Category: Outdoors

Coronavirus impacts famous Iditarod dogsled race

The famous Iditarod dogsled race is continuing on despite the worldwide pandemic, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t being impacted. It is.

Unlike most sporting events in the U.S that have been canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus, the Iditarod dogsled race that began Sunday is mushing on with many racers having reached the halfway point Thursday.

Iditarod

But that doesn’t mean the worldwide pandemic hasn’t impacted the famous Alaskan race from Anchorage to Nome or that officials aren’t monitoring the situation closely, especially since the state’s first confirmed case of coronavirus was discovered Thursday.

Taking precautionary measures, race officials postponed the Meet the Mushers event on March 21 and its Awards Banquet on March 22 in Nome, and urged fans not to show up at the finish line.

“Pretty much we’re telling everybody not to go to Nome unless they are essential race personnel,” race marshal Mark Nordman told the Anchorage Daily News on Friday.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Spearfisherman dragged out to sea by great white shark

In another action announced Friday, the official checkpoint in Shaktoolik, the 19th along the northern route, has been moved to outside the community “in the continued interest of public health.” Mushers will still be provided with their food drop bags, straw for bedding and HEET, which allows a team to be fed a hot meal. A similar move was made with the Nulato checkpoint.

But all other elements of the race are continuing as planned.

“We have been taking the normal precautions that everyone should be taking,” Nordman told ADN.

In Unalakleet, the checkpoint will be limited to mushers, race officials and media.

“I know the city is putting up barricades along the slough to keep the public away from mushers coming through and away from that checkpoint so mushers can do what they need to do and get back out,” Bobby Bolen, superintendent of the Bering Strait School District told ADN.

Iditarod dogsled race

Nordman told ADN that the villages along the route are concerned but support the race, as officials continue to be in communication with Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer.

“If the state of Alaska said the race must stop, we’d stop,” Nordman told ADN. “We have not heard that…

“[Actually, the mushers are] in the safest place you could be.”

Nordman also said that health notices are posted at the checkpoints but mushers aren’t being directly advised on the virus, and many were unaware of the past week’s developments on the coronavirus outbreak.

At least one musher felt it necessary to abandon the race. Veteran Iditarod musher Jeremy Keller of Knit, Alaska, scratched Thursday, saying he wanted to be home with friends and family during this stressful time, race officials announced.

As for the race, three of the top 10 leading mushers are women, including Jessie Royer, the current leader as of Saturday morning. A female hasn’t won the Iditarod in 30 years.

Photos of previous Iditarod races by Ezra O. Shaw/Allsport/Getty Images.

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Watch: Dolphin launches like a rocket near whale watchers

Whale watchers off California received an unexpected dolphin show when one from a pod launched high into the sky right next to the boat.

Whale watchers aboard a boat off Southern California received an unexpected dolphin show Wednesday when one from a pod of 60 launched like a rocket right next to the boat.

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If not for passenger Joni Kilgore recording video at the time, the amazing height the dolphin reached would have been but a memory. Instead, she shared it with Newport Coastal Adventure, the whale-watching company out of Newport Beach which led the trip.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Watch an ice fisherman pull a 50-pound fish through a tiny hole

“The excited bottlenose dolphin jumped at least 20 feet in the air right next to our boat,” Jessica Roame told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors, adding that the dolphin “rocketed out of the water for fun, delighting our whale-watching passengers.”

Obvious from the video, the reaction of the whale watchers was delight and amazement.

“Bottlenose dolphin are among the most intelligent animals in the ocean, and to witness them behaving in this way is both wondrous and incredible,” Roame said.

The whale watchers also were treated to the sighting of a dolphin known as Patches; the photo below explains the nickname.

“His sighting is significant in Orange County because he is a very recognizable bottlenose dolphin with pink colored ‘patches’ all over his body,” Roame told For The Win Outdoors.

“These pink ‘patches’ are caused by a genetic abnormality called leucism, which gives it an unmistakable color pattern. He usually travels with a large group of conspecifics and has been reported all over the Southern California Bight, from the Mexican Border to the Santa Barbara Channel.

“The skin underneath appears pink because of the blood vessels of the animal showing through their non-pigmented skin.

“These marine mammals can be between 6-12-feet long and weigh close to 1,400 pounds when they’re fully grown, so it was a thrilling sight for all our passengers to witness.”

Highlighted, of course, by the high-flying dolphin.

Photos by Joni Kilgore and Delaney Trowbridge, who captured the closeup photo of the dolphin returning to the water.

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Angler lands record carp after marathon battle

A Nevada angler who has caught dozens of trophy-class carp during the past several months finally landed a record breaker.

A Nevada angler who has caught dozens of trophy-size carp over the past several months finally landed a record breaker.

But only after a marathon struggle and a commendable effort to ensure that the 35-pound, 3-ounce carp could be safely released after it was certified as the new state record.

Brenden Burnham, who was fishing Sunday afternoon at Virginia Lake in Reno, told For The Win Outdoors that he had failed to cast one of his baits where he wanted to, but left it in the water anyway.

Soon, his line began to twitch.

“I decided to pick the rod out of the rod holder and put a bit of tension on the line,” Burnham said. “As soon as I did the line just smoked off of the reel. There was absolutely no stopping the fish from going where it wanted to.

RELATED: Angler picks wrong day to land record-size paddlefish

“People started crowding around watching me battle this fish, as this is a park lake so gets pretty crowded.”

Burnham, 41, battled the carp for 45 minutes and had to wade far into the shallows to net his catch, which he believed rivaled the existing state record of 34 pounds, 10 ounces.

“I knew exactly what the previous state record was, so I knew what I needed the fish to be in order to beat it,” Burnham said.

While transferring the carp from a net to his carp cradle, used to keep fish immobile and submerged so they can eventually be released, he asked someone in the crowd to telephone the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

An agency biologist arrived to weigh and certify Burnham’s catch, then watched him set it free.

The NDOW announced the new record Monday via Facebook.

Said Burnham: “I had been trying for the state record and my good friends knew this.  Just three days before I had caught five carp out of this lake which has never happened – I don’t believe – for anyone.

“The weights were 14 pounds, 17 pounds, 27 pounds, 29 pounds and finally 30.5 pounds. I knew the potential for the state record was there and, well, the rest is history.”

The Nevada Department of Wildlife considers carp weighing 15 pounds or more to be trophy class. Burnham said he caught and released 46 trophy-size carp in 2019, and six so far this year.

On Sunday he was fishing with 20-pound-test line. When asked to reveal what he used as bait, he respectfully declined.

–Images are courtesy of Brenden Burnham

Yellowstone bison seems to dance to motorist’s tune

Last summer sheriff’s deputies revealed that blaring “Hells Bells” by AC/DC to scatter bison on roads in Yellowstone National Park.

Last summer the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office in Montana revealed that its deputies sometimes blare “Hells Bells” by AC/DC to scatter bison on roads in and around Yellowstone National Park.

“That usually seems to work,” the Sheriff’s Office explained.

[vimeo 396342669 w=640 h=360]

Dancin Buffalo in Yellowstone, Wyoming from Kristine Dugan on Vimeo.

But apparently, not all music has the same effect. The accompanying footage shows a large bison reacting to a passing motorist’s catchy tune with a series of quick steps and head bobs.

“Normal day in Yellowstone,” Kristine Dugan says in the footage, which she titled, “Dancin buffalo in Yellowstone, Wyoming.”

Is the bison actually dancing, or does it merely have a pebble stuck in its hoof? We’ll let viewers be the judge.

–Video and top image courtesy of Kristine Dugan. Bottom image by ©Pete Thomas 

Convicted poachers get ‘enhanced’ fines for trophy bucks

In separate cases, two men who attracted deer by feeding them and then each shot a buck will pay huge fines for their illegal actions.

In separate cases, two California men who unlawfully attracted deer using a bait pile and an automatic deer feeder and then each shot a buck will pay “enhanced” fines for their illegal and unethical actions.

In an El Dorado Superior Court, Myron Barry Woltering, 66, of Granite Bay pled no contest to one misdemeanor count of taking deer over bait. Because it was a trophy class 6×4 buck, the penalties were enhanced.

Woltering was fined $17,500, will receive three years’ probation, be prohibited from hunting for three years, and forfeit all seized items, including his archery equipment used in the crime, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced last week.

A month earlier, the CDFW reported that William Vaden, 70, of Elverta pled no contest to baiting deer and unlawful take of deer out of season, and admitted the trophy allegation. He will serve 90 days of alternative sentencing, pay the enhanced fine of $20,000, forfeit most of the seized items and serve three years’ probation, during which time he is not allowed to hunt.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Poacher of trophy deer faces felony, big fine by less than an inch

A California state law to enhance poaching penalties went into effect July 1, 2017 as a tool to deter poaching and punish violators for serious poaching crimes.

“California hunters have long considered baiting for deer a violation of fair chase principles,” said David Bess, CDFW Deputy Director and Chief of the Law Enforcement Division. “The Legislature and Fish and Game Commission enacted laws and regulations to prohibit the act, then took it a step further to enhance the penalties associated with conviction of baiting trophy class deer.

“As more and more would-be poachers see poaching convictions with these enhanced penalties, we hope they will be deterred from poaching the largest deer out of these local herds.”

In the Woltering case, wildlife officers conducted surveillance throughout the 2018 deer hunting season and observed the archery hunter repeatedly adding food to a bait pile on his property in Pilot Hill in El Dorado County. He used alfalfa, corn, other grains and salt licks to attract the deer.

The officers used surveillance, a review of mandatory hunting report records and search warrants at Woltering’s home, business and property where the baiting was taking place. They were able to prove he poached a very large trophy buck over the bait.

In the Vaden case, a wildlife officer observed what appeared to be an automatic deer feeder in El Dorado County. For more than a year, the officer monitored the place to see if illegal deer feeding for the purpose of poaching was occurring and it was. When presented with the evidence, Vaden confessed to the feeder as bait and killing a trophy class deer on the property.

“Baiting cases involve persistent investigative work on the part of a wildlife officer,” said the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Lt. Stacey LaFave. “Early mornings, long hours of surveillance and keen observations are required to make a case.”

In these cases, that persistence paid off.

Photo of two bucks feeding at a bait pile caught on a trail camera, evidence seized in the Woltering case, and two generic deer in the snow provided by the CDFW.

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Yellowstone logs first grizzly bear sighting of 2020; visitors cautioned

Biologists flying over Yellowstone National Park on Saturday documented  the park’s first known grizzly bear sighting of 2020.

Biologists flying over Yellowstone National Park on Saturday documented  the park’s first known grizzly bear sighting of 2020.

The park announced Monday that the sighting, near Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin, occurred a day earlier than last year’s first sighting.

“Now that bears are emerging from winter dens, visitors should be excited for the chance to view and photograph them, but they should also treat bears with respect and caution,” said Kerry Gunther, the park’s bear management biologist.

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“Many visitors think bears are ravenously hungry and more likely to attack people for food after emerging from hibernation, but almost all bear attacks result from surprise encounters when hikers startle bears at close distances and the bears react with defensive aggression.”

Male grizzly bears are typically first to emerge from hibernation, beginning in early March. Momma bears with cubs leave their dens in April and early May.

Although wintry weather might persist in and around the park for weeks, visitors are urged to exercise caution.

“Hikers, skiers, and snowshoers should travel in groups of three or more, carry bear spray, and make noise,” Gunther cautioned.

Visitors are supposed to maintain a distance of at least 100 yards from grizzly bears.

Yellowstone also reminded tourists that access to areas where there’s a high density of winter-kill bison and elk carcasses will be restricted in the weeks ahead to minimize the risk of surprise bear-human encounters.

–Generic grizzly bear image and Grand Prismatic Spring image are courtesy of Yellowstone/NPS

Watch: Bull sharks steal anglers’ catch in frenzied attack

Passengers on a Florida sportfishing charter witnessed up close the raw power of voracious bull sharks as they attacked a hooked sailfish.

Passengers on a recent Florida sportfishing charter witnessed up close the raw power of voracious bull sharks as they attacked a sailfish that had been reeled to the stern.

The accompanying footage, captured by Rhonda’s Osprey on Feb. 26 off Palm Beach, shows the chaotic moments after at least two bull sharks appeared after one of the crew had grabbed the wire leader in an attempt to safely release the sailfish.

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“Grab its bill!” Capt. Joe Drosey is heard saying, only to bemoan moments later, “Ain’t nothing to grab now.”

First mate Sasha Lickle was closest to the action, smartly keeping her arms raised as she held the leader, watching helplessly as the sharks devoured the catch.

Drosey told the Miami Herald that this type of dramatic encounter is occurring more frequently as sharks have appear to have discovered that a hooked game fish is a lot easier to catch as a free-swimming game fish.

“Sailfish swim 65 mph, so they can’t catch them on their own,” Drosey explained. “It’s a huge problem. Three years ago, I’d say sharks ate 5 to 10 percent of the fish we caught. Last year, it was about 10 to 15 percent. This year, 25 percent of every one we catch are eaten.”

–Video courtesy of Rhonda’s Osprey, via the Miami Herald

Catch of prehistoric longnose gar sets record

A Maryland angler who was fishing for catfish on Monday ended up landing a state-record longnose gar.

A Maryland angler who was fishing for catfish on Monday ended up landing a state-record longnose gar.

“I didn’t even know what it was at first,” Samson Matthews, 22, said of his bizarre-looking catch on Marshyhope Creek in Dorchester County.

The fish weighed 18.3 pounds, narrowly beating a record set last year. It was announced as the new state Chesapeake Division record Wednesday by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

After the fish was weighed on a certified scale, Matthews released it back into the creek.

RELATED: Angler picks wrong day to land record-size paddlefish

The MDNR describes the longnose gar as “a prehistoric fish distinguished by its long nose and hard scales.”

The fish have been present in North America for about 100 million years. Their tough hides were used by settlers and Native Americans as shield covers.

They’re found in inshore waters and estuaries, and prey largely on small fish, crustaceans, and insects. According to the MDNR, the most common fishing method for longnose gar is with a bow or spear.

Matthews was creek fishing near the Nanticoke River, using chunks of gizzard shad as bait for blue catfish, when he felt a heavy tug.

“Honestly, it didn’t fight much at all until it broke the surface, and that’s when I realized what it was,” Matthews told For The Win Outdoors. “Once it broke the surface it started thrashing around and jumping until we got it in the net.”

Matthews added: “I knew it was big, but I had no clue it was big enough to be a record.”

For the sake of comparison, the International Game Fish Assn. lists as the all-tackle world record a 50-pound longnose gar caught on the Trinity River in Texas in 1954.

–Longnose gar images are via the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (top) and Wikimedia Commons

Watch: Ice fisherman pulls 50-pound fish through tiny hole

An ice fisherman fishing for pike in Minnesota got a surprise catch when he hooked a near-state-record muskie and somehow landed it.

An ice fisherman fishing for pike in Minnesota got a surprise catch when he hooked a near-state-record muskie—an estimated 50-pounder—and, amazingly, managed to pull it through a tiny hole in the ice.

While fishing on Mille Lacs Lake on Feb. 22, Jason Birke captured video of Mark Kottke—“my neighbor on the ice”—landing the 54-inch muskie, also known as a muskellunge.

“This was the biggest fish I’d ever seen caught and is only a few inches from the state record,” Birke told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors, revealing the fish’s girth as 27 inches. “Truly amazing to witness in person.”

For comparison, the Minnesota state record for a caught-and-released muskellunge is 57 1/4 inches landed at Lake Vermilion on Aug. 6, 2019 by Corey Kitzmann of Davenport, Iowa. The state record for a muskie on a certified scale is 54 pounds caught at Lake Winnibigoshish in 1957. That fish was 56 inches long.

Kottke used what is called a tip-up, an ice fishing devise that suspends a bait in the water column through a hole in the ice and detects when a fish strikes. He was using a sucker for bait and 80-pound coated tip-up line, as he stated on Facebook.

So, rather than reeling the fishing up with a rod and reel, he pulled up the fish by hand through the 10-inch-wide hole.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Spearfisherman dragged out to sea by great white shark

“The muskie was not the intended species, as the season is closed, and [I] have never seen one [caught] through the ice,” Kottke said on Facebook.

He said the muskie was only out of the water for about a minute and half before he released it back into the lake.

“Mille Lacs is the land of giants because people continue with CPR: catch, photo, release,” he wrote.

As for Birke, he told For The Win Outdoors that he landed plenty of walleye that day, but the catch of the day belonged to Kottke.

Photos courtesy of ViralHog and Jason Birke.

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Monster catfish caught after wild boat chase

A Georgia angler received the surprise of a lifetime when a giant catfish devoured his striped bass lure and led him on a chaotic chase.

A Georgia angler received the surprise of a lifetime when a giant blue catfish devoured his striped bass lure and led him on a 300-yard, 35-minute chase.

Gene Fleming was fishing with his brother-in-law on Goat Rock Lake last Sunday when the unexpected bite occurred. Both anglers had baits on the bottom for catfish, while casting lures with lighter lines for striped bass.

RELATED: Angler picks wrong day to land record-size paddlefish

Fleming was using only 8-pound-test line when the 63-pound catfish struck.

“I thought I had hooked the biggest striper I had ever hung,” Fleming, who is from nearby Phenix City, Ala., told Georgia Outdoor News. “When this fish came out of the creek and hit the main channel, he almost stripped me dry.”

There was almost no chance of landing the fish on such light line while anchored, so Billy Leffinghamwell, the brother-in-law, hurriedly pulled anchor and started to reel in the other lines while the catfish plowed down the Chattahoochee River. (Goat Rock Lake is on the river above Columbus.)

“He started reeling as we went, but we were dragging catfish rods behind us, and the catfish was pulling us down river,” Fleming said.

The anglers caught up to the catfish 25 minutes later.

“It took me about 25 minutes just to pull him up to the boat where I could see what he was and another 10 minutes where we could get just his head in the net,” Fleming told Georgia Outdoor News. “It took both of us to get him in the boat.”

The catfish, weighed at Lee’s Crossing Feed and Seed, measured 4 feet, 2 inches, and boasted a 36-inch girth.

For the sake of comparison, the all-tackle world record for blue catfish stands at 143 pounds. But that fish, caught in 2011 at Buggs Island, Va., was landed with 50-pound-test line.

–Image courtesy of Gene Fleming