JANUARY 1980
• conse 10 ;.,or timber IOWA CONSERVATIONIST ar the grou MAGAZINE Tree Cavities ~edlogs January 1980 ~~to the ~ White-b STAFF ~'l.l'al cavrtJ Roger Sparks Edttor Home-Sweet-Home tith squ1rrels RoiX'n Runge Atlnaf1mg Edttor ~nneth formanel... A·V Coordmator ~chJCK Ron Johnson Photographer ~st ooxes d • luhu\ S,l!re Contnbutmg Edttor to Many p:cavatmg Junoe Gookon. Ctrculatton Manager ~on Burch Art Dtre
IOWA CONSERVATIONIST/JANUARY J98f) 3 r
producu v E:.R 't ANGLER readmg th1.., art1cle ha.., thrilled h lhDo\Hr.; l!XCI(ement Of hooJ...mg a fighung fi..,h {.;<.,uaJI)- thj, 'hr D"Ul.R, repeated many umes each fi..,hmg tnp I'll bet fc\\ of ...._. T E ,.,~~ Iowa Fish root ha"e thought of the po.....,lbiht} that the fi..,h you caught ''a' 11: Ra::!l\JoA hatched at one of l o~a \ fish hatchenes or ts the off..,pnn~ r. Trm. Hatcheries Working hatchef) reared fi..,h Trout MtN of u., take good fish1ng for granted "" Jthout -.toppm for Anglers n:alile that m man} m<.,tance.., good fi-.hmg 1s a product ofJI manipulation rather thun a narural occurrence ln I manager. to concentrate on leammg the fine pOints of fi,h l 11 ..,o that fish produwon reque-.t., can more often be f lieu unportc1nt to you, the angler, that all li h production reqw?'t filled hecau..,e the cl\adabJIJt) of fi-,h could deterrmne \\ hethc '"ater you !J..,h v.Jil pro' 1de g I ~------~ 4 JOllA C0 \ SER\ \T/0\/Sl JA\L'A/?.1 /9i< ~------ 500.000 striped bass that were delivered in 1977. 1978 Fish Production One and one-half million walleye fry to Arkansas for 4,000 r I . production from Iowa hatcheries during 1978 is detailed 6-mch grass carp. thnll I ~ )llowing table: Goal of ! Ol-1'Q Fish Hatcheries ilh tk 1 • J \\AT ER SPECifS 'WI\IBER WEICHT ILBS.I bet fe - Iowa· fi h hatcheries are operated a a ervice to fi hene oo~ Trout 224,751 100.016 U!!hl11 management and fisherie research. It 1s the respon ibihty of ~ U o Rambow Trout 7,070 3.455 : offlr. ·Jn n Trout 54,359 25,117 these biologists, after thorough study of scientifically collected If"! , Trout 3,049 1.655 data, to recommend a program that will make each body of water outst \\ A I WATER SPECLES in the district a productive and exciting fishing area. These - recommendations can range from complete fi h removal to main UCI I til 1,931.100 1.136 In I h 1el Catfish 1,085.223 27.451 taming the tatus quo. Many recommendallon include rocking IS )ffiffil • mouth Bass 1.554.000 unlulown fish . Although fish stockmg important m many fishery manage mouth Bass 1,005,750 1.437 h hatlt ment programs, it is not a cure-all and will not create good fishing mouth Bass 61,288 2,777 if habitat is Jacking or unsuitable. If the biologist believes stock late 11 1 ellunge 6,043 674 1able..~ c em Pike 7.400,000 unknown ing can help fulfill proJect goal . he specifies where, when, how ls ')! c em Pike 35.661 154 many. what size. and what pecies of fish are needed. It i the 11 mouth Bass 12.375 23 be hatchery's responsibthty and goal to produce and distribute the I Musky 9.366 246 fish and to provtde fish that are healthy and in good body non ft'lio ·ye 109.621.920 unknown condition. Thus, fish are stocked that have the best possible line 111i ' ·ye 77.496 4,325 • Amur 2.208 1,987 chance of surviving and growing large enough for an angler to catch. 1 fish~ I Ft heries Section has negotiated trades involving our The next time you go fi hing plea e remember that not only cap;l~ nrea 11 'lt species in exchange for fish we would like to release m have hatchery per onnel dedicated thetr profession to making 'nese trades include: your fishing trip uccessful; but. aJI76 employees of the Fi heries 13S It' I i hundred thousand northern pike egg to Virginia for Section are dedicated to providing you with fi hing pleasure. o t. ______j __.-/ II.~ CO\Sf.R\AT/0.\/STJA.\UARI' /980 5 .... \ 0 A AMOSA 1 PINKO~ I 1 VI£\\ ~ L-l A(RE'i I rJ I I I I ,~ \\1\P'>IPINICON STAlE: PAlO; - TO VIOlA nter scet kindr S I R~ 1S l , and d '-- ;;t i iiJ~VY btf( One da TO Ml V[R:-;ONr Site of original haJchery is beyond nearest tree. 10 our 1 g•ound 11~ II . d·op tn a1 CO\ ered u~ pdedup, Iowa's first fiSh hatchery built in 1874 t has e pa~ttng a j by Walt Carstens fhe bulldmg w~ con-.tructed ~1th the du"Cct ~~ the 1 Cookhouse, showing part of the cooking troue r.t nsbegi (from the Monttcello Express) mtenuon of mamt,unmg a., even a temper,llure ~ posstble throughout the year The mterval tor tn1 Iowa's fi11>t fish hatchery. built m 1874 by between the extenor and tntenor wall'> ~~ Iowa's fi11>t board of fish commJ S'>IOners, wa '> fill ed with '>a wdu '>t from ~ ~~~ ~ to roof Cellmg of located 2 /) mJies southwest of Anamosa on land the hatchmg room was <,caled and msulated presently owned by Otck and Edte Alman wtth shtplappmg Iowa's lirst fi sh law was passed by the 15th general as'>cmbly and was enutled an ··Act to Rows of Troughs Provtde for Ftsh Corruruss10ners for the Protec Nme rows ofzmc-hned hatchmg trough'>. 16 tton and Propagatt on of Fish'' feet long, I foot wtde and 4 mche'> deep. were The governor. under the provtston of thts firml y fixed on '>Ohd benches about 11-, feet act, appomted S 8 Evans of Ottumwa. 8 F from the ground rhere were 2 sections ol th e~e Shaw of Anamosa and Charles A Haines of tanks, wtth the 2nd sect ton 6 tnche'> lower. thus Waterloo as membe11> of the fliSt board of fish gtvmg a break 111 the flow whtch resulted m COmffil SS IOners . better aeratton ol the water Pnotos by R K Alman Thts board, meetmg at Des Momes on May A bed of clean gravel was laid on the bottom 10, 1874, elected f::. vans, prestdent, Shaw, sec of the troughs The gravel was obtamed from Dunng the first yc..tr of opcrauon ( 18.,4 retary and supenntendent, and Hames. treas the nearby Wapstpm1con Rt ver. and after bemg 1875), the hatchel) records ~ho~ed the tollo" urer These officer\ dtvtded the state mto three stfted several ttmes, wa '> bo iled and wa-.hed mg dt'>tnbuuon of fish wuhm the state: I00.000 secuons, each to supenntend a dtvtston before spawn wa~ deposited for hatchmg '>had. 300.000 Caltfom1a almon. I0.000 ba!)' The ~pnng that supplied the water nmnmg 80.000 Penob~co t salmon. 5,000 landlocked " Hatching House" through the trough~ was 5 feet deep and I0 feet ~almon , and 20.000 other kind., Th1s arrangement contmued for two years m dtameter and wa~ located m one end ol the The ...eco nd year showed the foliO\\ mg. dt,tn· until new leg1slauon reqUired only one full-ttme butldmg button. I .574,200 nauve fish, 533.000 !>almon statewide supenntcndent and a board of com Hatchmg acttVI!tes were earned on dunng and lake trout. 100.000 shad . 125.000 wh1te mtS'>Io ner\ B. W Shaw was appo1nted to th1s the wmter month~. begmnmg m November and fish. 100.000 eels. 80.000 Penob~co t ~al m on. po'>t. becommg Iowa's first fish comm1sstoncr endmg m March . Otstribuuon of the fish took 5,000 landlocked salmon The lollowmg yea!'> Under a resoluuon of the board , Supennten place when they were 6 to 15 weeks old the totals were somewhat le!><.,, but 150.000 dent Shaw was authonzed to build a "State brook trout had been added to the hatch Dunng Hatch1ng House", and as far as pracucable to Cooked Food the yean. 1878 and 1879. more than 5 million procure spawn of fish adapted to Iowa. The fis h were fed nothmg but cooked food. fi h were distnbuted m 1nland waters as well a~ In accordance wtth thts authonL.allon. Shaw cons1stmg pnnc1 pally of li ver and lungs pro the M 1'>'>1SS tppt during the summer of 1874 erected the fi sh cured from local '> lau g ht erhou ~C!> . A cook Accordmg to report~ the hatchery wa~ dt'· hatchery on a 20-acre tract of land purcha'>ed house, 14x 16 feet and one '>tory h1gh. had been conunued shortl y after 1900. and may have from Col W T Shaw for $360 Located erected The food was cooked b) steam and been moved to 1anchc~ t e r southwest of Anamosa m hilly terram, the '> lte chopped to varytng degrees of fi neness. Two reason ~ were '> lied The general a~· of the hatthery wa~ tn a ravme ncar a large accordmg to s1ze of the fish to be led '>e mbly recommended removal to another l~>ca· ~pnng Bes1des the hatchmg butldmg and cook uon smce Anamosa alread) had one state tn,u The build mg. a 20x40-loot wooden structure house, vanous other butldmgs were erected tuuon. the state reformatory. The other rca,on 1 on a stone fou ndatton 3 , feet deep. was two mcludmg a barn and mach me shed. a rest de nee was that the water from the spnng v. as too cold stones htgh The ground floor wtth 11 -foot or two , and a '>torage bal>ement fwo apple The Alman~ welcome mten!'>ted per.on' tO cethngs contamed the hatchmg eqUipment, and trees on the stte, e'> ttmated to be more than 80 VISit th 1s site but pnor contact 1'> apprc<. t,tted the upper aparTment, an 8 1 foot story . fumt '>h years old. '>ttll bear fru1t . although of mfenor Wnte or call Pmtcon V1ew Acre'>. RR 2. Ana· ed livmg quarters lor the plant supcnntendent. quality mosa ( 319) 462-4528 0 6 IOWA CONSERVATIONISTIJANUARY i911J 1\0ST OF THE SONGBIRDS longer get out and scrounge for starling, have the protection of wanted. Later, a City policeman 1ave gone south for the winter, themselves. So it is Important to our laws. Some have partial pro told us the court would probably 1ut some spend the wmter here continue the feeding all winter, tection, but most of them are turn h1m loose. At least that was 1lowa. Almost everyone enJoys once they become accustomed completely protected. The Con what usually happened when eeing wildl1fe, but there is to a free meal. They many not be servation Officer will work just they wrote th1 s person traffic omething a little speCial in the too much different from people as hard to protect the non-game tickets. vintert1me about seeing the in that respect. b1rd as he will a game bird. Well, the next day 1n court 1nght red flash of a card1nal or In our back yard the cardinals, Fortunately most people proved different. The defendant 1earing a blue Jay scoldmg in blue jays and chickadees enJOY would not thmk of harming a pleaded guilty. The Judge sa1d, ·uders. It may be the contrasting the sunflower seeds, while the songb1rd, but we have all kinds " There will be no fine on these olors against the otherwise drab slate colored juncos and the of people. We received a call charges. You are sentenced to vinter scenery. Even one of the sparrows clean up spilled seeds from a person in one of our one day m 1ail." Then after a little 11 any kinds of sparrows is a wei from the ground. The (Niger) smaller cities informing us that pause, he continued " That 1s, orne sight on a bleak january thistle seed feeder is usually the his neighbor was shooting song one day in Jail for each of the iay, and they are not especially busiest place early in the morn birds. This was in a high class thirty birds." howy birds. ing when as many as two dozen neighborhood and the yards The defendant turned as white One day we watched a blue goldfinch try to feed at the same were beautifully landscaped, as a snowy owl, then red as a 1y in our yard dig a hole in the time. Sparrows like the regular with bushes and trees that would cardinal, then gray as a junco. I' round with its beak, and then wild bird seed, as do many other be attractive to birds. The person When the jail door slammed be rop in an acorn. It carefully birds. Some people dislike feed who called us had picked up hind him I couldn' t help but overed up the acorn, and even ing the sparrows, but they have thirty dead songbirds that the think how much better he looked icked up a leaf and placed over to eat too and they make a great ne1ghbor had shot with a rifle. in a cage than a b1rd does 1n a . It was e1ther stonng food or decoy to bring other b~rds 1n There was a vanety of species. I cage. The term " Jail b1rd" Ianting a tree! to the feeders. The suet bag had to get the b1rd book out to seemed quite fittmg 1n th1 s case. At the first hmt of fall, the gets worked over by the downy identify some. Unless youngsters get educa ookingt:: )bins began to flock up, prepar and hairy woodpeckers and When we confronted the indi tion and supervision from the lg for the1r m1gration south, nuthatches. VIdual w1th the dead birds he parents, other songb1rds will be t ith as many as two dozen The Conservation Commis w as very arrogant and freely killed by small boys and g1rls 1 our yard at one time. Our sion is interested in all wildlife admitted, almost boasting, that who received an a1r nfle for ird bath had a real workout including the non-game birds he had shot them. As we made Christmas. It usually happens lear through October, with that visit our feeders during the out a court citation he was saying only once. The youngster picks :>metimes three or four birds winter. All birds, except the something about being on his up the lifeless little bird in his ::>lashing there at once, in con English house sparrow and the own place and could do what he hand and wishes it were alive ast to the summer months when 1------L------~ again. It's not food for the table was usually a one-at-a-time and it certainly isn't any kind of a )Utine. After a quick bath and a trophy. They will feel so badly ttle rest, they would take off about it they won't tell mom or gain, continuing on their trip to dad, and every time they see a 1e "sunny" south. bird their consc1ence will start to Our martin house is now hurt all over again. leaned out and closed for the Birds are nature's way of pro tinter, as the purple martms also tecting us from an overabund lOOn (If ave headed south. We have ance of irritating msects. Some d!he Ill ad success 1n gettmg the mar insect1c1des upset this balance of ate: 100. ns to use our b1rd house only nature when a b1rd eats a strug ne year out of the ten years By Rex Emerson gling, dymg insect and the end JO.WJll: LAW ENFORCEMENT SUPERVISOR tlandl(.d: 'e have had it. Last year we result 1s a dead b1rd . The outlaw Tleared mud on the ins1de ing of some chem1cals has saved 'ails, and they moved in. My 0,, ingdll several spec1es of b1rds from be ,,(XXI~ ld friend who lives down by the coming ext1nct. There 1s still !S.tXXI ~ ver always has martins, and he room for improvement in the scot saltn: ad told me about the mud. He types of chemicals that some lowing' so said putting a little mirror on people use. bUt 1511, 1e back wall of each apartment The 55 mile per hour speed ·ould help, as they are a colony limit has helped save many red 1atch.Dt an 5101 ·pe bird and like to think there headed woodpecker!> . They are 1 ·e other martins close by. We :ers ~ 11 slow in taking flight from the 1ay have to try that next spring. roads, and cars are one of th e1r The bird feeders are up and ,ery \lOll worst enemies. eing enJoyed by several species ,d (113) If you have read this far 1t's f our feathered fnends. The because you l1ke b1rds. You 1rds would probably surv1ve should send five dollars to the 1st as well if we didn't put feed State Conservation CommiSSIOn Jt for them. The ma1n purpose and ask for a Non-game Support · a feeder 1s to attract our feath Certificate. It's a beaut1ful p1cture ·ed friends 1n close enough to you can frame and hang on the Jr homes so that we may enJOY wall, and you will be paymg for em. Once you start feedmg the protection and study of our 1em, they expect 1t and no feathered fnends I CONSERVI.nONJSTIJANUARY 19IJO 7 PRUNING BR~EAFI b HERE ARE different should be pruned to mam reasons for prunmg tam the1r natural shape T trees dunng dtfferent Prunmg tec hniques can months of the year. Maples vary considerably Contrary and birches tend to bleed to common beltef, s1de profusely so they are most prumng will not appreciably often pruned m the summer mcrease hetght growth when sap IS movmg more When side branches are slowly Summer prunmg may removed too early, stem also be popular because 1t IS dtameter growth 1s reduced easter to v1suallze shade tree The branches and leaves are shape when leaves are needed for act1ve, healthy present It is also easier to growth Unless removing tell wh1ch limbs are dead . d1 seased or crooked August prunmg can reduce branches, the s1de stems crown water loss dunng should not be cut off before periods of drought; 1t can they are about one inch 1n al so be used to " dwarf" a dtameter If small branches tree. Fall prunmg IS common are exceptionally long, when trees are transplanted. threatening to surpass the Th1 s 1s done to equalize the mam leader, 1t may be better crown area w1th the root to cut them back w1thout area that was removed complete removal Then dunng transplant digging. completely remove th em Because of wilt d1sease when they reach the one potential, do not prune inch size. Remova l of limbs oaks m th e spnng or over three mches th1ck will early summer. lead to exceptionally slow Tree leaves produce the healing, and with walnut, Side branches should be removed when they reach a Removal of • ~~w to h food necessary for trunk and will yteld little value one inch diameter. Remove no more than one-third of liHie value stem growth throughout the 1ncrease. the green crown in any one year. yea r. Fall leaf drop means When cutting, 1t IS that the tree must grow, Important to make cuts flush Forked trees can sometimes be salvaged by heading one A young tl'fl ~ top . survive, and begm new w1th the mam tru nk. Leave branch back and using it to hold the other branch "coppiced" · ' !t(h oi the vertical. Three or four wraps of masking tape can be spring growth by using food no protruding stubs If used to secure the two together. produced last summer and cuttmg one s1de of a "V" stored in the stem, trunk, crotch, make the cut at a an d roots. Removal of 45-degree angle. When branches early m the cuttmg large limbs, make an dormant season red uces the init1al cut on the unders1de amount of stem food storage of the branch, and cut the a~ea . By delaymg prunmg limb off outs1de the under until late winter or ea rly cut. This will prevent bark spnng, you allow the plant peelmg and ripping 1nto the to take fu ll advan tage of 1ts trunk. Fin1sh the cut by II stored food. Cutting in late removing th e stub flush w1th February or March also has the trunk. the advantage of bemg A prunmg cut one inch 1n followed by rapid spring diameter will seldom need growth to heal the wound. wound dressmg (pamt). There are dtfferent reasons Wounds th1 s small should for pruning. Black walnut heal naturally long before should be pruned to alter a wood rot sets in. Trees can llmby, low value lumber tree also seal off large wounds. into the high quality, high Often the tree wound pnced veneer tree. Trees are dressmg 1s of more cosmet1c also pruned for aesthetic value to the tree owner than value, to remove msect or it is physical value to the d1sease mfested branches, tree If you feel that tree to remove weak ltmbs or pamt IS necessary, nearly "V" crotches, or for safety any commercial paint is reasons Generally, tref•c; acceptable. 0 8 ~ 8~ :AFED TREES Photos by the Author ..,. ,. RemOI II slow to heal and will yield Pruning that is too severe results in sprouts and weak trees. Branches and leaves are necessary for normal diameter growth. little I• rked top should be Several sprouts will develop from coppiced trees. Select This walnut sprout grew three feet by July 1st. Coppiced lCh of the ground in April. sprout closest the ground and remove the others in July. trees are capable of five feet of growth in one season. 1WA CO.VSERVAnO.'WSTJANUARY 1980 9 Troph~ ! ~t thing l Fish make a1112 Any fish that IS to be mounted should be photographed as soon rJJn or set as possible so the truodenrust can have a color reference. Fish lhroar as l vary a great deal in coloration depending on the habitat or water extemallj ] condiuons from wh1ch they are taken. After a fi sh is mounted, it tneanimal loses nearly all of Its color and the taxidermist must repamt ortmt mount the the fish to make tt look natural. Another thing thatts important is ) OU need I making sure that the fin s, tail and skin or scales do not get nmg. You damaged. The best treatment is to urunedtately fold a ptece of f'J~Ible 9 cardboard or heavy paper over the taJl (tills will help prevent liCape A damage after the fi sh is frozen), lay the fins flat agamst the fish's the normal body and wrap the fish in plam paper or plastic and freeze flat. If the under! the fish must be put on a tnnger do not poke any holes m etther ther mare the upper or lower jaws. Instead , run the stnnger through the out. The 31 mouth and out the gills. The stringer should be tied off so that it toprevent does not tighten up Like a slip knot. Thls could cause damage and t US! dra~ ~ will al o kill the fish qutcker. Do not put any more fish on the r.. t will [}( same stringer. They could rub agamst the trophy and cause After £e damage. Another good way to protect and keep fi sh is to put them h~~a~in on ice m a cooler until they can be properly wrapped and frozen . ~re from I Always freeze fi sh flat and do not place anything on top of them. ' : Then by Larry Ford Fish of all sizes make attractive mounts . You do not necessar l Jn!Inueq FISH AND GAME LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER ily have to catch a " Junker" to have a nice mount . Personally I lfthe cut 0 would rather see a small bass surrounded by two or three blueg1Us Jlr Intact and crappies hangmg on a wall than a large bass or northern pt.ke r.:JUnr Yo hanging alone. A " stringer mount " of assorted smaller fish is bycareruu really an eye catcher. ~llrked dj I had been under pres ure from my boy, Larry Jr. (Scootch , as I femo\e the Birds call him) for several weeks to get his fi sh mounted . He had talked \\here IllS his grandfather and me into taking him fishing with us last spring Most game birds are mounted because of their beautiful plum ~neck and he made us all look lt.ke amateurs. He caught several fish age or because of orne unusual coloration . Blfds must be g1ven between ten and fourteen pounds and ms1sted that I mount one for spec1al attention as feathers can eastly be damaged. First plug the him . There is something about a seven year old boy's pleas that a mouth and nostrils with cotton or some other soft matenal to keep father can 't resist so I finally agreed to get the fish mounted. I blood and other body fluids from draming and getting on the have done taxidermy work for many years but being low on feathers. If there are any large shot or bullet holes these should supplies and time , I dec1ded to take the fish to Donny B1shop in also be plugged. Some birds requrre rrnrnedjate cleaning to re Grand Junction, Iowa. Donny has done taxidermy work for move blood stains. This can be done by carefully washing the several years but just recently decided to go to school and learn stained areas with soap and cool water. Always remember to more about new methods. l must say that after eeing his work he wash or rub in the direction the feathers he. A soft cloth or sponge must have paid attention in class. Scootch and I loaded up his fish can be used . Some birds can be washed in the field since there IS and headed for Donny's Taxidermy. As we walked into Donny's usually a creek, marsh or Jake nearby . Plain cold water does a shop, I could hear Donny mumbling somethmg about " Why good job of removing blood stains. After cleaning, the feathers don' r people rake better care of their trophies?" ''What's the should be aiJowed to dry before freezing. After plugging the holes matter, Donny?" I asked. " Look at these fins and that rail," he and cleaning the feathers, the bird should be carefully wrapped 111 replied . Sure enough , he had something to mumble about. The plain paper or plastic and frozen flat . fms and tail on the northern pike he was skinning looked as though someone had taken an axe to them . There would be a lot of Animals repair work done before the fish would once again look natural. An animal is one of the easiest critters to care for. As w1th " Hi Scootch, did you brmg that little northern ofy ours over to birds, the mouth, nostrils and bullet or shot holes should be get mounted?' ' Donny asked, knowmg he was going to get some plugged with cotton or some other soft material. The animal sort of quick reply. "That's O.K.," Scootch said , " it's bigger should also be cleaned by the same method as birds 1f needed. The than any you ever caught.'' That put an end to that conversation. animal can now be wrapped in pJajn paper or plastic and frozen. We quickly got back to the subject of how people should take care Most fish , birds and some animals have one ide that is better of their trophies. than the other. Your taxi dennis( will always use the best s1de for The most important thmg to remember when you are planning the show side unless you specify you want your trophy facmg one to have something mounted is to ensure that your animal , fish or direction or the other. The condirjon of your trophy will some blfd IS kept m the best possible conditiOn until you can get It to the times dictate the position it should be mounted for best results A tax1denrust. I w1ll not anempt to go mto great detail on trophy bird with the wing feathers shot out, for example, would not make preservation but will give you some tips that will ensure you a a good flying mount. Most taxidermists will tell you what posi better looklng mount tion should be used . 10 IOWA CONSERVATTONISTJANUARY J9fl} Game Heads taxidermist as soon as possible. The head and cape can be frozen Trophy game heads seemed to be doomed for destruction. The but it is best to deliver it to the taxidermist immediately so he can .rst thing many hunters do after shooting a big game animal is to finish skinning out the head. If you are hunting in some of the 1ake a mad dash to cut its throat. This is not necessary and it can western states or Canada it is sometimes necessary to completely xl as soon .1in or seriously damage the cape. There is no need to cut the skin out the head. I will not attempt to explain this procedure but nee. Ftsb rroat as the animal has already bled out either internally or would suggest that you buy a book on skinning game heads or tor wale/ x.temally through the slug or arrow hole. Any blood that is left in contact your taxidermist and have him explain the procedure to ounted, 11 1e animal will be removed by field dressing. If you intend to you. An easier solution would be to invite him to go hunting with tint ortin1 1ount the head of your deer, antelope, elk, moose or whatever, you and save you the work! tportant is ou need to take special precautions in field dressing and skin o not get ing. You should try and get the head of the animal uphill if Extra Time 1 piece of ossible to keep any blood or body fluids from getting on the head By taking a little extra time and c<.re in protecting your speci p preven~ r cape. After doing this, go ahead and field dress the animal in mens , you will not only save money in mounting costs but you the fish 's 1e normal manner with one exception. Do not cut any farther up will end up with a beautiful mount to enjoy for years. :ze flat. U 1e under side than between the front legs. The windpipe and any Before leaving Donny's shop he invited us into his house to s in either ther material can be removed after the animal has been caped look at some of his work. As we walked in , I got a feeling rough !I;; ut. The animal should then be carried out of the field if possible something like Noah must have felt on the ark. There were birds, f so that r > prevent any damage that might be caused by dragging. If you animals, fish , frogs , turtles, game heads and other critters every l!1lage and mst drag the animal out, drag it head first. This is not only easier where. A raccoon was climbing a tree, a coyote was snarling from ish on !I;; ut will not damage the cape if done carefully. behind a table, a life size bear mount was in the middle of the md caust After getting the animal out of the field you can cape out the dining room and a five foot bull snake was on the floor looking >put theiL ead and neck. This is done by cutting down the back in a straight like he was trying to crawl under the rug . Donny was quick to adfrozen ne from the base of the skull to a point just between the front point out the mounts that had to have a lot of repair work. I must pofthem ~gs . Then cut down each side to the top center of each leg and say that I really had to look hard to see the damaged parts he •necessar · ontinue carefully around the front of each leg and back to the end pointed out. He had ·done an excellent job in repairing them. :rsonall} f the cut on the underside, making sure that you leave the brisket As we were leaving, " Scootch" couldn't resist getting back at ebl uegilli air intact. This will leave you enough hide for a full shoulder Donny one more time. Just as we walked out the door he turned to themp~e 1ount. You can now skin out the front of the shoulders and neck Donny and said, ''Ify ou mess up my fish, I am going to come back Uer fish u y carefully peeling and cutting the hide loose. Once you have and pounce on your bear!'' torked the hide loose up to the head, you can go ahead and We now have the fish hanging on the wall in '' Scootch' s'' !move the windpipe to prevent spoilage. If you have the animal room and he is the envy of all his friends. The only problem I have 'here it is going to be processed, you should go ahead and sever now, is that he wants to go again next spring to catch a thirty tiful p!UJJJ te neck to remove the head and cape and take it to your pound musky. With his luck he probably will. o ;t be ~ve 1 "St plugth ial to keef l11g on th esesh~ ning tort· asbing tlr nernber ~ 1o rspo nt- 1ce there aterd~ hef eather tg the hole Cardboard protects fish tails. wrap~ ' Cotton prevents blood from staining feathers. )WA CONSERVATIONISTtJANUARY 1980 11 prey. Th1s person takes the sprayer. The area, snow covered and about 100 LOOKIN' meters on a side, is de lineated. The prey lme up on BACK a startmg line. They spray a cupful of snow, which has tn the files of the CONSERVATIONIST been g1ven to the predators, by w1th the1r scent. The pred ators face the oppos1te di rection as the prey travel Ten Years Ago through the area squ1rtmg a ,.,.. • ~ the Consen a scent about every 10 paces. tiolltst ran an ..,•• \\oh• \lui~· on Smce 1t IS a small area the antCle wall- tracks of the prey should eye f1sh1ng. cross several t1mes. Th1s part Th1s stof) con will take about ten mmutes centrated on and leave about 20 scents w1nter open Cl nserm ran an Jn wall· a U shing Jr'j COD· ted on -- r open fi shm~ : }tu~s ,, r fearur~ spearu:. r\fld \• " ters ''ere A few years ago your Mississippi River ice fi shing trip may The creel survey revealed that 1,440 anglers fished 5,509 1ave been bncfly mtenupted by a Fisheries employee asking a lot hours and caught 9,998 fish. The total weight of fish creeled )f questions. What he wa doing was conducting a creel survey . dunng this 80-day fishing period was 3,329 pounds. The average You may be wondering, "just what is a creel survey?" It is fi shing trip lasted 4. 1 hours. The fishing pre ure exerted 1 a Sill} .1mpl y a techmque u ed to evaluate the quality and condition of a equalled 20.1 man-hours per acre. The catch was again domi Jter kill .port fishery by looking at the end product- fi sh in the creel. It is nated by bluegill and crappie. Fishing success was an exceptionaJ err effe. ,imilar to a physical examination a doctor may give a patient to 2.5 fi sh per hour. Harvest was 36.5 fish per acre, equaJling 12.2 ·blDg ind any problems that need correction , or to determine when pounds per acre. The crappie fishing in this area is excellent as It \\ 31 1ealthy conditions exist. indicated by the catch records (Table 2). Again , no northern pike that ID The Iowa Conservation Commission conducted an ice fi shing were observed in the creel . 1w Jake1 ;reel survey the winter of 1975-76 on the Upper Mississippi 5 very lit ~ive r , to determine the status of the fishery and to determine what Table 1. Harvest and species composlfwn of the 0 pre\'eli )roblems, if any, are limiting the quaJity and quantity of this mportant fi shery . winter ice fishery of Bussey Lake, Pool 10, of bea'' Mississippi River, 1975-76. u. An el The creel survey was conducted from Clinton to the Minne ota )Order. In addition, everal small areas were intensively surveyed PERCENT AVERAGE TOTAL onductN flSHlN Of CATCH WEICHT WEJGHT :e ID SJ o get complete creel data . Let us briefly look at two of the e SPECIES THE CREEL BYNmfflER IN POUNDS IN POUNDS :rificJDI1 isheries - Bussey Lake near Guttenberg and the Sny Magi ll Blueg•ll 3,948 81.5 30 I, 184 3ottom near McGregor. Black crapp1e 678 14.0 40 27 1 Bus ey Lake is a 213 acre area located adjacent to the naviga White crapp•e 19 0.4 42 8 IOn channel near Guttenberg. Average depth is three feet and the Largemouth bass 24 0.5 71 17 Yellow perch 175 3.6 .50 88 trea is heavily vegetated with aquatic plants, primarily coontail. •0nser Total 4,844 I ,568 t was fhe ice fi hery focu es in a ten acre bay near the west bank. The creel survey determined that 1,063 anglers fished 3,479 t ing 1 1ours in catching 4,844 fi sh. TotaJ weight of fi sh caught during hat rn3ll Table 2. Harvest and species composition ofthe win ern Io~ his 78 day fishing period was 1,568 pounds. The average fi shing rip lasted 3.4 hours. Fishing pressure wa-s 16.3 man-hours per ter ice fishery of the Sny Magill Area, Pool ers wer 10, Mississippi River, 1975-76. d0 zi 0: tcre. Fishing success was a fine 1.44 fish per hour. This fishery i dominated by bluegill and crappie (Table l). It is PERCENT AVERAGE TOTAL e 0raog loteworthy that no northern pike were observed in the creel even FlSH IN OF CATCH WEICHT WEIGHT en com" SPECIES THE CREEL BY NUMBER IN POUNDS IN POUNDS hough they are abundant in Pool 10. ;tat. \\ 1 Bluegi ll The Sny Magill Area i comprised of severaJ small pond and 7,098 71 0 30 2, !29 1970\ 0 Black crappie 2,340 24 0 40 936 wo larger toughs, Norwegian Slough at 174 acres and Meth tal ,.~ue White crapp1e 350 3.5 40 140 o,·er.-tJI· xllst Slough at I00 acre . Thi area i located at the middle of Largemouth bass 120 1.0 70 84 )ool I0, s1x rrules outh of McGregor. Yellow perch 80 0.6 50 40 ,f co'er Wannouth The average depth are four feet and both Iough are densely 10 Trace Trace -egetated wtth aquauc plants . Fi hing occurs along submerged Total 9.998 3.329 •tump field and ubmergent vegetation. Access is d1fficuh be :au e a runnmg Iough, cau ing potentially dangerous Ice condi What IS the optimum time of the year for Ice fishmg m the IOns, b1 ect the area and anglers must walk to thi favored R1ver? Harvest and catch rates were plotted graphtcaJI} by month ishmg pot. (Figure I). Both harvest and catch rate declmed proportJOnately ) I. J lq CO.\'S£R\ ~ T/0.\'/STJA.\ vAfn 19M 13 a the tee fi hmg eason progre ed Clearly the be t fishmg and the htghest catch rate occurred dunng the first few week after freeze-up. The maJor harvest of panfi h occurred through a 26-day penod m December and then decltned through the rest of the eason The rea ons for tht phenomenon are unknown but tt has been speculated that tee fi hermen are effecnvely reducmg the quantities of panfi h, parttcularly bluegill, which tend to concen Nick Klepin ldl trate m very pectfic areas m the wtnter The average stze of bluegill creeled decrea ed a the ea on progres ed as, apparent by Bob Mullen STATE CONSERVATION OFFICER ly, the fi hermen became les elecnve for larger bluegtll. In es ence, the larger bluegill probably are bemg caught out of the e HERE HAVE BEEN wildlife He utilizes lost wax selective habitats. many art1cles wntten cast1ngs, a trad1t1onal Tabout wildlife art1sts and European form of casting, Ftgure I . 2500 ...... '-"\ how hfe-like and how detailed wh1ch goes back many \ Fish caught their work is. Iowa 1s fortunate centuries. The wax creatio,. Seasonal variation ~ ....~ 2(XX) \ _ 1n hav1ng a Wildlife art1st are sent to a foundry which in the catch from 0 Catchrnte \ whose work does not have to produces a limited number ice fishing, ~ 1500 - be expounded upon, for the of bronze castings. These quality of the work speaks castings have a multiple Mississippi River, £1000 for Itself. Nick Klep1nger is appeal, because they can bl 1975-76 . 500 ....._ _ __,r---r----'T-----' relatively new on the Iowa apprec1ated from all angles. DFC JAN FEB wildlife art scene but h1s work addition, bronze castings an has the touch of an accom considered permanent art Bluegill are being heavily explotted by tee fi hermen m the e plished veteran. The artist forms; while paintings are small, electtve habttats but they are not bemg over-explOited h1mself and the vanety of h1s limited by the finite nature Considenng the reproductive capabtltties of bluegtll and the media adds 1nterest to h1s art. of paper. immense tze of the total nvenne habttat of the Upper Mt 1 tppt In 1976 and 1978, Before becoming an artist Klep1nger graduated from River, over-explottatton of bluegtll 1 not ltkely Klep1nger's watercolor paintings won the Iowa duck the University of Oregon in Is there a need to impo e more restrictive regulauon for the stamp competitions. Umited journalism, and worked as a management of panfish on the Upper Mt tsstppt River? The edition pnnts of the des1gns radio-newsman. He has atsc number of panfish creeled by each angler provtdes some mstght have been Widely recogmzed worked as a cab1net maker into this questton (Table 3). as collector's prints. Working and carpenter. After taking ~ full t1me as an art1st, Klep1nger water color course, Klepinge PER< E111T realized he had a definite Table 3. NUMBER or utilizes many other avenues of or f'ISH ANGLERS art He designs and creates ability in art, which he Daily angler panfish catch wilolife 1n wood. Us1ng continued to develop. ln 19i 0 24 4 basswood and oil pamts, he he became a total supportiv. by ice fishermen 1 - 10 56 9 creates full bodied, scaled artist, making his livelihood 10- on the Upper Mississippi 25 13 5 works of Iowa's nat1ve birds from h1s art. 25 - 50 49 River, 1975-76. Klepinger's bird carvings are Klepmger is a very 50 - 100 0 3 best recogn1zed for stopping independent Individual, he birds 1n dramatic flight poses. feels he can express this The creel survey showed that only 5.2 percent of ice fi hermen "A quail," he says, " is at its independence through his a creel over 25 panfi h m one fishmg trip. Over 24 percent of ice finest when 1t's exploding mto His work 1s of his own fishermen catch no fish at all. It tS tmportant many partfish fishery the sky . . . right m front expenences, and IS done to that anglers harvest a substantial portion of the population annual of you". satisfy h1mself, as opposed · ly. Without thts harvest panfish would qUickly overpopulate to His unique handling of an artist for hire who worl 14 IOWA CONSERVATIONIST/JANUARY 1981) Photos by Roger Sparl ldlife Artist C.rved canvasback. Mallard caf!flng. tak Woodcock caf!flng. ~etr defirre 976 State Duck Stamp winner. , he ilop. ~ 1supP) lliVel ro: " Winter on the South Bear" b~v Ron Johnson