Page 8 - Media demo

Outdoor Truths
PAGE 8, THE MEDIA, FEBRUARY 7, 2018
in the grip area. It is thinner. Again, all for the purpose of enhancing our ability to feel. This smaller grip keeps a fisherman from gripping too tightly and thus increases his sensitivity to the slightest tug on the rod. This thought process has also influenced the design of the newest bows in the archery field. Here the grips are smaller to encourage an archer from gripping so tightly he causes the bow to torque one way or the other so that he misses the target. The word of the day in fishing and hunting is "For the best results, hold things loosely."
By Candice Davis
those things that can become my god instead of God. I have discovered the more trust I have in God; the easier it is for me to hold to things loosely. I have enjoyed this aspect of faith. When I have held to things too tightly, I have discovered a torque. It is one that causes me to miss the real target of why I'm here. When I have held too tightly I have also discovered that I am less sensitive to the work of God around me. I am unable to clearly feel the tug of God on my heart and life. How's your grip on things? Is it so strong that you are tired from holding on? Is it so tight you can only feel your own pain from the grip and not sense the pain of others? If the answer is yes, then you're missing out on an unexplainable freedom, unlimited blessings, and an indescribable peace. Ask God today to loosen your grip and you will enjoy the things He gives you more fully. gary@outdoortruths.org
Holding Loosely By Gary Miller
I have to admit that I like
watching fishing on TV;
Not the everyday
programs, but
tournament fishing. The
Bass Master's Classic is
one of my favorites. In
those shows you really get
to see different techniques
and strategies that are
used and which ones may
work best on that
particular day and in a
particular environment.
And you get to see the
evolution of fishing. One
of the aspects I have
noticed is how fishing
rods are continually being
constructed in a way that
enhances one's ability to
feel the most sensitive
bites. In the past the
difference was in the
material the rod was
made of. Now, not only
are the rods more
sensitive in reference to
the material, but they are
different in design, mainly been entrusted with –
Not only is this true in the outdoor world, but it is true in my own little world as well. I have found for the best results, I must hold to things loosely. I'm not talking about people or relationships, but things – those possessions I have
MDC and partners eliminate more than 6,500 feral hogs from Missouri’s landscape in 2017
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) feral hog strike team has tallied up elimination numbers for 2017. The year yielded a total of 6,567 feral hogs removed by MDC, partner agencies and private landowners. In 2016, 5,358 feral hogs were removed from the landscape.
humans, pets and livestock and that he hopes the message that hunting is not an effective method for eliminating feral hog populations is starting to catch on.
increased public education campaign, centered on the knowledge that hunting feral hogs is not an effective way to eliminate them. He said more landowners are starting to understand, and are seeing, that hunting feral hogs pushes them onto neighboring property, which causes problems for their neighbors. When neighboring landowners try to control feral hogs through hunting, the hogs simply travel back and forth between the properties, escape and cause more damage. Trapping with no hunting interference is the best method to eliminate them.
Crews in southeast Missouri removed 2,858 feral hogs, which is where the highest density of feral hogs occurs. The Ozark region removed 2,576 and the Southwest region removed 932 feral hogs. Other regions across Missouri had around 100 or fewer feral hogs removed.
In 2017, MDC, the Corps of Engineers and the LAD Foundation established regulations against feral hog hunting on lands owned and managed by these three organizations.
“They’re [landowners] reporting feral hog signs and coming to us for help, which is exactly what we hoped would happen,” he said. “We help by providing technical advice, on-site visits, loaning equipment and training of the trapping and removal process.”
“We’re seeing positive impacts in areas with smaller feral hog populations, such as on the western side of the state,” said Mark McLain, MDC’s feral hog elimination team leader. “Our overall success for 2017 can be attributed to our strategic approach to eliminating populations of feral hogs.”
“A persistent piece of this story is continued illegal releases of feral hogs, which establishes populations and further spreads the problem,” McLain said. “This is illegal and when caught, those who release feral hogs face hefty fines.”
McLain said it’s essential that the public understand why feral hogs must be eliminated.
McLain said MDC and its many partners are committed to eliminating feral hogs from Missouri. Other attributing factors in the success of the feral hog elimination effort include MDC’s “Report, don’t shoot” message to encourage trapping, prohibiting the take of feral hogs on conservation areas, and a strong public awareness campaign.
Feral hogs are not wildlife and are a serious threat to fish, forests and wildlife as well as agricultural resources. Economic loss estimates from 10 years ago in the U.S. were at greater than $1.5 billion in damage from feral hogs per year. Since there are more hogs today, this total is likely higher now. Feral hogs damage property, agriculture, and natural resources by their aggressive rooting of soil in addition to their trampling and consumption of crops as part of their daily search for food.
“These are a destructive, invasive species that doesn’t belong here; they’re not a native species,” McLain said. “They out-compete native wildlife for habitat and food. For example, places with a lot of feral hogs will see their wild turkey and deer population diminish.”
“Landowners and the public are a crucial element of this effort, especially since most land in Missouri is privately owned,” McLain said. “We must continue to educate on the dangers of feral hogs and engage landowners in elimination efforts.”
To report feral hog sightings or damage, go online to mdc.mo. gov/feralhog.
McLain said feral hogs present potential for diseases to spread to
McLain said landowners are responding to an
“For over 20 years, unregulated take of feral hogs was allowed in Missouri, during which time our feral hog population expanded from a few counties to over 30 counties,” he said.
OUTDOORS With Kevin Fox
A nice black bear approaching the bait during last years hunt in Saskatchewan. Hunting or fishing away from your home turf is always special, but bears really add a lot more to the experience.
Black Bear Hunting, Round Three
There’s a lady at C&R Market in Kahoka who asks me each time she sees me, “How long till you go bear hunting again?’ I get a kick out of her asking, and she gets a kick out of asking me because she knows, that I know exactly how many days. Just for the record if you get your newspaper on Wednesday, February 7, it will be 87 days till we head out for Saskatchewan. Still a ways off, but close enough to begin to get excited. This will be my third bear hunt and I am beginning to get a complex, because most of the hunters I have gone with in the past do not go back hunting with me. I do not know if was me or the cost of the bear hunt or the combination of both! But more than likely this will be my last bear hunt, unless I am strong enough and have my mental capacities ( and they’re fading fast) to take my grandson when he is 16, which will make me 73. The other reason I will not go back for bear for awhile is there are other things to pursue like waterfowl hunting in Chesapeake Bay, a mule deer hunt in Colorado, and I just heard today (January 30th) that I am 466 days from a trip to Africa. I really need to be working to keep making those trips, as the number one thing people tell me about retirement is that everyone wants your money, whether you have any coming in or not.
Whether curious or even aggressive, black bear often will climb the same tree the hunter is in. Photo courtesy of Great Grey Outfitters.
around the camp also adds a great deal to the hunt.
So due to the weather messing up our ice fishing and the crows being smarter than I am, I’m going to give you some thoughts about bear hunting this week. I will tell you that if you have ever in your life given the least thought about bear hunting, do it and do it now. There is still time to get a guide for the 2018 spring season, although the best dates may be taken. The reason I say the best dates is because the later in the season, the more likely the bear will have rubs meaning that the fur will have bald spots. Bear hunting is not for everyone and I get that, because there are things that I have no desire to hunt.
And let’s be honest, sitting in my stand in the dark, without being able to see what’s out there and just as important not being able to hear what’s out there, took me back to my younger days when sitting along Honey Creek at night and wondering what was going to jump out next. The previous owner of the outfitters where we go, told us a story about a client who had a bear come in past legal shooting hours. As it got darker more bears came in and the last he knew he had five bears around the bait and under his stand. He sat that way for more than hour. The only way he could tell where the bears were was when he heard two of the bears get in a fight. The next night he wouldn’t go out by himself and the guide had to go with him and sit in the tree beside him. It’s easy to laugh at that story, but I don’t know as I blame the client I like the quote of that great American archer Fred Bear who said, "If some of our teenage thrill seekers really want to go out and get a thrill, let them go up into the Northwest and tangle with the Grizzly Bear, the Polar Bear, and the Brown Bear. They will get their kicks, and it will cleanse their souls." Now I know that a black bear is a long way from the bears that Fred was talking about, but I still know what they are capable of. I suppose that thrill or excitement is sort of a cleansing experience. Fred also added, "When a hunter is in a tree stand with high moral values and with the proper hunting ethics and richer for the experience, that hunter is 20 feet closer to God." I also get that feeling when hunting black bear or anything for that matter.
I would suppose that a black bear hunt is a bucket list item. And for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term, it means something that you want to do before you kick the bucket, at least that’s what my first bear hunt was. I don’t know what I called the second hunt or what I will call the approaching hunt. I suppose it was so much fun and so different from anything I have ever done before that I just couldn’t get enough of it. This year I am looking for a color phase bear, but if a trophy monster bear comes in and he is black..... well it’s not a color phase or nothing wish list!
Excitement or adrenaline have a lot to do with bear hunting. I get excited when I have a deer out in front of me, but deer cannot climb trees and that changes everything. It’s not so much that they are known to be aggressive, it’s just that they have that ability. For example, the Bible even mentions a mother bear and its cubs, Proverbs 17:12 “Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his folly.” And the problem with boars is that the sows do not come into season until their cubs are a year old, unless they have no cubs. Therefore if a boar kills the cubs, the sow will come back into heat again to be bred. So cubs are often killed and consumed by the boars. In an attempt to keep this from happening the cubs will climb trees. The important thing for hunters is that the boar knows that you are not a cub and do not come up the tree you are in!
I have to share with you what part of the attraction of bear hunting is. Let me use this example, you know how often you eat turkey. For the most part the special holidays see the demise of a great many turkeys such as Thanksgiving or Easter. I have yet to see a plate at our family holiday dinners with just a slice of turkey on it. No, there will be noodles, scallop corn, a buttered roll or two, and under those noddles with be a pile of mashed potatos. So although you say you like to eat turkey at the holiday dinners, it’s not just the turkey. It’s the other things that go along with it and add to it. That’s what black bear hunting is, it’s not just the bear it’s all the other things that go along with it. For example, it’s the ruggedness of the country. From the perch on my stand I might be able to see 70 yards because the pine trees are so thick. Last year, as well as the previous year. I saw and heard ruffed grouse on the way to and while in my stand. On the drive up we saw elk, moose, and wolves. The fun
The only bad side to my bear hunting is that we have to drive 22 1/2 hours to get there and it seems twice that far driving home. But, a cooler with a bear hide and bear meat makes it all bearable.