Outdoors: Duck hunters having hard time working on blinds - Monmouth Daily Review Atlas

Outdoors: Duck hunters having hard time working on blinds - Monmouth Daily Review Atlas

Outdoors: Duck hunters having hard time working on blinds - Monmouth Daily Review Atlas

Posted: 27 Sep 2020 03:26 AM PDT

National Hunting and Fishing day is celebrated the 4th Saturday of September every year. The day was passed by Congress in 1971 to recognize the efforts of hunters and anglers leadership in the proliferation of wildlife and conservation for all of us and future generations to enjoy.

The Illinois celebration of the day is normally celebrated at John A. Logan College at their Logan Campus in southern Illinois. This year's celebration was to take place Sept. 26-27 but was cancelled due to COVID-19. But most of us outdoors folks don't need (or want) to go to an event to celebrate the day unless it takes place during the "off" season and this ain't the off season.

The temperatures and weather are close to perfect to be in the outdoors in late September. The cool mornings and warm days allow us to enjoy both fishing and hunting season outings.

There have been many times I've enjoyed catch and release fishing. The catch and release in hunting is if you're given the opportunity but elect not to take it home, but you enjoy the hunt. Then there's the times when meat is wanted or needed for the table and fish and game fill that need. The fall colors and the serenity of being there in the quiet places alongside wildlife are spiritual for most of us hunters and anglers.

• • •

Rivers and streams are "very low" now. The Mississippi River is the lowest I've seen it the past couple years. The river at Burlington is only 8.3 feet and at Keithsburg is 6.4 feet. They can't drop it much more or barge traffic will stop.

Duck hunters working on duck blinds will have a rough time getting around in the backwaters of the Mississippi this week. The Illinois Northern Zone Duck and Canada goose hunting seasons will open Oct. 17 and the Central Zone seasons will open Oct. 24.

• • •

This past week my grandson was fishing at Lake Storey. He caught a fish that my daughter had never seen before and she texted me a picture of the fish and asked if I knew what it was. I had never seen anything like it before. It had a different head and coloration and large front fins. It looked like an exotic fish someone had and got tired of feeding and released into the lake —never do this. We don't need any invasive fish taking over our lakes or streams.

I did some further research and came up with as to what it was. It was a Mottled Sculpin. They're not normally found around here — I know I've never seen one before now. The fisheries book describes them as being a frightening looking fish, but the Mottled Sculpin is perfectly harmless and forage for many top predators.

The average size is 4 to 5 inches but this one was quite larger. Mottled Sculpin normally inhabit the same waters as Rainbow and Brown Trout but can tolerate somewhat warmer water than trout. They were once common in clear headwater streams, but populations have dwindled with the degradation of these streams.

I must agree they are a frightening looking fish. Who knows how this fish got here? But it did. The water at Lake Storey must be in a good condition or it wouldn't have been able to survive. However an important reminder is it is illegal to transport fish from one body of water to another.

• • •

The 2020 Illinois Archery Deer Season opens Thursday, Oct. 1.  Good luck everyone!

Al Hayden operated Al's Sporting Goods for 34 years and has been The Register-Mail outdoors columnist since 1982. Have an outdoors question for Al? Email him at aahayden@centurytel.net

DR. ROBERT WALLACE: Messages are loud and clear in reader's poem - Goshen News

Posted: 26 Sep 2020 01:37 PM PDT

DR. WALLACE: I'm a 16-year-old girl and have been reading your column for over three years now. Many times, I've read about teens being influenced by friends to do things that are wrong "because everybody's doing it." You often refer to this as "peer pressure" because the pressure usually comes from trusted friends.

I really enjoy reading poetry, and I even have tried to write a few poems myself. Some of them are not so great, but I keep trying to improve. Since I also like being responsible and looking out for my friends and peers, I have written a poem entitled "Friends."

I hope you feel it's worthy enough to be in your column. If you do, feel free to put it out there in case it might help even one teen. — Budding Poet, via email

BUDDING POET: Your poem is indeed worthy. The messages you reference are loud and clear to me — and I hope your peers will read them and take your profound advice to heart.

FRIENDS

"Friends" drink with us. They also buy us drinks to celebrate birthdays, weddings, accomplishments and graduations. They buy us drinks to drown our sorrows, too.

"Pals" laugh with us when we are drunk. They love it when we cut loose and act foolish. They laugh with us but also laugh at us.

"Buddies" ride with us when we're drunk and let us ride with them. They trust our judgment to evaluate our own condition — or state of sobriety.

The same friends, buddies and pals visit us in the hospital if our drinking results in an accident, but if we "aren't funny anymore," they will find new companions. And if we happen to die from our injuries, they will attend our funeral and sob in shocked disbelief.

Then they will toast my lost life and have a few to ease the pain of my death, but they will remain alive, and their lives will go on, in search of more friends, pals and buddies.

Are these really my friends?

DR. WALLACE: My best friend has a pet snake. He says they are harmless and that they make wonderful pets and that he really likes his "unusual" pet. This has me thinking of getting an exotic pet myself. It seems every house in our neighborhood has a dog or a cat — or two or three!

Do you think it is OK for a boy like me to request an exotic pet for his birthday? I turn 16 the first week of October, and since we spend so much time at home these days, I'd like an unusual pet to keep me busy. Is this a reasonable gift to request? — Interested in Exotics, via email

INTERESTED IN EXOTICS: Snakes and other exotic pets make sense in some households but not in others. Various reptiles and even tarantulas can be considered exotic.

First, you must consider the others in your home. After all, at 16, it's not like you have your own apartment that you can stock up with jumbo spiders and snakes. Second, there are local laws that must be followed for certain exotic pets. You should check with your city or county to see what the local laws entail.

I do have a recommendation for you. Why not try a fish? Many a young person or adult has found keeping tropical fish in an aquarium to be quite an enjoyable hobby. Even a moderately stocked aquarium teaches similar responsibilities that having a dog does. There is feeding and maintenance to consider, and careful care must be applied to keep your swimming pets healthy!

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