the great outdoors - 2013 courier outdoor guide

Sunday, April 7, 2013

The Great

2013 Courier Outdoor Guide

THE COURIERPAGE 2 SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013www.wcfcourier.com2013 OUTDOOR GUIDE

This gift doesn’t come in decorative wrappingWhen I scan through my men-

tal scrapbook of the last 45 or 50 years, it’s dominated by adven-tures and experiences that don’t come in a box or plug into the wall.

For me, it started when my dad lugged me piggy-back style down a set of railroad tracks to reach a rock quarry near Brandon. He still laughs about the day when I was 5 and I caught a 22-inch northern pike and a 16-inch crappie from that

quarry and was convinced the pike was the better trophy.

It was catfi shing with dad and grandpa at Lehigh, and running from an angry snapping turtle on the end of my line.

It was learning how to fi sh a jig through the rocky stretch of the Cedar River below the 11th Street bridge in March.

It was sleeping in the back seat of our old Chevy Impala in a campground on the shores of Lake Pepin on a plywood bed.

It was waking up to bacon and eggs cooked on a Coleman stove.

It was sleeping in the old Pepin Hotel where $10 got you a smoky

room that rumbled through the night with each passing train.

It was watching dad and his friend, Ed Barta, pour jigs and make French spinners in the basement.

It was sneaking up on a fl ock of ducks on a creek a few miles out-side of town with a single-shot 20-gauge.

It was road trips to the Wis-consin shores of Lake Michigan where we spent full days on the breakwater walls casting for trout and salmon and where a couple of

big bites made your day. It was deer hunting on my uncle

Ted’s property near Dayton where the rugged hills along the Des Moines River seemed like moun-tains that could swallow you up and never spit you out again.

It was understanding that we are only visitors as I learned about deer trails and scrapes and rubs and licking branches, and occa-sionally the scene of what had to be an impressive battle between two love-starved bucks.

It was my fi rst deer and the

clashing emotions of satisfaction, but also sorrow for the end of a magnifi cent creature’s life.

It was annual trips to the pris-tine Brule River on the southern shore of Lake Superior to fi sh for wild steelhead each October and encounters with wildlife like ruff ed grouse, porcupines and an occasional bear.

It was the day Donnie Thomp-son and I hunkered down in a fencerow near Parkersburg and watched thousands and thou-sands of mallards funnel into

the cornfi eld and work their way across it until they were so close we could see the color of their eyes.

It was the morning Mike Rule, Neil Hammargren and I decoyed a gaggle of geese in the fi eld behind Neil’s house.

It was bullfrogging with Matt Murray in the ponds and lakes around town in the dead of night, fi ghting off mosquitoes to later enjoy a meal or two of frog legs.

It’s the ice fi shing adventures I’ve enjoyed across the Midwest with Mike Wirth and Steve Peters during the 10 or 12 years since we began our “Heaven on Ice Tour.”

It’s been sharing many of those experiences with others and the satisfaction that comes with see-ing their excitement.

Those of you who share my love of all things outdoors understand.

We are the products of those experiences. They’ve taught us responsibility and discipline and a little bit of morality.

Hopefully, they’ve also given us a deep appreciation for what nature has to off er and the opportunities we get to enjoy it.

Most of all, I hope all of our outdoor experiences make the type of impression we want to share the same way somebody once shared theirs with us.

Doug NewhoffCourier

Sports [email protected].

DOUG NEWHOFF / Courier Sports Editor

At left, Nancy Newhoff shows off a chinook salmon taken during one of our trips to Lake Michigan. Center, Nicky Newhoff holds one of her fi rst trophy fi sh, a Lake Michigan rainbow trout she caught more than 10 years ago. At right, Waterloo’s Neil Hammargren poses with a big walleye he caught two years ago while we were prefi shing for a Mississippi River tournament.

By DOUG [email protected]

Got the urge to go fi shing, but don’t want to travel far to do it?

Fortunately, you don’t have to. Opportunities abound here in North-

east Iowa whether it’s trout in our coldwater streams, largemouth bass in nearly any lake or pond or abundant catfi sh in our lakes and rivers.

Dan Kirby, Department of Natural Resources fi sheries biologist for the East Central Region, offers these op-tions:

Channel catfi shNortheast Iowa’s interior rivers are all out-

standing, especially the Cedar, Wapsipinicon, Maquoketa and Turkey. If you’re looking for a lake to fi sh, top spots would include Casey Lake in Hickory Hills Park, George Wyth Lake, South Prairie Lake and Mitchell Lake.

BluegillsMartens Lake at Sweet Marsh near Tripoli

has some good ‘gills, and spring is the time to get after them before the lake gets clogged with vegetation. Kirby also points to Casey Lake as a good choice for decent-sized ‘gills (8- to 9-inchers). It’s consistent and it’s family friendly.

CrappiesMartens Lake tops Kirby’s list for this spe-

cies, too. There are good numbers of quality black crappies (11-plus inches), but they’ll be hard to get at after the spring when vegetation takes over. For numbers, Kirby

says South Prairie Lake in Cedar Falls was a pleasant surprise to anglers last fall. While the catch rates were excellent, the size is marginal with the best fi sh around 9 inches. Volga Lake also has good crappie numbers, but those fi sh top out at 8 1/2 inches or so.

PerchWhile yellow perch show up in George

Wyth Lake and South Prairie, there aren’t established populations. The best perch fi shing in the state the past few years has been on the Mississippi River from Bellevue north to the Minnesota border. Fish in the 14- to 15-inch range aren’t unusual.

WalleyeIf you’re hooked on old marble eyes, the

interior rivers are where it’s at. The numbers are as good as they’ve ever been, and there are plenty of trophy fi sh available, as well.

The Cedar River from Vinton to Plainfi eld and farther north is “probably as good as anywhere in the state for walleye fi shing,” said Kirby. The Shell Rock River is known for some true trophies, while the Wapsipinicon is another good bet.

Northern pikeThe Wapsi has the best pike fi shing in

Northeast Iowa, hands down. The backwater areas connected to the river help sustain the population. The Cedar has a few northerns and some large ones. The DNR has stocked pike in George Wyth Lake, and a few are caught each year, while Big Woods kicks out a few, too.

Smallmouth bassKirby says NE Iowa has the best small-

mouth bass fi shing around. The Cedar, Wapsie and Maquoketa rivers all rank high

in terms of size and numbers. A little farther north, the Turkey, Volga and Upper Iowa riv-ers also feature some exciting action.

Largemouth bassThere are bucketmouths in every lake,

river and borrow pit. George Wyth, Big Woods and Casey Lake are good places to wet a lure, but if you’re after a trophy Kirby says Martens Lake is the spot.

MuskellungeAn occasional muskie turns up in the

Cedar and Shell Rock rivers, but Pleasant Creek near Palo and Clear Lake rank as two of the best bets. “If you wanted to catch a muskie right now, Pleasant Creek is prob-ably the place to go,” says Kirby. “They’re getting some close to 50 inches now and then.”

Iowa has a lot to offer for a broad range of anglers

THE COURIER PAGE 3SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013 www.wcfcourier.com

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2013 OUTDOOR GUIDE

Opportunities abound to catch early season bass


WATERLOO — Pick a body of water in Iowa and the odds are high that it’s home to a strong population of largemouth bass.

From thousands of farm ponds to large reservoirs, man-made lakes and natural lakes, there is no shortage of opportuni-ties to set the hook on a hefty bigmouth.

For open-water anglers, it’s a bite that begins at ice-out in late winter or early spring.

“As soon as the ice goes out, you can catch them,” says Andy Sommerfelt of Waterloo, an avid bass angler with a lengthy resume of tournament experi-ence and success.

Anglers can eliminate a great deal of water that will be largely unproductive by taking note of the water temperature.

“One thing to remember in the early, early spring is that the north bank always warms up fastest and fi rst,” Sommer-felt explains. “When there’s still snow on the ground, it always thaws on the north side of the ditch fi rst, and that’s absolutely true in the water.

“We’re talking pre-50 degree water, so the fi shing is always going to be slow, but when the water is that cold a one- or two-degree diff erence is gonna be huge. Two degrees will turn a fi sh on.”

On smaller bodies of water, it’s as simple as focusing on that north shore.

On larger lakes or reservoirs, break them down and consider them as smaller individual lakes. A bay or creek arm in the middle or southern part of a lake can still be productive if it has a north shoreline where the sun is work-ing its springtime magic.

“If there’s a pocket on a pond and it happens to be on the north

side, that would be absolutely where I would start,” says Som-merfelt. “But, if there’s a nice, shallow pocket on the south part of the lake, I would hit the north-ernmost bank in that pocket.

“Even on a 2-acre pond, not all the fi sh are gonna be on that north bank, but the fi sh that are on that bank are gonna be the more aggressive fi sh and the eas-ier fi sh to catch.”

Sommerfelt targets shallow fi sh during those early season outings.

“I really think there’s a mis-conception that those fi sh are gonna be in 10 or 11 feet of water,” he notes. “They’re gonna be shallow because that’s where the water warms up fi rst in those ponds.

“They’ve got to live where the food is, and that’s the fi rst water where they’re going to see a crawdad or minnows or other things to eat.

“I’ve had a lot of days when it’s still really cold outside and I’m catching fi sh in two feet of

water.”Bass will most often be scat-

tered and cruising in that shal-low water, so it makes sense for an angler to cover water. Lip-less crankbaits that can be fi shed just below the surface are a great search tool, off ers Sommerfelt, whose favorites include Cot-ton Cordell’s Rattlin’ Spots and Strike King Red Eyes.

“I think they work so well because they’re noisy and obtru-sive,” he says. “They are the only moving bait I pick up in pre 50-degree water. The weeds aren’t up yet, and those lipless cranks really shine.”

It’s also important to note that shallow water can experience signifi cant temperature chang-es throughout the course of a day in the spring. Sommerfelt points out that a bank where the temperature is 45 at sunrise can warm to a much more tempera-ture in a few hours with a little help from the sun.

As the spring progresses, Som-merfelt will incorporate more soft

■ Water temperature a key to fi nding aggressive fi sh

COURTESY PHOTO

Bass fi shing pro Andy Sommerfelt of Waterloo shows off a hefty smallmouth.

plastics into his presentation. “Prespawn, spawn or post-

spawn, I always have at least two rods in my boat rigged with soft plastics like a chigger craw or a tube,” he says.

“When we’re talking spring, I seem to do better with the tube, and I’ll put a rattle in there if I have to. If there’s a cold front coming through or the fi shing is just really slow, a rattle seems to make a diff erence.

“You don’t necessarily have to pick up super small, fi nesse-type baits during the prespawn, either,” he explains.

“The forage in that particular lake or pond has had all summer and all winter to grow. You’re not looking at young of the year forage.”

When water temps are a con-sistent 50 degrees at the cold-est point of a day and climbing from there, spinnerbaits come into play, while swim jigs seem to work best after the spawn and into the summer.

In general, the bass in Iowa’s ponds and lakes spawn some-time near the May full moon

when water temperatures have surpassed the 60-degree mark.

“Not all fi sh spawn at the same time,” notes Sommerfelt. “That’s how the species survives.”

Again, the place to look is the shallows where the males will begin building and protecting nests and sight-fi shing adds another thrill to the hunt.

Iowa has plenty of quality largemouth bass fi sheries. Here in Black Hawk County, any of the lakes at George Wyth State Park can be productive, along with Big Woods Lake in Cedar Falls and Mitchell Lake.

On a broader map, Sommerfelt puts Brushy Creek near Webster City at the top of the list.

“Personally, I think Brushy Creek is the best lake in Iowa for largemouth bass,” he states. “You get a real, true taste of res-ervoir fi shing, you catch some awfully nice fi sh, and it’s a beau-tiful lake.

“West Lake Osceola is another neat, neat lake to fi sh bass, and Belvedere is a good one.”

The bass are shallow. The list of possibilities is not.

“One thing to remember in the early, early spring is that the north bank always warms up fastest and fi rst.”

Andy SommerfeltLocal bass fi shing pro


NE Iowa catfi sh plentiful, but neglected


MANCHESTER — No matter where you live in Northeast Iowa, chances are you aren’t more than a few minutes from a good catfi sh bite.

It’s a fi sh that is not only plenti-ful, feisty and tasty in the frying pan, but is also one of the state’s most underutilized resources, according to Department of Nat-ural Resources rivers and streams research biologist Greg Gelwicks.

“As far as our rivers go, a lot of people fi sh for walleyes and smallmouth and that kind of stuff and kind of overlook the catfi sh we have out there,” notes Gelwicks.

Pick a Northeast Iowa river —

the Cedar, Shell Rock, West Fork, Maquoketa, Wapsipinicon or Turkey — and it’s home to a strong population of channel catfi sh, while some of the larger water-ways like the Cedar also harbor populations of fl athead cats.

“We have good channel catfi sh-ing pretty much throughout the Cedar River in Northeast Iowa,” says Gelwicks. “On the Wap-sipinicon, the best fi shing is going to be from Littleton downstream or maybe from Independence downstream. On the Maquoke-ta, you’re looking at Manchester downstream, and on the Turkey River, from Elkader downstream

is where you will fi nd the channel catfi sh.”

Telemetry work done by Gel-wicks and his staff provide infor-mation that can help an angler narrow down catfi sh location from season to season, although each river has slightly diff erent characteristics.

“One of the things we’ve found is that in the fall they are going to move to the deepest water that’s available, usually into holes that are 15 foot or deeper that have very little current,” he explains. “In the Turkey River, there aren’t any deep holes like that so what we found is that they all moved

downstream into the Mississippi River to overwinter.

“In April, that’s when they start moving out of those overwinter-ing areas and become more active. They’re looking for food, and cut baits (like shad or chubs) work well because they feed a lot on fi sh that may have died over the winter.

“On the Wapsie, they move into connected backwater areas in the springtime and again, some of that may be associated with look-ing for dead fi sh for food.”

Once the channel cat have left those deeper, overwintering holes, they can be caught in water as shallow as a couple of feet or as deep as 10 or 12 feet. And as spring progresses, they begin to associate more with habitat like stumps and logjams where they can lurk in the eddies and ambush a meal.

Project to createIowa lake maps

DES MOINES – For the next six summers, fi sheries staff from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will be mapping Iowa lakes using some sophisticated equipment that will provide more accurate maps for anglers and information for the lake restoration program.

Visitors to Iowa lakes may see the operation in progress: a DNR fi sheries boat loaded with two laptop computers, a fl at screen, a suitcase that contains the brains of the program, and equipment hanging off the side running about fi ve miles per hour crisscrossing the lake.

The software will record lake depth plus information on what type of material is on the lake bed (sand, gravel, muck) and, if aquatic vegetation is present, the height and density of that vegetation. It will also collect information for lake restoration projects.

Lewis Bruce, fi sheries technician working on the project, said they plan to map 115 of the signifi cantly publicly owned lakes in Iowa.

He said they can set up the software so when the information is collected it will generate a fi le where they can add existing habitat and background information to cre-ate new lake contour maps.

The DNR recently placed new maps for Arrowhead Lake, Badger Lake, Avenue of the Saints Pond, Binder Lake, and Center Lake online at www.iowadnr.gov/Fish-ing/WheretoFish/LakesPondsReser-voirs.aspx. In 2013, they will begin collecting information on Clear Lake, Carter Lake, Brushy Creek Lake, Mariposa Lake, Blue Lake, Springbrook Lake and Volga Lake, if conditions allow.

Trout stockingschedule online

MANCHESTER – The an-nounced trout stocking streams and dates for 2013 has been released online at http://www.iow-adnr.gov/Fishing/TroutFishing.aspx.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will release more than 400,000 catchable-sized trout between April 1 and Sept. 30 into streams in northeast Iowa. Trout will continue to be stocked in Octo-ber, but the streams and dates will not be announced.

■ Rivers harbor strong populations of channel cats, some fl atheads


PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. — These days, Jack Renner enjoys a quiet retirement on the shores of the Mississippi River that has been like a vein coursing through his body for as long as he can remember.

He fi shes and hunts, and he talks trash with his cronies. However, there will always be one story that will be hard to top.

The date was July 1, 1984, and Renner had been lured to French Creek in Northeast Iowa on a rainy day by Dick Wold, who shared Renner’s passion for trout fi shing and was the principal at Maquoketa High School at the time.

“We went every weekend,” recalls Renner, a Waterloo native. “It was fun. You didn’t have half the fi shermen back then that you do now.”

A day earlier, Wold had spotted a big rainbow trout in one of the creek’s deeper pools.

“He said there was a big one in there,” Renner relates. “He didn’t know how big it was, but he said it was a giant.

“It was rainy and the water had gotten all murky, but all I ever fi shed were nightcrawlers, so I threw it in there and bang, it hit right away.”

Equipped with spinning tackle and 6-pound monofi lament line, Renner had his hands full with the big trout.

“It peeled off some line, but it could only go so far in that little trout stream,” says Renner. “We had a dip net, and Dick netted it and threw it up on the bank. I said, ‘My God, it’s a monster.’ It looked like it weighed 30 pounds laying there on the bank.”

Renner and Wold set out to get it weighed on a certifi ed scale.

“It wouldn’t fi t in the cooler

we had,” says Renner. “It’s head and tail were out of the cooler. We went to the Piggly Wiggly in Waukon and went in and asked if they could weigh it for us. The guy there was a trout fi sherman, too, so he said bring it in.”

Offi cially, that trout weighed in at 19 pounds, 8 ounces. It was, indeed, a new state record. And it has remained a state record for nearly 28 years and counting.

“Somebody had to beat it by now, you’d think,” says Renner. “Thirty years is a long time.”

It’s often said that records are

made to be broken. Maybe not this one.

Years ago, the Department of Natural Resources kept the brood stock used to provide eggs at its trout hatcheries for many years, and they grew to immense pro-portions. When biologists felt the brood trout’s productivity was beginning to decline, they were released into Iowa’s lakes or streams.

More than likely, that’s how the state record rainbow ended up in French Creek.

“The quality of eggs you get goes down at a certain point,” notes DNR fi sheries biologist Dan Kirby. “The best brood fi sh are about 5-7 years old. So the average brood fi sh today prob-ably is a little smaller.

“That record fi sh came from the hatchery, more than likely. But you’ve still got to be the lucky one to get that fi sh. And it’s still a record.”

Record rainbowsHere’s a list of state record rainbow

trout around the Midwest:Illinois 31-7 Lake Mich. 1993Indiana 18-8 Clear Lake 1988Iowa 19-8 French Creek 1984Michigan 26-8 Lake Mich. 1975Minnesota 16-6 Knife River 1980Wisconsin 7-10 Geneva Lake 2006

Nearly 30 years later, Renner record still stands

See CATFISH, page 6

“As far as our rivers go, a lot of people fi sh for walleyes and smallmouth and that kind of stuff and kind of overlook the catfi sh we have out there.”

Greg GelwicksDNR fi sheries research biologist


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2013 OUTDOOR GUIDE

Float trips a revealing way to experience NE Iowa


Darrin Siefken sees North-east Iowa from a different perspective.

His view is one of moving water, limestone bluff s, bald eagles, acrobatic smallmouth bass and maybe a warm, inviting campfi re on a crisp October evening.

When Siefken wants to get away for a day or a weekend, he eases a canoe or a kayak into one of Northeast Iowa’s many rivers where every experience takes on its own identity and no two days are exactly alike. It may be on the Upper Iowa, Turkey, Yellow, Volga, Shell Rock, Wapsipinicon, Cedar or Winnebago rivers. Or it might be on Crane Creek when water levels are right.

“We are blessed in Northeast Iowa with an abundant number of rivers to fl oat,” notes Siefken, who turned his love for adventure and fl oat trips into his CrawDad-dy Outdoors business in Waverly.

“If I want to see wildlife, I pad-dle the Wapsi in Bremer County. If I want some faster rapids, I head to the Yellow, Volga or the Win-nebago rivers. If I want to fl oat and not see anyone, I head to the Wapsi in Bremer County or Crane Creek.”

When time is short and a day trip is in order, the Volga and Yel-low rivers rank high on Siefken’s list of possible destinations.

In particular, he recommends the stretch from Klock’s Island Park in Fayette to the Volga State Recreation Area on the Volga River, and the Yellow River from the town of Volney downstream to the Ion Bridge.

“They are faster rivers with lots of rapids that make the trip go by fast,” he explains. “They are also very scenic with lots of wildlife and few people.

“Even though it is faster water and more rapids, that doesn’t

mean it’s more dangerous. You just need to pay attention more and be ready to react to the river conditions.”

When an overnight adventure is an option, Siefken often chooses the Cedar River from Charles City to Waverly.

“Camping along the rivers gets to be a little more challenging, as in most of Northeast Iowa you cannot typically camp on sand-bars as that is private property,” he notes. “The only rivers where you can camp on the sandbars in Northeast Iowa are the Mis-sissippi, the Turkey River below Clermont, the Wapsipinicon River below Central City, the Maquoketa River below Maquo-keta and the Cedar River below Cedar Falls.

“Looking for stretches of river that allow you to camp at public campgrounds is the best way to accomplish this. Along the Upper Iowa, you have a number of pri-vate and public campgrounds that allow for easy access. The Turkey, Cedar, Wapsi and Shell Rock riv-ers would have a fair number of public campgrounds at proper distances to make camping and access possible.”

The Cedar River trip ranks high because the river is large enough that there’s always enough water for a fl oat and because it off ers outstanding viewing of wildlife and some of the best walleye fi sh-ing in the state.

“In Charles City, check out Iowa’s only whitewater park,” Siefken suggests. “Start below the whitewater park and fl oat to Nashua. Camp at Howards Woods County campground or at the city park, then paddle to North Cedar Park at Plainfi eld the next day. The following day paddle to Cedar Bend Park just north of Waverly, or continue paddling into Waverly to Three Rivers or Kohlmann Park.”

Ideally, you can arrange a shuttle vehicle to meet you at the camp-grounds along the way with your camping gear and personal items so you won’t have to stow them in your kayak or canoe.

Meanwhile, you’ll get the most enjoyment out of your trip if you do a little advance research.

“An important thing to remem-ber is to check water levels and so some research about the river you are fl oating,” off ers Siefken. “There are some maps on the web, but the best information and maps are found in the Paddling Iowa book. It covers most of Iowa and has great maps, water level suggestions, description of the trip and shuttling recommenda-tions. Also check out the usgs.gov website that will give you current water levels to plan your trip.”

■ Rivers offer everything from fast water to spectacular scenery

COURTESY PHOTO

A group of canoers and kayakers embark on a spring paddle in Northeast Iowa.

“We are blessed in Northeast Iowa with an abundant number of rivers to fl oat.”

Darrin SiefkenCanoeing, kayaking enthusiast

THE COURIERPAGE 6 SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013www.wcfcourier.com

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Late summer and early fall finds channel cat migrating toward their overwintering areas where they typically arrive early in November and don’t leave until the following spring.

Catfi sh will eat nearly any-thing, including crayfi sh, night-crawlers, chicken liver, leech-es, various forage fi sh species, stinkbaits, insects and grubs. Generally speaking, the diets of larger channel cats feature more fi sh, both live and dead. Some anglers like to use small blue-gills, which are legal bait in Iowa if they are caught by legal means (hook and line).

If it’s a monster fl athead (30

pound-plus) you’re after, the Cedar River has its share. The best locations are downstream from Cedar Rapids, although sampling has turned up fl at-heads in the Waterloo, La Porte City and Vinton areas. Bull-heads, sunfi sh or big chubs are good baits.

Northeast Iowa’s rivers off er the best numbers and most con-sistent catfi shing due primarily to strong natural reproduction, but there are plenty of oppor-tunities in area lakes, too, where catfi sh are typically stocked.

“One lake that’s always good for numbers and some decent fi sh is Casey Lake (at Hickory Hills Park south of Waterloo),” notes DNR fi sheries biologist Dan Kirby.

“Another one where we don’t see a lot of people fi shing but we know has really good numbers of cats is George Wyth Lake. We

did some hoop netting there this summer and we had really high numbers and some good-sized cats, as well.”

Brinker Lake and Big Woods Lake can provide some decent fi shing, although their con-nection to the Cedar River keeps their populations fl uid. South Prairie Lake in Cedar Falls showed good number in sampling with fi sh up to eight pounds, and there’s a strong population in Mitchell Lake.

“We just don’t have people fi shing them as much as we used to,” notes Kirby. “People seem to want more of the bass and blue-gills and walleyes and so forth.

“We’ve actually reduced our stocking numbers of catfi sh the last 5 to 10 years. When we got out there and studied the catfi sh in some of these lakes, the num-bers were so high we didn’t want to see them get any higher.”

2013 OUTDOOR GUIDE

CATFISHArea rivers loaded with hungry, hard-fi ghting channel catfi shFrom page 4

COURIER FILE PHOTO

The outlook is good once again for Iowa hunters planning to pursue wild turkeys this spring.

Turkeys are plentiful in Iowa

By JOE WILKINSONIowa DNR

Spring turkey hunters in Iowa should notice more birds. Dry conditions in 2012 meant a better hatch and fi rst year of growth for poults.

As about 45,000 hunters head to the woods through April and May, that can’t hurt their chanc-es of taking a gobbler.

“Across the state, we had about a 25 percent increase. North cen-tral and northeast Iowa had great increases in reproduction,” notes DNR forest research biologist Todd Gosselink.

East central and southwest Iowa showed healthy increases, too … though with fewer overall sightings.

Poults with hens, sighted by DNR fi eld staff and other coop-erators during the late summer, together with fall bowhunter

observations, and eventual har-vest of year old ‘jakes’ the next spring help formulate Iowa’s hatch and brood success index.

Iowa’s turkey season opens with the April 6-14 youth season. The regular seasons fall in line after that; April 15-18, April 19-23, April 24-30 and May 1-19 for combination shotgun/bow tag holders. A resident archery only tag is good throughout the four regular seasons.

Spring turkey hunting coin-cides with pre-breeding and then breeding activity of the big game-birds. With snow just recently disappearing throughout much of Iowa this week, Gosselink is getting inquiries about the eff ect of a ‘late spring.’

Checking weather patterns for past years, though, he calls 2013—so far—a normal spring.

“They’ll strut this time of year. What we hope for is that when seasons begin, with an increase in temperatures, it will really get the turkey activity going, full steam.”

The expansion again this year

of the youth season might seem like an early start. However, the April 15 opening day of the fi rst regular season is on track with season openers in past years.

That nine-day youth season provides extra one-on-one men-toring with hunters under 16. In earlier years, bad weather over the shorter four day season could erase a young hunter’s chances to head to the woods … especially if he or she could only go out on the weekend. Youth hunter numbers set a record in 2012, with 3,450 licenses sold. And with the lon-ger season, harvest success was up a whopping 81 percent.

Across all spring seasons in 2012, hunters holding 45,159 licenses in Iowa harvested 10,457 bearded turkeys. An Iowa resi-dent may obtain up to two spring turkey tags, so long as one is for use in Season 4.

Ahead of your fi rst forays into the turkey woods during the sea-son, turkey experts urge you to do some subtle scouting.

■ Statewide population up about 25 percent from a year ago

See TURKEYS, page 7

THE COURIER PAGE 7SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013 www.wcfcourier.com 2013 OUTDOOR GUIDE

“Go out in the evening. Often, turkeys will gobble before they fl y up to roost,” suggests Gos-selink … keeping a comfortable distance, with little vegetative

cover. With snow cover, though, turkeys may still be clustered as they feed during the day.

What calls to use?“I will have a couple of mouth

calls, a box call and an owl hoot-er,” suggests wildlife technician Jim Coff ey. “Be confi dent with what you use; practice to build that confi dence … even if you don’t use it each time out.”

And while the crack of dawn

gobble is exciting, it is not the only time to pursue Iowa’s big-gest game bird.

“There’s nothing wrong with heading out at 10 or 11 a.m. That turkey lives where you hunt. He will still be there!” reminds Cof-fey … again noting that early sea-son vegetation might have you sitting still, to minimize move-ment and being detected by the eagle-eyed game bird.

TURKEYSLate spring could have effect on turkey behavior, hunting tacticsFrom page 6

License sales show Iowans enjoying outdoorsDES MOINES — Hunting and

fi shing are popular pursuits in Iowa.

Statistics gleaned from the census bureau indicate that approximately 3.1 million people live in the state. Of those, 1.9 million are between the ages of 18 and 65.

Tie that in with Iowa Depart-ment of Natural Resources sta-tistics for resident fi shing and hunting license sales and it begins to paint a picture of a state that truly enjoys the out-door pursuits available within our borders.

A total of 328,718 resident fi sh-ing licenses were sold in 2012. Assuming that the majority of those licenses were purchased by the age group between 18 and 65, that’s one of about every six adults.

Iowans also purchased 164,194

hunting licenses, despite the fact that Iowa’s pheasant population has experienced several years of

serious decline.Non-residents are enjoying

Iowa’s bounty, as well. DNR

Iowa license salesRESIDENT FISHINGTotal 328,718Annual 318,003Lifetime 6,938Seven-day 1,215One-day 2,562Trout stamps 39,351

NON-RESIDENT FISHINGTotal 40,090Trout stamps 4,306

RESIDENT HUNTINGTotal 164,194Annual 161,843Lifetime 2,351Habitat fees 161,228Migratory game birds 24,301Fur harvestor 19,2191st season shotgun deer 57,783

2nd season shotgun deer 45,971Deer archery 55,075Late muzzleloader 20,425Youth deer 9,555Spring turkey seasons 1-3 16,919Spring turkey season 4 12,368Spring turkey archery 5,295Spring turkey youth 3,789Landowner any-deer 33,707Landowner antlerless deer 32,613Landowner turkey 5,017

NON-RESIDENT HUNTINGTotal 23,421Habitat fees 23,421Migratory game birds 2,162Archery deer 4,073First season shotgun 2,760Second season shotgun 941Late muzzleloader 1,291

DES MOINES — Hunters have a new tool that may improve their in the fi eld experience even before opening day.

The Iowa hunting atlas is an interactive map that shows 600,000 acres of public hunting land that is owned by the state, county or federal governments. The atlas is available online at www.iowadnr.gov/hunting.

A click on an area will show

basic information like zone and open season, and links to maps, if available.

The atlas view from above allows hunters to zoom in on an area, see how to get there, the lay of the land and where one parcel of public hunting land is in relation to others. Information will be updated as public hunting lands are acquired.

Monica Thelen, who spear-

headed the project for the Iowa Department of Natural Resourc-es said the atlas is currently usable on computers and tablets and they are working toward a version of the map for mobile phones.

“This is current information at their fi ngertips, available 24 hours a day that hunters can access to plan their hunts,” Thel-en said.

statistics show that 40,090 purchased fi shing licenses and 23,421 bought hunting licenses.

Iowans are camping more than ever, too. They spent 709,595 days in Iowa state parks last year, up nearly 25,000 from a year ago.

Lewis and Clark State Park tops the list of destinations, fol-lowed by Rock Creek, Viking Lake, Lake Ahquabi and Clear Lake state parks. Brushy Creek near Webster City is eighth on the list and Backbone State Park near Manchester is 10th.

DNR’s new atlas a good tool for hunters

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Morel of the story: Look up

By CARSON [email protected]

Look up before you look down.That’s according to Hartman

Nature Reserve Program Coor-dinator Chris Anderson, a 30-year veteran of morel mushroom hunting. He’s awaiting another upcoming season of Iowa’s deli-cious treasure hunt.

“I want dead, standing trees with the bark still on,” Ander-son said. “You want to scan the trees and timber, look up and see which trees don’t have any buds or leaves on them.”

Remaining bark means the tree is recently dead, there’s still life in the roots, and that’s when you look down to continue the search for mushrooms.

In previous generations, as Dutch elm disease swept through forests, elm trees were the best targets. In upcoming genera-tions, as the emerald ash borer claims its arbor victims, ash trees will start to fi t the mold. But the type of tree really doesn’t matter — only the fact that it is dead or dying and able to trigger a chemical reaction under the ground to sprout fungi.

“There are chemicals in the roots that are released to the fungi that are attached to the roots,” said Anderson. “They form some kind of symbiotic relationship. Scientists, as far as I know, still don’t know why. When a tree starts to die, it basically sends a signal to the fungus that, if you are going to reproduce, you have to do it now because your host is dying.”

This specifi c circle of life occurs every spring with varying degrees of intensity. It all depends on the weather as morels sprout when it’s not too cold, yet not too hot. Along with a little bit of mois-ture, temperatures around the clock need to be in the 40s, 50s

■ Dead or dying trees promote growth of tasty mushrooms

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHUTTERSTOCK

Morel mushrooms are a tasty spring treat, and they are abundant in the woodlands of Northeast Iowa. Chris Anderson of Hartman Reserve Nature Center says dead or dying trees that are still standing often trigger mushroom growth.

or 60s with conditions never dropping below freezing.

A good indicator of the start of morel season is sometime around Mother’s Day, but the conditions from year to year really dictate the entire process.

“Sometimes it’s a weekend, sometimes a week, sometimes two weeks, sometimes it’ll go from April into May,” said Ander-son. “But they’re usually done by mid-May.”

After the hunt is when the feast begins. Morels can garner about $20 for a one-pound bag — and sometimes up to $30 depend-ing on the season — at farmer’s markets. Anderson has never gotten that far because he usu-ally gobbles them up before that opportunity arises.

After soaking and washing in a salt-water brine, preparation methods are unlimited. From frying the morels in a cracker-crumb breading to a version of shrimp scampi on top of pasta, the Internet may be your best resource for every recipe under the sun.

Table manners while devouring are one thing while etiquette out in the fi eld is another. There are some rules about encroaching on others’ “turf” but, generally speaking, morels are available on

a fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis.“If you’re on public ground,

everyone pays public taxes, so you have just as much right to take them as anyone,” said Anderson.

“The three things you can take from public ground are mush-rooms, nuts and berries.”

Mushroom hunting is growing in popularity and there aren’t many restrictions for those who want to hop into the delicious and possibly lucrative hobby. A mesh sack to carry picked morels and possibly spread whatev-er spores happen to remain is accepted protocol and, perhaps most importantly, knowing exactly what you’re picking is essential information for some-thing that will ultimately be ingested.

But, like anything, if you take the proper precautions and work with experience, there is little to worry about.

“There’s a false morel. I do not understand why it’s called a false morel because I don’t know how you’d ever confuse a false morel with an actual,” said Anderson. “As far as other mushrooms, you can get a book that you trust or I’d just recommend fi nding someone who knows mushrooms and go out with them.”

By JIM [email protected]

The days of canvas tents, a gas lantern and a Coleman stove have long passed when it comes to camping.

Innovations and technology have made camping in recre-ational vehicles a whole lot more comfortable.

From air conditioning to slide-outs to outdoor kitchens and even more recently, RVs with 1

1/2 baths, the world of camping is ever-changing.

“Outdoor kitchens with refrigerators, stoves are the newest big thing,” said 28-year RV salesman Don King of Fog-dall RV. “We’re also seeing RVs with two doors, one that leads directly into the bathroom.

“And slideouts and multiple slideouts, that has been the big-gest thing in the last 10 years.

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Here’s a list of online resources that may be helpful when planning a Midwestern fi shing or hunting vacation or trip outside of Iowa:

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Planning a vacation

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THE COURIER PAGE 9SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013 www.wcfcourier.com 2013 OUTDOOR GUIDE

“More space is big, bunkrooms in the back so parents and kids each have their own individual spaces.”

Active travelers are also seek-

ing trailers that have rear space to carry ATVs, motorcycles and other all-terrian vehicles.

While innovations have made RVs spectacular, the market for new RVs fl uctuates because of the fi ckle economy.

“It changes so fast,” said Greg Heath of A1 Vacationland. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and every time we think we have the answers for the RV market, believe me we don’t even have

the questions.”The Recreational Vehicle

Industry Association report-ed RV manufacturers shipped 24,460 units in August of 2012, the strongest August in fi ve years, with a total of 273,600 expected to be moved for the year, an 8.4 increase over 2011.

Industry projections see a slight increase for 2013 with 275,300 units expected to be moved.

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TIFFANY RUSHING / Courier Staff Photographer

Above are recreational vehicles on

display during the Eastern Iowa Sportshow in the

UNI-Dome.

At right, Roger Mobley, left, and

Sandy Mobley speak with

Cedar Creek representative

Brittany Nielsen about RV

amenities.

The RVIA says there are indi-cators for future growth, while RV ownership has reached record levels recently with 8.9 million American households now owning an RV, the highest level ever.

Additionally, baby boomers are reaching retirement age, and the baby-boomer age range is the highest of all RV owners.

Locally the results are mixed. Heath says business has been down, but service on older units is at an all-time high.

At Fogdall, King says busi-ness is up 15 percent, the largest increase for Fogdall since 2008.

“Many of those are repeat cus-tomers, and probably 90 percent of our business is of the towable variety, which is more aff ord-able,” King said.

While high gas prices have made consumers of RVs scale back on long trips, Heath and King say that isn’t a new trend to Northeast Iowa.

“We are so blessed with many great campgrounds in Northeast Iowa,” Heath said. “Campers can go a short distance, fi nd a great campground and have a good time.”

Two campgrounds within the immediate area, George Wyth State Park and Black Hawk

Park, are consistently packed on weekends.

“I would say most people who have RVs will camp within 50 miles of where they live,” King added.

“That doesn’t mean all do it, but my guess is 75 percent of our customers stay within 50 miles.”

Another benefi t to having great campgrounds in the area is busi-ness on two fronts.

“It is a huge benefi t for our type of business because RV consumers typically do business within a 100-mile radius of their home,” King said.

For Heath and A1 Vacation-land, where their service depart-ment has picked up the slack when sales have been slow, he has sent a lot of servicemen out to local calls and some as far away as Clermont, MacGregor and Marquette, which is part of a new trend — leaving an RV at a permanant location.

“We do a lot of service on campers where it doesn’t look like they’ve moved from their pad in two or three years,” Heath said.

“I believe those type of camp-ers are enjoying what they can without spending a lot of money to do it.”

RVSSales of recreational vehicles showing growth in recent yearsFrom page 8

THE COURIERPAGE 10 SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2013www.wcfcourier.com

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Now’s the time to get your boat ready for water

By NICK [email protected]

WATERLOO — Memories of catching a big fi sh on Labor Day weekend can carry a boat owner through a grueling winter.

Once spring hits, the anticipa-tion of creating new memories has outdoor enthusiasts itching to back their boat down the ramp and launch it. Before that hap-pens, some basic preseason boat maintenance can provide peace of mind.

“These boats are toys, they’re not staples of life,” said Jerry Makedonski, a longtime marine service technician at Chain of Lakes Marine, Inc., in Waterloo. “They build family memories that are worth more than 100 days at work or they’re worth more than the day-in, day-out grind of life. But if you don’t take care of them, then all of a sudden those memo-ries can turn sour.”

While the fi rst warm day of spring has boat owners eager to get back on the water, plan-ning ahead can ensure a smooth experience.

Makedonski says one of the most common mistakes recre-ational boaters make is failing to properly fuel the vehicle. Addi-tives should be put into the fuel and fully mixed and ingested into the engine prior to storage. Pay-ing attention to the gasoline is also important.

“For some reason the consumer believes gasoline is good forever,”

Makedonski said. “Nowadays it lasts for about six weeks before it starts dramatically losing octane. From any point past that six-week mark with the high perfor-mance engines that are out there — we have engines that are now 100 to 125 pounds putting out three times the horsepower they used to 15 years ago — they can’t stand being run on fuel that is less than premium.”

Prior to transporting a boat that has been sitting all winter, it is recommended that boat owners take a general walk-around of their trailer.

Make sure the tires are properly infl ated and the wheel bearings are in good condition. The trailer lights also need to be checked.

“Don’t discount the fact that your tow vehicle’s light plug hangs in the salt and muck and the mire all winter, and now in the spring you expect it to work,” Makedonski said. “Check those things out. Make sure your trailer is road worthy.”

Services shops can inspect the

engine, fuel delivery systems and battery systems built into a boat. It’s recommended that boaters get into a shop two weeks prior to the fi rst trip of the season.

“Preventative maintenance is going to cost the same roughly for whatever engine you have, new or old,” said Nolan Hilton, also a service technician at Chain of Lakes Marine.

“The problem we run into is with the newer engines. If you don’t do preventative mainte-nance, the repair cost is going to be a lot higher.”

After making sure the trailer and operational portions of a boat are taken care of, there are features out of the ordinary that could also catch a boater off -guard.

Bilge pumps, which empty out water that comes into a boat, need to be serviced and operat-ing correctly. Livewell pumps that deliver water to store fi sh can freeze over the winter if they’re not stored correctly.

“It’s a very quick procedure to go through and check all these things out,” Makedonski said. “The mechanic who’s checking them out will just write you a list on what he feels some attention

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Nolan Hilton (in front), shop manager at Chain of Lakes Marine in Waterloo, works with Ben Stark to replace the power pack on a boat engine recently.

“They build family memories that are worth more than 100 days at work or they’re worth more than the day-in, day-out grind of life. But if you don’t take care of them, then all of a sudden those memories can turn sour.”

Jerry MakedonskiChain of Lakes marine service technician

■ Preseason maintenance important for avoiding problems later

could be paid to.“Once you get past that point,

whether it’s our shop or any other shop in town, you’re going to come away from the shop feel-ing comfortable taking your boat

out on open water. “You’re not going out there on

a wish and a by golly or a wing and a prayer hoping that it’s going to hold together for these next two weeks of vacation.”


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Props are key to getting most out of your boat


CEDAR FALLS — From ski boats and pleasure boats to fi shing boats and pontoons, the name of the game is performance.

Whether it’s hole shot, cor-nering or top end, how a boat responds and handles in vari-ous situations goes a long way toward making a satisfied owner.

Ultimately, it’s all about props. The size, style and pitch of the blades you hang on your motor are as important as the hull design or how much horsepow-er you have pushing your craft. The questions boaters must address are whether to go with an aluminum or a stainless steel prop, how many blades to turn and how to match the size and pitch of the prop to achieve an engine’s optimal RPM range.

“Aluminum props cost about 40 percent less than stain-less,” says Gene Simons, who, along with his wife Barb, has been operating the Prop Shop in Cedar Falls for more than 20 years.

“What you get with stainless is a prop that will last longer, increase hole shot, increase top end and increase your gas mile-age and overall performance due to the fact that stainless doesn’t fl ex and aluminums do.

“If you buy a stainless prop, it will probably be the last one you buy. If you buy aluminum ... I’ve got customers who buy one or two aluminums a year.”

Dialing in exactly the right prop can be a matter of trial and error.

In general, boat and motor manufacturers do an excellent job of recommending the cor-rect props, but factors such as rough water, a need for speed or a desire for a stronger hole shot

may require a diff erent prop.“A four-blade increases your

hole shot probably 20 percent, so people who ski a lot and want that bottom end will go that route,” explains Simons. “A three-blade is faster on the top end, probably 5-6 mph faster than a four-blade prop.

“With the three-blade, when you take off , the bow comes up. With the four-blade, when you take off , it picks the stern up at the back end.”

A prop’s pitch determines how fast it turns and how much water it displaces.

Basically, the larger pitch an engine is able to turn while remaining within recommended RPM ranges, the more speed it will provide.

“Take a 17-pitch prop,” notes Simons. “Theoretically, with every revolution it moves the boat 17 inches in the water. With each pitch you increase, you increase RPMs by 200. The lower the pitch, the better the hole shot but less top end. To get in your power range, which is typically around 5,000-5,200 RPMs, you adjust your prop size up or down.”

Sometimes, pontoon owners end up with the wrong prop.

“A lot of times, people will take the motor off a runabout or whatever and use it on their pontoon,” notes Simons. “They leave the old prop on it, which was made for a Lund or some-thing else. Pontoon props have bigger blades and bigger diam-eter to give them more thrust.”

Over time, boaters may notice slight decreases in performance.

It’s easy to tell if a damaged prop is the cause by dings, bro-ken blades or unusual vibration in the engine while under power, which can blow out the prop seal, allow water into the lower unit and lead to serious damage to seals and bearings.

The eye test may not tip you off that your prop needs to be reconditioned because of simple wear, which is accelerated for boaters who run through a lot of sand and mud.

“The average guy will start gaining RPMs and losing speed and performance on a worn prop,” he explains. “You won’t have the hole shot or the top end when the cup is gone and the blades are getting smaller. If you took a new one and put it beside the old one, you can tell night and day.

“Everybody says, ‘I’ve got a

stainless prop. You can’t wear one of those out.’

“I tell them if they’ve ever gone to a waterfall where the water is hitting the rocks below, that rock is eventually going to be gone after time.

Simons says an average boat

owner should expect 2-3 years of outstanding performance from an aluminum prop and as many as 6-7 years from a stainless steel prop.

It’s all about performance. Give your boat the props it

deserves.

BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer

Barb and Gene Simons, owners of the Prop Shop in Cedar Falls, have been helping boaters get peak performance out of their rigs for more than 20 years.

■ Refurbishing worn propellers one way to increase performance

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the great outdoors - 2013 courier outdoor guide

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