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ermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine has been a great source of promotion for our business. Our first month of advertising yielded a wonderful response and really increased our business presence in regions of Vermont that had been largely untapped until that point. The price is unbelievable for the volume of readership. Darren has taken great care of us and has helped promote our product, website and Facebook page. We would highly recommend Darren Marcy and Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine for your advertising needs! We are so pleased with the results, that we have just committed for the next six months! Victoria & Glenn Co-Founders At Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine, we want to be part of the solution for you business. Our goal is to help you be successful. Our rates are affordable and will deliver your message to more than 3,000 outdoor enthusiasts every month (average).
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Page 3 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine www.VtGreatOutdoorsMag.com September 2013 • Volume 1 • Number 9
Features 26 The
© Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine 2012-2013 Published by Coyote Communications LLC
Bobber
Bobber or strike indicator, call it what you want, use one and you’ll catch more fish.
Publisher & Editor Darren Marcy News/Marketing Assistants Maya Marcy & Camilla Marcy
38 The
Fever
There comes a time in the early fall when a hunter can think of nothing but opening day.
42 Spiritual
Connection
An early fall morning reminds us of our spiritual connection through the hunt.
Contributors Jeremy Baker, Bradley Carleton, Bob Shannon, Evan Chismark, Wayne Laroche, Matthew Trombley, Justin Boyer, Ross Crowne Article & Photo Submissions editor@VtGreatOutdoorsMag.com Press Releases, Letters news@VtGreatOutdoorsMag.com
52 Biologist
Honored
Fish & Wildlife biologist John Buck was chosen to chair a migratory bird group.
More Inside 5. Photo of the Month 6. Editor’s Note 7. They Said It 10. Outdoor News 16. Camping 26. Fly Fishing 38. Shed Antlers
42. Sacred Hunter 52. Conservation 55. Birds of Vermont 56. The Outside Story 58. LCI 60. The Great Artdoors 62. Out and About
Advertising ads@VtGreatOutdoorsMag.com Phone (802) 331-0130 Like us on Facebook VermontsGreatOutdoorsMagazine
Follow us on Twitter @VGOMag Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine is published monthly as a free digital publication by Coyote Communications LLC. This publication is protected by copyright and each individual story and photo is protected by copyright owned by the respective contributors. All opinions belong to the respective writers and do not necessarily reflect that of Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine.
Page 4 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Photo of the Month:
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz and Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Patrick Berry spent some time out on the Winooski for some fly-fishing Aug. 21. The pair caught several fish, including a beautiful wild rainbow trout.
Page 5 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Editor’s Note:
Hunting Season September kicks off something special for many of us in Vermont. Only those who don't hunt, or never have, don't appreciate the beginning of fall. The change of the seasons – especially in Vermont – is a one of the great things about living where we do. And when that change of the season brings one of your favorite activities – err, passions – than it's even better. This month’s issue brings to light many of those passions. While, I wouldn’t go as far as to call this the “Hunting Issue,” there is a lot of hunting in it. Regular writers Jeremy Baker and Bradley Carleton write about hunting this month. In addition, there are stories about bear hunting, moose hunting, upland bird hunting and waterfowl hunting. I write about my pet peeves in hunting television shows and there is a story about the upcoming Hunting Film Tour. The film tour is something I'm really excited about. The film tour, slated for Sept. 28 in Burlington, is shaping up to be a cool event. The inaugural Hunting Film Tour will make a stop on its first trip across the country and Burlington is the only place east of Ohio you can catch the tour. You can read all about the film tour in this issue of VGOM and there is an ad in the magazine as well, so I won't rehash it all here. But suffice to say it's modeled after the wildly popular Fly Fishing Film Tour that has been making stops in Vermont the past few years and that's been an enormous success. Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine will be there – at at least, I will be there – with a table to meet folks and talk about the magazine. I’ll be interested in meeting you folks and introducing VGOM to those who haven’t yet heard about us. Please stop by and say “hello” and tell me what you think of what we’re doing here. I think the Hunting Film Tour will also turn out to be a big success and anticipate it coming back in the future.
On the Cover
Squirrel Season This month’s cover shot was submitted by Jeremy Baker, who correctly pointed out that many hunters head afield looking for small game several months before the opener of deer season. Not everybody looks at squirrels as game. Some think they’re cute. Others find them annoying and destructive. But many find a pot of squirrel stew to be just as big a part of the fall as many of the better known traditions. Have a great photo you want to share? Whether it’s a fish, a summit, a sunset or just a little family time. Please send it in. You might find it on the cover of the next Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine.
Page 6 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
They Said It:
They Said It Vermont Fish & Wildlife responds to Catamount controversy The Issue Two fuzzy cell phone photos of what many think look an awful lot like a mountain lion have been two of the most recent signs that the big cats may be back in Vermont – at lease once in a while. Some recently took a chance to accuse Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department personnel of denying the existence of the catamount in Vermont. And the department, on its Facebook site, responded.
They Said It This response, posted by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, has been edited very slightly to conform to style convention of VGOM. This reponse was posted on the department Facebook site on which several people posted that the department continued to deny the existence of catamounts in Vermont:
They have to defecate, they must walk in the mud or snow at some point, and like all wildlife in the state, they've got to cross highways, sometimes unsuccessfully. Until we find scat, hair, a track, or a body, we have to continue saying that the presence of mountain lions hasn't been confirmed in Vermont for over a century. The Fish & Wildlife The other thing to keep in mind Department doesn't "deny" that is if mountain lions were in there are mountain lions in Vermont, we would have nothing Vermont. We do, however, to gain by keeping it a secret. maintain that we have not Think of the conservation confirmed the presence of the success story it would be to have animals in the state. improved habitat conditions in There is a world of difference Vermont so much that our between those two statements. signature species returned to our We do frequently check into state! alleged mountain lion sightings, The tourism bureau would have looking for scat or hair, an advertisement in every magazine in the measuring tracks, and examining photos. Mountain lions, like all animals, have to leave country to entice people to come see a Vermont catamount! some sort of signs behind. Page 7 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Proceeds benefit:
SacredHunter.org We are a small group of outdoors people that believe that spiritual values like respect and empathy can be taught to young men through the traditional arts of hunting and fishing. We are teachers, independent business consultants and guides who are passionate about their love for animals and habitat and desire to share our knowledge with young men who are seeking enlightenment as they progress from boys to men. We believe that through the sacred rituals of the hunt we can demonstrate a deeper understanding of nature and its capacity to heal the wounds of a challenging adolescence. We seek young men, aged 13-16 years, who have limited paternal influence and have shown some signs of struggle with socialization or respect. We identify our at-risk candidates through schools, churches, teachers, social workers and community outreach programs. Our ideal candidate will have some desire to learn the traditional outdoor sports and is showing character attributes indicating a need for role modeling. To learn more, go to: www.traditionsoutdoormentoring.org
Show Sponsors Lake Champlain Ferries Burlington Bagel Bakery Among the Many Prizes: Yeti Cooler Zeiss Binoculars Zeiss Rifle Scope SOG knives Dennis Dunn's book, "Barebow" which chronicles his Grand Slam of the 27 big game animals on the continent with a BAREBOW! ● Dr. Randall Eaton's book, “From Boys to Men of Heart - Hunting as a Sacred Ritual” ● Much More ● ● ● ● ●
Join us Sept. 28 Hang out with your fellow hunters, swap some stories, win valuable prizes and watch eight of the coolest hunting films available.
Come Early!
Meet & Greet Backwoods Hunters and Anglers
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UVM Shooting Team
Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine
Outdoor News:
Vermont Police warn camp owners to check gas lines Vermont State Police are warning camp owners to check their copper piping and tubing. Police have seen a rash of hunting cabins in several different parts of the state broken into and thieves rip out all the copper tubing and pipes including water and gas lines. Authorities are concerned that if a camp owner doesn’t know their gas line has been removed or damaged, a gas leak could cause a fire or explosion when the gas is turned on.
Forest Service seeks vandals who damaged Long Trail The Green Mountain National Forest reported vandalism along the Long Trail north of Route 73 during the week of Aug. 25. According to a news release, green spray paint was used on trail markers, trail signs, rescue equipment, boulders, the Mount Horrid cliff face and more. Acting GMNF Supervisor Mary Doke said such senseless vandalism degrades the quality of forest visitors’ experiences and wastes a significant amount of taxpayer money that could be utilized for productive projects. Anyone with information on this vandalism, or other illegal activity, should contact Forest Service law enforcement at (802) 747-6797.
Want to reach us? Email: news@vtgreatoutdoorsmag.com Phone: (802) 331-0130
Page 10 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Outdoor News:
Hiker lost near Sugarbush brought out unharmed
VINS celebrates raptor appreciation day in September
Vermont State Police, volunteer firefighters and the vice president of Mountain Operations at Sugarbush Resort all worked together to bring a lost hiker out of the woods near the ski area in the Mad River Valley on Aug. 7. State Police said Dawn Robertson, 43, of Burlington went for a hike, leaving from Sugarbush about 7:30 p.m. and become lost. Police were notified about three hours later. Troopers, members of the Warren Fire Department and Mad River Ambulance Service along with VP of Mountain Operations John Hammond sprang to action. Robertson was able to provide enough details to lead rescuers to her location. Hammond provided an ATV to reach the woman. She was found to be shaken, but uninjured.
The Vermont Institute of Natural Science will celebrate its birds of prey Sept. 14 when it holds Raptor Appreciation Day. The day will features hawks, falcons, eagles and owls and be held during the peak of the raptor migration. Special programs, crafts and hands-on activities will be held and visitors “will get an up-close encounter with the predators of the sky and be enraptured by raptors.” VINS is located on Route 4 in Quechee.
Pine Hill Park to hold trail meeting A community meeting to discuss the side trail leading from Pine Hill Park to the town of Proctor will be held
Page 11 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Outdoor News: at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in the Proctor Free Library. The Pine Hill Park Partnership will discuss the work completed this summer to connect the two communities via this new trail and talk about what is coming up in the coming year. The partnership has developed a partnership between Rutland and Proctor and would like to hear your ideas about this trail. For more information, call (802) 459-3539.
Vehicle damaged, items stolen at Snake Mountain A woman’s vehicle was damaged and items stolen while parked at the Snake Mountain access parking lot in Addison on Aug. 27. Lillis Palmer, 82, of Buzzards Bay, Mass., returned to her vehicle to find that someone had used a rock to smash the vehicle's window and items had been
stolen from inside. Anyone with information about this incident can call (802) 388-4919 or report it to www.vtips.info. Man accused of stealing deer antlers from sister after fire Vermont State Police have arrested a man and accused him of stealing a set of deer antlers from his sister's house while helping her clean up after a fire. Police say Michael G. Squiers, 20, of Wilmington, helped clean up a home at 140 Route 112 in Whitingham after a fire July 21. During the cleanup, Dawn Meacham, 31, of Whitingham reported the theft of numerous items. Police investigated and determined that Squiers had taken property from the home and also returned July 26 and took a set of antlers, police said. Squiers was arrested and cited for burglary, possession of stolen property, and providing false
Page 12 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Outdoor News: information to police, according to Vermont State Police. and his children. They were uninjured. Anyone with additional information should contact The officers were able to accompany the trio about police at (802) 254-2382. 1 mile out of the woods.
Man with two young children find way out of the woods Vermont State Police were called about 7:30 p.m. Aug. 31 and told that a man and his young children had gone hiking on Bromley Mountain in Peru about 4 p.m. and had gotten lost. Police said Sharon Peles of Manhattan, N.Y., received a call from her husband, Thomas Peles, saying he and their children, 5 and 7, had deviated from the trail and became lost. Police were able to obtain the location using cell phone coordinates. Sgt. Michael Studin and Sr. Trooper Kevin Hughes with his police dog, Bohdan, hiked in and found Peles
Canadian hikers get lost on Mount Hunger Vermont State Police learned from a 911 call that two women from Quebec had gone hiking on Mount Hunger in Waterbury but had become lost while trying to reach their car on the way down about 1 p.m. The women told authorities they thought they had descended about halfway down the mountain but had entered thick underbrush off trail and didn’t know where they were. Waterbury Backcountry Rescue members responded and talked to the women to better locate their position. Sirens were sounded to help the women know which
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Page 13 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Outdoor News: direction to travel. Two teams of rescuers were also sent in to try to locate the women. Maria Pasquale, 50, of Saint Leonard, Quebec, and Anna Tucci, 49, of Anjou, Quebec, were able to relocated a trail and get some help from other hikers to find their way out to the trailhead. The women were tired, but uninjured.
We are always on the lookout for a good story idea or hot tip about an outdoor news item. news@vtgreatoutdoorsmag.com
Hunting camp burgled in Tinmouth Vermont State Police are investigating the burglary of a hunting camp on Tinmouth Mountain in Tinmouth. The burglary, in which numerous items were taken, was reported Aug. 23. Anyone with information about the burglary is encouraged to contact Vermont State Police at (802) 773-9101, or submit tips anonymously to www.tips.info.
Page 14 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Outdoor News:
Bat researcher helps rescue man from cave A fish and wildlife specialist for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, familiar with caving techniques through years of surveying bats, used his experience to help an injured man out of a Vermont cave last week. Bat researcher Joel Flewelling was among the first rescuers able to reach the stranded patient deep inside Weybridge Cave on Tuesday, Aug. 6. The man had broken his ankle in a fall and was unable to get out of the cave. He sent his friend to get help. When fire and rescue personnel arrived at the scene, they quickly realized that the confined quarters and vertical shafts of the cave required skills beyond their level of training. They contacted the Vermont Cave Rescue Network, a volunteer group of cavers who have experience safely navigating Vermont’s caves. Flewelling volunteers with the group and he arrived shortly thereafter. Flewelling frequently descends deep into Vermont caves during the winter to do surveys on hibernating bats. He had completed a formal course on cave rescue just weeks prior to the rescue. “My supervisor assigned me to take this training because of the risks associated with descending into caves with other researchers to do bat surveys,” Flewelling said. “I had no idea I would be putting these skills to use so quickly.” Cave rescues in Vermont are rare – this was only the second full rescue in the Vermont Cave Rescue Network’s
Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department bat researcher Joel Flewelling pulls a bat out of a mist net. Flewelling recently used caving skills he acquired through researching bats to help an injured man out of a cave in Weybridge.
20-year history. According to Flewelling, a large number of experienced cavers were out of town for the week attending a convention in Pennsylvania. There were few people remaining in the area with the experience necessary to reach the man. “It was a small crew working down there,” said Flewelling. “We had just the right number of people available to complete the tasks we needed to do to get him out of there. Flewelling and 15 other members of the Vermont Cave Rescue Network worked through the night to hoist the man out of the cave. They began their search Tuesday
evening and were able to bring the man to the surface by dawn. While Flewelling frequently visits caves throughout the state in his official duties, he had not visited this cave before. “Weybridge Cave floods every spring, so bats do not hibernate there in the winter,” he said. “Still, everyone there assumed that because I’m the bat guy, that I know all the caves in Vermont. I was glad there were other cavers there who were familiar with the layout of this particular cave.” The man was transported to Fletcher Allen Health Care where he was treated for his injuries and released.
Page 15 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Outdoor News:
U.S. Forest Service extends camping season Forest Service officials in Vermont have announced the continued operation of three popular campgrounds on the Green Mountain National Forest. Chittenden Brook, Moosalamoo and Silver Lake Campgrounds will remain open through the Columbus Day Weekend on the Rochester and Middlebury Ranger District for the enjoyment of Vermonters and visitors alike. These campgrounds will close for the season Oct. 15. Forest Service employees cited the change as a way to provide the public with more opportunity to camp during the busy fall foliage season. Traditionally, these campgrounds on the GMNF have been open from Memorial Day through Labor Day. “Autumn is one of the most beautiful times of year here on the Green Mountain National Forest. The crisp fall air, warm sunny days and chilly nights make perfect weather to get out and enjoy the Forest and spend your evenings around a crackling campfire,” said Chris Mattrick, District Ranger on the Rochester and Middlebury Ranger District. “By extending the camping season, we are again providing a unique opportunity to the public and also hope to bolster the local economies by attracting visitors to the area.” The Chittenden Brook Campground offers 17 camp sites, which are appropriate for small- to moderate-sized campers and tent
camping. There are no electric hook ups, sewer or water provided at the campground. Chittenden Brook Campground is located at the end of Forest Road 45 (Chittenden Brook Road) and accessed from Route 73 in Rochester. The Moosalamoo Campground is part of the nearly 16,000 acre Moosalamoo National Recreation Area located in Goshen. The
campground can be accessed from Forest Road 32 (Goshen/Ripton Road) in Goshen. This campground offers 19 different campsites, which are suitable for recreational vehicles and tenting. There are no electric hook ups or sewer. Water is available from hand pumps at several locations within the campground. Silver Lake Campground is a hike in campground located on beautiful
Silver Lake. This campground offers 15 camp sites. Access to this campground is achieved via a short hike (six-tenths of a mile) on the Goshen Trail from a parking lot located off of Forest Road 27 (Silver Lake Road) in Goshen or via a moderate uphill hike (1.6 miles) on the Silver Lake Trail from the Silver Lake parking area on Route 53 in Salisbury. No electric hook ups, sewer or drinking water is available. In addition to these campgrounds, fall camping opportunities can also be found on the Manchester Ranger District of the GMNF. Specifically, Greendale Campground, Grout Pond Campground and Somerset Airfield Campground are very popular and offer multi-purpose trails, beautiful views and a family friendly camping experience. The GMNF is one of the more heavily recreated national forests in the nation, serving between 3 and 4 million visitors per year. In addition to camping, other recreational activities on the forest include: hunting, fishing, horseback riding, snowmobiling, hiking, mountain biking, alpine and crosscountry skiing. Like many tourist destinations, the GMNF is a major contributor to local economies and is noted for some of the nation’s most brilliant foliage, which will be glowing with shades of red, pink, and orange in early October.
Page 16 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Outdoor News:
Hunting Film Tour articles and a mentoring program Carleton has launched to help A lot of people talk about helping promote the outdoors while also connect kids to the outdoors, but helping at-risk young men. Bradley Carleton is actually doing something about it. Carleton is the founder and driving force behind Sacred Hunter (www.SacredHunter.org), which is an organization dedicated to looking at the connection between the outdoors and the spirituality many find in nature and through traditional outdoor pursuits. It’s the kind of deep connection many of us feel to wild critters and wild places. Unfortunately, you won’t read a lot about these kinds of things and even smaller chance you’ll see a television show about hunters and anglers who have actual emotions not related to the marketing of a product that sponsors the show. But there are many of us out there, tromping through the forests and fields with guns and cameras, who know that only when we get away from the hustle and bustle of society do we Traditions Outdoor Mentoring find what many say can only be (www.TraditionsOutdoorMentoring. found inside the walls of a house of org), an offshoot of Sacred Hunter, is worship. a program Carleton has launched in Without putting too many words which young at-risk boys can be into Carleton’s mouth, these are the taught “through the traditional arts of kinds of things that seem to propel hunting and fishing.” SacredHunter.org, which manifest “We believe that through the themselves in his blog, published sacred rituals of the hunt we can
demonstrate a deeper understanding of nature and its capacity to heal the wounds of a challenging adolescence.” Most of what Traditions Outdoor Mentoring is working on is teaching boys how to become men without a solid father figure around to guide them. They are 13 to 16 years old with limited paternal influence and who “have shown some signs of struggle with socialization or respect.” It can’t be said better than the organization’s mission statement: “We seek to add value and meaning to their lives by modeling respect and appreciation for wildlife and the ecosystem in which we live. “We act as adult male mentors for young men seeking to define their own identities and learn the way of the hunter, trapper and fisherman in the tradition of active modern conservationists.” And the mentoring isn’t a weekend or two. This fellow has been mentored for years by Carleton and his crew, earning more privileges along the way. But while the program is a volunteer effort and doesn’t have a lot of overhead, they are in need of some things that cost money, like insurance, and youth-sized gear. While donations are gladly accepted, Carleton has come up with
Page 18 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Outdoor News: another way to raise some funds that should be a highlight of the year for many people in the hunting world. On Sept. 28, the Hunting Film Tour will make a stop in Burlington on its inaugural journey around the country. The Vermont showing is the only place east of Ohio you’ll be able to see these films. The majority of the Hunting Film Tour’s showings will be in the Rocky Mountains with a handful in the Plains states and MidWest. Funds raised will benefit Sacred Hunter and Traditions Outdoor Mentoring. The film tour, modeled after the wildly popular Fly Fishing Film Tour that has been making stops in
Manchester and Middlebury the past couple of years, will bring eight short films to The Film House. Each of these films is 10 to 20 minutes long and feature scenes of hunts for whitetails, waterfowl, grizzly, aoudad, mountain goats, elk and javelina. With a cost of only $16, the evening will include the eight short films, some food and beverages, drawings and raffles for outdoor gear including a $1,000 Zeiss binoculars, 4x32 Zeiss Conquest rifle scope, SOG knives and a Yeti cooler and many others, it’s going to be a cool evening. The event will be held at The Film House, 60 Lake Street in Burlington. Doors open at 5 p.m. and there will
be some sponsors on hand including Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine (www.vtgreatoutdoorsmag.com). Films start at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for only $15 from Dattilio’s Guns & Tackle on Shelburne Road in South Burlington, Powderhorn Sports in Williston, and Big River Bait & Tackle in Hinesburg. Tickets can also be purchased online or at the door if seats remain, but there are only 200 seats available. So grab your hunting buddies and head to Burlington on Sept. 28. And be sure to come a little early so we can swap some stories about the outdoors. For information, contact Bradley Carleton at (802) 238-6176 or sacredhunter.org@gmail.com.
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Page 19 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
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Like that special tree stand from which you always see deer, or that stretch of river where the trout always rise, there are just some places that are unique. A spot that holds a place in your heart so special that you keep it to yourself. If you’re looking for an advertising opportunity to share your message, this can be your special place. This prime spot can be yours next month. By advertising in Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine, you’ll not only be supporting a growing publication that is generating a lot of excitement in the Green Mountain State, but you’ll also place your message in front of avid and dedicated outdoor enthusiasts. And you won’t believe how affordable this space is. There are other publications that cover some of the outdoor experience in Vermont and this little slice of Heaven they call northern New England. They do a good job, but none of them cover the depth and breadth of the topics you’ll read about in Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine. So contact us today to ensure we can get your advertisement in the next monthly issue of a growing and exciting publication that covers the topics that are important to you and your business. Email: ads@vtgreatoutdoorsmag.com Phone: (802) 331-0130 Page 24 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Fly Fishing:
Strike Indicators
Another fish falls victim to an indicator system.
Fly fishermen, especially those new to the sport, have the image and the illusion of catching fish on the surface. Sure there’s no better rush to the sport of fishing, and especially fly fishing, than watching a dry fly travel along the surface of the river and seeing a trout or other fish rise There’s no doubt that even to the surface. seasoned fly fishermen prefer the
rush of a fish sipping or attacking a surface fly. But let’s face the facts. A fish’s diet is primarily made up of subsurface foods. In this month’s article my hope is to clear the air on different types and different applications of using a strike indicator. OK, better stated, a bobber.
Page 26 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Fly Fishing: Some fly fishermen frown at the thought of putting an indicator on their leader, but it’s a necessary tool for those learning how to properly drift a fly below the surface of the water and improve their chances of hooking fish. In order to understand the benefits of using indicators for the purposes of catching fish, let’s first tackle the definitions often used by both fly and spin fishermen so we better understand the benefits of these devices. Like all sports, fly fishermen use certain lingo to express their sport. Here are some of the definitions I researched that I think you will find beneficial to better understand
these devices. So let’s start with the obvious: Bobber – a small float placed on a fishing line to hold the hook at the desired depth. Fly fishermen typically prefer to use the term “strike indicator” when referring to their sport. I found the definition of a Strike Indicator to be – a brightly colored, highly visible tab, sleeve or bead or similar material used in fly fishing. Such devices may be attached to the line or leader when used in areas restricted to fly fishing only. And after a little bit more research I stumbled upon the term: Fishing Float – a float, also called a bobber, is a device used in angling
that serves two purposes. It suspends the bait at a predetermined depth, and it serves as a bite indicator. Floats come in different sizes and shapes. OK, are you as confused as I am? I guess they’re all bobbers. For the sake of giving you the illusion that I’m a more sophisticated fly fisherman, I will refer to the bobber as a strike indicator for the rest of this article. So here’s our objective, I’m using a strike indicator while fly fishing with a fly to fish the fly just below the surface into the middle column of water, and possibly even the lowest column of water, in pursuit of hooking feeding fish.
Page 27 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Fly Fishing:
This screen grab is from a video produced by The Fly Rod Shop that shows how to rig an indicator system and fish it. To watch the video, click on the photo above, or click here.
Seventy-five percent of a fish’s diet is made up of subaquatic species (below the water’s surface). So if you want to increase your opportunity of hooking and landing fish on these flies you will need to use some form of strike indicator. Most fly fishermen that come through the shop realize the importance of the indicator, but I find most don’t realize that fly fishing strike indicators are effective for certain applications. Indicators that are used for surface and middle column fly fishing are primarily made out of yarn, foam, or lightweight plastic and are more specifically designed as a bite indicator to allow the fly to freely drift below the water surface
at a shallower depth. These indicators are typically used with unweighted wet flies or bead-headed flies. Adding additional weight with these indicators takes away the effectiveness of the indicator because they will quickly sink below the surface. These forms of strike indicators are not designed to carry additional weight and cast more easily than larger strike indicators. Only recently in the fly fishing world have strike indicators been used with a more traditional shape of a bobber or float to allow fly fishermen to add additional weight or split shot below the indicator to carry the fly to lower levels of the water.
For these bobber-type indicators you would either use a Thingamabobber strike indicator or a Raven float. These indicators only function right when the proper amounts of weight are added to the leader to make the float correctly suspend the fly at the desired depth. When fishing with strike indicators, you must first and foremost realize that you cannot false cast these leader systems without finding your line tangled and twisted. The preferred method of casting is to use the roll cast followed by an upstream mend so your floating fly line always drifts upstream of the indicator.
Page 28 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Fly Fishing:
Some items needed to build an indicator system for fishing subsurface flies where 75 percent of a fish’s diet is found.
By doing this, the fly line does not pull or drag the indicator faster than the speed of the current. The mending techniques I use when fishing with a strike indicator is an upstream flip mend or an upstream stack mend. To better explain this method of casting and mending your line with an indicator system, we are including a video to show you the proper techniques for indicator fishing.
It’s only been in the past five years of my guiding career that I have fly fished with float indicators and carried multiple weights, mainly due to the difficulty of casting these systems. With a little practice and the visual benefit of this video, you’ll be able to see how easy indicator fishing can be. I will tell you that a slow day of fishing is often saved by fishing flies in the lower columns of water
during nonhatch and nonsurface feeding times by using a bobber! Bob Shannon is the owner and head guide at The Fly Rod Shop in Stowe. He has more than 25 years of experience teaching fly fishing and is a member of the St. Croix Pro Staff as well as an ambassador for Simms Fishing Products. He currently serves on the board for Lake Champlain International and is on the Vermont Fish & Wildlife board.
Page 29 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Fishing:
Justin Boyer shows off a couple of largemouth bass he caught in August. The bass on the left weighed 6.4 pounds, while the bass on the right was 5.5 pounds. He caught them flipping Berkley Havoc Pit Boss with one-half ounce tungsten weight. Boyer said his five-fish bag that day was over 28 pounds. Boyer wasn’t keen on giving up his spot, but said they were caught in a medium-sized lake proving that not only does Lake Champlain produce large fish but other lakes in Vermont do as well produce giants
Page 31 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Fishing:
Page 32 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Fishing:
Beautiful ‘Bow Ross Crowne of VtFlyPlace caught this gorgeous rainbow in the lower section of the Middlebury River in Addison County this summer. The fish was caught during high water after a rain when most of the other water was blown out. Crowne caught the trout on a white streamer he tied for VtFlyPlace. Crowne is accomplished on the vice. You can a lot of his custom flies for trout, salmon and warmwater species, as well as a whole lot of other great fish photos on the VtFlyPlace Facebook site at www.facebook.com/Vtflyplace.
Page 33 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
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Hunting:
Page 36 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Page 37 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Shed Antlers:
Page 38 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Shed Antlers:
The Fever A
s soon as the sun sets on the final day of your final season; regardless of where you are, it begins. Agony. 10-12 months of it. Ice fishing, turkey season, trout season, bass season … I love them all. Deer season however is second to none. When anyone makes reference to opening day, it will always be the season in which deer can finally be hunted. Whitetail Fever. Many are born with the disease and others simply contract it. I was born with it and for better or worse, it has developed and prospered within me. Come September it begins to flow through and consume my entire body. At any given moment throughout this month of transition, my mind has the ability to helplessly wander hundreds if not thousands of miles away. It may travel 1,800 miles to one of 10,000 islands
somewhere in Lake of the Woods Ontario where “bush bucks” roam. Or, it might take a shorter trip just across the border to an oak laden ridge in the southern Adirondacks.
It may just gaze out the window where it all started, right here in our beloved Green Mountain state. The memories are abundant and the anticipation is, at times, overwhelming. I am not sure anyone can accurately explain this natural phenomenon. Attempts are often made but if you haven’t been diagnosed with the fever, it is difficult to understand. It is as much a sense of being as it is a feeling.
Page 39 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Shed Antlers:
Page 40 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Shed Antlers:
Days are shorter and mornings are cooler. The foliage at higher elevations starts to get that preautumn look. The air has a crisp sensible clarity to it, lacking that heavy humidity that made your brow sweat just weeks if not days earlier. Suddenly you have this strange urge to abandon your straight edge and grow facial hair... Blackbirds and waterfowl gather in the wetlands. The black-oil sunflower seeds in your bird feeders are in high demand and you can’t remember the last time you filled that humming bird feeder. You find yourself wandering the aisles of Dick’s sporting goods for no apparent reason. Catalogs from Cabelas, Gander Mountain and Bass Pro begin showing up in your mailbox at a feverish pace and of course, you don’t truly NEED anything but somehow by the end of the month,
you have spent more of your hard earned money on hunting gear than your mortgage. Archery targets appear in back yards throughout the state. Trail cameras have infested the forest. The images of deer that have been trapped by these gadgets are shared over a cup of coffee at work, across the Internet, at country stores and Friday night football games. Pickup trucks carrying binocular clad families drive slowly down dirt roads at dusk. The passenger’s noses pressed against the windows trying to catch a glimpse of antlers as deer enter and exit one of several alfalfa fields. You take stock of all of your equipment, old and new. Your safety harness needs a good inspection. Two way radios, flashlights and handheld GPS units need fresh batteries. Your knife may or may not have been used recently but you sharpen it anyway.
You wash all of your camo, dry it and wash it again (with scent free odorless detergent of course). Ironically you haven’t done laundry since … well … last September. One if not several tree stands are positioned in an old orchard, a meadow's edge, a secret stand of Beech trees that is bearing fruit, an oak ridge or one of many well used travel corridors you were lucky enough to locate. Finally, opening day is upon you and your legs have the opportunity to catch up to that wandering mind. Enjoy the next few months. May all of your planning, preparation and patience meet opportunity for a temporary cure to Whitetail Fever. Jeremy Baker chases whitetails passionately with friends and family throughout the Green Mountains and Adirondacks of New York State. Feel free to send him an email: jeremyrbaker@comcast.net.
Page 41 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Sacred Hunter:
An Indian Su
Page 42 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Sacred Hunter:
ummer Hunt W
e’d been working on the farm last month when we noticed the large flock of resident Canada geese using the wheat field to the north. The farmer was visibly perturbed that the birds had imprinted on his field and he knew that later this year he would have a problem when he tilled it under and the winter wheat sprouts began to pop up out of the fertile soil. Two hundred geese can do a lot of damage to a seeded field. Some local folks, who walked the road every day for exercise, looked upon the birds as harmless and beautiful. To the farmer they were a nuisance, destroying his livelihood and making it more difficult to bring his grains to market, where they would be turned into bread and beer that the walking people enjoyed when they returned home. To my merry band of Sacred Hunters, the geese were a majestic resource. Personally, of all the animals on earth, I feel the strongest kinship with the goose. Maybe it’s that some people perceive both of us a nuisance, while others see us as wondrous and communicative beings. I enjoy talking to the geese and have learned more than 20 distinctly different vocalizations. Page 43 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Sacred Hunter: Some folks may think that hunters are only focused on one thing, killing. This is an oversimplification of a profoundly deep experience. As dawn begins to fade from its dark blues and purples into the pastel hues of salmon, sage and helio, we listen intently for the waking honks of the flock roosting on the bay. The occasional “Her-Onk” echoes over the brightening gold landscape. We tuck our heads down into the layout blinds, camouflaged in wheat stalks. We are surrounded by full-body decoys with velvet-flocked heads in multiple positions, each displaying a specific posture to an incoming flock. We wait. When we finally decide that they may not show up for a while, we decide to pour a cup of French roast coffee with maple syrup out of the shiny thermos with the Ducks Unlimited logo on it. One of my closest hunting partners, John, offers up the ubiquitous cruellers. It’s an annual ritual to watch the sun come up and share laughter, donuts and coffee with my crew.
As another hunting partner, Larry, passes the chrome-plated cup to me, we both hear the sound. “Herrrrrp.” It is too close. There is a bird in the air and he sees us sitting upright and sharing our breakfast. “Busted!” I proclaim, as he glides over us from behind and pumps his powerful wings, carrying him to the distant horizon. “Let’s hope he doesn’t go to the bay flock and tell them what he saw!” says another hunting buddy, Chris. We must be more careful. Coffee and donuts are stored beneath the fabric doors of the blind and we slink back down into our camo caves. Fifteen minutes pass and we start thinking that maybe he did tattle on us. We begin to relax again when our mentee, Zack, spots a flock of a dozen against the trees to the north. They are not calling. “Flag ‘Em!” I whisper. My friend, Chris, begins to wave the goose shaped black, brown and white flag with zestful enthusiasm, flapping the wings as if to imitate a bird landing in the spread.
“No calling,” I whisper again. “When they get in close enough, let’s hit 'em with a feeding murmur and a gentle spit cluck or two, OK?” The birds turn, a good one-half mile away and begin a beeline for our field. In less than a minute they are a mere 300 yards out, cupping their mighty wings and waffling air through their primaries, dropping altitude. “One more flag sequence, then set it down,” I instruct Chris. He does a quick three flaps and sets the flag on the ground. They are now 150 yards out and my heart is pounding through my chest. I can feel it in my ears, thumping with excitement. “Feeding murmur and gentle clucks” I command the troops. As if we were sitting at the Old Brick Store, conversing with the locals, the birds begin to talk back to us. “Her-her-onk Er-er-er-er” they reply. Black patent leather feet drop from their bodies, like aircraft dropping their landing gear. “Get ready gentlemen!” I call out. As the giant geese begin to back pedal at the foot of the decoy spread, I say to myself “Great Spirit, please
Hunting Film Festival Don’t forget that the Hunter’s Film Tour is coming to Burlington on Saturday, Sept. 28. We have eight of the finest short films you will ever see. Elk, grizzly, mountain goat, a 230 class whitetail, ducks and geese are all featured on a 30-foot wide projection screen in a remarkable brand new luxury theater called The Film House at Main Street Landing at 60 Lake Street in Burlington. Doors open at 5 p.m. and there will be Fiddlehead beer on tap as well as McKenzie hot dogs and sodas and lots of neat items being raffled off. Tickets are $16 at the door and $15 at Dattilios Guns & Tackle on Shelburne Road in South Burlington and Powderhorn Gun Shop in Williston. Tickets can also be purchased online for $16 at this website www.huntingfilmtour.com. Page 44 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Sacred Hunter:
help us to shoot straight.” I call out loud “Take ‘Em!” and the valley erupts in the percussive rhythm of hunting history. We are here to participate in the cycle of life. Six birds are down. We rush out of our blinds to pick them up as the remainder of the flock lights out for the lake, sounding the alarm. We watch them fly over the horizon and drop down toward the bay. Before they disappear over the hill Larry calls out “More geese! 3
o’clock!” We scurry back to the blinds and jump in. The birds are to the East this time, in the rising sun, and hard to distinguish just above the tree line. “Don’t bother flagging,” I say. “They’ve already caught our motion. They’re talking a lot. Let’s give it back to them.” We all begin a symphony of clucks, moans, hail calls and murmurs. It sounds like Grand Central at rush hour. They are pumping their massive wings and aiming right at us. When
they are 200 yards out they begin to break off to the south. We pick up the tempo and volume of the calling to a callback cadence. I feel like my cheeks are going to pop as I blow my call from deep within using my diaphragm as I was taught by my opera training mentor (that’s a whole 'nother story). Before they reach the foot of the small mountain to the south, they turn decisively. Are they going away or toward us? It’s hard to tell. After a few seconds it is apparent that they are getting larger not
Page 45 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Sacred Hunter:
smaller. “Stand up and flag the heck outta 'em, Chris!” I say. He crawls out of his blind as my friend, Larry, leans hard on his call and hammers out a screaming callback series. “OK. Now get down and let 'em come in!” The flock of 20 birds circles us twice, checking out every detail of our spread. They are talking the whole time, questioning our sincerity. We call back at them in a cacophony of clucks, moans and
murmurs. After the second pass, the lead bird circles north and drops his feet. He is committed. The rest of the flock follow suit. Suddenly they swing right and look like they’re going to leave, but wait, no … they are simply approaching from the starboard. They will swing in front of us from right to left. Larry says “That’s my favorite shot.” They begin to cup and glide right into the sweet spot. Larry says “Whenever you’re
ready to call it Bradley” as if to chide me that I may be waiting too long. But I am waiting for the flock to pass far enough in front of us that the far left shooter will still have a shot. Then, in a split second, I realize that I must call the shot NOW! “Take 'Em” I shout. Bodies spring into action from beneath the wheat sheathed blinds. Guns pop up into the sky and ring out their deep resonant booms. I pick out a bird at the tail end of the flock and drop him soundly to
Page 46 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Sacred Hunter:
the ground then turn to pick up a bird that has already landed and is jumping up off the ground, in an attempt to secure his escape. I do not even hear the gun fire. But he drops. This time seven birds are down. We gather them among cheers and whoops and we hear Chris say “Did you see that? Larry shot a triple!” Zack says “Carleton shot a double. I shot one and John shot one. That means that you, Chris, missed!” I chime in. “I think that Chris and I were shooting at the same bird.” Zack insists “No, I think he missed!” Everyone looks at Chris and the silence is deafening. Chris states proudly “I think I shot all those birds with just three shots!” We all laugh. Our rule is no matter who shoots, we all share, as long as no one shoots another man’s limit. And none of it will go to waste.
Within an hour we have harvested 18 birds among the five of us and we all agree that “that is enough.” This will take us a long time to clean the birds. We use all the parts. I make a goose liver pate’ out of the livers – sort of a poor man’s foie’ gras – and a chunky country pate with the hearts and gizzards. We smoke the breasts and make smoked andouillestyle sausage out of the leg meat. The coyotes think that what we leave them is skimpy and unfair. As we are picking up, one lone goose comes gliding in, as if he is choosing to join his peers in the transformation. I rush back to my blind and grab my gun. As he passes over the blinds, I take him cleanly with one shot and he drops to the ground with a thud. I walk up to him with respect and admiration. For a brief moment I am deeply connected to the spirit of this
magnificent creature, our lives inextricably linked to one another. To live we must take the life of other beings, sentient or otherwise. “Even the trees and leaves have spirits. For when one Indian takes of the Earth, he does so with remorse and the knowledge that he must do so to sustain his people.” As I approach him I see he has an aluminum band on his leg, designating that he has met mankind at least once before. I kneel down and put my hand on his chest. He is expiring. As I look into his eyes I say “Thank you brother.” As his spirit passes into mine, I pray. Bradley Carleton is Executive Director of Sacred Hunter.org, a non-profit that seeks to educate the public on the spiritual connection of man to nature and raises funds for Traditions Outdoor Mentoring.org, which mentors at-risk young men in outdoor pursuits.
Page 47 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Hunting:
Bear hunting kicks off in September Vermont now has two bear hunting seasons. The early bear hunting season, which requires a special bear tag, starts Sept. 1 and continues through Nov. 15. The late bear season begins Nov. 16 and continues through Nov. 24. The bear tag that comes with a hunting license is for use during this late season. This season has been extended four additional days during the November deer season. The early season bear tag costs $5 for residents and $15 for nonresidents. A hunter may only take one bear during the year. The new season was instated to help better manage Vermont’s bear population, which is now estimated at slightly more than 6,000 black bears, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. The number of bears has increased during the last two decades and is now higher than the objective of 4,500 to 6,000 bears listed in Vermont’s Big Game Management Plan for 20102020. Hunters need to collect a small pre-molar tooth from each harvested bear. Directions for removing the tooth are on the back of the envelope provided at the check station. The tooth enables biologists to
Danny Petrick, 13, shot this 254-pound bear in Waterford last fall.
age the bear and gain essential knowledge about the status of Vermont’s bear population. Hunters took 618 bears last year in Vermont. A report listing the number of
bears taken in each town during the 2012 bear season is available on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website at vtfishandwildlife.com. Click on “Hunting and Trapping” and then “Big Game.”
Page 48 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Hunting:
Moose auction nets $23,704 for education
Vermont’s seventh annual auction of five moose hunting permits closed Aug. 21, with $23,704 taken in from the five winning bids. The auction helps fund Fish & Wildlife Department educational programs, such as the Green Mountain Conservation Camps for youths. Bids do not include the cost of a hunting license ($22 for residents and $100 for nonresidents) and a moose hunting permit fee ($100 for residents and $350 for nonresidents). Winning bidders can choose to hunt in any one of Vermont’s
Wildlife Management Units open for moose hunting. Auction winners were as follows: ● Marian Jusko, Conn., $5,150 ● Donald Davis, N.H., $4,901 ● James Stinson, N.H., $4,650 ● Colin Haas, Vt. $4,502 ● Jeffrey Daignault, Mass., $4,501 The Fish and Wildlife Department held a lottery on August 1, when 405 moose hunting permit winners were drawn from the more than 12,000 people who applied. Hunters are expected to take close to 200 moose during Vermont’s moose hunting seasons.
Archery moose season is Oct. 1-7. Regular moose season is Oct. 19-24. Wildlife biologists estimate Vermont has 2,500 to 3,000 moose statewide. “Our management goal is to keep Vermont’s moose herd in balance with available habitat,” said Cedric Alexander, Vermont’s moose project leader. “Carefully constructed hunting regulations enable us to enjoy having moose in Vermont on a sustainable basis, while their numbers are maintained at levels that fit habitat capacity and the needs of people.”
Page 49 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Hunting:
Upland bird seasons open soon
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Patrick Berry with his springer spaniel Seamus show off the results of a good ruffed grouse hunt in Vermont. Hunting season for ruffed grouse begins Sept. 28.
An experienced upland bird possession limit of nine. website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com) hunter may opt for a fast-handling Woodcock are often found in or by calling (877) 306-7091. 20-gauge and a well-trained bird alders along brooks and near beaver For more information on hunting dog to find and recover downed ponds as well as in new-growth in Vermont, be sure to get a copy of ruffed grouse or woodcock, but they small timber where old fields are the 2013 Hunting, Fishing & aren’t absolutely Trapping LAWS necessary. and GUIDE Grouse Hunting Season – Sept. 28 Dec. 31 Learning to available from identify suitable Woodcock Hunting Season – Oct. 1 - Nov. 14 license agents habitat is the most statewide and the important key to Vermont Fish & hunting success, and Vermont has reverting to forest. Ruffed grouse Wildlife Department. plenty of productive grouse and also frequent the same habitat, and You can also print sections of the woodcock habitat. they are particularly fond of the Guide from the department’s Vermont's hunting season for apples they find under wild apple website. Hunting licenses are ruffed grouse is Sept. 28 to Dec. 31 trees. available from the website and from this year. The daily limit is four Regulations require woodcock agents throughout the state. grouse with a possession limit of hunters to make sure their shotgun is Several large state wildlife eight. capable of holding no more than three management areas offer public The Vermont woodcock hunting shells, and they must register for the hunting. Descriptions and maps of season is Oct. 1 to Nov. 14. The federal Harvest Information Program the WMAs are provided on Fish & daily limit is three woodcock with a on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s Wildlife’s website.
Page 50 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Hunting:
Waterfowl seasons set for the fall The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board approved the 2013 migratory bird hunting season dates at its August 14 meeting in Montpelier. A printable copy of the regulations can be downloaded from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com). A printed version also will be available from license agents and post offices in early September. A statewide Vermont open hunting season for Canada geese will occur September 3-25. The daily bag limit is five Canada geese except in that portion of the Lake Champlain Zone within Addison County north of Route 125, where the limit will be two per day. The purpose of the September season is to help control Vermont’s resident Canada goose population prior to the arrival of Canada geese migrating south from Canada. A second Canada goose hunting season, which targets both resident and migrant birds, will be held October 10- November 28 with a daily bag limit of three Canada geese in the Lake Champlain and Interior Vermont Zones. In the Connecticut River Zone, the Canada goose season will be October 2November 3, and November 19December 15 with a daily bag limit of two Canada geese. Duck season this fall opens on Wednesday, October 9 in the Lake Champlain and Interior Vermont
Zones, and on October 2 in the Connecticut River Zone. The Lake Champlain Zone has a split season (October 9-13 and October 26December 19). The Interior Vermont Zone is a straight season (October 9December 7). The Connecticut River Zone is a split season (October 2November 3 and Nov
ember 19December 15). Vermo nt’s youth waterfowl hunting weekend will be September 28 and 29. Resident and nonresident hunters 15 years of age or younger may hunt ducks and geese statewide during this season while accompanied by an adult 18 or older. Both must have Vermont hunting licenses. The adult may not hunt or carry a firearm. The youth and the adult are not required to hold state or federal duck stamps on this weekend. Woodcock hunting season is
October 1- November 14 statewide with a three-bird bag limit. A waterfowl hunter 16 or older must carry current federal and Vermont duck stamps in order to hunt waterfowl in Vermont. Federal stamps are sold at post offices. State duck stamps are available on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com) and from license agents. The hunter must sign the federal duck stamp. All migratory game bird hunters must be registered with the Harvest Information Program (H.I.P.). You can register on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website or call toll-free 1-877-306-7091. After providing some basic information, you will receive your annual H.I.P. registration number, which you then need to record in the H.I.P. section of your hunting license. The hunting season dates, bag limits and related regulations for all migratory birds are set annually in August within a framework established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and in coordination with New York and New Hampshire. Waterfowl season dates and bag limits are set in three zones: Lake Champlain, Interior Vermont, and Connecticut River. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department sets the season dates and bag limits for the Connecticut River Zone.
Page 51 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Conservation:
Vermont biologist honored A Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department biologist has been appointed to chair a scientific group tasked with conserving migratory birds along the East Coast. John Buck, Vermont’s migratory bird project leader, will chair the Atlantic Flyway Nongame Bird Technical Section for the Atlantic Flyway Council. The Atlantic Flyway Council’s membership includes wildlife managers from 17 Atlantic Coastal state fish and wildlife agencies along with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Puerto Rico, Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritime Provinces. The Technical Section provides scientific advice to the council on issues pertaining to migratory bird conservation. “The conservation of migratory birds requires multi-state and multinational efforts because bird species’ habitats span across state and national boundaries,” said Buck. “When we’re working to conserve a bird here in Vermont, the Technical Section is an excellent way for us to collaborate with our counterparts in Florida or Puerto Rico who are working to conserve the bird’s wintering habitat.” The group works on many issues surrounding migratory birds, including shorebird monitoring, mitigating bald eagle deaths from wind power facilities, and the illegal migratory bird pet trade. They also work with Congress to ensure adequate funding to carry out
Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department biologist John Buck.
conservation work. Buck has worked for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department since 1980. He was head of the whitetailed deer project for 17 years and moved over to lead the migratory bird project in 2008. Vermont’s migratory bird project has successfully restored ospreys, loons and peregrine falcons among other species. Buck and his coworkers, along with many conservation
partners, are currently working on restoring several migratory bird species, including bald eagles, common and black terns, and grasshopper sparrows. “This council is a great opportunity for a small state like Vermont to be a part of a larger network of research,” said Buck. “I’m honored and excited to work with this team of professional scientists and managers.”
Page 52 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Conservation:
Dam Removed
Dufresne Pond Dam, on Vermont’s famed Batten Kill in Manchester, is being removed to restore trout habitat and for safety reasons.
MANCHESTER – Anglers will be glad to know the Dufresne Pond Dam on Vermont’s famous Batten Kill in Manchester is being removed, in part, to allow wild brown trout and brook trout free passage after more than a century. Removal of the dam also will improve public safety by eliminating a dam with structural problems, and the removal will restore river habitat upstream of the dam. The dam, owned by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, is 263 feet long and 12 feet high and consists of a concrete spillway and earthen embankment. It was originally constructed by the
Dufresne family in 1908 to supply water to power a sawmill. By the late 1940s the dam no longer served its original purpose, and it was acquired by the state in 1957. The dam has been reconstructed several times in the past 50 years, but structural problems remain. In 2005, an evaluation and alternatives analysis determined that the lowest cost option was dam removal. The dam is being removed in a partnership of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and American Rivers. When the project is complete, the Batten Kill will be restored to its original, pre-dam, channel. A floodplain will be created in the former impoundment and allowed to revegetate to form a riparian area similar to those that exist in the area. Vermont Fish & Wildlife will continue to maintain the area to provide public access to the river. The project is funded through grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and capital funds appropriated by the Vermont Legislature for work on state-owned dams.
Page 53 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
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Page 54 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Bird Watching:
The Fish Hawk The osprey, when I was growing up in the United Kingdom, was the “poster child” of local bird extermination by humans. The first time I saw one was in my adulthood hometown of Westport, Mass., in 1951. Shortly after, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds discovered one nesting couple and realized that 24 hours watch would be necessary to counter the bizarre British
habit of collecting birds’ eggs. Later, I met an RSPB representative who recounted how he had met his wife while sharing shifts at the site of the first osprey pair’s return to breed in Scotland. In the 1990s, on a visit to my cousin in Kirriemuir, I added the osprey to my UK life list at a nearby loch. I wrote this poem at a poetry writing tutorial at the Birds of Vermont Museum where I have volunteered for the past seven years.
A Question for an Osprey My favorite bird’s the Fish Hawk To use the Pilgrims’ words. But they were just a bunch of chumps Not bright at all on birds. The name was changed to Osprey To fit the British mode ‘Tho we didn’t really want to In this our new abode. There was a craze for feathers From Ospreys’ wings and tails To decorate girls’ headwear, thus Attracting human males. Times changed and decades later The Ospreys made a comeback In Scotland and in Westport, Mass. Where food they did not lack. My only hanging question Is when you catch the fish You cannot guess your object’s size Tho he’d make a tasty dish
An osprey wood carving by Bob Spear, the founder and the Master Wood Carver for the Birds of Vermont Museum.
You can’t relax your talons From you surface-lurking prey, And he may drag you downward To the bottom of the bay?
Page 55 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
The Outside Story:
Meat Eating Trees? Plants are not often thought of as predators. They’re the nice guys. With over 300,000 species known to exist, only a small fraction are known to be meat-eaters. In our northern bogs, for example, insects are trapped on the sticky hairs of sundew or drowned in the pitcher plant’s water Research now suggests that at least one tree may owe its size to more than just sun, water and good soils. The eastern white pine is one of the tallest native tree species in our region. Give them a few hundred years in ideal floodplain habitat, with roots sunk deep into sandy and silty soils and protected from winds and lightning by hillsides, and they’ll grow to more than 200 feet with nearly 8-foot-diameter trunks. It takes a lot of energy and nutrients for a tree to grow to such grandeur. One thing that might help the eastern white pine is its surprising relationship with a meat-eating fungus. The bicolored deceiver (Laccaria bicolor) appears above ground as a small, tan mushroom with lilaccolored gills. It is found in most coniferous woodlands throughout temperate regions around the globe. The fungus has a symbiotic relationship with many trees,
including the eastern white pine. It forms a mycorrhizal sheath, like roots of the fungus, around the small root tips of the tree. The fungus receives sugars from the tree's photosynthesis that takes place above ground, while it supplies the plant with essential nutrients and helps to increase water uptake by the tree roots from below ground. Such symbiotic relationships between trees and fungi are common. About 95 percent of plants get some nutrients from fungi, and fungi play a critical role in the food web. In particular, fungi (along with lightning strikes and soil bacteria) are critical for converting atmospheric nitrogen into reactive forms, such as nitrate and ammonia,
which other living things can use for growth. What makes the eastern white pine’s relationship with the bicolored deceiver surprising is the way the tree benefits from the fungus’ meat-eating habits. This discovery occurred by accident, during a study of tiny soil arthropods called springtails. Many observers know springtails as snow fleas, the wingless insects often seen by the thousands jumping across the snow in late winter. They are incredibly small, but they can occur in huge numbers. Soil ecologists John Klironomos, now at the University of British Columbia, and his colleague Miranda Hart, wondered if springtails had an adverse effect on trees since they ate fungi that helped
Page 56 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
The Outside Story: secure nutrients for many plants. They set up a simple experiment to feed the springtails a diet of fungi, including bicolored deceiver. That’s when their experiment took a strange turn. All of the springtails died when they were with bicolor deceiver. “It was as shocking as putting a pizza in front of a person and having the pizza eat the person instead of vice versa,” Klironomos told Science News. To confirm their findings, Klironomos and Hart fed a few hundred springtails a diet of bicolor deceiver while others were fed a diet either devoid of the fungus altogether or with another fungi species. After two weeks, only 5 percent of the springtails that were with bicolor deceiver remained alive. In contrast, nearly all the springtails that ate other species of fungi or whose diet was devoid of fungi survived. The fungus was killing the springtails and breaking them down with a special enzyme. The researchers believe that the fungus first paralyzes the springtails with a toxin and then extends fine filaments into them to absorb nutrients. So how does this make the eastern white pine tree a meat-eater? As a follow up experiment, Klironomos and Hart fed a batch of springtails a diet with nitrogen that was tagged radioactively so they could follow it through the food web. The insects were added to containers of bicolor deceiver growing with white pine seedlings. After a few months they tested the seedlings and found that 25 percent of the nitrogen in the trees was radioactive, and thus had come directly from the springtails. It’s as if white pine were fishermen using the fungus like a giant net to capture their prey. Now, new research from scientists at Brock University in Ontario suggests that this adaptation may be shared by many plants. Green muscardine fungus, a soil-dwelling fungus found in many ecosystems, has long been known to infect insects. It has now been shown to associate with plant roots and transfer nitrogen from its insect prey to grass and even beans. With webs of mycelia hunting tiny prey underground to help giants grow and capture the sun above,
understanding who is eating whom just got a lot more complicated. Kent McFarland is a biologist with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. The illustration for this column was drawn by Adelaide Tyrol. The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: wellborn@nhcf.org.
The Outside Story, provided by Northern Woodlands magazine, is a series of weekly ecology articles that has been appearing in newspapers across New Hampshire and Vermont since 2002. The series is underwritten by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation - Upper Valley Region and edited by Dave Mance at Northern Woodlands.
Page 57 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Lake Champlain International:
Causeways
The Missisquoi Bay Causeway.
I
n 1850, the first causeway was built in Lake Champlain creating a land bridge between the mainland in Milton, Vermont and South Hero at the southeast corner of Grand Isle. Before 1850, people and their
horses and wagons waded across the sandbar that extended out from the Lamoille River delta and separated the deep waters of Mallets Bay from the deep waters of the Inland Sea to the north. The original Sandbar Causeway had no opening. As early as 1894, fisheries biologists were concerned
that this barrier could have an impact upon fisheries. As a result, a 25-meter opening was made near the center of the causeway in 1907 to provide a connection between Mallets Bay and the Inland Sea. Railroad construction during the late 1800s resulted in construction
Page 58 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Lake Champlain International: To learn more visit the link to: The history and future of Lake Champlain's Fishes and Fisheries (2011) by J. Ellen Marsden and Richard W. Langdon. www.uvm.edu/rsenr/emarsden/Marsden%20and%20Langdon%202012.pdf of additional causeways: Larabees Point in 1851, between Grand Isle and North Hero in 1862, Isle LaMotte to the mainland in 1882, and between North Hero and Alburg in 1886. Building of the Island Line in 1899 resulted in the greatest expansion of causeway building in the Lake’s history. The causeways were built: across the west end of Mallets Bay, across Pelots Bay, across the west side of Carry Bay, and across the Alburg Passage. Finally, in 1938 the Missisquoi Bay Causeway was constructed on Route 78 joining West Swanton with Alburg. These causeways changed the water circulation and sediment transportation patterns within Lake Champlain. In some areas, such as Missisquoi Bay, sand beaches eroded away and disappeared while sedimentation
increased because water currents no longer flowed as rapidly. No before and after studies were conducted during this early time in Vermont’s history. As a result, there is little data that describes the physical, chemical and biological changes that resulted from causeway construction and isolation of the various bays from the main lake. However, the physical changes in sediments and water circulation that can still be determined today suggest, as these are major components of various aquatic habitats, that there necessarily must have been impacts and changes in habitats that would in turn have changed local abundance, distribution and diversity of fishes and other aquatic organisms. Isolation and restriction of water circulation in bays such as Mallets Bay, Missisquoi Bay and Carry Bay also increases the retention time of
Lake Champlain International (LCI) is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization actively involved in shaping the future of Lake Champlain's water and fisheries health for the well-being of the people who depend on it today and tomorrow. To protect, restore, and revitalize Lake Champlain and its communities, LCI educates, advocates, and motivates to ensure that Lake Champlain is swimmable, drinkable, and fishable, understanding that healthy water resources are essential for a healthy economy and a healthy community.
water and nutrients within these bays. This currently is a factor that contributes to the magnitude and duration of algal blooms that now result from run-off of excess nutrients from the land.
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www.VtGreatOutdoorsMag.com Page 59 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
The Great Artdoors:
Englishman in Vermont
I
like to start each season with a hikes, biking trails and country list of goals: hike five high peaks, roads. There’s an old African parable do an overnight canoe trip, do at least three centuries on my road bike, called “Acres of Diamonds” and the etc. From the comfortable confines quick and dirty is basically as of my couch, I daydream of standing follows: An old farmer one day atop lonely peaks and paddling decides that the farm life is no longer meandering rivers where my only for him. So he sells the farm, and sets out to strike company is the it rich as a whisper of a diamond miner. summer breeze For years, then and the buzzing decades, the man of mosquitoes. searches and More often than ultimately dies not, I set some penniless and grandiose plan broken from a that’s virtually fruitless search. unattainable due Meanwhile, the to the constraints EvanChismark.com Facebook.com/EvanChismarkArt man that of work, life, family, and all of that business. But purchased the farm is one day whatever I don’t get done this season walking the property when he goes onto next season’s list. There’s stumbles upon an uncommonly always something new to see, always bright stone. He picks it up, only to discover several more. The bright another trip to plan. The allure of uncharted waters and stone it turns out is a diamond and is unexplored territories is a common just one of many thousands of thread for most outdoorsmen. I diamonds lurking just beneath the think we all yearn for that sensory surface. So the moral of the story is that stimulation that comes only from stepping out into the unknown. As sometimes, everything we’re looking the saying goes, no one ever for can be found right in our back discovered new shores by keep the yards. Had the old man just taken a boat tethered to the pier. look, he’d have discovered his Unfortunately, this wanderlust and fortune right on his own farm. This urge to explore sometimes leads to month’s drawing is a metaphor for an underappreciation of my usual this idea. I discovered that a farm
right here in my town has a small herd of Scottish Highland cows. When I first saw one of these cows, I was taken about by how out of place it looked alongside the Holsteins and Jersey cows that are so commonplace in this area. And that served to remind me that sometimes we can find something new and exciting in a place that we’ve been a million times. So after “discovering”
Page 60 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
The Great Artdoors:
Original: 11x17, pen and ink on Bristol smooth acid free paper.
this rarity in my own backyard, I decided to make a concerted effort to appreciate the ever-changing nature of my surroundings and to appreciate the treasures that are sometimes right under my nose. I’ll continue establishing goals for myself, and I hope that I never lose the desire to explore and go outside of my comfort zone. But I’ll also
make sure that I make every effort to see the treasures around me and to be grateful for the value of the places that I see every day. Evan Chismark is an artist, environmentalist, and overly opinionated lover of the outdoors. He holds a master’s degree in environmental law from Vermont Law School, has a hard time sitting still, and is a
sucker for a good IPA. He and his wife and their two hairy, fourlegged children live in Stowe. To purchase any of the work featured in this column, check out EvanChismark.com, or email the artist at info@evanchismark.com Or if you just want to prove your social media savvy, like him at Facebook.com/EvanChismarkArt.
Page 61 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
Out & About:
Hunting For Respect
T
he whole scene nearly makes me want to be sick. It’s a video of a 10-year-old boy who has just arrowed his first doe. A great achievement and one worthy of celebration. But instead of honest excitement, the kid launches into what seems like a scripted rant about the brand of broadheads that had just “laid the smackdown on that big ole doe.” There’s more fist pumping than a Jersey Shore episode and I have no doubt that had the video extended a bit longer there would have been hero photos with an array of the scent cover spray and various other gear in front of the deer. I can think of nothing more disrespectful to an animal that has given its life than to line up a bunch of products in front of it for a photo to be posted on Facebook. Look people, you’re probably not going to be signing any endorsement deals anytime soon, so show some respect – to yourself and the animal you just killed. I don’t watch a whole lot of outdoor television any longer and, for the most part, read a lot fewer outdoor magazines than I used to. It’s not that I don’t like watching hunting or fishing shows or reading about the outdoors, it’s that I can’t stand watching the current class of garbage that passes for outdoor
programming. And writers seem to be more intent on describing the qualities of the $2,000 scope they’re using, or how great the “I’m Richer Than You Hunting Lodge,” is, where the $20,000 elk hunt was taking place. To be fair, the video I described earlier wasn’t from a television hunting show. It was a home video from YouTube. But, it was shown on an outdoor television show as the “Muzzy Moment” for the brand of broadheads the kid is pimping in his celebration. While the dad is growling about how the kid “smoked ’em” and the kid keeps pumping his first and saying “that’s what I’m talking about,” the announcer says, “It’s safe to say young TJ has been watching a lot of hunting shows on TV.” You don’t say. You mean you don’t learn to act like that unless you watch jackasses on TV clowning in a tree stand? Look, we all get excited when the hard work and preparation pays off. There’s nothing wrong with being
excited about your success. And this kid certainly gets a pass for imitating what he’s seen on television. Hopefully he will grow up and develop some respect. But the adults who are serving as this kid's role models really should think about what they’re doing to hunting. When we turn deer hunting into a NASCAR sporting event with sponsor labels it’s taking a turn I don’t agree with. Hunting should be fun. We should be excited to take an animal. But there needs to be a level of respect and admiration. We should, at the very least, take a moment to thank that animal for giving its life. The whack ’em, and stack ’em mentality, like that professed by Ted Nugent, has turned hunting into a sport that is more about the numbers (points, pounds and inches) than it is about being in the woods with friends and family and participating in a natural process to feed our families. Big bucks now equals big bucks. I disagree with that. I can’t help but think that while we work so hard to defend hunting against the anti-hunters, our biggest enemy may be ourselves. Darren Marcy is editor and publisher of Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine.
Page 62 • Vermont’s Great Outdoors Magazine • September 2013
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