In this Issue
March 2005

FIN, FUR & FEATHERS
Nothing Thin About Ice Fishing Derby
By John T. O'Leary, Jr.

John T. O'Leary, Jr.

Boy, did I call that one. The day the Citizen hit my mailbox was the day of the Lions Club ice fishing derby at North Pond. I had warned of the dangers of thin ice, but allowed that by the time you read that printed page there would probably be a foot of solid ice, and there was. I sure hoped so as the first glance at the pond that morning showed no less than 200 vehicles using it for a parking lot.

Participants came from as far away as Turners Falls, Plymouth, and even out of state. The Lions Club prize list is an extensive one, but suffice it to say any pond that produces pike over 40 inches (released alive) and bass close to 7 pounds is a healthy body of water. A horned pout of close to 3 pounds, yellow perch of almost 2 pounds, and a calico bass of over 2 pounds lend an idea that these pan fish may require a good-sized skillet.

With over 1,000 entries, the officials had a busy time of it. The anglers had a great time though fishing was a bit slow, by Quaboag standards. The real winners, the organization insists, are the people of the Brookfields and New Braintree that will be helped by the funds raised.

This is just another case of sportsmen stepping forward for a worthy cause. We are a bit self-serving when it is a Ducks Unlimited, Ruffed Grouse Society, or Wild Turkey Federation event that we attend, but the monies go to habitat acquisition and improvement, biological staff, and game bird releases into cover where they should reside. These lands are open for the public’s enjoyment, so I can’t find any losers here, or any reason for you not to support them. Other venues are the “Shooting for a Dream,” “Make a Wish” and Boomer Esaison Foundation shoots, where the money goes to kids who unfortunately will probably never have another healthy day and just want to go shooting, or hunting, or fishing while they are still mostly able. These events are thoroughly overlooked by the anti-gun, anti-hunting, anti-sporting organizations, and the same mindset persists, profusely, in the press. (P.S. Thank the editors when you see them, or write them a letter or e-mail for allowing me to course these politically-incorrect waters.)

Being pretty much indoors with a nasty bronchial infection has not kept me from meeting with individuals to draft a questionnaire that will hopefully be in sportsmen’s hands by the time you read this. It simply asks your opinion of how MassWildlife handles the upland bird program, and puts forth proposals to change some of it. When we get these forms back, we will use this knowledge to formulate a proposal to the Fish and Wildlife board. Honest answers only, please. Part of this process involved a meeting with F&W staff. Boy, was that an eye opener.

On the whole, this winter has not been a tough one for wildlife, locally at least. Cold is probably the easiest thing for them to deal with, as thousands of generations have improved the insulation of their bodies and the things they do to combat the cold. Deer will bed under hemlock where the limbs, especially the ones burdened with snow, brush the ground creating a green igloo effect that supplies insulation and protection from the wind. Extreme cold with wind will have grouse spending more time in snow, not on it. They will fly then dive into 2 feet or more of snow, leaving an opening for air and escape. Their bodies quickly heat the surrounding area, and the birds are 40 to 50 degrees warmer than they would be, assuming air temps of –10 to –20 degrees, and that is not even factoring in the wind chill. To those not grouse savvy, it would seem improbable that a bird would grow snowshoes, but that is exactly what those little appendages that they grow in the fall on their toes are. By keeping them from sinking in soft snow, their body feathers, which are their insulation, stay dry. Have someone soak your down vest or coat and see how warm it seems. Same principle, different bird.
Rabbits and hare have huge hind feet that help them running on top of the snow a good distance ahead of coyotes, fishers and foxes, all of whom love to dine on them. Weasels that turn white in the winter have an easier time sneaking up on prey than a mink with his dark brown coat.

One of the most unusual things I’ve seen in the winter was a mink procuring dinner at a beaver pond. Though the ice was a good 6 inches thick, the sun had warmed the dark branches coming up through it and melted the ice for a distance of about 2 inches around them. The mink would dive into this opening and come up 5 to 15 feet away, climbing up the branch with a wriggling 4- to 5-inch horned pout in his mouth. Those sharp pointy teeth chewed the entire pout into (I assume) tasty gulps. No more than 10 minutes were taken for this mink to catch and devour three fish, after which he did his brown inchworm imitation and disappeared along the outflow from the dam.

Get outdoors and enjoy; that’s an order.

Read previous columns by John T. O'Leary, Jr.