Two renowned researchers, a noted bird watcher, an outdoor writer and four others active in preserving historic or natural resources make up the third class of inductees to the Indiana Conservation Hall of Fame.

The list includes Ian Rolland of Fort Wayne, Richard Ford of Wabash and Kenn Kaufman of Rocky Ridge, Ohio. The other five – all deceased – are Durward Allen, William “Bill” Barnes, Louis H. Dunten, David Starr Jordan and “Bayou” Bill Scifres.

The eight new members will be honored at a luncheon Oct. 17 at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. The public event is from noon-1:30 p.m. and is sponsored by Proliance. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by calling 317-233-1002.

The Indiana Conservation Hall of Fame is a joint project of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation. Previous inductees include Col. Richard Lieber, father of the Indiana state parks system; Charles C. Deam, Indiana’s first forester; author and naturalist Gene Stratton-Porter; and U.S. President Benjamin Harrison.

Bayou Bill Scifres, the outdoor writer among the group to be honored, was a good friend of mine for many years. Bill (1925-2009) was known to readers of his “Lines and Shots” outdoor columns in The Indianapolis Star simply as “Bayou Bill,” a nickname adopted from his childhood days wandering the Muscatatuck River backwaters in southeastern Indiana.

Shortly after he was hired as the Star’s police beat reporter in 1953, Scifres became the paper’s outdoor columnist and wrote thousands of columns and features over the next 45 years. He was named a legendary communicator by the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and elected president of the Hoosier Outdoor Writers an unprecedented six times. 

I served with Bill as vice president of the Hoosier Outdoor Writers for four of the six years of his presidency. He brought a lot of personal interest to the group and was always willing to share a helpful tip and take the time to help others.

On Sept. 10 the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament on the Ohio River at Henderson, Ky., set a new weigh-in record. Taking first place and $2,500, and setting a new Cabela’s King Kat Record, was the Norris City, Ill., team of Dale and Matthew Kerns with a five-fish weight of 210.9 pounds.

Dale and Matthew were fishing 25 miles downriver, targeting fish in 42 feet of water using large skipjack to catch their record-setting weight, which averaged 42.18 pound per fish. They focused on finding large schools of baitfish the bigger catfish were feeding on – and boy, did it ever work!

They caught nearly 30 fish that day, and mentioned they were putting 30-pound fish back. They broke the previous record of 196 pounds set at Henderson in 2008 by Greg Edwards and Dale Kerns.

In second place were Demetrius Kinnis of Fredonia and Aaron Wheatley of Owensboro, Ky., weighing in 143.1 pounds and earning $1.500. Demetrius and Aaron were fishing below the JT Myers Dam in 40-45 feet of water using skipjack, to catch a total of 10 fish for the day. Teams were allowed to weigh in their top five fish at the end of the day.

Third place went to Glynn Grogan of Arlington and Walter Hayes of Cunningham, Ky., weighing in 127.25 pounds of fish and earning $700. Glynn and Walter were fishing 20 miles downstream anywhere from 20-55 feet deep, using skipjack. With just an hour to go, the team caught a 60-pound blue cat, jumping the team to third place. Grogan and Hayes caught 11 fish for the day.

The Paragould, Ark., team of Daryl and Jason Masingale took fourth place with a weight of 89.9 pounds, earning $500. Daryl and Jason were fishing 20-25 miles downstream in 30-35 feet of water using skipjack, to catch seven fish for the day.

Fifth place went to Todd Anderson of Mason and Keith Sayre of Hartford, W.Va., with 87.15 pounds, earning $400.

Todd and Keith were fishing 15-20 miles downriver in 30 feet of water using skipjack to catch four fish for the day, including a 69.65-pounder that gave them Big Fish of the event, earning the team an additional $500.

Nearly 200 spectators were on hand to witness a record weigh-in by Kerns and Kerns, who recorded the first ever 200-pound, five-fish weigh-in in Cabela’s King Kat history.

The Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC) will conduct two public hearings on proposed changes to the black bass fishing rule: one Oct. 11 in Spencer, the other Oct. 17 in Peru. The term “black bass” refers to smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and spotted bass.

The DNR has proposed changes replacing the minimum size limit of 12 inches for black bass taken from rivers or streams, with a requirement black bass taken from rivers and streams to be less than 12 inches long or more than 15 inches long, with not more than two being greater than 15 inches long. The bag limit of five in aggregate per day will remain the same.

The DNR believes the proposed slot limit will afford increased protection, particularly for smallmouth bass populations, and may increase the quality of smallmouth bass fishing opportunities in certain streams. Allowing some harvest of bass shorter than 12 inches is aimed at preventing “stockpiling” of small bass, and the resulting slow growth. It would also allow the taking of spotted bass, which are plentiful in some streams, compete directly with smallmouth bass and seldom grow larger than 12 inches.

The proposed rule language can be found at www.in.gov/nrc/files/small mouth_bass_10154d.pdf

Individuals may provide comments at one of the public hearings, scheduled as follows:

•Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. EDT at Canyon Inn, Oak Room. McCormick’s Creek State Park, Spencer, IN 47460

•Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Community Building, Miami County Fairgrounds, 1029 W. 200 N., Peru, IN 46970

Submit comments regarding the proposed changes to the NRC at www.in.gov/nrc/2377.htm and click on “Comment on Proposed Rule” next to the “Smallmouth Bass (Black Bass) Amendments.” The deadline for submitting comments is Oct. 18.

Comments may also be mailed to: NRC, Indiana Government Center North, 100 North Senate Ave., Room N501, Indianapolis, IN 46204

All comments sent to the NRC regarding the proposed rule changes will be provided to its members and DNR staff, and will be publicly disclosed and searchable on the Internet and in a paper docket as part of the final report.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Jack Spaulding may contact him by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.