Firefighters from Northern Monroe Fire Territory, Benton Township Volunteer Fire Department and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Forestry contained a wildfire in the Backcountry Area of Morgan-Monroe State Forest the afternoon of April 22.

The fire was located off Low Gap Road in a difficult area to access, in the southern portion of the backcountry area. The only access was via foot, about 3/4-mile into the forest.

The area of approximately 1,000 acres is traversed by historical roads not used by vehicle traffic in several years. The area was also the location where an injured turkey hunter was removed on April 25, 2012, with assistance from local fire departments and the DNR.

In most areas of the forest, maintained access roads, called fire lanes or fire trails, allow vehicles to reach emergencies such as these and allow access by first responders. The fire was contained at approximately 5:15 p.m. and the rainfall that Monday helped with control. The fire was determined to be human-caused by a recreational visitor to the area.

When you are visiting state forests and any other forested properties, please be mindful of wild land fire safety. Campfires can be a vital part of the outdoor experience, but always follow Smokey Bear’s Campfire Safety Tips:

•Build your fire in a safe area

•Keep fires small

•Don’t leave a fire unattended

•Extinguish the fire using water and a shovel

•Stir until there are no burning embers

For more information on wild land fire prevention, visit https://smokeybear.com/en/prevention-how-tos

Hiker located after overnight search

Indiana conservation officers responded to a call of an overdue hiker in the Hoosier National Forest late in the night on April 24. After 12 hours of searching, a 19-year-old man was located along the Springs Valley trail, outside of French Lick.

The hiker’s father became concerned after his son left for a hike that Saturday and failed to return on Monday. Conservation officers, Hoosier National Forest personnel and members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department initiated a search just after 10 p.m.

Officers searched with K-9 units and ATVs late into the night, with no success. After resuming the search at daylight with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a conservation officer located the hiker, who was clad in a tank top and shorts, along the trail. Though exhausted, the man was otherwise in good condition, and had a tearful reunion with his father.

Officers strongly encourage all hikers to be prepared when taking to the woods. In addition to a cell phone, necessary items should include a current map of the trails, compass, first aid kit, flashlight and extra food and water.

Stream trout season underway

Thousands of stocked trout became available to Indiana anglers on April 28 for inland stream trout fishing. Prior to opening day, the DNR stocked 23,275 rainbow trout in 16 streams, in 12 counties.

To find a stocked stream near you, see the 2018 Trout Stocking Plan at www.wildlife.IN.gov/5457.htm

One stream normally stocked, Fawn River, will not be stocked this year due to a dam-removal project at Fawn River State Fish Hatchery.

The stocked trout come from Curtis Creek Trout Rearing Station near the town of Howe in LaGrange County, and the fish average roughly 11 inches in length. Anglers can catch trout on natural live bait such as worms and bee moths. Corn and small marshmallows are popular. Artificial lures such as spinners and flies also entice trout.

The bag limit for trout in inland waters, other than Lake Michigan and its tributaries, is five fish per day with a minimum size of 7 inches. No more than one of these can be a brown trout. Anglers ages 18 years and older need both an Indiana fishing license and a trout/salmon stamp to fish for trout.

Little Lake Everett has big muskies

Just as good things come in small packages, so too can big fish be caught in small lakes. During recent sampling at Lake Everett, a 43-acre natural lake northwest of Fort Wayne, DNR biologists caught a 45-inch muskie. They also caught four muskie measuring 30-32 inches long.

“Muskie have been stocked each year in Lake Everett since 2010,” DNR fisheries biologist Jed Pearson said. “So, we set traps in the lake to see how they’re doing. The big one was a nice surprise.”

The DNR stocks muskies in Lake Everett to provide a muskie fishing opportunity close to Fort Wayne. The added benefit is the fish will feed on the lake’s dense population of gizzard shad.

Shad, a nongame forage fish of little interest to anglers, are so abundant that they compete with other popular sport fish, especially largemouth bass and bluegills. Because muskie grow so big, they can eat adult shad too large for other predator fish.

To determine how many anglers pursue muskies and how many muskies are caught, the DNR plans to conduct an angler survey this year at the lake. The results will help determine whether to continue the stocking program.

“Given the small size of Lake Everett and the fact that big muskies are there, we think the chances of catching one are pretty good,” Pearson said. “More anglers should try fishing for them.”

The minimum size limit for muskies in Indiana is 36 inches. A DNR public access site with boat ramp, parking lot and portable restroom is on the lake’s north shore.

Spring Mill heirloom plant and seed exchange

Spring Mill State Park will host its annual heirloom plant and seed exchange on May 13, from 1-3 p.m. Visitors can bring heirloom plants or seeds from their gardens to the Pioneer Village garden and trade them for starts grown by the park’s village gardener.

An heirloom plant is a plant variety which has been cultivated at least 50 years, is open-pollinated and seeds from the plant produce the original plant variety. If you have a lot of plants to trade, call ahead and the park can set a table up for you; if you don’t have anything to trade, the village gardener also will have plants from the formal garden for sale at the Pioneer Village Mercantile.

For more information, call 812-849-3534 or email springmillstatepark@dnr.IN.gov

Spring Mill State Park is located at 3333 State Road 60 East, Mitchell, IN 47446.

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 may contact Jack Spaulding by email at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.