Having written outdoor columns for 25 years, word has spread among friends, neighbors and readers that I am a good source of information concerning matters of the out-of-doors. Hardly a week goes by without a telephone call or a couple of e-mails from individuals with questions or comments about wild critters or the outdoors in general.

So, it was no shock when the cell phone rang last week, bringing another request for my personal critique. The surprise for me was that the call came from home. The conversation went something like this:

“I’m sorry to bother you at work, but I thought you ought to know we have a visitor in our side yard … a really big deer.”

Having a deer in the side yard is not a big deal. A visiting deer is not incredible, considering we live in the small town of Moscow in the deer-populated Big Flatrock River Valley.

“That’s nice. What does it look like?”

“I think it is a buck, and it’s wearing a red bandana.”

I replied, “On its head?” (For the life of me, the first thought coming to mind was the deer wearing a bandana like a ’do-rag on its head.)

“No, you stupid man, the red bandana is around its neck. What should I do?”

“Call the sheriff’s department.”

“Why? Is it dangerous?”

“Probably not … it is apparently someone’s pet.” (My wife is always amazed at my brilliant assumptions.) If you holler at it, it will most likely run off. The sheriff’s department might know who has a pet deer wandering around with a red bandana around its neck.  What’s it doing now?”

“It just crossed the street and is nibbling on the neighbor’s shrubbery.  Oh no … here comes Max.”

Max is our neighbor’s very large and impressive German shepherd. The dog looks like Rin Tin Tin, and when Max barks, he has everyone’s attention. “What’s happening now?”

“Max and the deer are playing together.”

“They’re what?”

“They’re playing together.”

Sure enough, when I got home, Chris said the Sheriff’s Department had the scoop on the deer with the red bandana.

It seems the deer is a free-roaming pet raised by a local couple from the time it was a fawn. Being raised around dogs and people, the young buck acts like a dog and will come to a person whistling.
Apparently Max and the deer got tired of playing together. Max went home to wait for the kids to get off the school bus, and the deer headed out for greener pastures.

High water hazards

High water has led to the closure of beaches and boat ramps at three Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) properties, including the Fairfax and Paynetown beaches at Monroe Reservoir.
At Raccoon State Recreation Area, lake level is 14 feet above summer pool. As a result, the beach and beach house are closed, as well as Hollandsburg, Mansfield and Portland Mills boat ramps. A shuttle service has been set up to the state’s boat docks.
The beach also is closed at Lieber State Recreation Area, although the pool will be open. The main boat ramp is under water, but loading is possible from the road.

Cunot boat ramp is closed. Access is reduced to most of the area near Cataract Falls, with access to the lower falls completely closed.

Closed season on bass
is unnecessary

Despite some commonly expressed concerns, a closed season on largemouth bass fishing in Indiana natural lakes is not needed during the spring spawning period, according to the DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW).

Biologists say ample numbers of young bass are produced each year to replace those caught and the current 14-inch minimum size limit provides adequate protection for bass mature (or large) enough to spawn.

In an eight-page document presented to the Indiana Lakes Management Workgroup (LMWG) in March, DFW biologist Jed Pearson addressed a series of concerns expressed by opponents to Indiana’s policy of no closed season.

In 2007, the LMWG asked the DFW to summarize current information on bass populations in Indiana’s natural lakes and assess the need for a closed season. The group’s request came in response to persistent complaints catching bass “on the beds,” a common term for fishing during spring spawning, harms bass fishing.

“Indiana’s bass fishing regulations are not much different than in other states,” Pearson said.

Indiana, like Ohio and Illinois, dropped its closed season in the 1950s. Michigan, New York and Wisconsin recently relaxed their closed seasons. Minnesota is the only state that still bans statewide spring bass fishing but is considering changes.

Like Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin have a general 14-inch size limit. Ohio and Illinois have no size limit except at selected waters.
Pearson said the overall number of bass in a lake depends more on habitat and how many survive from year to year, than on the number of eggs laid or fry produced in the spring.

“Bass fishing during the spawning period is harmful only if fishermen take more than the lake can replace,” he said. “It makes no difference when a bass is removed if the total number is too high.”

Biologists generally say overharvest occurs when more than 40 percent of the adult population is taken annually.

“Based on dozens of fishing surveys we conducted from 1980 through 2007, bass anglers take close to 40 percent of the 14-inch and larger bass present each year, but only 7 percent are taken in April and May combined,” Pearson said.

The most compelling argument against a closed season, according to Pearson, centers on long-term trends in bass populations monitored by the DFW at more than 50 Indiana natural lakes since 1980.

“Bass are now more abundant, bigger and are caught at higher rates than ever before,” he said.  “All of these improvements have occurred despite the fact we have no closed season.”
A copy of the document Bass Fishing on the Beds: An Indiana Perspective is at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/Bass_on_Beds_Final.pdf

 
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 e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.