Row, Row Row your Boat
Phil Taunton
Originally published 02:55 p.m., May 23, 2008
Updated 02:55 p.m., May 23, 2008
I mentioned in last Friday’s column that crappie fishing should be picking up.
“I’ve had the crappie fishing experience of a lifetime this past week at Melvern and caught many 13- and 14- inch fish,” the excited angler relayed to me Tuesday.
The bad news is I don’t know what lures or bait he was using, what brush pile he was fishing or from what section of the lake good fortune was smiling on him. Anyway, by the time I get this report to you, the bite might be off or another cold rainy day has moved in and changed the complexion of everything! The best time to go fishing is when the opportunity presents itself.
Emporians are blessed with many fine recreational fishing, boating and camping areas not very far away: Council Grove, Perry, Pomona, Melvern and Hillsdale, just to name a few. With the price of gas being what it is, taking a “staycation” (staying close to home this summer) just might be in order.
Memorial Day weekend starts Saturday and what a good time it will be to be at the lake, or doing anything outside for that matter. Undoubtedly, many of you will be in the company of family and friends despite the weather. Please remember, have fun, enjoy the time you have with each other but keep safety during this traditional and busy holiday foremost in your mind. This includes when traveling or simply firing up the grill. Haste makes waste.
Four people drowning in the Kansas City area just last weekend is a grim reminder of what can happen if you let your defenses down. The water is still a little chilly for swimming as far as I am concerned. As always, when doing any activity, know and respect your limitations.
If boating is in your plans, a good rule of thumb is to always wear a life jacket while in the boat even if you could swim with the likes of Mark Spitz, Ester Williams or Tarzan when you were younger. And kids, all children under the age of 13 must have a properly fitted personal flotation device (PFD) on while riding in the boat. It’s the law. In 2006, 89 percent of drowning victims nationwide were not wearing adequate life jackets.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the grandkids, age 7 and 5, down at the lake. Because it was really too cold and rainy to put the big boat in, and, after much pleading by the grandkids, we decided to launch the little V-bottom Lone Star aluminum fishing boat my father and I have had since 1965. The boat is worth very little by today’s standards, but there’s a million dollars worth of memories in it, not to mention we’ve caught more than our share of fish using it. Besides, biggest is not necessarily the best in any given instance, and the grandkids and I made the most out of the short time we had on the lake.
Peyton and Sidney rowed me all over the upper end of the city lake at Council Grove. With each child on an oar, I was amazed at how they worked together and propelled the little boat forward. The giggles we shared when an errant stroke of an oar splashed water on us will be remembered for quite some time.
Too soon it was time to go in and after a few choruses of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” we arrived back at the cabin. Life is but a dream!
It was easy for my mind to drift back some 30 years ago when I had their mother and aunt in the same boat, the same area, using the same oars. The girls liked to fish, but Scamper, the little poodle, was the only thing they hooked that day. He put up quite a fight! My mind also raced back some 50 years ago when I was a young child exploring this vast sea in a rowboat all alone. Lifejackets were a parent’s rule then as they are a state law now. PFDs are common sense to use and a life habit that should be passed on by all responsible boat owners.
Here’s wishing you all a great and safe Memorial Day weekend!
Emporia Area Chapter of Quail Unlimited
habitat program
The Emporia Area Chapter of Quail Unlimited has free milo and sunflower seed to distribute for food plot plantings and the Chapter also has an agreement with the Lyon County Conservation District on the use of a native grass drill. Alfalfa, for nesting and brood rearing cover, should have been in the ground by May 1, but the birds will sure use the seed from food plots left standing next winter. These crops can be planted until mid-June.
Anyone interested in the free seed giveaway and the Emporia Area Quail Unlimited Chapter’s Wildlife Assistance Program should contact Alan Kimmal at AG Choice, 1779 Road G, Emporia (just north off Highway 50 on the Americus Road), (620) 342-4775. Be sure and ask Alan about the National Adopt-A-Covey program (http://secure.qu.org/adopt_a_covey.cfm) and other methods to improve habitat.
Quail facts of life
Quail eggs take 23 days to incubate and the chicks become full grown in about 16 weeks. Their greatest mortality occurs in the first few weeks after they hatch. In the first year, 75 to 80 percent are lost whether they are hunted or not. Young chicks, about the size of bumblebees, need freedom of movement with overhead cover. Some grasses might be too thick for them to move around in and catch the assortment of insects that compose almost their entire diet at this time.
And, if anyone killed a turkey this past season that was “just full of baby quail,” please let me know. Quail are nesting now in our area and some are probably now just incubating eggs. Peak hatch occurs around the third week in June.
A pair of quail generally has one brood but will try again if their first nest is destroyed, provided they are strong enough and have enough time to nest again.
Quail get their liquids from dew, succulent green plants and the insects they eat. They don’t necessarily need surface water to exist.