What's In Outdoors with Phil Taunton

PICTURE GALLERY

(Subtitles by Phil Taunton)

Isaac's Harvest

· Kansas High School Regional Canon Environthon competition at Council Grove Reservior - Photos courtesy of Kansas Environthon Committee.

12 teams from eight different high schools participated in the 2012 Canon-Council Grove Regional Environthon held at Council Grove Federal Reservior at the Canning Creek Cove Group Campground on April 11^th. The students were tested on their knowledge of forestry, wildlife, the current issue was Nonpoint source pollution/Low Impact development, rangeland, soil/land use and aquatics/ecology on a cold and breezy day. Wakefield High School edged Mission Valley, 488 to 482 with White City coming in a distant third with 452 points.

The Canon Environthon www.environton.org is an outdoor, environmental high school competition where students are tested on their knowledge of soils, forestry, wildlife, aquatics and a current issue. Winners then go on and compete in national competition for scholarships.

For more information concerning local Kansas Canon Environthon competitions, and entering a team, please contact:

Jo Bea Titus - Hutchinson

Morris County Conservation District

District Manager/Water Quality Coordinator

116 Fox Street

Council Grove, KS 66846 - 1219

620-767-5111 Ext. 101 - Fax: 620-767-7210

jobea.titus@ks.nacdnet.net

http://www.morriscountyconservationdistrict.com

Spencer Tomb and Miss Tully his golden Lab will be at the single’s retrieving dog trial near Manhattan on March 31/April 1. They will be assisting Phil, Psycho Sue and Lil Mern at the Becoming an Outdoor's Woman "World of Sporting Dogs" activity in June at Rock Springs Ranch.

New World Record 8-point buck scores 183 1/8" net in Boone and Crockett record book. Pictures available here.

On December 1, 2011, on the opening day of the second shotgun season in Illinois, David Robinson tagged what will likely be the largest 8-point whitetail in the Boone & Crockett record books. Sanders, a 38-year-old farmer and veteran deer hunter, was hunting on his home farm when he set his sights on this world-class buck of a lifetime. The deer’s gross scored 192-3/8”

Megan Hilbish, center, from Emporia, received the 2011 Youth Conservationist of the Year award. Also present are Shirley and Jim Ruder, owners of the Bundleflower Plant and Wildflower Preserve of WaKeeney, which sponsored the Youth Conservationist award.

Gib Rhodes, from Madison, receives the 2011 Outdoor Skills Instructor award from Don Snider, KWF President. The Outdoor Skills Instructor award was sponsored by the Geary County Fish and Game Association of Junction City.

Do you know this kid?

New World Record 8-point buck scores 183 1/8" net in Boone and Crockett record book.

Photos from the 2012 Hunt for Hunger event.

Tyler and Kyle Pedersen, sons of Shaun and Amy Pedersen shown with Clint Bowyer took part in the Clint Bowyer Youth and Deer Management Hunt hosted by Dave and Kim Holland on January 1 and 2. Tyler was unable to hunt because he harvested a deer last year but acted as a mentor to the kids including assisting in field dressing the deer, during this year’s hunt. Kyle, guided by Steve Linneman harvested his first deer on the first day of the hunt and also won the 22 rifle shooting sport competition. 15 kids took part in this year’s hunt and the guides are will to take the kids who haven’t harvested a deer out until the season closes on January 8th.

Left: Abner Redeker, Lyon County 4-H shooting sport instructor, working with Parker Wood developing his shooting skills for the shotgun competition.

Right: Dave Holland assisting KVOE news veteran, Jeff O'Dell sighting in a rifle. Photos courtesy of Scott Irwin

Picture…Young hunter Chase Botkin, 13 from Madison and his hunting guide Abner Redeker were the first to record a harvest during the Clint Bowyer Youth and Deer Management Hunt last Sunday afternoon. Chase observed the coyote chasing Canada geese in a wheat field and decided to take the shot. It was about a 100 yard shot. About 15 minutes later, the doe walked into range and provided a 50 yard shot, that provided Chase with a memory he will never forget.

This unlikely mixed bag was an exciting adventure for the young hunter and was the first deer he had ever harvested. Photo courtesy of Scott Irwin. Text by Phil Taunton

Sharp-shinned hawk. (Sharpie) from Phil Taunton's pigeon coup

Pileated Woodpecker. These have been seen locally.

Photo from trail cam owned by Brandon O’Neal. Camera is located on Ninnescah River about a mile east of Viola, Ks

Clyde the Guides provides a picture of a nice Kansas walleye

Submitted by Dara Lowry

Mountain lion near yates center. From brian keith

Students playing with Nathan's winnings, standing left to right, Austin Jennings, Nathan Eklund, Melinda Heathman and Hanna Berry. Seated, left to right, Lindsee Colglazier and Natasha VanGundy. Fishing, and reeling in the enormous flip flop, is Savanna Chestnut. The students are juniors at Northern Heights High School. Photo by Lea Ringler

Nathan Eklund catchin a big one!

Crappie Fishing with Clyde the Glyde

This one is my son Eric and his son Ethan. Great way for father and son to spend time together. Photo by Robin Hanna, Winfield, KS

# 1 – Ralph’s grandkids. Erica, Drake and Heath. The boys are over 6’4” now!! Photo by Robin Hanna, Winfield, KS

# 2 - Drake caught a big cat fish. Photo by Robin Hanna, Winfield, KS

# 3 – Do frog races work? They released them after the race. Photo by Robin Hanna, Winfield, KS

# 4 – My favorite picture of Connor (my grandson) when he was little. He is 6 yrs. old now! Photo by Robin Hanna, Winfield, KS

Memoirs of an Alaskan Bear & Moose Hunting Guide – click here for story. Photos by Stan Parkerson

Here is the 1st , 2nd, and 3rd place winners for the Old Fashion Turkey shoot at Lebo’s 125th Birthday celebrations. Each team consisted of one adult and one child. We had over 70 teams compete and many more that just wanted to shoot for fun. Tonya Carson along with the help of Phil Taunton and sponsored by the Kansas Hunting and Fishing Expo hosted the event in Lebo on Saturday. We ended up moving the shooting range into the TWS office owned by Doug Thorn. There for awhile we had a line of thirty or more waiting to compete.

From left to right:

First Place: Jim and son Levi Whitaker with a total of 90 points out of 100

Pic 7095 is Second Place: Eddie Griffin and Cheyenne Stroda with a total of 89 points out of 100

Pic 7093 is Third Place: Jack and daughter Abby Abbles with a total of 88 points out of 100

Snakes were also on hand for kids to experience and learn about during Beau’s Day

Doug Cushenbery, left and Gib Rhodes with the Flint Hills Gobblers of the National Wildlife Turkey Federation were at Camp during the Appreciation Day to “Talk Turkey”.

Roger Carson with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation displays his collection of antlers, horns and even an armadillo skin to kids taking part in the Beau Arndt Outdoor Appreciation Day activities at Camp Alexander.

Pictures from Beau Arndt Outdoor Appreciation Day

Click Here for a special Photo Showcase of the 2011 JAKES event at Camp Alexander

.Little Mern put on quite a show playing with the check cord while I was discussing birds and traps with the kids.

More trap presentation

The kids loved the birds and liked to hold them

KVOE What’s in Outdoors host explains the section in the 2011 Kansas Hunting regulations concerning trapping and how to remove a sporting dog from snares, body-gripping and foot hold traps (Photo by Tami Cushenberry)

Little Mern, the liver and white English pointer and her mentor Sue are wondering what Phil is doing with all those little people. (Photo by Tami Cushenberry)

Little Mern finally gets her chance to shine and shows she has potential. These raised to release quail were the first quail she was ever introduced to (Photo by Tami Cushenberry)

Clyde the Guide reports….. I arrived home Sunday from a busman’s holiday at Wildlife Farms (www.wildlifefarms.com), near Casscoe , Arkansas , where I and a friend fished a series of oxbow lakes and cypress sloughs adjacent to the White River for largemouth bass.

Upon my arrival home, I was delighted to find that fall had arrived in northeastern Kansas. Wednesday night, the low is predicted to hover around 42 degrees. What’s more, the surface temperatures at area reservoirs have dropped into the middle seventies, and the black bass and white bass have been relatively easy to catch. For instance, three of us caught and released 33 smallmouth, as well as some walleye, channel catfish, freshwater drum, largemouth bass and spotted bass at Melvern Lake on Monday. Then Tuesday, three of us tangled with 193 white bass at two offshore lairs and several windblown shorelines and points at nearby Perry Lake . In addition, most of our lakes are relatively clear and at stable levels, which typically make our fall fishing easy and productive.

If a fall fishing trip is something you, as well as your family and friends, would enjoy, please contact me for what is shaping up to be and excellent opportunity to catch some quality black bass, as well as a quantity of white bass, in the next few months.

Clyde Holscher

September 2008----------Doug Wilson and friends Larry Beyer, Jack Beyer, Jim Means, and Bill Lauer enjoyed a successful caribou and moose hunt in the Alaskan wilderness. Jack, Larry and Bill drove up and back, hauling gear and brought the bounty of meat back home: Tasty steaks and roasts, but quite a bit of work when the trip involved traveling over 3,000 miles to pursue their passion for the hunt. Jim and Doug flew up and back in the Doug’s red, white and blue Pegazair shown in the photo. They met up with the other three in the closest town near the remote hunting area. In all, it took Doug five flights to get all the hunting gear and his friends to their base camp. Because of the short landing area which was a gravel bar in the stream, each hunter was only able to take 80-90 lbs# of gear, food and cloths for the 10 day hunt. Bill harvested a Caribou and Jim was able to get the moose. The meat was boned out where the animals were harvested and the hunters then back packed their prize back to camp. There is about 500 pounds of boned out meat on an Alaskan Moose and about 160 pounds on a caribou. The hunting party was gone from Kansas for 23 days! Doug is a certified Kansas hunter education bowhunting instructor, who has also pursued Grizzly Bears with his string and sticks! It all started with him taking a hunter education class. Hunting is a love of a lifetime, especially when surrounded by such company as Larry, Jack, Jim and Bill.

Tami Cushenbery provided What’s in Outdoors with these pictures of the prairie chicken that latched on to her husband’s leg near Texaco Hill out in the Flint Hills in May of 2008 during one of their family outings

Flint Hills National Refuge employee John Craft played a huge role in making the dove hunt a huge success. John is shown here with Doug and Isaac Cushenberry, Wyatt Bolen and What’s in Outdoors radio host Phil Taunton (Photo courtesy of Tami Cushenberry)

Tami, Doug & Isaac Cushenberry display the true meaning of Families Afield. Wyatt Bolen joins them for a day in the Great Outdoors at the Flint Hills Gobblers youth dove shoot held this past Saturday at the Flint Hills National Refuge area. (Photo courtesy of Tami Cushenberry)

The kids got to learn how to clean their own doves during an informative “care of game bird” cleaning session under the watchful eye of parents and Gib Rhodes, the Flint Hills Gobblers youth dove hunt event coordinator. (Photo by Tami Cushenberry)

Wyatt Bolen, on the left, and Isaac Cushenberry are caught by the eye of the camera as they watch for doves during the annual Flint Hills Gobblers youth dove hunt at the Flint Hills National Refuge area on Saturday, September 3^rd. (Photo by Tami Cushenberry)

Identifying Switch Grass

Kohl Prose and Weston Orender watch birds cook.

Vic Elam, Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge Deputy Manager, explains rules for the dove hunt for the 49 total people present.

27 NWTF Flint Hills Gobblers JAKES members participated in this year's dove hunt at the Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge.

Dalton Meyer & Logan Fuller are ready for incoming dove action

Phil Taunton demonstrates how to clean a dove.

Phil directing young hunters in the field

Eric Priest big yellow cat that weighed 80 plus pounds and was caught on a limb line in the Cottonwood River.

Vance Ralston, Chapter President for the Flint Hills Gobblers Chapter of the National Wildlife Turkey Federation addresses a crowd of young and old alike at the 7th Annual Spring Turkey Hunting Clinic.

This young man froze at the range and decided he didn't want to shoot. I back him off the line and went with him to talk to his mother and sister. I let her know what a courageous son she had and he was able to make a wise and responsible decision. Lesson.........If you are uncomfortable with doing something and feel ill at ease, simple don't do it even if friends/ the people you play with dare you to. Make responsible decisions and don't bow down to peer pressure. He later came back, we went all through the drill on how to become a safe shooter again and he shot. Later, he won the youth gun.

....I wish I would have been behind the camera instead of in front of it. I understand the need to get other, younger volunteers involved in these programs and will keep trying to do so. Picture is looking out toward the shooting range. Besides having the patterning stand to hold turkey targets in this exercise, we also placed a lot of props such as the fox you see, coyote, turkey decoy sets and goose decoy set. Besides letting over 90 kids shoot and I can sent you the complete disc if NSSF would like to see the pictures, this station also presented a safety message. A young man I had in a hunter safety certification class was tragically killed in an incident here, middle of December just 2 days short of his 19th birthday when an unethical and ill-responsible person shot into his decoy spread from the road. I advised the participants of this clinic to protect themselves from such situations. The red white and blue handkerchief around my neck was to let them know not to wear the colors of a turkey when they are hidden. Blaze orange and camo clothes were placed in the woods so they could readily see how blaze orange could be seen. Fox and coyote were there to let them know these animals could come to their turkey calls and I let them know there were different Kansas licensing laws that may or may not allow them to harvest such a critter.