There, I Fixed It - In 3D

If you want an example of how tech and manufacturing are changing before our eyes, you don't have to look very far. 

Recently my daughter wanted a holder for her kayak paddle to keep it from rolling around the top. It's nice to have if you're fishing or want to take your hands off of the paddle to take a picture .

She happens to be a mechanical engineering student, so naturally she was going to make something.

When I was her age I would have probably made something out of a crushed beer can and duct tape. You can scratch the probably because I likely did that for the boat I had when I was in school. And never mind the age, that's probably the solution I'd arrive at today.

Nope. Not her, not now. They have access to 3D printers at school. 3D printing, if you're not familiar is the process that's very similar to regular ink printing on paper. Instead of ink the machine drops a plastic resin that solidifies into hard plastic. Instead of one pass over a sheet of paper, the 3D printer can make multiple passes to build up the piece into the final design. 

She designed a snap-on piece that swivels to accommodate the angle of the paddle no matter where it's placed on the cockpit of the boat. It's two pieces but made in one printing. Nice. Certainly better than a beer can. 

Lighting the Way to Summer

Lightening bugs have always been fascinating. Seeing the first one is the definitive harbinger of summer. When they disappear too soon in late summer it's always a wistful feeling knowing that summer is drawing to a close, no matter how much I enjoy fall. 

I saw the first firefly of this year, 2015, on May 23, from the patio at Station One while listening to the Nate McDonough band. I'm making a more concerted effort to record data on events outdoors. It's a hard habit for me to start I'll admit. But here is another start. 

While this flashing bug was flying solo, others are capable of a rhythmic group performance, like this one from Thailand.

What's Biting Here?

There has to be a better way. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is discontinuing their weekly district fishing forecast. This will force many anglers to adopt new ways of getting information about local lakes. But frankly, I'm not sure a lot of thought or research went into some of those reports. "Channel cats are being caught off the bottom on cut-baits and chicken livers" appeared for a number of lakes from June to September. Probably accurate, but not that helpful.

With hands forced, I'm certain with smart phones and technology the outdoor community could crowdsource a better and more reliable fishing forecast machine that would benefit anglers and the ODNR.  Scan a QR code and get a map of the lake and updates from people that actually fished the lake. Over time if you could sort the results by time, date, species and lure that would provide great information for anglers arriving at the body of water and for the ODNR.

It might look something like this: Fish Fox Lake.

I recently learned that Minnesota has an app to enable anglers to participate in a creel surveys every time out. That's great and will save them money. It could also provide additional data. Or not. What's missing is an immediate benefit for the angler to know more about the body of water they are fishing right now. That would be powerful. 

Habitat Help

Cool season grasses suck for upland habitat. If where you live and hunt is covered in fescue and other grasses like in the picture to the left, you know what I mean. But managing food plots can get expensive in real $$, never mind the time

But potential good news – just saw this on the OutdoorLife website. If you have land and are looking for seed for wildlife purposes, this could be the ticket, thanks to the National Wild Turkey Federation's Conservation Seed Program. According to the article, it's typically grains like corn, milo and wheat. But any hunter in the uplands know that those can be valuable to wildlife in a number of ways, from nesting cover to winter food. The best part - it's free.

You can read the article in its entirety here: http://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/hunting/2015/04/land-management-how-find-free-food-plot-seed 

Six Myth's and Misperceptions About Ohio Bobwhite Quail

If you remember Bobwhite Quail in any sort of abundance in Ohio you are telling you age. They are primarily restricted to the SW part of the state at this time, but there are efforts underway to help restore this native species. And deservedly so. Like most upland birds, their primary need – and what has been eliminated – is habitat.

This document from the Ohio State Extension office, "Managing for Bobwhite Quail in Ohio's Agricultural Landscape" offers great advice.

"It is important to think of bobwhite habitat from a bobwhite’s eye view. Bobwhites live on the ground, so relatively open ground cover with dense overhead protective cover is ideal for these birds."

What can you do? First is delay mowing and haying until later in June if possible. 

Second, consult back to this document which offers a great list of Bobwhite-friendly plants and suggestions for habitat mix. 

Third, learn the truth about common misperceptions about Bobwhite Quail in Ohio and ensure that they are not perpetuated.

Two of the most common are:

1. Misconception: Turkeys prevent bobwhite populations from recovering. False.

2. Misconception: Predation by coyotes prevents bobwhite populations from recovering. False.

What can you do? Join Quail Forever or Pheasants Forever and help protect and restore habitat for our upland birds.

Can a Fish Save an Ecosystem?

All ecosystems have a linchpin or series of linchpins around which various life forms depend. In the far north that linchpin is the salmon. “Wild Salmon Center President Guido Rahr states it better and more eloquently than I ever could in the TEDx Talk below (thanks to Field & Stream for the find). I won't tread that ground again.
  But what about other ecosystems? What are their linchpins that hold the environment together and that others depend? Can we identify them and what are we doing to preserve them?

The American Bison used serve a similar purpose as the salmon through the interior of North America. Their regular migrations across plains had a dramatic affect on the ecosystems and balance.

North American Bison range map by year. Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison

Now, perhaps in place of the bison, whitetail deer that used to be found more often in woodland landscapes have moved west. They might occupy an open niche, but they don't have the same impact as the massive herds of buffalo that once roamed the plains. Animals and organisms that relied on the impact of the bison – prairie chickens, prairie dogs just to name a few – are lost.

Similarly, the Passenger Pigeon used to migrate throughout the east and midwest in numbers that by an estimate where huge. Undoubtedly they played a similar role in that ecosystem at that time. What we lost at that time is difficult to say.

Passenger Pigeon former distribution in orange,
breeding grounds in red. Source:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon

Years ago, Jimmy Buffet wrote an article (that I can't find a link to) but it was a long the lines of "everything wants to eat a quail - including me." We know quail are natural prey for many predators and in trouble across most of their native range. As are ruffed grouse in many areas. Monarch butterflies the same. These are just the obvious examples.

We need to look and understand the critical issues and populations, and identify strongholds now so that we can move forward intelligently.

CJ Brown - My Semi-comfortable Home Lake

Paddling the north end of CJ Brown can avoid some of the weather some of the time. 

Paddling up Buck Creek from
CJ Brown can be an adventure. 

CJ Brown Reservoir and Buck Creek State Park have to be considered my home lake due to proximity, although I also have to admit that I don't fish it well. And I don't like admitting that. It is considered one of Ohio's best inland walleye lakes.

I have never never caught a walleye there or anywhere. My defense would be that I haven't put it the time to learn that species and have stuck to rivers and smaller ponds for most of my fishing. The deeper, south end isn't really small boat friendly. I think that's where the fish are.

Still, flatwater in the early morning is a common
at CJ, aka "The reservoir" if you're from Springfield. 

The north end however is ideal for small boats. It is very shallow and not conducive to big boats, so there's no excessive wake or waves. Groups of islands surround the mouth where Buck Creek enters the lake and help break up the wind that plagues the bigger sections of the water. However, there isn't much cover for game fish on what are essentially a freshwater flats.

The north end of CJ Brown is very shallow,
demonstrated here by Jurgen von Stillwater. 

On recents days however I have see whitetail deer, a bald eagle, carp, red fox and hosts of shore birds. Our first bird dog pointed her first wild pheasant there years ago, a feat I was unprepared for and didn't believe. I shot a rooster later from the opposite shore when I was prepared. Our new pup is getting a feel for it all there. It all makes for pleasant memories and a pleasant paddle.

Even if I never pull a walleye from her waters, I'm more than comfortable with that.