Elk Season Opens With a Surprise This Weekend on “Kentucky Afield” TV

Posted by John Humphress on Oct 4, 2010

FRANKFORT, Ky. – We travel to eastern Kentucky for opening day of bull elk season with a hunter who won his permit by surprise. Watch the story on “Kentucky Afield” television this weekend, Oct. 9 and 10.

While Lexington’s Don Jenkins has hunted big game around the world, being drawn to hunt Kentucky elk came as a complete surprise. On the sly, his wife entered his name into a drawing for a special elk permit sponsored by the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Follow Jenkins and our host, Tim Farmer, into the woods of Clay County for the hunt.

For generations, Camp Robert Webb, Camp Earl Wallace and Camp John Currie have provided a week of outdoor learning and fun for boys and girls across the state. Proceeds from the elk hunting fund-raiser won by Jenkins netted nearly $90,000, which will make needed improvements to camp facilities as well as provide scholarships for youth to attend.

“Kentucky Afield” is a production of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. It is the longest continuously running outdoor television show in the nation. The program airs at 8:30 p.m. Eastern /7:30 p.m. Central Saturdays, and repeats at 4 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Central Sundays on KET 1. To see the latest news about “Kentucky Afield” television and view your favorite show segments from the past, sign up today for the electronic newsletter. Visit fw.ky.gov on the Internet and click the Kentucky Afield Newsletter icon.

Kentucky Bass Federation Fishing Tournament * Update *

Posted by John Humphress on Oct 2, 2010

KBF President Donnie Keeton gets the fishing started.

(10-02-2010 – Green River Lake) – Donnie Keeton, President of the Kentucky Bass Federation got the bass tournament started from Site 1 on Green River Lake about 7:30am after a short delay becasue of  fog. 41 boats and 77 fisherman participated in this first day of the 2 day event.  Weigh-in will be at 4:15pm today and 3:00pm on Sunday.

41 boats and 77 fishermen participated in the Kentucky Bass Federation 2 day tournament

Sunday Weigh-In and Finals

Weigh-In and Final sheets (.pdf 1.44mb)

Photos below by Bud Mirus – Taylor County Tourist Commission

September is Quota Hunt Application Month

Posted by John Humphress on Sep 21, 2010

Hunters have just a few more days to apply for deer, pheasant, quail, upland bird and waterfowl quota hunts managed by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

The application deadline is Sept. 30. Most quota hunts take place on department wildlife management areas (WMAs). Complete details about the quota hunts, including dates and hunter requirements, are available in the quota hunt section that starts on page 43 of the 2010-11 Kentucky Hunting and Trapping Guide. The 2010-11 waterfowl quota hunt dates are available online at http://fw.ky.gov/10waterfowlquotahunt.asp

Hunters must call toll-free 1-877-598-2401 to apply for all types of quota hunts. It costs $3 per hunter to apply for each species, although waterfowl hunt applicants are charged $3 per area if they wish to apply for both the Ballard and Sloughs WMA hunts.
Hunters who apply but are not selected will receive a preference point for use in the following year’s quota hunt drawing. These points increase the hunter’s chances of being drawn. Hunters must continue to apply each year to keep building preference points.
Hunters must be aware of some changes to the quota hunts this year. The bonus WMA quota hunt deer permit is no longer available. Hunters must use their statewide deer permit or a bonus antlerless-only deer permit.

Hunters drawn for a Taylorsville Lake WMA antlerless-only quota hunt will not lose accumulated preference points. Hunters on the West Kentucky WMA quota and open gun hunts must check in daily. At check-in prior to each day’s hunt, hunters must choose a tract and not hunt outside of it.

At the Clay WMA quota hunt on Nov. 6-7, the bag limit has been increased to four deer. Clay WMA will also hold four one-day upland bird (grouse and quail) quota hunts for the first time. For the dates and regulation details, consult page 50 of the 2010-11 Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide or go online: http://fw.ky.gov/deerguide10quota.asp.

Hunters are chosen from the applicant pool based on preference points. Applicants who have the greatest number of points receive first choice. Applicants with a decreasing number of points are chosen until all spots are filled.

Some hunts are so popular that it may take hunters several years to be drawn. Other hunts, usually those offered in more rural areas or near other public land, do not draw as many applicants and hunters can expect to be drawn every couple of years or so.

Hunters may apply as groups. If one person in the group is selected, all group members are selected. If one or more people in the group have a high number of preference points, it increases the chances of the entire group being selected.

Applicants will lose their accumulated preference points if they do not apply every year. Applicants can check fw.ky.gov online after Oct. 8 to see if they are drawn. Results will also be available by calling Kentucky Fish and Wildlife at 1-800-858-1549 after Oct. 11.

Fall Squirrel Season Looks Promising

Posted by John Humphress on Aug 5, 2010

FRANKFORT, Ky -– Kentucky’s fall squirrel season opens Sat., Aug. 21 and the outlook is similar to last year.

“Squirrels are our most stable and abundant small game species,” said Ben Robinson, small game biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Even a poor mast year is not going to be detrimental to squirrel populations.”

This year, the 190-day season is split. The first segment of squirrel season opens Aug. 21 and closes for the opening weekend of modern gun deer season Nov. 13-14. Squirrel season opens again Nov. 15 and continues through Feb. 28, 2011. The daily bag limit is six squirrels.

Last year’s mast crop, the abundance of nuts and fruits produced by trees and other plants, determines this year’s estimate of the number of squirrels available to hunters.

“Last year’s mast crop was rated poor to average,” said Robinson. “Only 38 percent of white oaks observed had mast, 42 percent of red oaks, 27 percent of hickories, and 38 percent of beech.”

Since 1953, wildlife biologists have conducted a survey of Kentucky’s most important producers of wildlife foods, determining the proportion of mast bearing trees. Squirrels rely on the mast from these trees during various times of the fall and winter. “Since we did not experience a failure of any of these important mast crops, at least some food was available to squirrels throughout a majority of the winter months,” said Robinson.

Early in the fall season, squirrels feed heavily on hickories. A good hunting strategy is to look for trees with maturing nuts that squirrels are beginning to cut. Often these trees are on dry, upland sites, such as hilltops, or flat benches along the contour of ridges.

Shotguns are a good choice for early-season squirrel hunting since leaves make it difficult to clearly see squirrels.

But, the abundance of leaves also provides hunters with some advantages: squirrels make a lot of noise when they jump from limb to limb, and rustling leaves help hunters locate squirrels in the crowns of tall trees.

“The leaves also give hunters some cover as they slip around the woods,” said Robinson.

To help determine the health of Kentucky’s squirrel population, the Squirrel Hunting Cooperator Survey was developed in 1995 as a volunteer initiative. Biologists use the collected data to monitor squirrel population trends in Kentucky. Each year, participating hunter cooperators are mailed a new hunting log, the results of the survey and a small gift for participating, such as lapel pin or ball cap.

Hunters simply record the information about their hunts as the season progresses, then mail their survey to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife when they’re finished hunting for the season. The mailing address is: No. 1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, Ky., 40601.  Logs must be sent no later than May 31, 2011.

The recently published 2009-10 Squirrel Hunting Cooperator Survey Report, compiled by Robinson, offers some interesting data on Kentucky’s squirrel populations and the state’s most avid squirrel hunters.

Here are some highlights:

• The 109 squirrel hunters who participated in last season’s survey averaged about 12 hunting trips per season. Trips afield lasted an average of 2.6 hours each.
• Data included 1,319 hunts in 91 different counties across Kentucky.
• Hunters observed an average of nearly five squirrels per hunt and roughly two squirrels per hour. Hunters saw more than three times as many gray squirrels as fox squirrels.
• Robinson predicts hunters should expect to see nearly two squirrels per hour of hunting during the upcoming 2010-11 season.
• Harvest averaged between two and three squirrels per hunt and hunters bagged four gray squirrels for every one fox squirrel. The number of gray squirrels seen and harvested per hour was up slightly from the 2008-09 season. Hunters harvested nearly 51 percent of all squirrels observed.
• Hunting effort was greater toward the beginning of squirrel season, with 53 percent of the hunts taking place in August and September. Overall, 77 percent of all hunts occurred before opening day of modern firearms season for deer last year.
• Statewide, gray squirrels comprised 80 percent of the harvest. More fox squirrels were taken in central Kentucky, 24.5 percent, than any other region. Hunters in western Kentucky accounted for just a little over 10 percent of the fox squirrel harvest.
• September was the most productive month for squirrel hunters last season, with the highest number of squirrels seen and killed per hunt.

To participate in the 2010-11 Squirrel Hunting Cooperator Survey, please print a copy of the survey at: www.fw.ky.gov/smallgamelogs.asp, or call 1-800-858-1549 and ask for one to be mailed to you.

Art Lander Jr. has been writing about the outdoors since the 1970s. He is an information specialist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Man Saves Two from Electrocution/Drowning at Emerald Isle Marina

Posted by John Humphress on Aug 1, 2010

Emerald Isle Resort and Marina

(Campbellsville, KY,) – Two people were almost electrocuted while swimming from the back of their houseboat Saturday afternoon around 3pm at Green River Lake.  Beth Waite was swimming at the back of her boyfriend’s houseboat at Emerald Isle Marina when someone noticed Beth arch backwards and sink underwater. She managed to surface long enough to call for help. John Childress of Versailles, Ky. was helping the houseboat owner Bobby Gullett, work on his boat when he heard Beth’s cry for help. John then stepped onto the jet ski ramp on the back of the houseboat to pull Beth in when he noticed an electrical shock to his legs. He then reached out to grab Beth but received an even greater electrical shock and was unable to pull her to the boat. He then told Bobby Gullett, the houseboat owner to call 911 and to turn off all the electricity. Bobby shut off the main breaker and  jumped into the water to save Beth and was instantly incapacitated from the electricity still flowing in the water. John was able the use a rope to grab Beth and Bobby and pull them back aboard the houseboat. Another houseboat owner saw what was happening and tried to swim over to assist but had to turn back around due to the electrical current in the water.

Beth Waite, age 42 was flown to U of L Hospital by Air Evac and Bobby Gullett, age 47 was transported to Taylor Regional Hospital by Campbellsville-Taylor County Rescue. Both were later released.

Electricians were called to find the source of the electric discharge and it was determined that the owners houseboat was the source of the electrical discharge into the water. His houseboat was  disconnected from the dock until repairs could be made.

Bobby Gullett's Houseboat

Jet ski ramps at back of the houseboats.