Ice fishing season is over, for some it was a very good year
Tomorrow is April 1 and it is time to wrap up ice fishing for this year. Sure, you may be able to get onto the ice in some lakes of higher elevation, but you are really taking a chance on being unable to get off the ice due to the melting along the shorelines. More than once a fishing buddy and I had to tread open water along the shoreline while trying to get off the ice. During the day the ice had melted and what was just a hop to get onto the ice in the morning turned out to be a four or five feet leap in the afternoon. Try jumping that distance while dragging an ice fishing sled filled with an auger, hibachi, tip-ups, etc.
It was a nice, long season with lots of big fish being caught. The Onota Boat Livery Ice Fishing Derby ended last weekend and here are the winners. The largest pike was caught out of Onota Lake by John Kozlowski, weighing 23 lbs 6 oz; largest bass was caught by Dan Dufur out of Pontoosuc weighing 5 lb 12 oz; largest trout was caught out of Onota Lake by Rich Garhardt, weighing 11 lbs 2 oz; largest perch was caught out of Richmond Pond by Ken Kirchner, weighing 1 lb 7 oz; largest crappie was caught out of Pontoosuc Lake by Dean Dobson weighing 1 lb 9 oz; largest pickerel was caught out of Stockbridge Bowl by Keith Fortini weighing 5 lb 6 oz., and largest salmon was caught out of Laurel Lake by Silas Amlaw and it weighed 5 lb 6 oz. No tiger muskies were checked in this year. Congratulations to all.
The 8th Annual Thomas Wren Memorial Ice Fishing Derby produced some nice fish. Gary Sagendorph took first prize in the Adult Category with a 9 lb 14 oz northern pike, Sean Smith took second with a 5 lb 14 oz pike and Dan Dufur took third with a 4 lb largemouth bass. In the kid’s Category, Samantha Clark caught a 2 lb 11 oz pickerel, Amy Gates took second with a 14 oz perch and Russell Gates took third with a 10 oz perch. According to derby organizer Ed Carmel, the Wren children are grown up now and no longer need the proceeds. They were donated to the Pittsfield Sportsmen’s Club.
The Lee Youth Football folks are happy these days for last month the Locker Room Ice Fishing Derby raised $2,000 for their cause. According to Derby Director Butsy Crawford, it was one of the best derbies that they have had. The winners were: Adult Category – Chris Gelaznik, a 3.8 lb pickerel. In the Kids category, there was a tie. Both Jaden Strout and Lukas Trumps weighed in 1.8 lb trout
There were also other big fish which were caught and the pictures were featured in this column over the winter. Remember 6-year old Grace Ungewitter’s 11 lb 8 oz northern pike, 6-year old Nathan Luczynski’s 6 lb 1 oz bullhead and 10-year old Nathan Armstrong’s 7 lb 14 oz salmon? All of those fish will result in State recognition.
Yes, it was a memorable season for many not the least being the fishermen pictured above. That picture was taken at the Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club Ice Fishing Derby on Echo Lake by SSC member Tim Minkler. Six year old Sam St Peter caught a 22″ pickerel that weighed 3.2 lbs as well as a bass that was 17″ long and weighed 3 lbs. His 3 year old brother Beau caught a 14″ bass that weighed 1.2 lbs.
“You cannot buy this stuff in the store” said Minkler, referring to the proud youngsters. “It is not for sale….this is special”. “Pictures may fade over the years but memories of that derby will be passed down over the generations in the St Peter’s Family”. Well put, Tim.
Time to put away your tip-ups and grab your fishing rod because the following waters were scheduled to be stocked with trout by DFW last week: Pontoosuc Lake, Onota Lake, Laurel Lake, Richmond Pond, Stockbridge Bowl and Lake Garfield. *****
Over 100 coyotes were entered into Dave’s Sporting Goods Coyote Contest this year, and the winners were as follows: Carl Dolle bagged the most coyotes with a tally of 24. Dan Gaylord bagged the heaviest one which weighed 51 ½ lbs. Dave Willette practiced what he preaches and bagged the second largest coyote which weighed 45 lbs. He wrote the book on coyote hunting..….literally, it is called Coyote Wars, and it can be purchased at Dave’s Sporting Goods. *****
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2012 Conte Sportsmen Award winners are announced
The Berkshire County League of Sportsmen (BCLS) has announced the recipients of its prestigious Silvio O. Conte awards. Michael Buffoni of Stockbridge was selected to receive the 2012 Sportsman of the Year Award. Mike has been a member of the Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club (SSC) for more than 20 years, serving as its VP or on its Board for more than 10 of those years. Some of his accomplishments are: Organized and hosted a day for SSC Fresh-Air Kids, organized and participated in the club’s Youth Turkey Hunt Mentoring Program, Co-Chair of the club’s Gun-a-Day sweepstakes, Co-Chair of the Skip Whalen Ice Fishing Derby, runs the club’s Youth Rifle League and is the leader of the club’s Youth Archery program which has seen 700 kids enjoy the joy of shooting under his mentorship.
Karen Kruszyna, of Cheshire, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a member of many organizations including the Adams Outdoor for Youth (AOFY), Adams Agricultural Fair Committee and is a Board member of the Cheshire Rod & Gun Club. She does much to get kids of this county outdoors. She is always there to help out at the annual Youth Outreach Fishing Derbies at Reynolds Pond in Cheshire, the BCLS functions such as the Conte Banquet, the AOFY fund raisers and more. She is an avid sportsperson and as you may recall received an award from the Mass Division of Marine Fisheries in 2012 for catching the largest striped bass in the state that year in the women’s category.
Mikel Moss of Sutton, MA, will receive the John Zuber Outstanding Achievement Award. This new award was named in honor of Zuber who was a renowned sportsman from Pittsfield who passed away in 2012. Moss has been the President of the Massachusetts Sportsmen’s Council for 17years and has fought for sportsmen’s rights for over 50 years. He has received his share of awards from sportsmen’s clubs and county leagues from across the state. Some of them include the Raymond L. Gribbons Conservation Award, Sportsman of the Year Awards from Mass Bowhunters, Beach Buggy Assn., Worcester Surfcasting Club, Essex County, Plymouth County and many others. I’m sure that this award will have special meaning to Mike as he was a longtime personal friend of Zuber who was a BCLS delegate to the Mass Sportsmen’s Council for many years.
The Berkshire Natural Resources Council will be the recipient of the Sportsmen’s Appreciation Award. This organization, established in 1967 is responsible for acquiring and or preserving for open space and passive recreation more than 6,466 acres of land here in the Berkshires, and that doesn’t even include the 600 acre conservation easement it is currently trying to secure on land in the Otis-Tyringham area. Need I write any more?
These richly deserved awards will be presented at the Silvio O. Conte Memorial Dinner at the Cheshire Rod and Gun Club on April 20. Tickets can be obtained from any BCLS delegate. *****
Mass. DFW, through Novi Systems, a third party online survey company, has been sending out electronic hunter surveys to approximately 32,000 licensed hunters. The survey is designed to understand hunter efforts and preferences and to collect important local “on-the-ground” information for managing game in the Commonwealth. The survey takes approximately 5-15 minutes to complete and all responses will remain anonymous. Over the last few weeks any sporting or hunting license holder with an email address in the MassFishHunt system should have received an email invitation from Novi Survey with a link to the invitation. Surveys are being sent out in batches through the end of March to prevent them from being treated as spam. A reminder will be emailed to those license holders who have not responded within a week. *****
The Lee Sportsmen’s Association is holding a NRA Basic Pistol course on March 25 and 28 from 5 to 9 pm. The cost is $100 which includes LSA membership. Preregistration is required by calling Larry at (413)442-7807. *****
BCLS President Mark Jester is organizing a bus trip to Boston on Wednesday April 3, for the GOAL Rally on the Common in support of the Second Amendment. The bus will leave Pittsfield approximately 8:00 a.m. and return the same day around 6:30 p.m. The estimated cost would be somewhere between $25 – $35 pp on a full bus of 54 people. He needs a head count before this Wednesday. Contact him at 413-499-8482, 413-822-7243 or mpjester60@hotmail.com if you plan on going.
Pictured above is 10 year old Nathan Armstrong of Lenox who caught the big fish in the Lenox Sportsmen’s Club ice fishing derby, an Atlantic salmon weighing 7 lbs 14 oz and measuring 29 inches. He is holding the fish with his two brothers Brendon and Ricky, and his dad Rick and Uncle Harold Armstrong.
George Darey, meet Eclair
When F&G Board Chairman George “Gige” Darey (of Lenox) entered the Lenox Sportsmen’s Club last Saturday afternoon, he thought it was going to be a fund raiser for the National Archery in the School (NAIS) program as well as a plug for the Massachusetts Heritage Foundation, which helped to fund it. There he saw 75 friends from the Berkshires and beyond including Lenox town officials, friends, local sportsmen and women, Steve Williams former head of USFWS and now a national director of Wildlife Management Institute, Walter Bickford and Dan Peters both past commissioners of F&G, Mary Griffin current Commissioner, Representative George Peterson, Deputy Whip of Mass House of Representatives, Bob Durand, former Mass Secretary of Environmental Affairs, Wayne MacCallum, Director of Mass Fish & Wildlife, fellow F&G Board members and others.
Berkshire County League of Sportsmen President Mark Jester began the program by explaining NAIS. First developed in 2002, it is a program which teaches kids the fundamentals of archery from grades 4 thru 12. It is a two week program which is part of the school physical education programs. Currently there are five NAIC programs in schools here in Berkshire County and it is hoped to expand to all local schools.
He mentioned that NAIS has reached over 2,000,000 kids in over 11,000 schools in 47 states. By 2017 over 9 ½ million kids will have participated in this program. Statistics show that a large percentage will continue in outdoor activity. In 31 states there are more than 100 schools participating in this program and with no accidents.
He then asked 7 young boys and girls to shoot at targets in the indoor range. The attendees were amazed as these kids fired their volleys, all hitting the bulls eyes. They took a couple more shots and the room was full with applause and words such as “Amazing! Wow! Unbelievable!
DFW Director Wayne MacCallum spoke about how the Mass Heritage Foundation was established a number of years ago. He, Darey and F&G Board member Mike Roche, of Orange, MA learned about the program in Kansas and brought it back to Massachusetts. It is a non-profit (501c3). The funds are used for such projects as wild brook trout restoration, and other worthy projects.
Then the focus of the meeting shifted when Scott MacWilliams of Lee took the floor. A month ago he was visiting Gige and his partner Ginny Akabane when he learned that their young bird dog passed away unexpectedly. Gige told Scotty confidentially that he not only lost a great companion but also a way of life, for he had been hunting dogs since he was a young teenager. This really affected Scotty and he called Andrew Madden, DFW Western District Manager about getting a dog for Gige. Madden put him in touch with MacCallum, who put him in touch Mike Roche. They all liked the idea.
Roche then took the floor and said that he goes back a long ways with Gige and relayed a story of how, when he was 6 years old, his father and Gige took him hunting with them after school and how Darey carried him out of the woods sound asleep. Upon receiving MacWilliams’s call, he searched across the nation for an “old man’s” dog. “I was selfish”, said Roche,” because my world depends upon Gige going bird hunting, and now we are going to do something about that”. When word got out about the plan and the need to raise $3,000 to buy and ship the dog, people rushed to make contributions. Roche found the 3 year old Brittany Spaniel, named Éclair, in South Dakota and, “ like Gige”, he said,” her mother came from Brittany, France”.
The dog was then brought in the room and presented to Gige. “George”, said Roche, “Meet Éclair”.
Following a huge round of applause, Gige looked at the floor and was silent for several seconds. He was obviously overwhelmed and had been taken completely off guard. “I really don’t know what to say. I had no idea this would be happening.” said Darey. He recounted how he grew up and spent his whole life hunting and fishing in this area and how the Lenox Sportsmen’s Club ended up being where it currently is. (Incidentally, it is across the railroad tracks from the 818 acre George L.Darey Housatonic Valley Wildlife Management Area).
Sequestration may definitely affect sportsmen, conservationists
In his editorial in the most recent Massachusetts Wildlife magazine, DFW Director Wayne MacCallum commented on the Federal Aid in Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act, commonly referred as the Pittman-Robertson (PR) Act. He reminded us how it was passed in 1950 for sport fish restoration and provided the states with the financial foundation to restore our fish and wildlife resources. It was financed by establishing a dedicated funding stream supported by a 11% excise tax on bows, arrows, ammunition, firearms, fishing tackle and related equipment. By law, the monies could only be used for fish and wildlife restoration by the state fish and wildlife agencies. It was strongly supported by hunters and anglers that buy equipment as well as the industries that manufacture such products.
Some state legislatures (including ours) tried to seize the funds to pay for state services, but have failed because any diversions would automatically result in the loss of the federally collected taxes. But now, according to MacCallum, the use of these funds is being threatened at the Federal level. It is called sequestration. At first, sequestration didn’t immediately appear to threaten PR funding. The Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act of 1985 had specifically exempted payments to trust funds from excise taxes from sequestration.
However, the Office of Management and Budget, on the advice of its lawyers and in consultation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, interpreted the sequestration exemption for trust funds paid by excise taxes to mean that only the payments of the excise taxes into the wildlife and sport restoration trust funds are exempted from sequestration, but that the appropriations of funds out of these trust funds to implement the purposes for which the trust funds were created are not exempt.
According to MacCallum, about 50% of the Massachusetts DFW annual revenue is derived from these funds and their loss would seriously impact the stability of its long term wildlife conservation programs. Sequestrating the spending of these trust funds to the states is a breach of faith and clearly violates the intent of the user-pay excise tax collection. To quote MacCallum, “These funds have provided the fuel for the incredible engine that has driven the immensely successful fish and wildlife restoration and management efforts in this country, and it is a violation of public trust to threaten to cut off that fuel supply after sportsmen across the country have already filled the tank”.
MacCallum does not offer advice as to what we can do about this. Perhaps it is time to write to our new legislators, US Senators Cowen and Warren and US Representative Neal and ask them to oppose the sequestration of these funds. This will be a good time to see what kind of legislators we have and whether they will honor the trust which we placed in them. *****
It was 25 years ago that the late Al Goerlach and a group of friends decided to put on a game supper to help support the football programs in Dalton and the Hilltowns. Over the years, all proceeds have gone toward equipment and uniforms. This Thursday evening at 6:00 pm, the game supper will take place again at the Dalton American Legion in Rte 9 in Dalton. Tickets cost $15 and are available at the Dalton General Store or by contacting Mike Sondrini at (413)684-3524 or Matt Morrison at 684-5052.*****
The MassWildlife Basic Hunter Education Course is mandatory for first-time hunters or hunting license buyers in Massachusetts. All courses are free of charge. Students must attend all dates listed. The Worthington Rod & Gun Club on Dingell Road will be holding a course on April 16, 17, 18 and 19 from 5:30 to 9:00 pm. As of this writing, it is not yet filled up. To enroll, call (978) 772-0693.
Is hunting on the decline in Massachusetts? Before answering, please click onto the MassWildlife hunter education web page, and you will see 33 basic courses being taught across the Commonwealth this spring. Every single one is filled except the one that is being taught in Worthington.
I am not sure of the maximum size of the classes but assuming that it is 25, then approximately 800 new hunters signed up to take the course and that is just for this spring. They can’t keep up with the demand for the course and there are waiting lists. And this is in a state with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. I don’t think the sport of hunting is declining at all.
Keeping with MassWildlife hunter education courses, Mike Foley, Fran Tremblay and a few other instructors will be holding a Map and Compass course at the Lenox Sportsmen’s Club on New Lenox Road on Saturday, April 6. It runs from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Four hours of the course will be held indoors, and after lunch the field course will take place.
I just learned that the course is already filled, but you might call Mass Wildlife @ 1-(978) 772-0693 to get on the waiting list in case someone cancels out. *****
Near record bullhead caught by local 6 year older
On Wednesday, February 20, six year old Nathan Luczynski, of Cheshire, was ice fishing on Cheshire Lake with his father Tim. It was a cold and windy day and around 10 am a tip-up flag went up. Tim was 80 – 90 yards away from it and Nathan responded to the flag. Tim watched his young son pulling and pulling line for what seemed like 4 or 5 minutes. He pulled in approximately 60 or 70 yards of line before he finally pulled the fish out of the hole. At first, Tim was hoping that it was a big bass. You can imagine his surprise when he discovered it was either a big bullhead or catfish.
They brought the fish to the DFW Regional Headquarters in Dalton and two biologists confirmed that it was a brown bullhead. It measured 23.2 inches long, with a girth of 14.7 inches and weighed 6 lbs 1 oz! That fish weighed only 3 ounces shy of the Massachusetts state record. To get an idea as to the rarity of catching a fish this size, an adult fisherman qualifies for a State bronze pin if a bullhead exceeds 2 lbs 0 oz. In the youth category, the bullhead only has to be 1.0 lbs to get a pin.
I think Nathan and his family might be traveling down to the New England Fishing and Outdoor Expo at the DCU Center in Worcester next February to pick up a gold pin and trophy for that fish. It is doubtful that a larger bullhead will be caught for some time. Incidentally, the state record brown bullhead, which weighed 6 lbs 4 oz came out of Forest Lake in Methuen in 2008 and was caught by Roger Aziz, Jr. of Methuen.
Tim said that if the fish turned out to be a catfish, he was not going to mount it because they grow to good size. But seeing that it was a potential award winner and very nearly a state record, he is having it mounted by Countryside Taxidermy in Cheshire. He said that he purchased his shiners from JCB Live Bait also in Cheshire. *****
According to club vice president Mark Jester, the 29th annual Lenox Sportsmen’s Club Rabbit Hunt was “tough going” this year. Even though there was plenty of snow cover, it was a very hard crust with temperatures in the single digits early in the day and never getting above freezing. There was only one cottontail weighed in and that was by 12 yr old club member Nick Puntin of Becket, and it weighed 3 lbs. Nick hunted with his Dad, Chris and Grandfather Bill.
Seventeen brave hunters participated that day. One hunter fell through some ice up to his waist crossing a swampy area and called it quits early. However; he did make it to the club later for a warm and tasty venison goulash dinner. ****
The Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club (SSC) is holding a game dinner this Saturday evening. Social hour is from 6 to7 pm and dinner at 7. The cost is $20 for adults and $10 for kids 10 years old and under. For more information, contact Marc Fadding at (3)441-4249.
Incidentally, the SSC is a very active club which is rapidly approaching 400 members.Its youth archery program is well underway and there are currently 76 kids signed up, ranging from 4-15 yrs old. Staying with the subject of young hunters, archers and anglers, did you pick up on the fact that both Nathan Luczynski and Nick Putin shared their experiences with their dads? I don’t know about you but I get a warm and fuzzy feeling about that. And if the parents can’t get these kids out, it is nice to know that the local sportsmen‘s clubs are picking up the slack with archery programs, youth rifle leagues, fishing derbies, etc. If for no other reason, I encourage you to join and/or support them. *****
Berkshire National Fish Hatchery, making a difference
So, what’s happening at the Berkshire National Fish Hatchery (BNFH) in Hartsville, Ma these days? Well, for starters, the hatchery is raising a few fingerling brook trout to be released in local waters and for its fishing derbies….. some 50,000 of them!
It recently received 10,000 lake trout eggs of the Lake Champlain strain. They will grow here in the Hatchery for a couple of years and then be transferred to the White River Hatchery in Vermont. The date of transfer depends on when they can re-open that hatchery which, as you may recall, was devastated by Hurricane Irene. There, they will be used as broodstock to produce eggs for all Vermont waters and will be used as a back-up egg source for the Great Lakes.
In 2010, the Genoa National Fish Hatchery in Wisconsin shipped a batch of Klondike strain lake trout. Now, approximately 20 inches in length, they will be kept for here for broodstock. Later this year the BNFH is planning to receive another lot. It is necessary to vary the ages of the lakers in order to have better genetic diversity and healthier fish. They will be maintained here providing eggs for 6 years and then be switched out for newer ones.
Remember those lakers that were grown here and then sent to the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery in PA a couple of years ago? Well, this year that hatchery produced approximately two million eggs from them. Once hatched, the new fish will be kept there for about 1 1/2 years and then will be released into Lake Erie and Lake Ontario to restore populations. The reason they spent a few years here in the BNFH was because lake trout require 6 years to produce eggs and the Allegheny hatchery was closed in 2007 due to disease issues and to do new construction.
So why are all of these lakers brought here in the Berkshires? It’s because of the water. It has been estimated that the hatchery aquifer goes a mile below the earth’s surface and the waters that come out of the ground have an average year round temperature of 46-47 degrees. Brookies and lakers thrive in that cold water.
The USFWS has discontinued raising salmon for the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon restoration program and consequently the last group of salmon will be stocked from the hatchery this spring (More to come on this subject in a later column). Henry Bouchard, USFWS Project Leader for the BNFH and Manager of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Fish Hatchery in Chittenden, VT, reported at the last Berkshire Hatchery Foundation meeting that the BNFH has been funded in the same amount as last year. This was possible partly because its excellent water, its involvement in the Great Lakes Initiative and because of the Berkshire Hatchery Foundation, a unique organization entirely supported by volunteers.
The Foundation, made up of volunteers, is also busy these days. Its Board is working on the 2013 trout stocking program which in 2012 provided fish for 25 public fishing events. It is also excited about establishing a scholarship fund for aquaculture and environmental students in the Monument Mountain and/or Mount Everett High Schools. They are planning to present a scholarship to students graduating this June. The size of the scholarship(s) will depend on how much the Foundation is able to raise. Donations to this fund can be sent to the Berkshire Hatchery, P.O. Box 84, Monterey, MA 01240, c/o George Emmons.
So, as you can see, our little hatchery and the Foundation are making a difference, in terms of propagating those lakers, providing trout for our young anglers and supporting students who may one day make a difference in the environmental or aquaculture field. Certainly these are reasons for us to be proud of them. *****