My daughter Jourdan’s fall break was last week. She was excited about visiting the Indiana University campus, and I was excited about us finally doing some fishing together.
We arrived at her old church camp last Wednesday afternoon. It had been two years since she had been there. I’m sure her mind was flooded with memories as we unloaded our gear into one of the cabins. I turned on the heat in the cabin and asked Jourdan to help me hang a tree stand.
We had a lot of fun choosing a site. Once my Summit climber was secured to the tree, Jourdan wanted to try it. “This is fun,” she said. I had always though of it as necessary work.
Our next mission was to go fishing. We found big bluegill in deep water and began catching a few on jigs. The fishing was fun, but Jourdan was cold and sleepy. I took her to shore, and she headed for the cabin.
When I returned to the cabin, Jourdan was asleep in one of the bunks. I sat on the front porch and fiddled with tackle until I heard her stir. I stayed at the cabin while she visited friends at IU.
We were up early, Thursday morning for our scheduled tour of the campus. Our visit took the entire day.
Friday morning greeted us with rain and gusting winds. It was warm with temperatures in the mid-70s. Jourdan returned to IU. I sat on the cabin porch tying on lures and bemoaning the elements.
Finally, I thought, “If there were a $10,000 prize for the biggest fish, rain wouldn’t keep me from trying to catch it.” I slipped into my rain suit and headed for the lake. It wasn’t bad once I got out on the water.
There was not a bite to be had in deep water. I wondered if the influx of warm water, from the rain, had pulled some of the fish to the shallow head of the lake.
I dropped anchor in 4 feet of water as the rain began falling in sheets. I could have cared less. Big bluegill were hitting my purple A&A; Alen Muey jig retrieved just under the surface. I returned most of the big gills to the lake. I was greatly rewarded for deciding to fish in the rain.
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The Chesterfield American Legion is holding turkey shoots every Saturday at noon. The shoots will run to the beginning of the spring turkey season. Shoot-offs, raffles and free lunch for shooters are the features of this event.
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With deer firearm hunting season just around the corner (Nov. 14-29), the DNR Division of Law Enforcement’s conservation officers remind hunters that they will be watching for violators of the fair chase law, specifically as it applies to baiting.
Despite heavy commercial promotion on some hunting television shows, extensive sales of such products at some sporting goods stores, and evidence of the use of some of these products on some DNR properties, baiting for the purposes of hunting deer remains illegal. “Bait” is best described as anything a deer (or other wildlife) might ingest or lick.
“The definition of hunting over bait is, if a hunter could take an animal while visiting the bait site, with the firearm or archery equipment that the hunter is hunting with at the time, it would be considered hunting over bait,” said Lt. Mark Farmer, public information officer for DNR Law Enforcement.
It is legal to place food products or mineral blocks in the wild, but hunting near them is illegal.
“If a person had put out a feeder or other bait during the summer months to attract wildlife to his property, it must be totally removed 10 days prior to the opening of the hunting season before a hunter could legally hunt in that area,” Farmer said.
Odor differs from bait. Deer lures in the form of scents are legal to use when hunting.
Violators apprehended while hunting over bait will face a Class C Misdemeanor charge, and upon conviction could face criminal penalties of up to $500 fine, 60 days incarceration and possible loss of hunting equipment upon conviction.
Contact Rick Bramwell: rickbramwell@aol.com.
