As long as mankind has hunted, fished and foraged, there has always been something brought along to help stave off hunger and starvation. Ancient ones went afield with jerky, pemmican and leather bags of parched corn. Sucking on a mouthful of over-cooked corn has pretty much fell out of fashion as well as packing along a glob of pemmican consisting of pounded meat, fat and berries. As for jerky, it is still held aloof as one of the great foods necessary for sustenance afield. Back to the parched corn… maybe Corn Nuts is a modern alternative. I have opted for it in the past, and actually cracked a tooth chomping on the delight.

Modern outdoor trekkers have an abundance of healthy and nutritious snacks available. However, like many diehard outdoorsmen, I too shy away from things labeled as healthy and nutritious.

Some of the more obscure treats-afield known to the less rugged who prefer energy bars and gluten free trail mix are treasured secrets of we, the less refined.

Top of the list are grocery stores’ ubiquitous Vienna Sausages. The tiny cans containing finely ground, slightly salty, extruded mystery meat have sustained many a sportsman. Years ago, it took an accompanying key to open the treasure, but now manufacturers have gone to a pull-tab lid making accessing the tasty, caloric, artery clogging snack quick and simple. An amateur may pop the lid and perhaps pour off the salty brine… but a real woodsman will tip up the can sipping away like it is a fine wine, relishing its life sustaining essence.

For any outdoor lovers looking to dine afield on heart healthy sources of mega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil, look no further than the dollar cans of sardines lining the selves at Kroger. Granted, being heavily salted and packed in mustard and Louisiana hot sauce may possibly lessen the added health benefits.

Alongside the sardines, the sharp eye will pick out tins of Kipper Snacks. Even saltier than their tiny packed cousins the sardines, the smoked, strongly flavored herring fillets will keep you going. However, anyone accompanying you in the close quarters of a ground blind may find your breath somewhat offensive.

Turkey and deer hunting usually required a couple of peanut butter sandwiches and a thermos of hot coffee, but on the spur of the moment, I’ve had to make do with far less. An instance comes to mind when my good friend Bill Barker and I were poorly stocked for snacks when turkey hunting. We both did have coffee, but lacked anything of sustenance to go with it.

Rustling through his turkey hunting back pack, Bill pulled out a small foil packet, ripped it open and asked, “You want some of this?”

My reply as I looked at what appeared to be finely crushed crust with flecks of pink was, “What is it?”

Bill simply said, “A week or so ago… it was a strawberry Pop Tart.”

Years ago, I was sturgeon fishing on the Wabash River with my late brother-in-law John Malady. Bored and hungry, I spied a can of Pringles in among John’s fishing tackle. I popped the can open and shoved a handful of the chips in my mouth. I immediately started gagging, spitting and sputtering as the chips were beyond nasty. They were retched!

“What’s wrong with the dang Pringles, John?”

He replied, “Nothing… they were fine when we opened them two years ago.”

Sometimes you just have to tough it out. Pass the parched corn please.

Interactive reservoir habitat map

There is an old saying, “Ninety percent of the fish can be found in 10 percent of the water.” You can bet the 10 percent is going to be water holding some type of cover and fish habitat structure.

Anglers can now find fish habitat structure locations and more on the DNR’s new interactive reservoir habitat map.

Habitat structure, such as bundles of Christmas trees, rock piles and wooden platforms, improves aquatic habitat for fish by creating areas for cover, nesting and more. The structure also attracts bait fish and provides other feeding opportunities.

The new interactive map includes project lakes, structure locations, structure types and photos of structure types. As the Indiana DNR completes habitat work in the future, information will be added to the interactive map.

The Reservoir Habitat Enhancement program, which started in 2016, improves and enhances aquatic habitat through the placement of structures, shoreline stabilization and dredging. Thanks to the help of volunteers and local businesses, the DNR has completed projects on multiple reservoirs across Indiana. Projects have ranged in size with one adding more than 200 structures of multiple structure types to Patoka Lake in 2020. Another smaller project at Bryant Creek Lake in 2019 sank 50 Christmas trees in bundles around the lake.

In some reservoirs, existing aquatic habitat has deteriorated, making the addition of fish habitat structures necessary to improve the fishery. Other reservoirs may have never contained quality habitat. This could be due to water quality, water level fluctuations, land use before reservoir construction or other issues. Anglers can learn more about the program and access the new interactive map at on.IN.gov/fishhabitat.

Individuals interested in improving fish habitat in their own private ponds or lakes may visit the DNR website for more information: wildlife.IN.gov/fishing/private-pond-and-lake-management.

Drowning victim identified

The victim recovered June 14 in a private lake at Indian Springs Campground has been identified as Ahmad Sediq Safi, 30, of Fort Wayne. Indiana Conservation Officers are still investigating the drowning which occurred in a private lake at the campground.

About 1:24 p.m., first responders were dispatched to the area of the 900 block of County Road 64, near Garrett in reference to a 30-year-old male swimmer who struggled while swimming, went under the water and did not resurface.

SCUBA divers from the Steuben County Underwater Rescue and Recovery Team were able to locate the body about 3 p.m.  The identity of the victim was initially withheld pending family notification. Conservation Officers would like to remind everyone swimming or near water to always wear a personal floatation device.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail to jackspaulding@hughes.net.

Spaulding’s books, “The Best of Spaulding Outdoors,” and his latest, “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com.