizes and types of
\nrelatives. All rodents have the distinction of having a single pair
\nof incisors in both the lower and upper jaws, especially made for
\ngnawing.<\/p>\n

I have several rodents that entertain me, but they are much larger
\nthan their lower class relatives of mice and rats that are not “good
\nentertainment.” A couple other mammals you are probably familiar
\nwith are those timber dwelling chipmunks, house pets like guinea
\npigs, and of all things, the beaver.<\/p>\n

I have gray and black squirrels, a nuisance pest to many people
\nespecially if they infiltrate your house, usually in the attic.
\nThese visitors can be removed and shut out, and are not welcomed
\nback. They are the smartest four-legged critters you will ever get
\nto know, and their acrobatics are better than those Chinese acrobats
\nwe see on TV. Watch them for a while playing, making heroic jumps,
\nclimbing up and down trees, chasing one another and making all kinds
\nof playful chattering noises.<\/p>\n

In the mid-afternoon on those hot summer days, it’s siesta time.
\nThey like to stretch out in a spread-eagle position on the flat
\nsurface of the fence or on the roof of the shed or on a tree branch
\nand just take life easy. They get up early in the morning, eat,
\nplay, rest and then eat again in the evenings. Yes, squirrels close
\ntheir eyes when they sleep.<\/p>\n

I’m sure everyone has some backyard squirrels. Mine, I turn into
\nfriends. They get so friendly I can sit on my back porch and they’ll
\ncome visit looking for a handout. Seldom do I let them take food out
\nof my hand because it’s not really a good idea. Their eyes are
\nplaced in their heads where they can’t see too well up close, and
\nyou can accidentally get nipped. They’ll reach up with their front
\nfeet and try to knock your offering out of your hand, and those
\nlittle feet have claws like needles that will prick you, not
\nrealizing they could hurt you. So many times they hear the back door
\nopen, and right away there could be two, three or even four of them
\nrushing up the steps looking for me. At least I like to think it’s
\nme they are looking for, but it’s really the handout of old bread or
\ncrackers, and sometimes I’ll offer peanuts in the shell. Squirrels
\nin the U.S. are not known to cause rabies.<\/p>\n

My grandkids think grandpa’s squirrel colony is cool. Gramps doesn’t
\nhave to get his pets shots, clean up after them, be home to feed
\nthem, no vet bills, they eat and drink for nothing, and yet when he
\ncomes outside, they are there to greet him.<\/p>\n

They are hard to identify and put names to, but I had some
\nidentifiable friends. One was named “Chips” (pictured), because of
\ntwo chips out of the tip of his left ear. He was the friendliest of
\nall.<\/p>\n

Then I had one named “Gimpy.” He was a guy with a deformed front leg
\nthat he couldn’t use, but he did quite well with just three legs. He
\nheld his food in his left paw while eating. He did have trouble
\nclimbing trees, but he did it. “Chicken” was so named because he was
\nthe scaredy-cat of the bunch. He would come near, but never up to
\nthe porch to see me. He would sit on the picnic table and stare at
\nthe others and me. Then there was “Blackie,” obviously because he
\nwas a friendly black squirrel, and once in a while, he would bring
\nanother black friend, but the friend wouldn’t get involved.<\/p>\n

My backyard gang was numerous at times and I don’t know what kind of
\nlifespan they have. But when spring comes each year it seems all my
\nold friends are gone or maybe they found a better feeding spot.<\/p>\n

Speaking of feeding I had my own “miniature Nik Wallendas” when I
\nhung my bird feeder on a long thin wire from the plastic coated
\nbackyard clothesline. Squirrels would climb up the tree, and
\ntightrope the clothesline out to the feeder, slide down the wire and
\nhelp themselves to the birds’ sunflower seed. I quickly found that
\nwasn’t a very good idea to keep my friends from raiding the bird’s
\nprecious sunflower seed. I thought I was smart using the thin wire,
\nthinking the wire won’t allow them to grip it, but they were smarter
\nthan me. They just put those little feet to work grabbing the wire
\ntight, and slowly slide down, then jump to the ground when done.<\/p>\n

After buying different so called “squirrel-proof” bird feeders over
\nthe years, I solved the raiding problem by driving a 2-inch
\ngalvanized pipe in the ground and mounted my common, wooden feeder
\non the very top. They could still climb the pipe and get up there
\nuntil I cut a piece of aluminum drip edge I had laying around, and
\nattached that in an upside-down cone shape near the top of the pipe
\nunder the feeder. That works really great, stopped them in their
\ntracks, no more stealing from the birds. If you do this, make sure
\nthere are no trees or other objects close by, they can climb and
\njump to the feeder. They are very smart, and I have seen them jump
\nas far as five feet, and as high as four feet.<\/p>\n

Hunting squirrels is a challenging sport. In New York State, from
\nSept. 1 to Feb. 28 hunters get out in the woods to hunt squirrel
\nfrom sunrise to sunset. Hunters are allowed a daily bag limit of
\nsix, and they make a good meal when prepared correctly. Most hunters
\nare good wild game cooks, and they advise to never broil or grill a
\nsquirrel; they will get chewy like the tongue of your shoe. Young
\nsquirrels can be roasted, fried, boiled or in soups. The old guys
\nprobably should be simmered or crock-pot style cooked until tender.<\/p>\n

Cleaning them for the pot can be tricky, and I watched this being
\ndone once, but I didn’t learn a thing except let an experienced
\nperson do it for you. Maybe search YouTube for a video. You must
\nhave a valid small game license to hunt squirrels.<\/p>\n

Mepps, a large U.S.A. company that makes fishing lures, and in
\nparticular spinners, has a squirrel tail program. They buy squirrel
\ntails from hunters and other individuals and use them for dressing
\non the hook behind the spinner. Apparently fish like this little
\nadded attraction and squirrel tails do the best job in providing a
\npulsating action provoking fish to bite. The company pays as high as
\n26 cents each for premium tails. Of course there are rules you need
\nto follow. Go to their website for the details at http:\/\/www.mepps.com.
\nEven if you don’t fish, the website is interesting, and you can see
\nwhat the added attraction looks like. You can even request their
\nfree lure catalog there.<\/p>\n

TOP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Outdoors in Niagara
\n<\/span><\/b>Mark Daul<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/a>Bond Lake
\n\u2013 A Hop, Skip, and a Jump Away \u2013 Bring Paper\u00a0 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Niagara
\nCounty\u2019s Bond Lake Park, is a 531 acre park facility, located off Lower
\nMountain Road outside of Lewiston. The lake area itself was once a
\nlimestone quarry site back in the late 1800\u2019s spanning into the very
\nearly 1900\u2019s before it closed. Today it is a nature-themed park and is
\nopen to the public. Fishing, hiking, canoeing, picnicking, skiing,
\nsledding and so much more, and not more than 20 minutes away from any
\nresident of Niagara County. One thing, in the Lake area especially,
\nthere are NO restrooms, a real shame for a public park as nice as this.
\nIf you picnic at one of the two beautiful picnic pavilions, be prepared
\nto solve your own problems with your family. I would think the Niagara
\nCounty lawmakers could come up with a couple of bucks for a couple of
\nfacilities, that can be bought or rented pretty reasonably. I took a
\nshort 25 foot walk up one trail and was met with stale toilet paper on
\neach side of me; nice for kids & ladies huh? In the meantime, bring a
\nroll and go where the bears go, in the woods, after all, maybe that\u2019s
\nwhat \u201cnature-themed\u201d means. [No, there aren\u2019t any bears.]<\/p>\n

The picture of the girl wearing the great big smile
\nis because she is out fishing with her parents. Not fishing for exotics,
\njust \u2018out\u2019 fishing! Not fishing in a big lake, not fishing from a boat,
\nbut fishing off shore at Bond Lake.<\/p>\n

The little fishergirl in the picture, is Brandi
\nLove Fischer, a 9 \u00bd year old [going on 25 yrs. her Mom says] that I met
\nat Bond Lake fishing with her parents. When I asked her name she
\npromptly told me \u2018Brandi,\u2019 then I asked \u201chow old are you Brandi?\u201d
\ngleefully, she said \u201810\u2019while she was baiting her own hook for another
\ncast. Her proud stepdad, Russ, told me she does everything by herself,
\nand sure loves fishing. In about 5 minutes her mother caught a fish and
\nBrandi took it off the hook for her, and then before she released it,
\nshe held it up like she was going to give it a big fat kiss. The fish
\nwiggled unexpectedly, while she was holding it, and Brandi let out a
\nlittle scream like 10 year olds do, it was an unexpected surprise. After
\nher cute theatrics, she leaned over and put it back in the water for
\nanother day. Just from that, you can see Mom and Dad are good teachers.
\nIts things like this little story that makes my day.<\/p>\n

I often get asked by people where there is a good
\nsafe place to take kids fishing, where they\u2019ll catch fish, be safe, and
\nlearn to fish without a boat. Those are good questions for sure,
\nespecially the last one. I can tell you, we have lots of places around
\nhere to do that. Quite often I\u2019m asked about the real young ones, from 3
\nto 7 years old. Although any age is a good age, I say if they can stand
\nup on their own, start then. Sometimes attention spans are narrow, so
\nwhen you are out, take them around and explore other things. Frogs,
\nbirds, salamanders, butterflies, trees, are all things that they will
\nremember for the next trip. I realize all parents are not necessarily up
\non fishing, and the other things the great outdoors has to offer, but
\nwhat better way to learn than when teaching your children, and you\u2019re
\nlearning things for yourself at the same time. I find a lot of parents,
\nincluding single parents, would rather have their kids in organized
\nsports where the teaching and coaching is done by someone else,
\nsometimes even by strangers. Team sports are wonderful, but nothing
\ncompares to getting out on your own, learning on your own, and as you
\ngrow up, there is just you and a fish, and the outdoors. Fisher people
\nwhen fishing are strictly one on one, just \u201cthe fisher and the fish.\u201d
\nThe fisher tries to figure out how those fish think, while the fish is
\nlooking for a simple meal, and at the same time outsmarting the fisher.
\nLike scoring a touchdown or a home run in little league, the fisher gets
\na thrill, but all kids can\u2019t score touchdowns or home runs, so guess
\nwhat, all kids can catch a fish!<\/p>\n

Starting out, remember you won\u2019t get much fishing
\nin yourself, not until the youngster gets comfortable with baiting their
\nown hook, and taking their own fish off the hook. Some take longer than
\nothers, but if you show the proper way to do it right from the start,
\nthey will want to learn like you did, or you can learn together. \u00a0Maybe
\nyou are not a very good fisherperson yourself, so what, bring a couple
\nof old rags with you, something like an old terrycloth washcloth or an
\nold bath towel torn into pieces for your hands. They will help you keep
\nyour fish under control until you unhook it, and get it back in the
\nwater. Getting the fish back in the water is the first lesson in \u201cCatch
\n& Release.\u201d Releasing fish unharmed back into the water is a good
\nlesson, because it is protecting what we have for the future
\nfishermen\/gals.<\/p>\n

So your trip starts out on the right foot, be sure
\nto bring sun lotion, insect repellant, a snack of some kind and a
\nliquid. You might even want a Band-Aid or two, just in case. The experts
\nsay between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm in the afternoon are the hottest times
\nof a day, so avoid those times. It\u2019s always best to go early.<\/p>\n

Take a trip to your neighborhood tackle store and
\npick up a 4 or 5 foot spincast rod & reel for your child for starters.
\nCost is 10-15 dollars for child size starter set for 3-5 year olds. You
\ndon\u2019t want anything too long or you will be untangling line cast after
\ncast. and pulling line out of trees. A 6 \u00bd or 7 foot hand-me-down rod is
\nfine, if you have an older learner, but make sure it works good. Kids
\nare fast learners so you don\u2019t want defective tackle, then their
\ninterest is driven away. Of course, you can buy bait, worms in most
\ncases, in many of these shops and other places along the road. But the
\nvery best thing to do, is go out with the child the night before, go
\ndigging for worms yourselves, or spray your lawn an hour or so before
\ndusk, and pick them off the grass after dark. They are free then. \u00a0Or
\nyou can even try a small ball of fresh bread on your hook.<\/p>\n

When kids start out, they don\u2019t want big fish to
\nscare them, they just want the thrill, a little sunfish or rock bass
\nwill do fine. It\u2019s like hitting that home run I talked about. This is a
\ngood time to teach them about their surroundings, and taking care of
\nthose surroundings. Make sure they don\u2019t leave bait containers, sandwich
\nwrappers and other junk lying around. Have the kids pick up any
\ncontainers, or debris that might be left behind, not you, they won\u2019t
\nlearn a thing if you do it for them, remember someday they\u2019ll be fishing
\nwithout you. If there is junk around other people left, make that part
\nof the cleanup too, the kids don\u2019t mind, they will feel even more
\nimportant, and will learn a good lesson.<\/p>\n

After all this about taking kids fishing, don\u2019t
\nforget the elders, they would just love to tag along on a simple little
\nfishing trip too!<\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Outdoors in Niagara<\/span>
\n<\/b>Mark Daul
\nNote: Picture is of author<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\nFishing With <\/span><\/a>
\nDon Supon<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Who
\nis Don Supon? That\u2019s your first question I\u2019ll bet. Let me tell you, and
\nbring you up to date. He lives in Niagara Falls with his wife Myra. Don
\nis a retired school teacher, and outdoors enthusiast from the git-go.
\nDon owns a deer camp in the Southern Tier that he maintains and visits
\noften. It has trail cams set up so when he is not at the camp, he can
\nwatch what wildlife activities appear before the cameras in his absence.
\nHe has shown me cam pictures of turkey, bear, coyote, and of course,
\ndeer. Hunting has always been one of Don\u2019s major pastimes and I\u2019m glad,
\nbecause now I have some venison in my freezer.<\/p>\n

We met several years ago, when we were both younger
\nand doing our separate things, never really getting into deep
\ndiscussions. Having the same acquaintances, and the same interests, our
\nrelationship increased as we bumped into one another on occasion, and
\nvolunteering for the betterment of outdoor activities. Now, neither of
\nus do much volunteering, at our age, but still help out wherever we can.
\nBoth of us always remind people to get out and enjoy the outdoors. As
\nthe saying goes, and its origin is uncertain; \u201cYesterday is history.
\nTomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the
\npresent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don and I took up fishing together a couple of
\nyears ago, and we enjoy each others company, mostly. By mostly, I mean
\nwhen we get out fishing together, I am mostly out fished by him. We are
\nboth nuts for perch fishing and that is what we \u2018mostly\u2019 do. A couple of
\nyears ago, Don was looking for someone to fish the spring trout and
\nsalmon derby with and I volunteered. When I said I\u2019d fish it, the
\nweather was pretty nice, so I paid my entry fee and signed up for the
\nevent. The day we went out, the weather changed. We got out in the lake
\nand set up around the green can [buoy] off the mouth of the Lower
\nNiagara. I froze on our way out and froze when we settled down after
\nputting our rigs out, then froze on the way back to shore. The wind was
\nblowing from the northwest, with a wet drizzle, until the sun broke.
\nEven then it was still cold, the wind has no mercy. We trolled for hours
\nand all the while I\u2019m thinking to myself, this is the reason why I gave
\nup on this type of fishing many years ago. From then on, I will always
\nremain the \u2018sunshine man,\u2019 the type that only goes fishing when the sun
\nis shining and the thermometer reads over 65 degrees. Don owns a
\nsalmon\/lake boat equipped with all the bells and whistles, a roof with
\nside curtains, and now his lake fishing is all done with a new fisherman
\nlearning the ropes, Dave Anastasia, a Ransomville resident.\u00a0 I said
\nlearning, but I know Dave catches on fast, especially from a good
\nteacher.<\/p>\n

The fish you see me holding in the picture isn\u2019t
\nmine, I\u2019m just holding it for Don, like all good guests should do for
\nthe host. I\u2019m dressed in layers with a good quality wind and rain
\nresistant Sterns jacket on with a hood, and if this was in color, you
\ncould see my hands are beet red.<\/p>\n

A few days ago, it wasn\u2019t over 65 degrees, and the
\nsun wasn\u2019t shining even though Don Paul on Channel 4 said it was going
\nto be, we took our chances and went to the Lewiston Landing. At 7:45 am,
\nwe paid our $7.00 launch fee to the ever congenial Harbor Master, Pat
\nMahoney. Pat was surprised to see us and launching my \u2018Outdoors Niagara\u2019
\nboat there. I told him neither of us is in any shape to launch the boat,
\ndrive up the hill to the parking lot, then walk back down those long
\nsteps, go fishing, come back off the water, go back up those dreadful
\nsteps to bring the trailer back down for the boat. Whew! Mr.
\nCongeniality, Mahoney, said \u201cGee, all you need to do is ask. I can pick
\nyou up and drive you down after parking the trailer in the lot, then
\ndrive you back up to the parking lot to get your vehicle.\u201d Aha, Don was
\nahead of all of us. He and I came in two vehicles, Don lives in Niagara
\nFalls, and I live in Youngstown. We met at the parking lot, and Don
\nparked his truck in the handicap spot at the launch. We launched the
\nboat so when we take the boat out of the water, all he had to do was
\ndrive up the hill and bring the car and trailer back down. Good thinking
\non his part, but one of us still had to park boat and trailer above. Don
\nvolunteered to do that and walk back down to the boat. Isn\u2019t he a
\nwonderful \u2018volunteer?\u2019<\/p>\n

Let me tell you about our perch trip that day. Of
\ncourse, we were both excited to be out on the water. Don sat up in the
\nbow, and I in the stern. I had to run the motor, set the anchor, and
\nmake sure we were in the right spot with Don Paul\u2019s reportedly 15 to 20
\nmph wind blowing from a southerly direction. Anchors don\u2019t hold too well
\nin that wind, but it finally did catch something on the bottom, and did
\nits job. We moved to another spot, dropped the anchor, grabbed something
\nagain, but when we went to move, the anchor was stuck solid. Thinking I
\nneeded to cut the anchor rope to get free, I fired up the 25 hp Mercury,
\nand slowly pulled the anchor free.<\/p>\n

Perching was good for the guy up front. He was
\ncatching double headers on his $1.19 perch rig and I was catching
\nnothing on mine from the back of the boat. Being the nice guy that Don
\nis, he said, \u201cMark, move up about 20 feet, just opposite the dock over
\nthere\u201d I pulled the anchor, moved up, dropped the anchor again, and
\nstarted fishing. By moving up, now I\u2019m fishing where he was dropping his
\nline at. Good deal I thought, now I can do some catching in his spot.
\nNot so, I never got a touch. The fish followed him those 20 feet and
\ncontinued pestering his bait offerings even though we were using
\nidentical baits. Jokingly, I said to Don, how about taking my rod,
\ncatching me a fish, then hand the rod to me, and let me reel it in. As
\ntime went on, and silence was bliss, whenever Don caught an undersized
\nfish, he would throw it toward my line, like saying \u201cyou want a fish?
\nhere\u2019s one for you, now catch it.\u201d Really rubbing it in I thought. Then
\nBam! I caught a legal size bass on my minnow. Yeah, it went in the
\ncooler for my wife, she loves bass. About 10 minutes later, again, Bam!
\nThis time a really nice size bass, I was really excited latching on to
\ntwo fish in a matter of 10 minutes. As I was looking at the strain on my
\nlight line and watching it, I saw it moving to the surface with the fish
\npulling it, then, it decided to show off, and go acrobatic. It broke
\nwater, winked one of those red eyes at me, even though fish don\u2019t close
\ntheir eyes, this one winked.\u00a0 After showing me how pretty his colors
\nare, he spit the hook back at the boat. I think it was still airborne
\nwhen it did that. I know it was big, and as friend, and outdoor writer,
\nnow deceased, Joe Ognibene used to say, \u201cif it got away, you can make it
\nany size you want it to be.\u201d He was right. Ok, lets say the one I lost
\nhad to be a State record fish. Ha!<\/p>\n

I guess fishing took up a good part of my life, and
\nat this time of life, it is really great to have a fishing friend to
\nshare the days with, get out and sit on or near the water, have some
\nconversation about anything, go home and think about your next outing.<\/p>\n

Remember to take a kid fishing, and don\u2019t forget
\nthe elderly, they love it too.<\/p>\n

TOP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

\n


\n\u25baMore
\narticles on our archived page HERE<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Outdoors in Niagara
\n<\/span><\/b>Mark Daul<\/i><\/p>\n

Does Niagara have
\n<\/a>Beavers? Yes, it does!\u00a0 <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Although
\nmainly a nocturnal animal, beavers can be spotted occasionally during
\nthe day, and their homes or \u201clodges\u201d I suppose they can be seen around
\nthe County along different streams and creeks. There is a \u201clodge\u201d along
\nthe park trail at Four Mile Creek in the State Park; along your walk on
\nthe path, you can see trees that are chomped upon by these little
\nlumberjacks. I must admit, this summer I haven\u2019t taken my walks along
\nFour Mile creek, but in prior years I have seen many beaver signs and
\nthe gnawing of trees.<\/p>\n

I live about 1,500 feet west from the mouth of Four
\nMile Creek. In the calm evenings, when the sun is about ready to drop
\ndown into the lake, occasionally we can watch one or two beavers taking
\na cruise along the lake shoreline, probably exploring their
\nsurroundings. You don\u2019t hear them coming, you\u2019ll just see a big \u201cV\u201d in
\nthe water as they are swimming by.\u00a0 If you startle them they will raise
\nthat big paddle-shaped tail of theirs and slap it on the water and take
\na dive, then you won\u2019t see them anymore that evening.\u00a0 The slap is loud,
\nand it is to warn others to beware of danger. The extreme low water
\nlevels in the creek this year may have affected their habitat as we
\nhaven\u2019t seen any since early spring. The water is so low you can walk
\nacross the mouth of the creek where it enters the lake.<\/p>\n

One time this area was great beaver country, and a
\ngreat asset to Native Americans. They used beaver pelts for bartering in
\nthe 17th<\/sup> century, trading to Europeans for metal tools and
\nimplements. The Europeans used the pelts for clothing and hats. It is
\nsaid back in those days upper class Europeans separated the fur from the
\nskin to be used in the production of felt to be made into hats by using
\npoisonous mercury. Hat makers were called \u201chatters\u201d and after time they
\nwould become sick and disorientated from absorbing the mercury, thus the
\nexpression \u201cmad hatters\u201d or \u201cmad as a hatter.\u201d In New York State beaver
\npopulations dropped in the 1800\u2019s, to where they were nearly extinct,
\nbut made remarkable recoveries in the 1900\u2019s by proper management by the
\nDEC. Trapping and transferring them to better habitat, and management of
\nhunting and trapping seasons kept them to desirable levels.<\/p>\n

Recently, Ed Rogers of Youngstown told me he saw
\nbeavers cruising down the river some mornings around 6:00 am while
\nwalking his dog on Water Street near the Youngstown Yacht Club. He said
\nthe Villa Apartments on the river in Youngstown had a problem with them
\nchewing on young trees about 7-8 years ago, and to prevent additional
\ndamage, they put screening around the base of the trees. Rogers said he
\nwalked down the river to see where they were going or where they came
\nfrom, and as he tried to follow them, they just disappeared.<\/p>\n

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

In February of this year, Ray Dietz, husband of
\nTown of Porter Historian, Sue Dietz, was hiking in the Niagara Gorge on
\nthe Canadian side and came across some maple trees that were being dined
\non by these semi-aquatic rodents. I don\u2019t know if they swim from the
\nU.S. to Canada but they better have papers, or at least phone CANPASS!<\/p>\n

The industrious beaver is considered good for the
\nenvironment, but at times they are considered a nuisance.\u00a0 Beavers will
\nburrow in the banks of rivers and lakes building their lodges that
\nsometimes turn into dams along streams. They can transform landscapes
\nwith their dams; building beaver ponds and marshlands and turn them into
\nhabitat for fish, birds and other four legged critters. However, they
\ncan also do damage to man made structures, contaminate water supplies,
\nand cause crop damage to farmers with their dams. The law says you may
\nnot remove or interfere with a beaver dam unless you have a permit from
\nthe NY State Department of Environmental Conservation. In New York
\nState, beaver control is managed by the NYSDEC. Hunting and trapping
\nseason for beavers in our part of the state is from November 1, 2012 to
\nApril 7, 2013, and there is no bag limit. You can check all the details
\nat
\n
\nwww.nysdec.ny.gov<\/a>, and while you are there, check the information
\nthey have on beavers.<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t forget to get those kids out fishing.
\nYou will be surprised at the excitement YOU will have watching them land
\na fish or two. Teach them well.<\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Outdoors in Niagara<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/b>Mark Daul<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/a>Before
\niPads, Cell Phones and Facebook, Fishing Filled Our Time<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Occasionally I bump into a long time friend of mine
\nand we get into some great conversations, and a few evenings ago was no
\ndifferent. Bob Rougeaux and I were natives of Niagara Falls, and, now we
\nboth live in the Town of Porter. We both went to Sacred Heart grade
\nschool at the same time, and both had similar after school passions. We
\ndidn\u2019t have anything near what occupies kids today, like all those
\nsophisticated electronics. We had tube radios, 12 inch B&W televisions,
\nand yes, TV\u2019s had tubes too, and test patterns that came on at midnight.
\nOur telephones were the rotary dial kind that kids of today have trouble
\ntrying to operate and big hands and little hands on our watches. Does
\nanyone know where there is a pay phone on a corner somewhere today?
\nFriday nights were the big night for TV in my neighborhood with the
\nFriday Night fights; first, wrestling was on TV from Memorial Auditorium
\nin Buffalo, with Yukon Eric, Gorgeous George, and a guy named Farmer
\nDon, who always brought a pig with him into the ring. One guy had a ring
\nname like, \u201cThe Little Flower of Italy,\u201d a bad guy. The next program on
\nFriday nights was boxing. I can remember some legends like Jersey Joe
\nWalcott, Sonny Liston and Joe Louis \u201cThe Brown Bomber,\u201d because they
\nwere my Father\u2019s favorites, and so was Gillette Blue Blades, Pabst Blue
\nRibbon Beer, and the cameo girl \u201cGenny.\u201d Betcha some of you old guys
\nremember the name \u201cWillie Pep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Times sure have changed, but basic fishing remains
\nthe same as it ever was. Back then, all that was ever needed was a
\nstick, a hook, some line, and that could even be a piece of string, plus
\na weight to bring it all down to where the fish were. A bobber could be
\njust a twig lying around the creek side or an old bottle cork you found
\nlying around the house. Sometimes our weights would be an old spark plug
\nor a nut that was lying around the garage. Bob and I were into the days
\nwhen we would fish Hyde Park Creek for bullheads and rock bass with our
\n\u201cequipment.\u201d It was never called it fishing tackle because that is what
\nthey sold in stores like Noah\u2019s Ark and Western Auto, or Behren\u2019s Tackle
\nShop on Pierce Avenue. There was no money for that. Bob and I fished at
\nthe same age, but separately. Bob fished all around Hyde Park Lake, and
\nI fished the creek at the \u201crocks,\u201d which were two big rocks at the edge
\nof the creek right near greens number 7 on the golf course at that time.
\nWe never fished together because I didn\u2019t know he liked fishing after
\nschool and Saturdays, neither did he know that I did.<\/p>\n

Sometimes worms were picked for bait out of the
\nback yard or we packed some \u201cWonder Bread\u201d as Bob called it. Yep, Wonder
\nBread, the kind that \u201cbuilds strong bodies 8 ways.\u201d\u00a0 The bread had to be
\nfresh so you could roll it up in tiny balls and it would stick on your
\nhook. Two or three of slices were all you would need for half a day.
\nToss that tasty treat out and there would be an underwater battle
\nbetween the bullheads and the rock bass. Big bullheads were kept to
\nbring home and brag to the neighborhood kids what you caught. How cool
\nis that! My father would put water in our concrete stationary tub in the
\nbasement for my fish, and they would keep for a few days, and eventually
\nwe would give them to Mr. Say, a neighbor two doors away, who would eat
\nanything that could swim including eels.<\/p>\n

Those were the early days of fishing for us, and
\neventually we graduated into bigger things, like getting new rods &
\nreels, along with real sinkers and hooks with no rust. Boats came later.
\nThen we needed tackle boxes to keep all our stuff in. Through our
\ngrowing years and later, it was a rare occasion Bob and I would see one
\nanother because raising families, paying mortgages, and things like that
\noccupied much or our time, but it was agreed, we always managed to find
\ntime to fish through those years.<\/p>\n

In our conversation, Bob started rattling off all
\nthe places in Ontario, Canada he traveled to catch walleye. \u201cWalleyes
\nlike that\u201d as he stretched out his hands showing me how big, and his
\neyes almost popped out of his head with his expressions. You would swear
\nhe just caught it at that moment while talking about them. Bobcaygeon
\nOntario, a small community located on the Trent-Severn waterways in
\nOntario Canada, was at the top of his list. Then his memory exploded and
\nstarted rattling off the names of the guys he traveled with. Names like,
\nObie Brown, John Smeal, Fire Chief Ted Forrester, among others. The
\nothers I couldn\u2019t remember fast enough. All these names were fellow
\nNiagara Falls firefighters of which Bob Rougeaux has retired from.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Bob graduated into the salmon fishing
\nscene on Lake Ontario for a while, but walleye and some bass fishing
\nsticks in his heart today, right along with his stick and string and
\nWonder Bread.<\/p>\n

I went over to Bob\u2019s house hoping to get a picture
\nof him holding a fish up or fishing or something for this story, and he
\nsaid,\u00a0 \u201cdon\u2019t have any, I never had one, in those days we weren\u2019t into
\npicture taking.\u201d This reminds me to tell my readers, \u201cdon\u2019t go fishing
\nwithout a camera!\u201d You will wish you had.<\/p>\n

My short story turned into a long one here, but
\nwhat I am trying to convey, is I agree with cell phones, iPads,
\nnotebooks more organized sports than we ever had, and whatever, but in
\nthis new day and age, I also strongly feel there are things in life that
\nmany of these children are missing out on today, and that is
\nexperiencing the outdoors and the lifelong memories. There is so much to
\ndo, not just fishing or hunting, there is a world full of adventure out
\nthere for them, and along with those adventures are memories that will
\nlast until the day they pass. As Bob and I say, as long as we can still
\nstand up and take nourishment, our memories will continue to carry us
\nthrough a lifetime of participating in the great outdoors.<\/p>\n

My message is to always take a kid fishing, but how
\nabout the elderly people that would enjoy it too. Some of them have no
\ntransportation, or even fishing equipment, and would give you their
\nright arm to have an opportunity to wet a line once more in their life.
\nKids and elders both like to feel included, catching a fish can be
\nsecondary, just being out there is the great reward.<\/p>\n

Your comments and suggestions are welcomed, use
\nyour electronic gadget and email me at:
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 or
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a> .
\nIf you want some fishing hints and updates locally, go to
\nwww.OutdoorsNiagara.com<\/a><\/p>\n

TOP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Outdoors in
\nNiagara
\n<\/span><\/b>Mark Daul<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/a>A New
\nFisherman Joining Our Ranks!<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

When
\nI was coming home from the coffee shop after chatting with the guys and
\nlistening to some fishing stories the other day, one of my neighbors,
\nDan Argona, was in his driveway fiddling around with his boat. I
\nstopped, and asked him how the fishing was treating him lately. He
\ncouldn\u2019t complain he said, it was a little bit slow, and we both agreed,
\nprobably because of the high temps we are experiencing, might be what is
\nmaking the bass sluggish and not too hungry. \u201cBut I\u2019m still catching
\nfish\u201d he said, and the little moss that was there didn\u2019t seem to matter.
\nDan got a new Crestliner boat last year that is worthy of the Lake
\nOntario chops and his boat never sits too long. He has it all equipped
\nfor Spring trout and salmon fishing, and now that the bass season is
\nhere, Dan has been trying his luck with Bass in the river and the mouth
\nof the river, and on the bar in the lake. He often takes his brother or
\nanother friend out fishing, and privately, I regard him as the newest
\nLake\/River Guide because he has been so successful in such a short time.<\/p>\n

In our little chat, he said to me how he enjoys my
\narticles in the weekly Sentinel, and likes how at the end of my articles
\nwhen I always suggest to whomever is reading it, to \u201cTake a Kid
\nFishing.\u201d Well, he did, and the experience was more than words can
\nexpress. Dan took his son, Phil, Phil\u2019s friend, Justin Tomaszewski and
\nJustin\u2019s son Tyler, six years old fishing one day. Little Tyler had
\nnever fished before, and for his first time ever fishing, and from a
\nboat. The quartet fished around for a while, and when the first fish
\nhit, Tyler had the honor of reeling in the first of the day, with the
\nhelp of his dad. The next bass caught was a muscular 3 pound smallmouth
\nbass, and Tyler was handed the rod & reel to wrestle this scrappy finned
\ncritter, and shortly after hooking it, the 6 year old said, \u201cdad, you
\nhave to help me!\u201d It was a tough one for a youngster at that age.<\/p>\n

The third and biggest fish of the day happened to
\nbe the fish you see in the picture. It is a good sized sheephead,
\n[freshwater drum] and considered by some to be the world\u2019s most useless
\nfish. Not true. They were put in our waters by our creator, and he knew
\nwhat he was doing. When fishing is slow, slow, you can always count on a
\nsheephead swimming by, and giving you a thrill at the end of your line,
\nnot knowing what it is until you fight it up to the side of the boat.
\nBring it in the boat and usually it will croak similar to a frog, and I
\nhave seen grown men stand back from one, wondering what the heck that
\nnoise is, shy about getting too close. \u00a0Not to get too technical, the
\nnoise is believed to be made from the fish\u2019s earbone, called an “otolith.”
\nPeople think these fish are not good eating, well, they don\u2019t taste like
\na bass or walleye, but if you put them on ice immediately, clean them
\nlike any other fish, and being an oily fish, they are actually good
\nsmoked. The way I have had them after being smoked, is chopped up like
\nyou would a tuna salad, with the same ingredients, and spread on
\ncrackers. After you try one, you will want to keep one once in a while
\nfor a tasty snack on your next fishing trip. Carp can be done the same
\nway. I know what some of you guys are thinking; you want to ask \u201chow do
\nI get them lit to be able to smoke \u2018em?\u201d Ha, old joke.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get back to Tyler, the newest fisherman
\njoining our ranks. Dan said, \u201cTyler had his hands full and gave it all
\nhe’s got\u201d when tackling the surprised sheephead, and it turned out this
\nyoungster wasn\u2019t about to give up. After this \u201ccroaker\u201d got in the boat,
\nTyler was exhausted and said, \u201cI think someone has to get the next
\nfish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dan said, \u201cI had more fun watching him and seeing
\nhis excitement! Priceless, is the correct phrase! I think we have a new
\nfisherman on board.\u201d The newest fishing Guide, Dan Argona, added, \u201cthis
\nwill be a day Tyler will never forget\u201d then after thinking, he added,
\n\u201cit\u2019s a day I\u2019ll never forget!\u201d<\/p>\n

There ya go! Go to it. Find a kid then take them
\nfishing, and it doesn\u2019t always necessarily, need to be a boy, girls love
\nto fish too. Believe me. Always remember to bring a camera!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Comments and suggestions,
\nemail me at [email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 or contact the Sentinel at
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a footnote; <\/b>those \u201cotoliths,\u201d also known as earstones, work on
\na fish much like our own ears, helping us keep our balance and navigate.
\nAll freshwater fish have them. In the early days, this small, hard
\noval-like material was crafted into prized lucky charms, and worn around
\nthe neck.<\/p>\n

TOP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Outdoors in
\nNiagara
\n<\/span><\/b>Mark Daul
\nPicture is of Danny and son Jesse<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Bass Fishing \u2013 A Niagara River
\nAdventure \u2013 <\/a>Coast Guard Encounter<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Last Saturday my grandson Jesse, son Danny, and I
\nwent on a little fishing excursion for bass on the Lower Niagara. It was
\na bright, no wind, and event filled day as it seemed the fish wanted to
\nshow off. Danny latched onto the first fish, and it was a monster.
\nApparently, he was fishing with a dull hook because he got it to the
\nedge of the boat and the fish winked at him, jiggled his head, spit the
\nhook, and swam away. He must have told the others to watch out for
\nplastic motor oil colored tube jigs and to don\u2019t be fooled, stay away
\nfrom those things. After that, the little ones that didn\u2019t listen would
\ncome around once in a while and bite one. \u00a0They were put back in the
\nwater while we waited, for the big boys. Forty minutes later the bigger
\nguys moved in and we invited some for dinner. Six of them came.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure you have all heard of the stories about
\nthe guy in the front of the boat gets all the fish while the guy in the
\nback struggles. Well, I was the guy in the back. The guy in the middle
\nwas my grandson, Jesse, and he struggled with me. It was the guy in the
\nbow with the hot hand. If we turned the boat around, putting the front
\nwhere the back was, it was the same, the guy in the bow was nailing
\nthem. I just can\u2019t figure that out. Jesse did well, as he enjoyed the
\nride, while listening to his father\u2019s advice on how to jig his rod, and
\nhow to concentrate. It didn\u2019t matter, same bait, same place, same
\nresults for him, nada.<\/p>\n

While we were fishing, we saw the Coast Guard
\nchecking boats, and eventually they came around to us, pulling up
\nalongside of our \u201cvessel,\u201d we were greeted with, \u201chow\u2019s the fishing?\u201d
\nAfter that introduction, they asked, \u201cwhen was the last time your boat
\nwas boarded?\u201d [for inspection] Captain Danny of our vessel, told him
\n\u201cabout two weeks ago.\u201d They wanted to know if we had the paper showing
\nit was boarded. Our Captain showed it, the young Guardsman passed it to
\nhis commanding officer, or coxswain, who inspected it with a magnifying
\nglass, handed it back and thanked us. Then all they wanted to see was
\nthree life preservers, after that we chatted. Part of that conversation
\nwas about why the Canadian law enforcement officials are pulling
\nAmerican boats over that wander into their waters. They said our U.S.
\nState Department has been working on it, trying to resolve this issue in
\nsomeway, but the Canadian officials have not responded. We questioned
\nabout not landing, and just passing through. They told us if you wander
\nover there, don\u2019t shut off your engine to drift or anything like that,
\njust to keep your motor running. Never thought to ask about sailboats
\nmoving with their sails only. When the Coastguardsmen were getting ready
\nto part, they said \u201cplease start your engine so we can hear it.\u201d\u00a0 By
\nthat gesture they wanted to make sure they weren\u2019t driving away leaving
\nus stranded, I suppose.<\/p>\n

We continued to fish along the shore just north of
\nJoseph Davis Park near the pipeline that comes from CWM, which is a good
\nhotspot, and is frequented by smallmouth bass. For naysayers, the
\npipeline has no water flow now and when it does, it\u2019s like one day, once
\na year. I remember when that pipeline was going in, a CWM official
\nsaying that water coming out of there was so pure, he offered to drink a
\nglass of it for his audience. He\u2019s not with us anymore, and I often
\nwondered if he ever did take a sip.<\/p>\n

After we caught all the fish in that location we
\ndecided to take a trip to the Coast Guard drift, and try our hand there.
\nAs we traveled north, we spotted two boats together near the middle of
\nthe river, and we thought they were partying. As we got closer, we saw a
\nlarge black pontoon boat with small blue lights flashing and a tiny,
\nwhat looked like, a 4×6 maple leaf flag on a stick, waving off the
\nstern. Yup, some American citizen, a dad, with is wife and young son
\nabout 8 yrs. old were pulled over, and being questioned\/harassed by the
\nCanadian authorities. Maybe dad took them out and they were fishing on
\nNew York\u2019s Free Fishing Days weekend? [June 23-24] We were wondering how
\nmany others have been pulled over today and ticketed or fined. Sometimes
\nI wonder if all this continued enforcement is in the name of Canadian
\nHomeland Security or if it\u2019s just another money grab, trying to balance
\nthe budget. I\u2019ll bet it\u2019s the latter. For you that don\u2019t have a clue
\nwhere the international border line is, get a map or Google it. One
\nexample, where the Youngstown sailboats are moored, there is a thin
\nstrip of water between them and the border. Look it up.<\/p>\n

Anyway, as we approached Youngstown, the water had
\nwhitecaps on it and it was too rough for our boat with the wind blowing
\nfrom the west, so we headed into the ramp. \u00a0We only kept one limit and
\ntook it home, cleaned them, and had a fresh smallmouth bass dinner with
\nsome leftover macaroni salad my wife made the day before. Well, she
\ncalled it macaroni salad, but it had everything in it but the kitchen
\nsink, and that included tuna fish, and Green Giant peas. Umm, no more
\nleftovers.<\/p>\n

One last thing, Our U.S. Guardsmen don\u2019t hassle
\nCanadians or others, only if landing on U.S. soil, then it is handled by
\nthe U.S. Border Patrol. I would really like to compliment our Niagara
\nStation United States Coast Guard for being so courteous and efficient,
\nin doing the job they were sent out to do. When they come up to you,
\ngreet them as they will surely greet you, but have all your safety
\nthings ready and up to date and you\u2019ll be on your way in a flash. Also,
\nI live by the lake, and I frequently see those young men out there in
\nany weather, any time, searching for, or saving lives, risking their
\nown. Good to have you around! Thank You.<\/p>\n

TOP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Outdoors in
\nNiagara
\n<\/span><\/b>Mark Daul
\nPicture is of\u00a0 Steve Drabczyk tossing feed
\npellets to baby fish<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

IS IT A STEELHEAD OR A RAINBOW
\nTROUT?-<\/a> Niagara River Anglers Pen
\nRearing<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

OK,
\nyou heard it here. What is a steelhead trout and a rainbow trout? Around
\nhere in our watershed, you could say they are the same, and people like
\nto call them all \u201csteelhead\u201d it just sounds better maybe. Genetically
\nthey are both the same.\u00a0 A rainbow trout is a trout that spent its
\nentire lifetime in freshwater and a steelhead is a fish that grew up in
\nsaltwater such as the Pacific Ocean, and come back to streams to spawn.
\nNow I\u2019m going to confuse you. All steelhead are rainbow trout, not all
\nrainbow trout are steelhead. Steelhead is the name given to rainbows
\nthat migrate to the ocean, [Pacific, in particular] grow, and come back
\nto the streams to spawn. Got that? Confused? Really, who cares at this
\npoint but to simplify, if the fish did not have access to the Pacific it
\nwould be called a Rainbow trout. Who cares anyway? \u00a0Ask ten different
\nfishermen and you will get ten different answers. They look the same,
\ncatch the same, cook the same, and are fantastic on the palette, baked,
\nsmoked, fried, on the grille or even canned. Fresh run trout are a
\ngorgeous looking fish, and I feel only a brook trout could surpass it
\nfor being the best looking freshwater fish in the universe.<\/p>\n

The Niagara River Anglers Association, in
\ncooperation with the NY DEC on Thursday April 12, stocked 10,000
\nfingerling [baby] steelhead in their rearing pen that is located in
\nYoungstown at the Youngstown visitor\u2019s overnight boat slip. A fingerling
\nis about as long as your finger. A mans finger that is, and ladies, you
\nwon\u2019t qualify. If you want to see this operation, take a ride down Water
\nStreet and just before you get to the bottom of the hill, make a sharp
\nright. Go down that short road to the end and the project is right
\nthere. Drive very slowly down that road as workers are putting boats in
\ntheir moorings for the season. Don\u2019t go in the fenced area to the pens.<\/p>\n

The Anglers is one of the pioneers in pen rearing
\ntrout and salmon in New York State. There are a total of seven projects
\ndotted all across Lake Ontario from Rochester to the Niagara River and
\nall managed by volunteers from fishing clubs. Plus, there are a group of
\nguys in Wilson NY that is headed up by Captain Mike Lis, Wilson
\nCouncilmember Brad Clark and a handful of dedicated volunteers.\u00a0 They
\nmanage a highly successful project as does the dedicated members of the
\nLake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association [LOTSA] who have been doing
\nthis for several years also.<\/p>\n

The reason for volunteers to work so hard and give
\nof their time in rearing projects is to maintain a fishery for their
\nsport, and down the line, hopefully, many of these fish will spawn
\nnaturally creating an even better fishery for future generations.<\/p>\n

The reason for pen rearing is that these fish,
\n[salmon too] get imprinted to the waters where they were raised as
\nbabies other than the fish hatchery, grow into what they call \u201csmolts\u201d
\n[a little more grown up] then they move out to the big waters of the
\nlake, grow, and return to the waters they came from to reproduce and
\ncomplete their life cycle. Scientists call that \u201choming\u201d Each stream has
\na unique chemical composition, a distinctive odor, and somehow they
\nreturn home with the help of their maker in the sky.\u00a0 Anyway, that\u2019s all
\nyou need to know for now about imprinting and \u201csmolts.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what, if you have caught a
\nRainbow trout, it may also be a steelhead.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Smolt about to be released >
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

TOP<\/a><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Outdoors in Niagara<\/b>
\nMark Daul<\/i><\/p>\n


\n<\/a>Eating Crow\u2026\u2026.really<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Sometime
\nago, I wrote this story about crows. My story routine is, I hand it to
\nmy wife for story content, and to make sure all the T\u2019s are crossed and
\nthe I\u2019s are dotted. When she finished reading it, I said, \u201cwell?\u201d she
\ncrinkled her nose, and said she didn\u2019t think the story was interesting
\nenough. A couple of weeks later I was sitting with a couple of guys
\nshooting the breeze, and a crow conversation started. I told them about
\nthis story I wrote, and they were all ears when I told them about it.
\nWhen I went home, and after thinking about it, I dug the story up out of
\nmy computer, and I thought if these guys thought crows were interesting,
\nthen others should be too. So, here it is:<\/p>\n

Crows always fascinated me since I was a young kid.
\nThe neighbor down the street had a pet crow called \u201cAnsy\u201d and a pet
\nrabbit. They both were well taken care of, but it was Ansy that always
\nhad my attention. I swear that crow knew me when I would come around to
\nthe back of the house. It would get excited when he or she would see me,
\nand my dog, Pete. It would start talking and saying things like
\n\u201chellooo\u201d or \u201chie\u201d for hi. Or sometimes it would \u201cchirp\u201d fluctuating
\nbetween high tones and low tones, probably mimicking other backyard
\nbirds. It also seemed like it would ask me, \u201cwhat time is it?\u201d I never
\nknew if it was a he or she, but it was a cool bird. At that time, my
\nmother had parakeets, and they had a much larger vocabulary than this
\ncrow, but it was the crow that had my attention. Ansy had a great big
\nhomemade cage that was fastened to the porch railing. It didn\u2019t fly
\nbecause its wings were clipped so it couldn\u2019t, but it sure could get
\naround with short flights and hops. It would flutter down off the porch
\nrailing, hop over to me, follow me around, and be my friend. It liked
\nPete, and Pete was pretty proud that Ansy would allow him to give
\nhim\/her a ride. Pete was a medium sized mongrel, kind and gentle.
\nSometimes they would just stare at each other and Ansy would repeatedly
\nsay hie. I knew where the food was kept, and Ansy knew that I knew. It
\nwould stand tall, look at me, spread its wings out, make talking noises,
\nand let me feed it and pet it. I felt we bonded whenever I visited, and
\nit sure liked my peanuts when I brought them, but dry dog or cat food
\nwas a regular diet feed for this birdie. [And the rabbit too.] I am sure
\nwhen it squawked and cawed, it was telling me something, and sometimes I
\nguess I would make up in my mind what it was saying, and I would talk
\nback. \u00a0When our visit was over, I would apologize and tell him he had to
\ngo back in its cage, and understanding me, I would guide him back to it,
\nand he would gladly hop right back in.<\/p>\n

The story about how Ansy became a pet, was that the
\nneighbor found this crow when it was very young on the ground apparently
\nfalling out of its nest, but no nest was visible, and suffering some
\nkind of trauma. He comforted it, nursed it, and they became friends.
\nHowever, it is not recommended to rescue any wildlife because sometimes
\nthey are better off being left alone, and, rescuing Ansy was back in the
\n\u201cold days\u201d maybe before laws were made to prevent illegal possession of
\nwild creatures.\u00a0 The belief, at the time, was Ansy would be able to talk
\nbetter if his tongue was split, but that seemed to be cruel and mean, so
\nmy neighbor never did that. Ansy eventually talked anyway.<\/p>\n

During the fall and winter, just before dark, a
\ncouple of my friends and I would venture out to the Niagara Falls Golf
\ncourse [Hyde Park] at the very end of North Avenue. Across the green
\nthere was a woods where the creek would flow through, and at night the
\ncrows would gather in huge flocks, probably in the thousands, way up in
\nthe trees where they would make all kinds of noise cawing among one
\nanother, just socializing.\u00a0 We would make crow noises back at them and
\nall of a sudden all those crows would turn silent for a few moments then
\nstart socializing all over again. We thought that was fun. It is said
\ncrows are the most intelligent birds in all of North America and I am a
\nbeliever. A flock of crows is called a \u201cmurder\u201d of crows to be precise,
\nand that has a good story too. Folklore has it that crows will gather
\nand decide the death of another crow, and the other thought is, that
\nthey would circle in large numbers where other animals or people were
\nexpected to die.<\/p>\n

Crows are very sociable, often when you see them in
\ngroups, they are families. Crow, are seen all over North America and
\naround here you will see them in corn fields, golf courses and other
\nplaces, including your backyard, and you often see them on the road
\nfeeding on a dead mouse or other kind of carrion, but they will eat just
\nabout anything. On the roads you might see one or two feeding on
\ncarrion, and maybe three, four or more, sitting up on the power lines
\nlooking down waiting for their turn, more than likely, they could be
\nsiblings.<\/p>\n

They say wild crows don\u2019t collect shiny objects
\nbut, Ansy would collect mostly bottle caps, and it would especially like
\nChristmas tree tinsel it would find in the gravel driveway. Back then
\nmost Christmas tinsel was made of fine shiny metal strips like lead.
\nRavens are the birds that love to collect. They\u2019ll find things from
\nanyplace and hide them somewhere. Ravens and crows are identical in
\ncolor and shape, but the raven is about 1\/3 larger in size than its
\ncounterpart.<\/p>\n

Hunting Crows in New York State is legal, and a
\nhunting license is required. It is legal from September 1 to March 31
\nand only from Friday thru Monday from sunrise to sunset between those
\ndates. Besides shotgun, rifles are permitted on hunts. Although the PETA
\npeople are against killing crows or anything else that has \u201cmeat,\u201d crow
\nhunting is considered a great sport and a necessary one for controlling
\nthese sometimes huge flocks that can become destructive, and a vehicle
\nto support various diseases such as the West Nile Virus. \u00a0Hunters call
\ncrows with mechanical hand callers or with electronic bird callers, and
\nare quite successful. Even predator callers are successful into making
\nthe crows think a predator just made a kill, and now there is something
\nfor all to eat. Calling crows can be fun and a great adventure for
\nyoungsters, and spring will be here shortly so that is the time to get
\nout, look around you and see what Mother Nature brings you. It\u2019s also
\ntime to get to your sporting goods store, and take a look at the crow
\ndecoys and calling aids that are available, and even learn your own hand
\ncalling techniques. Don\u2019t forget to take the young\u2018uns. Discover the
\noutdoors!<\/p>\n

So, the crux of my story is, yes, I ate crow once,
\nhave you? Delectable. \/Comments to this story: email
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a> <\/i><\/p>\n


\nMore articles on our archived
\npage HERE<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Outdoors in
\nNiagara
\n<\/span><\/b>Mark Daul
\nPicture below submitted by Joe DiMino, Lewiston,
\ntaken with his trailcam<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\nResidents
\nReport <\/a>More Bobcat Sightings \u2026\u2026 Maybe Canada
\nLynx?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

From the
\ntime I wrote the bobcat article until now, a lot of people have come up
\nto me and said \u201cgee, I think I\u2019ve seen one of those things too.\u201d I
\nagree, they are so fast, it is hard to believe your eyes if you do see
\none.<\/span><\/p>\n

Needless to say, I feel a lot better after writing in the Sentinel about
\nbobcats in the Niagara area. Now I know I\u2019m not alone about what I saw.
\nMy friend, Mike Gillis<\/b>, should rest easier too, knowing that our
\nsightings collaborated our stories with what we saw were bobcats.<\/p>\n

The
\nemails and replies were fantastic as you can see, as you read down
\nfurther. <\/span><\/p>\n

Someone
\nasked about the Canada Lynx being mistaken for a bobcat. Yes, they
\ncould, but highly unlikely to be found around here. They are similar in
\nappearance, same food habits, same delights for dinner, and habitat the
\nsame, and they even have the short tails and the pointed ears with the
\nblack fluff at the tip. They are a little larger in size, but extremely
\nrare in New York State. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service [USFWS] has
\nthem on the endangered species list all across the <\/span>
\ncontiguous<\/span>
\nUnited States, since early
\n2000. They are more docile than the bobcat, and habitat destruction, and
\ncompetition with the more aggressive bobcat as the reason given for
\nbeing on the endangered list. Obviously, bobcats are more adaptable to
\ntheir surroundings.<\/span><\/p>\n

George
\nGreen, <\/b>a Lewiston resident who lives on Mt. Hope Road, between
\nGarlow and Walmore roads, sighted one in his back yard, and his wife,
\nand daughter are witnesses. George said he has deer and other wild
\ncreatures visit his backyard, and the night of his sighting, he went out
\non his back porch with his night vision scope to see what he could see,
\nand he saw an animal on the hill in the back. George said he looked at
\nit and thought, \u201cWhat the hell, looks like a bobcat!\u201d He called his wife
\nto take a look and asked her what she thought it was. \u201cAs she was
\nlooking through the scope, I stepped out on the porch that turned on the
\nmotion light, and it lit up the area, and sure enough it had the
\nbrownish color and lighter colored belly, little tail and pointy ears.\u201d
\nGeorge said, \u201cthe light went out and we waved to turn it back on, but
\nthe animal had gone on the other side of the hill, and all we could see
\nwere eyes and ears.\u201d George\u2019s mother lives next door, and has chickens,
\nand she had noticed some have been missing lately. She said some roost
\nin a small tree, and some roost in the barn where the door is always
\nopen. Aha, just what these critters eat for their midnight snacks!
\nChicken! I\u2019ll bet that barn door will be closed from now on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe Kilmer <\/b>
\nemailed me and said he saw the bobcat article in the Sentinel, and it
\njogged his mind about his story.\u00a0 In mid October, Joe and his wife
\nMarie, went out one evening around 10:00 o\u2019clock on their way to
\nBandanas for a bite to eat.\u00a0 They left Youngstown via Main Street, to
\nJackson Street, as they approached the curve to Old Lake Road, he
\nstarted to accelerate and saw eyes glowing in the road way.\u00a0 The object
\nwas low to the ground, no tail, stubby face and pointy ears, it happened
\nso fast.\u00a0 It was heading into the Fort, and he said, \u201cI could not
\nbelieve what I thought I saw or did not see.\u201d First, he thought it was
\nit a fox, and turned around as fast as he could while explaining to
\nMarie what he thought he saw. Joe said he pointed the car into the road
\nto the Fort with his headlights shining, and saw nothing, it was gone
\nthat fast. Joe said, \u201cI might have doubted what I thought I saw until
\ntoday after reading your article. I have also doubted my wife\u2019s and
\nfather-in-law\u2019s sighting less than a year ago in the back field behind
\nhis house on Dickersonville Road, south of Langdon Road.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Joe DiMino<\/b>,
\nfrom Lewiston, and I talked, and he reported recording bobcats three
\ndifferent times on his trail cam, at his hunting cabin down near
\nWellsville NY.\u00a0 He said the first one he saw was recorded on his
\nTrail-Cam in August just this past summer, and another in October, then
\nthe third in November. Also in November, while he was bow hunting, about
\n25 yards away, one ran across his path. He said it went so fast he
\ncouldn\u2019t get his camera out of his fanny pack quick enough, but he knew
\nright away what it was. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jim White emailed me
\nand said one crossed right in front of him on Upper Mountain Road a
\nwhile back, and there is no mistaking it was a bobcat. White also said
\nthere were reports of a Black Panther in the area, but that is highly
\nunlikely here in NYS according to the NYS DEC: \u201cNo cougar [AKA panther,
\npuma, cougar] sightings documented in New York State.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to everyone
\nthat responded to the bobcat story, it was very interesting for sure,
\nand it was fun doing it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Lewistonian, Jerry
\nFarrell, and I, attended a Niagara Pioneers Sportsman\u2019s Club meeting
\nrecently, and he gave the members a quick synopsis of his purple martin,
\nand other bird tagging activities over the past 25 years at the 3-F Club
\non Swann Road.\u00a0 I made notes, and took in as much as I could, and asked
\nJerry if I could contact him if I have anymore questions regarding his
\npurple martin tagging efforts for a future Sentinel article. Being the
\nsportsman, and the only federally licensed bird bander in the area, he
\nagreed wholeheartedly. Watch the Sentinel for a purple martin tracking
\nstory reported by a nationally, and internationally known local bird
\nexpert.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fishing updates can
\nbe found on
\n
\nwww.OutdoorsNiagara.com<\/a> and if you would like to add your thoughts
\nor would like to read others thoughts on the local fishing scene, follow
\nthe link to the Outdoor Forum. On the website you will find an archive
\nof Sentinel Outdoor Stories. If you have something you would like to add
\nhere please email me at
\n
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

TOP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Are<\/b><\/span> There <\/a>Bobcats in Niagara?
\n<\/span>Outdoors in Niagara
\nMark Daul<\/i><\/b>I
\nrecently wrote an article for the Sentinel about Coyotes. I met a friend
\nin Youngstown at Melloni\u2019s Market Place, and he told me he had read the
\narticle, and asked if I heard anything about bobcats in the Niagara
\narea. That discussion brought me back to a time when I thought I saw one
\non the roadway, about 150 yards away looking at me from the road. I
\ndidn\u2019t see the whole animal up close, nor did I recognize it from that
\ndistance, and it looked like an overgrown housecat or a stray field cat,
\nbut as I drove closer it sauntered off into the field at the side of the
\nroad. I kept my eye on that spot, and as I approached the area where it
\ndisappeared, then all of a sudden I could see its hind end and the short
\ntail, and in about two jumps, it was gone. About a month or so after
\nthat, I was in Bandana\u2019s on Lake Road, and a friend and I got into a
\nconversation about different things, and he mentioned he spotted what he
\nthought was a bobcat near his house, but had only gotten a glimpse also.
\nWe both live in the same general area around Bandana\u2019s, and our
\ndescription of what we saw were similar, short spotted tail, and
\nbrownish hind quarters. After our sightings, I did some investigating
\nwith area sportsmen\/hunters to learn if they ever spotted any creatures
\naround here that would meet that description, and no one ever even heard
\nof one around here. Time has passed and I forgot all about my sighting
\nuntil my friend in Melloni\u2019s Market asked me about these \u2018cats.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

When I got home my curiosity made me Google bobcats in New York.
\nThese wily, secretive felines are interesting and live a good life,
\nmostly nocturnal, but can be seen in daylight at times, and sighting one
\nis extremely rare. Their diet is similar to a coyote, believe it or not:
\nrabbits and rodents, birds, insects, even fish and they have been known
\nto prey on deer just like its coyote friends in the wild. They are
\nnatural born survivors and live around 12-13 years, and according to
\nsome sources, 6 to 8 years. Males are usually between 32 and 37 inches
\nlong and weigh about 28 pounds. The ladies of this species are anywhere
\nbetween 29 to 34 inches and the petite little things hit the scales at
\nan average of 15 pounds. It had to be a male that I spotted, it was big.<\/p>\n

From descriptive pictures I have seen, colors vary from yellowish
\nbrown, light gray, reddish brown, and buff brown, probably like the one
\nI saw the back end of. They are spotted along the sides, some more than
\nothers, and the tail is between 6-8 inches, multi colored, spotted,
\nblack on top and white on the bottom. \u201cBobcat,\u201d so called because of
\nit\u2019s \u201cbobbed\u201d tail. The face is cute and bright looking, with furry
\nblack tufts at the top of their sharp pointed ears, long fur at its
\ncheeks and whiskers like your domestic cat. They like to make their
\nhomes in secluded places like rock piles, brush, hollow trees & logs and
\nledges where they can pounce on their prey sight unseen. They don\u2019t like
\nhuman activity and keep to themselves. Predators are few, deaths
\noccurring mostly from diseases [rabies] or from their prey, in self
\ndefense. If you are out in the winter or spring you can tell bobcat
\ntracks by their looks and size. Showing four toes without claws they are
\nabout two square inches, which are larger than you house feline, and if
\nthey are running, the stride is between 4 and 8 feet.<\/p>\n

Hunting and trapping bobcat is not permitted in Central and Western
\nNY, the eastern part of the state allows hunting and trapping but check
\nthe laws. Season opens on October 25th.<\/p>\n

So, are there bobcats in Niagara? According to the people I talk to,
\nit is highly unlikely, but what was it my friend and I saw? I think we
\nsaw a bobcat, more than likely, we both saw the same one. I you have had
\na sighting in your travels or spot one in your future travels, I would
\nbe interested in knowing, please contact me. Maybe if you want to
\nactually see a live bobcat, you need to find a zoo with one, but if you
\ndo have a sighting in the wild, by all means get a hold of the DEC
\noffice in Buffalo and if you can, get a picture to verify your sighting
\nso it can be recorded. [Buffalo- 716-851-7201]<\/p>\n

For up to date fishing reports in our area be sure to check out
\nwww.OutdoorsNiagara.com<\/a>
\nfor the latest. Right now, steelhead fishing in the Lower River is going
\nquite well, if you are fishing from shore or boat, fishermen are using
\neggs, egg sacks, Kwikfish and a variety of spinners and spoons. Wilson
\nand Olcott pier fishermen have been very successful. If you have
\nsomething to add contact me at
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 or go to the Outdoors Niagara website and
\nyou will find an archive of my recent Sentinel articles there on the
\n\u201cL-P Sentinel\u201d Page.<\/p>\n

\n

TOP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Outdoors in Niagara
\n<\/b>By Mark Daul<\/i><\/p>\n

A <\/a>Grand
\nIsland Fishing Opportunity<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Last
\nweek, when it was so hot the trees were whistling for the dogs, my wife
\nand I took a little car ride. We were actually headed for the Canal Fest
\nin the Tonawanda’s, but never got over the South Grand Island Bridge; we
\ngot sidetracked by visiting Grand Island, a place I haven\u2019t fished from
\nin years. I heard about the brand new fishing dock called Fisherman\u2019s
\nLanding, located at the southern tip right near the south Grand Island
\nBridge on East River Road. Hoorah! What a great place for shore
\nfishermen. I didn\u2019t go there to fish, just to see what the place looked
\nlike. There is handicap parking right near the dock safety rail, and
\nnon-handicap parking is just above the hill. I could see down in the
\nclear water that this could be a bass haven for shore anglers just
\noutside the weedbed. When we arrived there was a lone fisherman named
\nSteve trying his luck. When I approached him and asked, \u201cHow\u2019s the
\nfishing\u201d He replied, \u201cNo fish, but fishing is good.\u201d I thought, now
\nthere is a person I could like, telling it like it is. I asked Steve if
\nhe lived around here, he said \u201cno, I\u2019m from Depew.\u201d \u201cHow did you find
\nthis place Steve?\u201d He replied, \u201cI was driving over the bridge and
\nspotted this dock so I drove around to take a look, I had my fishing rod
\nin the car, went looking for bait, and found a gas station that had a
\nsign \u2018Live Bait.\u2019 I got some bait, and so far, I only caught a couple
\ntiny rock bass \u201d It was 94 degrees that day on the car\u2019s digital temp
\ngauge, and the fish seem to lay low on days like that, just like people
\ndo.<\/p>\n

When I was talking to my new found friend, Steve, I
\nasked if I could take his picture while fishing or tossing his rod out.
\nHe said, \u201cno, I\u2019d rather not.\u201d I told him I write articles for WNY
\nNewspapers, and in particular, the L-P Sentinel. He still didn\u2019t want
\nhis pic taken so I looked him in the eye and said, \u201cI\u2019ll bet I know
\nwhy!\u201d A big grin came across his face, and he said, \u201cthink so?\u201d then I
\ntold him, \u201cI\u2019ll bet you are playing hooky from work!\u201d With a broadened
\ngrin and a chuckle he said \u201cYup, you\u2019re right!\u201d So I let it go at that.
\nHow many of us have done the same thing on a summer day.<\/p>\n

After checking out the huge amount of tiny newborn
\nminnows and larger shiners traveling the edge of the dock, I thought,
\nwith bait fish like this in here, there has got to be a load of
\nsmallmouth bass lurking just outside the weed beds looking for a fast
\nmeal, maybe even a northern pike or two. The picture showing the dock is
\nlooking east showing the south bridge. Notice how nice the dock is paved
\nand the garbage receptacles placed there. Handicap parking is ground
\nlevel, just about where I\u2019m taking the picture from. No seating, so
\nbring a lawn chair.<\/p>\n

After our investigation of the new Landing, we
\nhopped in our car and headed down East River Road to Whitehaven to get
\non the Thruway and pulled into a McDonald\u2019s. Seemed like a good idea to
\nstop and get a bite at that time of day. We pulled in the parking lot
\nand spotted TC\u2019s Tavern next door. Surely they have air conditioning and
\nfood, so we drove through McDonald\u2019s lot and right into TC\u2019s. We were
\ngreeted by Sarah, the very congenial barmaid, whom we found out later
\nwas named \u201cMiss Tease\u201d by Dale, a patron who moved over to give us his
\nseat at the bar. I thanked him and told him we came in to cool off, and
\nhe said \u201cYeah, it\u2019s about time we got some nice weather isn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0 I
\nhad to agree, our winters are just too long around here. In our short
\nstay, and being complete strangers, it seemed like we knew all the
\npeople in there forever. To top it all off, Dale had printed across his
\nT shirt \u201cFandemonium<\/i>\u201d the favorite saying of Van Miller, the
\nformer radio voice of the Buffalo Bills. Among the eats, TC\u2019s has
\nburgers, chicken fingers, beef on weck, that Sarah says is outrageously
\ngood and highly recommended. Looks like a good clean place for locals to
\nhang out with three flat screen TV\u2019s, a pool table, darts, and a new
\n\u201cTouchtones\u201d internet jukebox. We\u2019ll go back.<\/p>\n

I suspect Grand Island people are reading this
\ncolumn and not to sound like a broken record on this subject, but if you
\nfish or boat off the West and Southwest Island area, be sure you know
\nyour border waters. Canadian law enforcement has been brutal. In a
\nnutshell, if travelling in Canadian waters, do not shut your motor off
\nand drift, you will be illegal according to them. Don\u2019t touch the
\nunderwater soil with a sinker or anchor or you will be breaking the law,
\nand subject to a $1,000 fine.\u00a0 If you plan on doing that, you need to
\nnotify the system called CAN PASS. If you haven\u2019t heard of this before
\nnow, call this number 1-888-226-7277, and you can ask about it, and also
\nregister at that number if you plan on entering or landing. I wonder how
\nthis works out for the swimmers at Beaver Island. There, you could swim
\nout and immediately turn into a foreigner in another country. Silly
\nisn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

I have a lot of great things to say about Grand
\nIsland\u2019s fishing opportunities and there\u2019s no room in this column today,
\nbut that will be a subject of a future column for sure.<\/p>\n

Always remember one thing, take a kid fishing and
\ndon\u2019t by-pass the elders who can\u2019t get out. They like fishing too!
\nAlways bring a camera.<\/p>\n

In case you were wondering, the Fishermen\u2019s Landing
\nwas paid for by Niagara River Greenway funds and the NYS Local
\nWaterfront Revitalization program.<\/p>\n

In the photo above, it is showing the south Grand
\nIsland bridge from the fishing platform
\n<\/span><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/a>Coyotes that roam Niagara County<\/h2>\n
by Mark Daul
\nOutdoors in Niagara<\/em><\/strong>Niagara coyotes are described as the
\nEastern coyote (canis latrans), and
\nthe theory is they migrated to New
\nYork state in the late 1930s and
\nearly ’40s. In the 1970s they became
\nvery abundant across the state, and
\nin some pockets they over-populated.They are an admirable animal to
\njust sit and watch. Coyotes are very
\nsmart, wily, adaptable, and good
\nhunters, eating small rodents and
\nrabbits, and in summertime they add
\ngrass, berries, large insects and
\nbirds at times. Coyotes are mostly
\nnocturnal, and they love cats that
\nare left out at night, so make sure
\nyour pets are safe and sound.
\nRaccoons get blamed for a lot of
\nthings that coyotes can get into,
\nand they can tip your garbage can
\nover in a jiffy and feed just like
\nthe raccoons.<\/p>\n

Coyotes are about 4 to 5 feet
\nlong including the tail; about the
\nsize of a mid-sized German Shepard,
\nand weigh 35 to 45 pounds with long
\nthick fur and bushy tail. Color
\nvaries and the ones I have seen are
\ngenerally dark tan and black.
\nCoyotes may be seen alone or in
\nsmall groups. They are often spotted
\ncrossing the Robert Moses Parkway
\nanywhere between Lewiston and Fort
\nNiagara, and oftentimes during the
\nday in late summer and fall, when
\nthe adults send their offspring away
\nto fend on their own, find their
\nmates, and take up a new territory.<\/p>\n

I live in a neighborhood where
\nthere are virtually no dogs, and
\nmany times this time of year, I go
\nout in the morning only to discover
\npiddle on my car tires and against
\nmy shed and other objects in the
\nyard. It’s a sure sign I had
\nvisitors through the night marking
\ntheir territories. I have never seen
\none in my yard, but I know it was
\nthem casing my territory. I never
\nfound any feces, but if I did I
\nwould know what to look for, as it
\nis made up of what they eat; parts
\nof animal hair and bones, and pieces
\nof nuts and fruits, things they
\ncan’t digest. Through the winter
\nsnow coverage they can hear a mouse
\ntunneling under many inches of snow
\nand then pounce on it for another
\nmeal. In the spring time when food
\ngets scarce they have been known to
\ntake down a new born fawn to get a
\ncouple of meals out of, or even
\nfreely eat off a dead deer along the
\nroadside.<\/p>\n

Rabies are rare in coyotes with
\nonly a few cases reported in New
\nYork state. But they are known to
\nshow aggressive behavior sometimes,
\nso you should always be cautious if
\nwalking your dog through a wooded or
\ngrassy area; they like to show off
\ntheir superiority toward other dogs.
\nYou should report any aggressive
\nbehavior to the state Department of
\nEnvironmental Conservation or a
\nnearby police agency and let them
\nhandle it. Dogs and coyotes do not
\ninterbreed.<\/p>\n

Getting close to Mother Nature is
\na great thing, and many of us are
\nblessed to be able to get outdoors
\nin Niagara to enjoy the solitude,
\nespecially with winter snows
\napproaching where we can get out and
\nactually track a lot of winter
\ncreatures. Coyote tracks can be a
\nlittle confusing; they look similar
\nto medium-sized dog tracks.
\nSometimes when tracking you will see
\nwhere one caught his meal and a
\nscuffle ensued only to see feathers
\nand bones left. You may even hear
\nthe eerie howls and yelps of the
\nlonesome coyote in the wind. (They
\ncan be heard up to three miles away
\non a quiet day or night and
\nfavorable wind.)<\/p>\n

These critters don’t hibernate
\nand they hunt all winter. Hunting
\nthem is regulated, and you can hunt
\nor trap them in New York state from
\nOct. 1 to March 25. And you must
\npurchase a small game license to do
\nso. There are no limits on what you
\ntake and you don’t have to report
\nyour harvest.<\/p>\n

There is a wonderful story about
\ncoyotes on the Outdoors Niagara
\nwebsite written by local outdoorsman
\nMike Gillis, a lifelong resident of
\nYoungstown. He goes a little more in
\ndepth where he actually encountered
\nthese creatures of nature. For more,
\nvisit
\nwww.www.outdoorsniagara.com\/coyotes.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

TOP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

\n


\nMore articles on our archived
\npage HERE<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\n

NOTE: This article was a letter to
\nthe editor of the Niagara Gazette on November 17 2011<\/span><\/b>
\nMore light on the ethanol fuel controversy <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Mark Daul
\nYoungstown NY <\/b><\/p>\n

Bob Confer\u2019s column of October 11th pertaining to E-10 fuels was
\nunfairly attacked by Chris Thorne, Public Affairs Director of Growth
\nEnergy. Who is \u201cGrowth Energy you might ask?\u201d Growth Energy is a
\nproactive group of American ethanol producers\u2026\u2026of course biased as I can
\nsee. Confer was merely expressing pitfalls of EPA mandated E-10 fuels
\nand warning of the approaching E-15 fuels that are being blamed for
\ncostly repairs to some older motor vehicles in particular outboard
\nmotors, lawnmowers and such. Confer related the rising prices of food,
\nand Thorne disputes that fact, but that is a whole different argument.
\nNeither Confer nor Thorne addressed the real problem and that is with
\nfuel separation and shortened fuel storage life which happens in
\ngasoline containing 10% ethanol or even the E-15 [15%] that will soon be
\ncrammed down our throats.<\/p>\n

Phase Separation describes what happens to gasoline containing
\nEthanol when water is present. When gasoline containing even small
\namounts of Ethanol comes in contact with water, either liquid or in the
\nform of humidity, the Ethanol will pick-up and absorb some or all of
\nthat water. When it reaches a saturation point, the Ethanol and water
\nwill Phase Separate, actually coming out of solution and forming two or
\nthree distinct layers in the tank. This separation it is said, can occur
\nanywhere from within two weeks to ninety days. Once separation has
\nhappened in your tank, the only way to eliminate it is to completely
\ndrain the tank and start over with fresh fuel.<\/p>\n

In older engines Ethanol-Blended gasolines can raise havoc, but Mr.
\nThorne didn\u2019t mention that either. However, he did say \u201cEthanol is a
\nhigh-octane solvent; and will actually keep your engine cleaner than
\nolder MTBE fuels, extending the life of your boat or outdoor engine.\u201d [MTBE
\nreplaced lead as an octane enhancer]. He didn\u2019t say older motors [eg.,
\nboat motors prior to 2007] can be destroyed by metal corrosion,
\ndeterioration of rubber and plastic fuel components resulting in clogged
\nfuel filters, carburetors and in some cases, fuel injectors. He didn\u2019t
\nsay anything about composite fuel tanks being weakened, or lowered fuel
\nmileage, this means that the more Ethanol found in fuel the worse your
\nfuel economy will be. You use more gallons of fuel containing Ethanol to
\ngo fewer miles. Another note here is the Federal Aviation Administration
\nalong with some engine manufacturers, has prohibited the use of
\nautomotive Ethanol-Gasoline blended fuel due to safety issues and engine
\ndamage.<\/p>\n

I have to agree with Mr. Thorne about these blended fuels creating
\n\u201cjobs that can\u2019t be outsourced\u201d. I can assume it has created thousands
\nof U.S. Ethanol manufacturing jobs just like engine repair shops are
\ngoing full steam repairing motors that can\u2019t take this product even
\nthough it has been marketed since the 1970\u2019s, but back then we had a
\nchoice. Now the EPA mandates that since January 2011, all gasoline
\nstations carry Ethanol laden fuel. According to the New York Times,
\n[July 2011] \u201cFood manufacturers and cattle and chicken farmers say the
\ngovernment\u2019s support for Ethanol is, in effect, pushing up food prices.\u201d
\nBut not so, according to Chris Thorne, who said, \u201cThere is no evidence
\nthat Ethanol results in higher food prices\u201d. I guess it all depends on
\nwho you want to listen to, a newspaper writer or a proactive group of
\ncorn\/Ethanol producers.<\/p>\n

Field corn was projected by the USDA at $3.25 per bushel in 2007-2010
\ncompared to $2.00 a bushel in 2000-2005. Fuel blenders have been getting
\nFederal Government subsidies to the tune of 6 billion a year. Those
\nsubsidies come from our pockets. But wait! The Senate voted 73-27 in
\nJune to cut annual tax credits for blenders of ethanol. The vote was
\nlargely symbolic since the amendment was attached to a bill that failed.
\nThere was talk about fuel being blended right at the gas pumps, but gas
\nstation owners are reluctant, even though the Feds want to give out
\ngrants to subsidize them. Oh, more subsidies!<\/p>\n

Whatever way you look at this problem, remember \u201cPhase Separation\u201d is
\na mean result of this blended fuel and if you are storing your lawn
\nequipment, motorcycle, boat or whatever, remove all the remaining fuel
\nyou have in your tanks and start fresh next season. One thing you can do
\nfor a short term is close off all tank vents and that will help prevent
\noutside air moisture from entering and spoiling what you do have. The
\nonly good fuel additive that I am aware of is K-100 by Kinetic Labs.,
\nand is available in many local gas outlets. However, don\u2019t wait until
\nyou have the problem, it won\u2019t work; use it regularly to prevent the
\nproblem.<\/p>\n

TOP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n


\n\u25baMore
\narticles on our archived page HERE<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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\nVisiting!<\/span><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n


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