The Outdoors Insider

Hail the size of fish

Somewhere in Australia there is a fishing guide looking into the heavens saying, “That’s not what I meant.”

When I was guiding in remote Alaska, there were a few occasions when I asked for a little divine intervention to save a slow or, dare I say it, fishless day. But I never expected fish to fall from the sky. In Lajamanu, a tiny remote village in Australia’s outback, that’s exactly what happened recently. On what was an otherwise normal day, the town’s residents stepped outside to see “hundreds and hundreds” of spangled perch falling from the sky. Some of the fish, according to the folks that witnessed the miraculous event, were still alive as they reached the ground.

A hundred years ago, this event would have went down in the history books as a fete of divine intervention — surely at the hands of some over-pious fisherman. But today, meteorologists have a logical explanation.

They blame a tornado. The scientific folks say it is not uncommon for tornadoes to cross a body of water and suck up some of its swimming life forms. When it happens, the air currents can hold onto the fish for quite some time, often dropping them more than a hundred miles from their home waters. Oddly enough, fish are not the only things tornadoes like to toss about. There are reports of coins, birds and even golf balls raining from the clouds.

Imagine that, hail the size of golf balls — wait, those are golf balls!

As for the fish, I still say some desperate angler had something to do with the situation.

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The results are in

We can debate all day long about the size and health of Pennsylvania’s deer herd, but there is no denying that the state boasts some world-class bear hunting opportunities. Now that the Game Commission has released its latest harvest figures, hunters have one more nugget of information to help them prove some of the nation’s biggest bears are coming from Penn’s Woods.

During the 2009 bear season, hunters took 3,512 bears inside the state’s borders. Notably, 116 of them were killed during a short archery season. While it is not the largest harvest on record — that event occurred in 2005 with a whopping 4, 164 bear succumbing to hunters — last year’s season was the second most successful.

While no bears were killed in York County, two dozen were harvested in our neighbor to the north, Dauphin County. In all, bears were taken in 54 of the state’s 67 counties.

More impressive than the overall harvest is the size of some of the animals hauled out of the woods. Throughout the state, 13 bears weighed more than 600 pounds. If you’ve never seen a quarter-ton bear, let’s just say their size and power is intimidating. The biggest bear eclipses the quarter-ton mark by nearly 200 pounds, with an estimated live weight of 668 pounds. It was taken in Jefferson Township, Dauphin County, not all that far from the state’s capital.

While bear hunting gets nowhere near the kind of attention whitetails get, there is no doubt the state’s bear hunting is worth bragging about. If you want good numbers of big beasts, there are few better places on the continent.

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Break the law, go to jail

If this does not make you angry, you need to rethink your priorities. We should all be outraged when greedy lawbreakers commit a crime against Mother Nature.

Earlier this week, two men from a Kansas-based oil-drilling company pleaded guilty to dumping 200,000 gallons of contaminated water down an abandoned well between April 2007 and January 2008. The felonies they admitted to come with a penalty of up to three years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

They deserve everything they get.

The men work for Swamp Angel Energy, a firm drilling for oil and natural gas in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest. Dumping contaminated brine into abandoned pits or mines is nothing new. It is a common process and is entirely legal with the correct permits. But these men were too lazy or too greedy to follow the law.

Their actions put us all at risk and threaten to disrupt the difficult balance between nature and industrial progress.

A decade ago, this case would get little attention. But now that the Marcellus Shale boom has many state agencies and landowners counting their piles of cash, following and enforcing the rules is more important than ever. When greed goes up, safeguards go down.
Shale drillers are dealing with chemicals far more dangerous than the salty solution these two men illegally dumped. So-called frack water is much more expensive and difficult to dispose of, so you can bet drillers are looking for any way possible to cut corners and save costs. Sadly, there is no disputing we will hear similar stories in the near future.

While it is not confirmed, the good news is a contracted truck driver may have been the man to turn these two criminals in to enforcement officers. It is proof that you and I need to have a large role in ensuring our state’s natural treasures are respected and protected. If you see anything out of the ordinary or know of laws being broken, do not hesitate to take action.

Your drinking water and your state are at risk.

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Sail on, Sailor

The “Deadliest Catch” has turned deadly and the world of fishing and crabbing lost one of its most colorful and popular characters. On January 29, Capt. Phil Harris, 53, a star on the surprising hit “Deadliest Catch,” suffered what was called a massive stroke. Last week, we got word that he was on the mend. But this week, sadly, we learn he has moved on to wherever it is salty captains go when they leave this world.

The news of Harris’ death will certainly be a blow to the hordes of fans that made the Discovery Channel’s show a massive worldwide hit. But his passing will have an even larger impact on Alaska’s fishing community. Already, the outpouring of support has been incredible, especially considering the crab industry is highly competitive.

If you have spent much time on the water, you have likely noticed that when the seas are high and times are rough, rivalries are put aside. When a mariner is in need, his fellow watermen are always there for him. Harris showed time and time again his rugged exterior had a soft heart, especially when a crew member needed support.

We may not witness the ornery captain’s antics any longer, but we can all learn from his actions. Show the world your heart and they will show you theirs.

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I don’t feel like a lottery winner

I feel like I’m in an aisle seat of an out-of-control airplane. As the meteorologists yell, “Brace, brace, brace,” York County prepares for its third major snowfall of the season. While I blame it all on that pesky prognosticator of prognosticators seeing his chubby little shadow last week, the nation’s weather gurus are drooling over what has been put in front of them.

From what they are telling us, the odds of seeing a winter storm pattern like we have been forced to endure are roughly the same as winning the Powerball. It’s something few folks ever expected. It takes the right weather patterns, the right temperatures, near-perfect timing and plenty of bad luck to give the area what may be some 36 inches or more of snow on the ground by the end of the week.

Like usual, I’ve had bad timing. My wife and I decided to put off a snowblower purchase until next winter. That means I’ve been tackling this “beast” one scoop of the shovel at a time. But even worse, I recently ordered a new flying tying bench. This is perfect tying weather, right? Certainly, if the bench wasn’t on backorder scheduled for delivery sometime next week.

But as much as I like to complain about the cold temps and the back-breaking chore of clearing my driveway, porches and sidewalks, it is great to be able to witness the power of Mother Nature. It has been a long time since we have seen this much snow. It will likely be a long time until we see it again.

I sure hope so.

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A dangerous moment for the Deadliest Catch

I debated a moment or two whether this bit of news had more to do with the entertainment world or the outdoors. Since the guy has spent more time on the water than most of us could ever imagine, I figure the news that Deadliest Catch sensation, Phil Harris, has suffered a massive stroke is certainly worthy of discussion.

As one of the founding stars of the monstrously popular reality show, Harris has become a household celebrity. His gritty, calloused personality is refreshing to so many that have a growing disdain for today’s all-about-me celebrities.

On Friday, Harris was reportedly found by his engineer unconscious on the floor of his stateroom while the crew of the Cornelia Marie was offloading a crab catch in St.Paul. After a quick trip to the local medical facility, Harris was airlifted to Anchorage where he underwent a half-a-day surgery and was placed in a medically induced coma.

We are getting good news today that Harris is showing signs of improvement. If you’ve managed to only see clips of the show, you know Harris has a notorious grasp of the mariner’s vernacular. With reports he is cussing at doctors, we know he is getting on the on-ramp to the road to recovery.

He has a long way to go and I have a feeling Discovery Channel watchers are going to see all the highlights, but we can’t forget Harris is a human being like you and I.

He is undoubtedly scared out of his mind. Right now, Harris and his family don’t want your money (they got enough of it already); they want your thoughts and prayers.

Here is an address where you can send the crabber a note (yes, it’s in Texas):

Captain Phil Harris
PO Box 32466
Amarillo, TX  79120-2466

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It’s almost a certainty now

It is getting closer. Most say it was only a matter of time before it crept over the border into Virginia. And now most biologists believe Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) will someday reach the woods of the Keystone State.

Earlier this week, the lab results were conclusive. A deer shot and killed in Virginia tested positive for CWD, a deadly neurological disease that spreads rapidly and is nearly impossible to fight. CWD was first detected in 2002 in Wisconsin. Since then, it has quickly spread throughout much of the whitetail’s region.
Now that Virginia is in the disease’s crosshairs, many believe it won’t be long until Pennsylvania gets its first case. The answers to the questions raised by this week’s discovery are incomplete and complicated. Is CWD widespread in the state? Does Virginia work to significantly reduce its herd in an attempt to slow the spread? Will hunters still want to take to the woods next year?

So far, CWD has been detected in just two of the handful of states that border Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia. The spread is slow, but this week’s news proves hunters need to be vigilant and we must follow the regulations put in place to stop the spread of the deadly disease. If we are not careful, it’s only a matter of time. It could be a very short amount of time.

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A case of mistaken identity

It is a case of mistaken identity that could prove costly. If you have been following the plight of the white marlin over the past decade, you know the pelagic swimmers have been at the heart of controversy. After decades of overfishing, many scientists have called for the species to be classified as endangered. But fisherman and tournament directors have fought a tough battle against the notion.

Now, it turns out there may be even fewer white marlin in the seas than even the most pessimistic scientists figured.

A recent studied published in the journal Endangered Species shows that anglers and researchers have been misidentifying white marlin for decades. The study showed during the 2007 and 2008 White Marline Open, a monstrous tournament in Ocean City, out of 26 supposed white marlin brought to the dock, DNA samples proved about a third of them were actually roundscale spearfish, a species extremely similar to the white marlin.

This study re-opens many of the arguments we thought had been settled over the last decade. We now have to question if the white marlin population is even worse than we thought or if it’s actually the spearfish population that is dwindling.

I have a feeling this won’t be the last we hear of this story.

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Don’t get lost in the fog

It is the end of an era for marine navigation. I know… big whoop! Who cares how ships get from Point A to Point B while avoiding Point C, right?

Actually, the disbanding of the nation’s Loran C system is a pretty big deal. If you navigated a boat or traveled aboard one anytime before, oh say, 2000 or so, you likely were aided by radio transmissions coming from land-based Loran stations.

Today, many boats still use the ultra-reliable system for backup, just in case the satellite-based GPS system takes a dive. But as of February 8, they will no longer have that option.

You may not have heard about it, but one of President Obama’s first acts of his term was to order the system’s dismantle, saying it was no longer necessary. He’s right, but it will be sad to see the old system go.

If you are taking this news as a call to action and are just now preparing to abandon your old Loran receiver for a modern GPS unit, shame on you. You should have made the switch a decade ago.

But don’t throw that old unit in the trash. It’s about to become a historic relic of maritime history.

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3, 2, 1… Happy license expiration

There is just a few hours left in 2009. That means it is time to get out your wallet. If you are like me and enjoy some mid-winter fishing, you won’t be able to hit the local waterways until you hit a sporting goods store or the Internet to pick up a fresh fishing license. As of midnight, your 2009 license is no longer valid.

Looking back on the year, I will borrow an old cliche. You reap what you sow. After talking with many of the area’s anglers and hunters, the past twelve months were not great, but were also not terrible. As always, the more work you put in, the better luck you had.

Local waterways produced fair amounts of fish. In the Susquehanna, the smallmouth fishing is still off of historic marks but is showing signs of improvement. On the saltwater scene, it was hit or miss once again. Flounder fisherman did well, but offshore things could have been much better.

For hunters, it all depends on where you’re at. If you are fortunate enough to hunt private land in the state’s suburban areas, you probably had a great year. If you hunt up north on the vast public land, well, you may have few nice things to say about 2009.

While reflection is important, you are always better off preparing for the future. Now is the time to set your goals for 2010 and start working to achieve them.

No matter what, if you got outside in 2009, it was a good year.

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