There is something special about winter fishing in the deep blue clear water off Fort Myers in Florida.  There’s no snow, short sleeves and shorts are usual garb everywhere and there are lots of fish – it’s exciting!  

Each morning sunrise is nurtured with a tropical resource splash of orange color.  Birds are singing in the nearby distance, baitfish slurp on the surface everywhere to escape as morning feed from predators and dolphins – a sight to watch, and there is the sweet smell of morning fog as it is lifting off the quiet waters that surround the waterfront here.    

We feel a part of the natural resource here for a moment, as my wife (Rose) and I arrive at Sanibel Marina in Lee County, Florida.  As we pull in, a giant Eastern Brown Pelican swoops in front of our SUV.  “Wow! That was awesome, oh my goodness – that bird was so big, so colorful, so beautiful,” Rose whispered.  Our open windows were rolled all the way down.  We stopped to observe if a more such dive-bomber birds might be startled to provide another air show.  It was refreshing. 

As we looked down the dock to find our boat captain and first mate, another giant bird screeched about his fish catch and peered at us from across the dock, as the Osprey continued feeding her chicks in a lofty nest.

We were fishing with good friends from Western New York, Bill Hilts and his beautiful wife, Sandy, and all of us were really happy that we could finally find some time to get together in the outdoors with a fishing line in the Florida sunshine.  We could here quiet conversation and the sound of several ice bags hitting the deck for the fish coolers in the distance.

As Captain Ryan Kane of Southern Instinct Charters (www.southerninstinct.com) turned the ignition key and started the three 250 HP Yamaha 4-stroke engines on the transom, he greeted us and we all were escorted aboard.  Captain Kane maneuvered the sleek 36-foot Contender vessel from his comfortable Sanibel Marina boat slip to the bait shop dock to pick up his regular order of 100 live shrimp.  The aerated live well was large at 50-gallon capacity. 

Just then, a humble voice and a giant smile beckoned us ordinary land animals into the fun and fishing reality ahead, 1^st mate, Captain Kasey Szereski

http://www.sharetheoutdoors.com/2017/09/05/tru-fire-introduces-the-bulldog-foldback-buckle-release/

• 14 national groups and 70 local affiliate chapters oppose the proposed weakening of clean water standards that would threaten fish and wildlife habitat

By Kristyn Brady

Today (April 15, 2019), dozens of national, regional, and local hunting and fishing groups submitted final comments on the EPA’s proposed rollback of Clean Water Act protections for 50 percent of wetlands and 18 percent of stream miles in the U.S. Their comments underscore the potential economic consequences for rural communities and outdoor recreation businesses and the species that stand to lose habitat if clean water standards are weakened.

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership has also mobilized more than 3,500 individual sportsmen and women to submit comments opposing the rollback during the brief comment period.

“At every step of the EPA’s rule replacement process on what waters qualify for Clean Water Act protections, hunters and anglers have been clear about their support for safeguards on headwaters and wetlands,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “The science supports protecting these habitats as interconnected to larger water systems, the economics of defending outdoor recreation opportunities and businesses makes sense, and Americans will continue to stand up for clean water to power their outdoor pursuits.”

The groups write that the proposed rule represents a “wholesale gutting of the Clean Water Act’s 47 years of protection for our nation’s waters,” with habitat that supports trout, salmon, pintails, mallards, teal, and snow geese in the crosshairs.

Read the detailed comments here. Fourteen national groups and 70 state and local affiliate chapters signed in support.

Photo by Project Healing Waters via flickr.

Sacred Water at Devils Lake: Legend of the Lake Monster
By Bob Holzhei
Early European-Americans termed the lake “Bad Spirit Lake” because of high salinity water, making it unfit to drink. With summer, mirages were often seen across the water and the lake was referred to as “Spirit Lake,” as reflected in the Spirit Lake Indian Tribe.
Published reports of a “Lake Monster” date as far back as 1894, while Native American legends go back much further about a Loch Ness serpent in Devil’s Lake.
Whether fact or fiction, stories of the Devil’s Lake Monster that have been reportedly sighted and recounted in many newspapers, including the New York Sun in 1984, the Bismarck Tribune in 1895 and the Wichita Beacon in 1904.
All descriptions of the serpent indicate it has alligator jaws and glaring red eyes, a tail stretching to 80 feet long and it usually appears at sunset during August. The serpent moves slowly, often seen about a half mile from shore and reported to circle the lake twice a day. A slimy green color, the serpent’s motion sends gentle surface waves along from head to tail with the wake visible as it pushes along.
Early accounts of the Devil’s Lake Monster may be sensationalized accounts reported in newspapers in order to draw tourists to the area. Whether fact or fiction, my camera did accompany me on a guided fishing trip to Devil’s Lake in August. Today I can attest that our guide did fish more than a half mile from the mainland shore. Hmmmm.
While we chuckled about the fabled monster chronicles, Devils Lake in North Dakota is an angler’s dream and is open to fishing all year long. Ice fishing is especially fun here with heated huts and the aroma of smoked sausage on the grill.
No matter the time of year, multiple species here keep every angler in action for most of the fishing day. Foot-long perch are common, walleye in all-sizes – from eaters to wall hangers are the usual resident and non-resident angler focus, northern pike ranging from 5 to 10 pounds are the largest predator fish, while white bass, panfish (crappie and bluegill) and trout, provide a variety of fishing opportunities at Devil’s Lake. It’s fun to fish here.
A variety of popular fishing strategies include slip bobber fishing, rigging, jigging, casting, trolling with crankbaits and enticing hungry fish with bottom-bouncers when the usual hot bite is off, which is not very often. We caught over 50 walleye each day of our fishing.
The Devil’s Lake Basin is the second largest body of water in North Dakota after Lake Sakakawea. Once the lake reaches a high level of 1,458 feet, it flows into the Sheyenne and Red Rivers, though overflow occurred only twice in the last 4,000 years. Historically the area is the site of the Dakota people who relocated there as a result of The 1867 Treaty with the United States.
The lake stretches over 374 acres with a maximum depth of 47 feet.

Lacy Jo Jumper

Out My Backdoor: Beyond the Hummingbird Feeder

• Hummingbirds are INSECT EATERS…did you know?
• Hummingbirds eat a wide range of invertebrates, such as tiny spiders, mosquitoes, aphids, flies, gnats, beetles, leafhoppers and caterpillars.
• While feeding their young, females may eat as many as 2,000 insects a day.
• Set aside patches of native plants. Such patches are havens for native insects.

By Terry W. Johnson

Throughout spring and summer, we Georgians spend much time watching ruby-throated hummingbirds feeding at our hummingbird feeders and flowers. These visitations are so frequent one might think that the food we provide them is all these birds need to survive. However, hummingbirds require far more than sugar provided by sugar-water solutions and the nectar of flowers to prosper.

The belief that hummingbirds can survive solely on nectar alone is not new. In fact, it was once so widespread that when zoos and other facilities first tried to display hummingbirds in captivity, the birds were fed nothing but sugar water. When these efforts failed, it became clear hummingbirds require a more varied diet. After much experimentation, these early aviculturists learned that the birds also needed protein.

To determine the source of this protein, biologists analyzed the stomach contents of many hummingbirds. This led to the discovery that hummingbirds eat a wide range of invertebrates, such as tiny spiders, mosquitoes, aphids, flies, gnats, beetles, leafhoppers and caterpillars. Some stomachs examined contained dozens of these tiny animals. Yet, because the researchers could not detect nectar, some suggested that hummingbirds visit flowers hunting insects rather than nectar.

Today, such theories do indeed seem weird. But remember that early scientists needed the technology to detect nectar. Nor did they know that nectar is digested very quickly. Nowadays, it is common knowledge that a complete hummingbird diet consists of nectar (manmade and natural), invertebrates and several other food items.

One such food is tree sap. In winter, the most common source of sap in Georgia is sapsucker holes. These sap wells are excavated by a woodpecker known as the yellow-bellied sapsucker. This odd woodpecker – a winter resident here – chisels through the outer bark of various trees to create the tiny reservoirs. The sap that wells up in these excavations is the bird’s primary food source. But other animals also eat the sugary liquid, including squirrels, butterflies, Carolina chickadees and hummingbirds.

After the sapsuckers leave the state at the end of winter, hummers often find sap in broken tree limbs that exude it.

Hummingbirds are also fond of fruit juice. While the ruby throat’s bill may appear sharp, it is blunt and incapable of piercing a peach, apple, pear, fig or other fruit. However, they will eat juice from fruit partially eaten or punctured by a bird or other animal. My wife and daughter once had the rare opportunity to watch a ruby-throated hummingbird feeding on a fig. The bird dined by dipping its bill into a hole pierced in the ripe fig by another bird.

One of the most fascinating revelations concerning the diet of the ruby-throated hummingbird is that invertebrates may be a far more critical component of their diet than we previously realized. Dr. Doug Tallamy, professor and chair of the University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and noted proponent of incorporating native plants in residential landscapes, puts it this way: “Hummingbirds like and need nectar, but 80 percent of their diet is insects and spiders. … If you don’t have those insects and spiders in your yard, it doesn’t matter how many hummingbird feeders you have. You are not going to be able to support hummingbirds.”

Invertebrates provide ruby throats with the fats and minerals not supplied by nectar, sap and fruit juices. It has long been recognized that female hummers consume large numbers of these tiny critters while feeding their young. At that time of the year, females may eat as many as 2,000 insects a day. They, in turn, provide their young with the protein-rich food needed for proper growth and development.

We now also know that adult hummingbirds consume scores of insects and other invertebrates daily. The consumption of these tiny, protein-rich animals only increases during migration.

In a study by Cornell University’s Laboratory of Ornithology, researchers tracked the movements of a female hummingbird for two weeks. During this time, the bird ate nothing but insects. These revelations have prompted some hummingbird experts to suggest that hummers are best described as insectivorous birds that eat nectar instead of nectavors that dine on insects.

If that’s the case, to attract hummingbirds to our yards, we must emphasize providing these tiny flying jewels an abundant supply of nectar served in feeders and plants that not only offer nectar but also attract the insects that play a crucial role in their diet. Here are a few of the ways you can do that.

Increase the number of native trees, shrubs and broadleaf plants in our yards. Native plants attract far more insects than introduced species.

Set aside patches of native plants. Such patches are havens for native insects.

Add a tree that is used by yellow-bellied sapsuckers to your landscape. 

Place rotting fruit on the surface of your compost pile or in a small dish to attract fruit flies and other small insects.

Don’t use herbicides and pesticides on nectar plants to ensure the nectar is not contaminated with poisons and tiny insects are not killed.

There is far more to hummingbird gardening than meets the eye. However, I am one hummingbird fancier excited over this new challenge. I know that when I better address the dietary needs of the ruby-throated hummingbird, I will also be creating a more beautiful landscape that will benefit many other native plants and animals.

Terry W. Johnson is a retired Nongame program manager with the Wildlife Resources Division and executive director of The Environmental Resources Network, or TERN, friends group of the division’s Nongame Conservation Section. (Permission is required to reprint this column.) Learn more about TERN, see previous “Out My Backdoor” columns, read Terry’s Backyard Wildlife Connection blog and check out his latest book, “A Journey of Discovery: Monroe County Outdoors.”