Moose Droppings

As I talked about on my Radio Show today this Saturday evening I plan to attend the Caldwell County DU Spring Fling. Troy Smart has invited me, if you recall he and I met duck hunting this past January. As a matter of fact Troy be happy if all of ya’s showed up and seeing it’s for a good cause and all. The doors to the Club Cola in Granite Falls NC ( 30 S Main St) open at 6pm with Tickets available at the door. (Tickets $25 under 16, $35 Single, $60 Couples) There will be a silent auction as well as regular auction, raffles, games, artwork, sculptures and who knows what else. The event is being catered by “Hog Wild BBQ” and I can hardly wait to get some of that good mountain BBQ. Sounds like it’s going to be a great time so join us if you can.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has partnered with the Durham Bulls to host “Wild Wednesday” for the 2008 season.

All 2008 summer home games – buy one admission ticket and get a second admission ticket free.

Just show your valid NC hunting or fishing license at the gate.
Go fishing with the Bulls. Register at the game to win a free fishing trip in a Triumph boat with Bulls players.
Purchase your hunting or fishing license at the ballpark.
Get wild on Wednesdays at the DBAP!

I’ve been to see the Bulls play a few times, the DBAP is a great park. So if your looking for a great family outing this summer how about going Wild with the Bulls.

Photo Courtesy of N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries

A non native shrimp, Tiger Shrimp, is starting to show up in North Carolina Costal waters. The Tiger Shrimp is native to the western Pacific Ocean but they are often used in aquaculture operations and may have escaped. Aquaculture operations in North Carolina do not use the tiger shrimp so it is probably migrated here from one of the operations in other Atlantic or Gulf coast states. North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is requesting that any one that catches a tiger shrimp to please report it to them.

MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is asking fishermen to be on the lookout for a non-native species of shrimp called the black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon).
This shrimp, native to the West Pacific, has been found in North Carolina waters and could pose a threat to the native shrimp species.
Fishermen reported capturing three of these shrimp last year, two in waters of the Pamlico Sound and one offshore from Bogue Banks.
During the past several years, black tiger shrimp have also been reported in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina waters.
It is believed that black tiger shrimp were introduced into the coastal waters of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico by escaping from aquaculture facilities.
No commercial shrimp farms in North Carolina grow black tiger shrimp, so it is unlikely they were released from aquaculture operations in this state.
The impact of these shrimp on native species is unknown. However, many problems can result from the introduction of non-natives, including new diseases and competition for food and habitat.
The black tiger shrimp has distinct dark and white stripes along its back. If a fisherman captures one, he should freeze it, record the date and location where he caught it and contact Trish Murphey at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries at (800) 682-2632 or Trish.Murphey@ncmail.net.

Unknown at this point what the impact of this specie will be and whether it will become another evasive specie impacting native species.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Jennifer Sieredzki, Clayton
Kindergarten, Age 6
Riverwood Elementary School
Little metalmark butterfly

The Kids Wildlife Art Competition is a story we’ve been following out here and now the art work is posted. After looking at the winning entries along with the honorable mentions I’m glad I wasn’t one of the judges. The art work is great and there is some very talented young people in this state. I hope you check the art work and congratulations to all the winners.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Angola Prison otherwise known as the farm in a rural part of Louisiana has a new guard that works for free. It seems last week a 400+ lb black bear was observed by a prisoner as it crossed a road inside the prison last Friday. Louisiana Wildlife does not believe that this bear nor any of the other bears on the grounds of the prison pose any risk to the people at the prison
The Warden seems to see it as a benefit;

“I love that bear being right where it is,” Warden Burl Cain said Monday. “I tell you what, none of our inmates are going to try to get out after dark and wander around when they might run into a big old bear. It’s like having another guard at no cost to the taxpayer.”

AP Story

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Many pro hunting organizations like Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Quality Deer Management Association depend on money raised at sportsmen banquets to support their mission and their organization. Outfitters, companies and other supporters donate items to be auctioned off to further the mission of the organization and sportsmen in attendance are often willing to bid on these items to help the organization out as well. Imagine what would happen if some of those hunts were fraudulent and you were the hunter who won the bid only to discover you’ve been ripped off. That appears to be the case that happened to a group of hunters from North Carolina who bid on a deer hunt with Big Cedar Hunts out of Oklahoma.

AJ Jenkins is the outfitter who ripped these hunters off and really ripped Ducks Unlimited off and is now a fugitive from justice according to news reports out of Oklahoma.

A.J. Jenkins, a.k.a. James Adam Jenkins a.k.a. Adam James Jenkins, was charged in Woods County District Court in November 2007 with four counts of hunting without permission of the landowner. He was released on a $10,000 bond and scheduled to reappear on court dockets on Jan. 8, 2008, again on Feb. 12, 2008 and March 11, 2008.
A money judgment against Jenkins for $8,731 on the original four charges was entered Dec. 17, 2007. As of May 1, Jenkins had not made payments on the judgment.
Jenkins was found in direct contempt of court on March 11, 2008 and ordered to appear April 10. He was a no-show at that court hearing also.
On April 21, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

Gary Quigg is one of the hunters from North Carolina that was scammed by A.J. Jenkins and here is what he told the Alva Review;

“The guys that are here in North Carolina went as a group of 12,” Quigg said. “Our feeling is that when you steal from a charity, it’s like stealing from a church. He (Jenkins) deserves to go to jail.”
Quigg said that with his group of hunters, it wasn’t as much a matter of absorbing the cost of the fraudulent hunt, but the way Jenkins went about it.
“It’s the fact he stole from a charity that makes us determined to bring him to justice,” Quigg said.
Quigg said Jenkins “gave” the trips to various wildlife foundations like Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Wild Turkey Foundation. The trips were auctioned off at the foundations’ banquets. Those who bought the trips could take up to 10 people with them at one-half price.

Organizations like Ducks Unlimited depend on these fundraisers and it would only take a few instances like this to hurt the fund raising ability of these groups. I certainly think that DU is as big a victim in this as the hunters and I’m sure they had no idea that A.J. Jenkins was a scam artist.

I certainly hope that A.J. Jenkins is brought to justice and made to take responsibility for his unscrupulous actions. I’m also glad to see this group of sportsmen from North Carolina is not willing to let this drop. We can’t afford to let scammers off the hook especially when it can damage the reputation of DU, RMEF, NWTF, and others. As far as banquets go I’m planning to go to one latter this week so please keep supporting the great work these organizations do.

Story by Dan McLaughlin aka Moose

I touch on politics out here from time to time but for the most part I stick with the outdoor topics. With today being Election Day here in North Carolina I got to touch on the election. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been turning up all over the state along with their high profile supporters snarling traffic and littering the landscape with signs. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’d love to see a commercial for something other then someone running for office.
For many the election has come down to the gender or the color of the skin, which really doesn’t mean much to me. I want to see where they stand and of course on the key issues like second amendment rights. I got to admit that the media-grabbing politicians for the most part have dismal records when it comes to the right to keep and bear arms. I think as sportsmen no matter who makes it into the white house we are pretty much screwed.

As I went into the voting booth this morning I was one of the ones who made my mind up in the booth. In my case many might think the opportunity to have an African American man running the country swayed my decision over the thoughts of having our first female president. In the end it was the ideas he stands for over any of the other candidates and I hope he is still around for me to vote for in the general election.

Alan Keyes got my vote. I hope everyone gets out today to vote.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Saturday Morning, well before daybreak, I was slipping across a field to reach the blind I had set up the evening before where I had observed two gobblers hanging out. I set out two hen decoys and a jake decoy in front of the Ameristep blind and then I settled into the blind to wait for daylight. Daylight came rather uneventful, I didn’t hear any gobbling and nothing was responding to my calls.

About 8am I heard a gobbler off to my west he sounded like he was in the far field. He only sounded off a few times, with this tract of land being mostly agricultural fields with minimal woods it makes it hard for us to run and gun. There is 3 of us hunting this property which means we all need to stay in our spots so we don’t spook the birds off the property and on to neighboring lands or mess up each others hunts.

The wind picked up as the morning went on and I was regretting I didn’t use stakes to hold the blind down. Around 10 am or so one of the decoys blew over so I took the opportunity to stretch my legs a bit and fix the decoy. While standing amongst the decoys I caught movement off to the west and here comes a gobbler strutting on the other side of the farm road. I duck down and the slope of the land blocks both of our views and I hightailed it back to the blind. Shortly after that he came over the top of the hill but was angling across the field away from me. I tried calling to him with a glass call but it was not loud enough to reach him over the wind. I switched to a box call but to no avail as he walked away from me and into the small strip of woods on the far end of the field.

Shortly after that I succeed in reaching him with my box call and he gobbles at me. Over the next 3 hours he circles completely around me in the sliver of woods that surrounds the field. I never see him come out of the woods but he could have but with the wavy land it is possible he came out in places that were not visible.

A little after 2 pm I catch a glimpse of this turkey approaching from the same direction as he did earlier in the morning. This time I was ready and I caught his attention with my glass call. He started heading towards me. Once he caught sight of that hen that was making those sweet sounds he hit the accelerator and raced on in. He was doing a half strut as he came along and once he got close enough to catch sight of that Jake decoy he locked up about 55 yards out. What seemed like an eternity but was just a few minutes he hung in the high weeds with just his head sticking out. I switched to the opposite side of my Away Hunting Turkey Call that has a sweet slate call. Some soft purrs put him at ease and he came on in at a trot. Once he got up on the Jake decoy he ran around it and the stood off about 10 yards behind it. I had my gun up and was able to get the shot off dropping him where he stood.

I paced it off and it was 38 paces getting close to the end of the effective range of my turkey set up. I believe that the combination of the lateness of the turkey season as well as competition from other gobblers that made this guy so difficult to get to commit to my set up. He appears to be a rare 2 year bird given the bad couple of hatches we have had. 18 ½ lbs, 8 ½ inch beard and 1 inch spurs. It has been a few years since I filled all my turkey tags but my season is over with the tagging of a second bird. In my view if you want to be successful you need to adapt and consider using all legal methods to fill your tags. PS I was wearing my Lucky Moose Hat from Mace Sports

Read about My first turkey this season.

It has been a little over a year since the shootings at Virginia Tech and we still debate about should individuals have the right to protect themselves. In today’s Bangor Daily there is a pretty good Op Ed from Nathaniel Richie a student at the University of Maine. A well thought out position and a good read so Check it Out…

If you’ve been hunting out of treestands any I’m sure you have heard of Gorilla Treestands out of Michigan. I’ll admit I don’t own one but I hunted out of one a number of times a few years back. I was in a hunting club and one of the guys had a 2 man ladder stand made by Gorilla and it was comfortable and safe. Now I’m a big guy and I don’t like the feeling of being up in a tree with a stand that rocks and rolls and this stand was rock solid.

Gorilla has revamped their website to make it more user friendly and help hunters find what they need so check it out. In addition you can register for a chance to win a Gorilla Expedition Hunter Treestand. They are giving one away each day for the next five days.

I got a ladder stand I need to replace for the next season I might just have to look into getting a Gorilla Ladder Stand.

Story & Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Earlier this week I did a story about big bears in the eastern part of the state but the reality is that bear management in this state has increased the number of bears across the entire state. The concentration of bears remains in the western and eastern sections of the state but we in the central portions of the state are coming across the occasional bear.

With the increase in bears and the increase in human populations as well as the development of land that were once undeveloped bear and human encounters are also on the rise. Over the years the black bear has not been viewed by many people with the same fear that his cousin the grizzly but that perception is changing with the numerous attacks over the past few seasons.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has issued some tips to help those living in bear country and the big one is to not purposely or inadvertently feed a bear because he’ll return time after time looking for food.

“Feeding a bear rewards it for coming in close proximity to you and your home,” said Michael Juhan, a commission biologist. “When the food becomes unavailable, the bear may resort to damaging items around your property in search of it. In addition, bears feeding on unnatural food sources around your home may cause them to lose their fear of humans and approach them – a situation that rarely ends well for the bear and could have potential safety issues for humans as well.”

NCWRC

Moving bears that have become a problem bear is not a practice that the NCWRC will do because it often does not work these bears will need to be killed. Studies have shown that bears moved from one area to a new area, even if it’s a 100 miles, will often return to the old area. Additionally bears that have learned to associate humans with food can be unpredictable and extremely dangerous.

Here are some thing we can do around our homes and camps to avoid problems;

• Secure bags of trash inside cans stored in a garage, basement or other secure area, and place outside as late as possible on trash pick-up days – not the night before.
• Purchase bear-proof garbage cans or bear-proof your existing garbage container by outfitting it with a secure latching system.
• Discontinue feeding wild birds during spring and summer, even with feeders advertised as “bear proof.” Bears can still be attracted to seed that spills on the ground.
• Do not “free-feed” pets outdoors. If you must feed pets outdoors, make sure all food is consumed.
• Clean all food and grease from barbecue grills after each use. Bears are attracted to the food odors and may investigate.

NCWRC has additional resources on how to co-exist with wildlife that is worth checking out.

James Karpinos a student at UNC Asheville fell to his death off of Windy Falls in Transylvania County while hiking this past Saturday with his girlfriend Lindsay Mirkin. Both of them have extensive outdoor experience and met while working as troop leaders for the University’s outdoor program.

Mirkin, a teacher at Reynolds High, said the couple arrived at Windy Falls about 11:30 a.m. with two dogs in tow. He had wanted to take her to the falls for weeks, she said.
They hiked through the first few falls, stopping to swim in a pool at one point. He had never hiked to the fourth and fifth falls, so they decided to continue, she said.
Mirkin stopped to rest, while Karpinos continued to walk along the rocks.
“He kissed me, and I said, ‘Be careful,’” Mirkin said.
She had her head down, raising it just as he slipped on a large rock, she said. He was able to stop himself for a moment but eventually fell into the water below.
Mirkin rushed over the rock that bore tracks of mud from the Crocs shoes he wore. She said the rocks were very slippery.
“I couldn’t find him, and I saw his shoe floating at the bottom,” she said. She thinks he fell about 4 p.m.
“My legs wouldn’t work, and I had to crawl on hands and knees up the mountain” to find cell phone service, Mirkin said. She got through to emergency workers at 4:30 p.m.

Citizen Times

According to news reports it took rescue workers a half a day to get into the base of the falls. According to the World Waterfall Database Windy Falls drops 720 feet;

Windy Falls is a long series of cascades on the Horsepasture River. There does not appear to be any vertical portion of the falls over 20 or so feet, and the tallest individual cascade is only around 80 feet tall. The falls drop just over 700 feet in about 1/2 a mile’s stretch of river, and thusly appear to be nearly impossible to see in entirety from one place.

I’ve read a number of hiking and outdoor travel sites about this particular waterfall and almost all of them urge extreme caution while hiking there because of the dangers. We who love the outdoors sometimes forget how unforgiving nature can be if the worst case scenario befalls us. James Karpinos funeral will be latter this week in his hometown of Chapel Hill North Carolina.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose