MISSING CHILD ALERT

From KCCI:

Dayton Police Chief Nicholas Dunbar said the two girls were abducted from a bus stop Monday about 4 p.m.
One of the girls, a 12-year-old, was found walking out of a wooded area near a farmhouse in Boone County. She was taken to Trinity Regional Hospital in Fort Dodge.
The second girl, Kathlynn Shepard, 15, is still missing Tuesday morning.
She was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and a Minnesota Vikings cap. Shepard is 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds and has blonde hair and blue eyes.
Authorities said a man who abducted the girls appeared to be in his 20s or 30s. He was driving a red pickup truck.
Late Monday, authorities said they had located the man and his vehicle, but Shepard was still missing. Authorities did not identify the man or what his condition was.
Volunteer Dayton firefighters, ISU police, Boone County, Webster County and Dayton police responded to the call to help search for the missing 15-year-old. KCCI's Vanessa Peng said searchers concentrated on a hog confinement house located about 4 miles north of the town of Pilot Mound.

Dayton is located about 67 miles north of the Des Moines metro area in Webster County.

Click For Photo: http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/possible-abduction-of-young-girls/-/9357080/20229204/-/o6jgt0z/-/index.html

Thursday, June 13th 2013
6:30pm

AUCTION LOCATION: FERGUS FALLS - AMERIC-INN,
JUST OFF I-94 AT EXIT-210 - WESTERN AVENUE

ABSOLUTE MULTI-PARCEL WILKIN CO. HUNTING LAND AUCTION
350 ACRES LOCATED IN SECTIONS 5 & 6, TWP 135N, R45W
(LAND IS NEXT TO 3,200 ACRE ROTHSAY WILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT AREA!!!) LAND HAS BEEN SURVEYED

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
THE HARRISON CO.
BILL & KAY HARRISON

http://www.henslinauctions.com

Butler County Farmland
5 miles west of Allison on HWY 3
Sold as one parcel
99.3 cropland acres and older farmstead

Tuesday, June 18 2013
10:00 am
American Legion Hall
508 Main Street
Dumont, IA


Waterloo, IA - 319-234-1949
View at: www.hertz.ag

Henry County Land Auctions

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Auction #1

Wayland, IA
Sells at 10:02 am
106 acres, m/l
CRP Ground





Auction #2

Mt. Pleasant, IA
Sells at 1:02 pm
12.77 acres, m/l
Potential building site





Owner: Nora Vanderwilt Trust
Rande A. McAllister - Trustee

Richard Realty & Auction
605 East Winfield Avenue, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
319-385-2000
Lynn Richard ~ Chris Richard ~ Tim Meyer ~ Terry Hoenig ~ Jason Denning

http://www.richardauction.com/

For nearly ten years I was given the opportunity to stand eye to eye with dozens of sportsmen on a daily basis and discuss anything and everything having to do with the outdoors. One thing I learned in all those conversations; we are an opinionated lot. From choice of lure color to which slug to put in a semi-auto for deer, we all have our personal tastes in such matters and no matter the facts, if they contradict our own they are disregarded and we cannot be swayed.

I have noticed this premise while surfing through posts on topics we are passionate about and bring to discussion here, at this wonderful website. The more passionate we become concerning our position the more uncivil our tone and this is something that we all could use a little work in alleviating. The golden rule holds little sway on most topic pages since we are all insulated to some degree from any serious ramifications for the aforementioned tone. A simple rule of thumb for me: how would I respond if the one I direct the response lives next door?

Ethics is a touchy subject but never more so than in conservation issues. Take the lowly sucker. I have watched men grab these off the hook and toss them into the weeds. Now, let’s change the sucker to a walleye…get my point? Each of our perspectives were gained from years of experience whether on our own or in the company of others. When I come upon a spot to fish and spend fifteen minutes picking up diapers, candy wraps, children’s fruit drinks, empty lure packs I can quickly assume that this was not a lone fisherman but had brought his family along and what are the ramifications of his actions?

As we all head into the new fishing season I wanted to voice some observations such as the ones above for all those willing to read this-for contemplation. If I had caught that family red-handed would I have pulled out my phone and called the DNR Officer? What would the outcome have been if I attempted to confront and shame the individual? A couple months ago I was getting ready to leave a borrow pit when a truck came roaring into the parking lot. A man jumped from the truck, quite excited, and grabbed a bucket of trout he had caught earlier in the day and was going to dump them into the pit. I confronted him and he thanked me for informing him that it was illegal to do so and he replaced the fish in the bed and drove away. Where did he go with those trout? Did I over-step my bounds?

Personally, I have a simple equation I use while fishing. I share it with you in the hopes that it will compel you to do likewise, altering my approach to fit your tastes. The first fish, no matter the size or subject, always goes back. After that, every other fish of that species goes back and no sorting. Size limits are strenuously adhered to: for instance, no crappie under ten inches goes on my stringer…ever. All bass go back but for the occasional large mouth of many, it’s the end of the day and I keep one to split between the wife and myself. This might happen a couple times a year. If I only have one of any type on the stringer, it goes back. This happens more times than I care to admit! I never grasp the fish with my bare hands. Always by the lip or under the chin through the base of the gill plate. Most times I do not even lift them from the water but with hemostats, release the jig with a flick of the wrist. These are all simple things that I like to think help to enhance the fishery that I love. They are not cut and dry but they work for me. There are other rules I live by such as the footprints rule. I’ve been a smoker for forty years and can honestly state that I stopped flicking butts years ago…instead, they go in my pocket until I can dispose of them properly. A small thing but worthy of mention. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been driving behind someone who flips a burger wrapper from the window of their vehicle. I would assume they did not give this a second thought.

As sportsmen, we must give everything we do, a second thought. Do you have your conservation office numbers in your phone? Do you carry the regs for hunting and fishing in your vehicle at all times? It’s the simple things that if we all became more cognizant we would all stand a better chance of grand improvements regarding our passions over time. And, isn’t this really all that we want? That each time out will be better than the last? Or, at least the opportunity is there for it to be so?

Iowa has the least amount of public land per capita than of any other state in the Union. More private property signs go up every day. And, when I walk along the rivers of this great state it does not surprise me one bit that this is the case. Our first task is to be good stewards of the land that we come into contact with. Of course, in most instances, I’m preaching to the choir here but this was an issue I needed to get off my chest and to those who already practice all the above conservation measures in even more enhanced fashion, I beg your forgiveness. If we each concerned ourselves a little more with the preciousness of our resources, every time we are partaking of them, I would venture that there would be less opposition to what we are attempting to enjoy…the great outdoors.

I thank you for taking the time to read this and wish you the best in the coming seasons.

This is a true story as told to me by the gentleman that pulled this off. The guy, I'll call Bert, owned a small farm up around Nora Springs. One day he was out with his little Cub Tractor and a small farm wagon picking up rocks on his fields. He had quite a few rocks on the wagon when all of a sudden he lucked on to a beautiful 3/4 grooved tomahawk head. He said, I laid it right down on top of the rocks that were in the wagon, near the end-gate so I could retrieve it when I got ready to unload the rocks back at the barnyard. It just so happens that the wagon was equipped with a hydraulic hoist. As he backed the load of rocks up to a mud hole in the yard, he jumped down off the tractor to lift the end-gate, jumped back on the tractor and pulled the lever on the hydraulics to dump the load. As the last rock tumbled out of the wagon box, a vision of the ax head crossed his mind. Well needless to say, it's still at the bottom of that mud hole in the cattle yard.

The Best Summer

(Picture of bass)
http://rodandrivet.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/182585_721237667111_93297807_n.jpg

Branson, MO was a frequent vacation spot for my family growing up. It was a 5-6 hour drive, cheap, and had plenty of kid-friendly activities. Tradition called for a late afternoon stop in springfield to visit the giant Bass Pro Shops flagship. As a young boy I remember being completely overwhelmed with how big the place was. I could’ve spent an entire day walking the aisles, checking out fishing gear I never knew existed. They had a fish aquarium with several largemouth bass over 15 lbs. If I was lucky, my parents would give me a few quarters to play the gun arcade. In the spring of my junior year in high school we made the trek to Branson. We came back with a boat.

It was a 2003 Tracker Pro Team 185 Silver Anniversary Edition with a 40 horse Mercury outboard. I think it was the first year they used red paint on the exterior. It was the greatest boat in the world, and I had just got my driver’s license. My brother Mitch was three years younger than me, and within a week we had made our first trip to the local lake. From our driveway, we could have the boat in the water in less than 30 minutes. During the first month of summer break we were in the boat no fewer than three times a week. Gas was cheap then, but my parents made me get a job at the local grocery store to pay for it. 20 hours a week isn’t much, but it cut into my fishing time.

I learned a lot about bass fishing that year. My lure of choice was a skirted twin tail grub from Chompers. I would Texas rig it with a 1/4-3/8 oz bullet weight and flip to rock covered banks, drop-offs, points, and sunken trees. Many times Mitch and I would hit the lake in late afternoon and throw plastics until the sun started sinking and the weather cooled off. Then, we’d motor over to a silt dam on the other side of the lake and throw Rebel Pop-R’s. Those bass would go crazy! Few things are more fun than catching bass on topwater lures. There’s so much excitement when they crash the surface. The key is keeping yourself from immediately setting the hook and pulling it out of their mouth.

My dad is a neat freak. He can open the door to his 1000 sq. foot metal building and know if something is out of place before he takes two steps. He had harped on us from the beginning to make sure we didn’t bang up the prop on the boat. One particularly windy day we got in some shallow water and tore up the trolling motor prop really good on some rocks. I was worried I’d never be able to use the boat again, so we made a trip to Wal-Mart to buy a new one. Few people on earth are less mechanically inclined than me, and I couldn’t figure out how to put the stupid thing on. My only play was to man up, and take whatever repercussions I had coming. After coming clean I found out it wasn’t the trolling motor prop he was worried about, but the main engine prop. Oh…

Toby Keith and Willie Nelson had a song called “Beer for My Horses” that came out in April. Many nights that summer I drove my Chevy Blazer home with the windows down and that song playing on the radio. It was the best summer.

http://rodandrivet.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/the-best-summer/

Well after a week of terrible weather and temperatures I jumped at the fact is was a whopping 14 degrees out today. Ventured out to Spring Branch Creek as this stream never freezes and is a great place to get some good practice casting in. We only spent about an hour and a half there and I pulled off a trout trifecta with a Brown, Rainbow and Brook Trout all from the same stream all in about 100 yards of each other

Learn a skill, that’s new to you!

When leading fieldtrips at our nature center we often teach participants about the Woodland Culture of the Native Americans. When I discuss the fact that the arrival of the first bows and arrows in the Midwest occurred about a thousand years ago it always creates interest in the group. There is a fascination with the history of these tools, which saw extensive use here.

We will offer some insight into the skill of building longbows with a course that will be held from 8 to 4:30 on February 2 and 3, 2013, at Linn County Conservation Department’s shop near the junction of Highway 13 and County Home Road. The course costs $220 per person. To register for the class interested people need to contact Chuck Ungs by calling (319) 892-6485. Registration is due by the end of the business day on Jan. 30. Class size is limited.

The class will be led by Gene Winter, an experienced bow builder and the instructor for hundreds of students that have built bows over many years. Gene will provide an Osage orange stave for each participant. This is a tree that has been used for a very long while to build longbows. In fact, the French settlers in south central states called the tree Bois d ’arc, which means wood of the bow. It also is called hedge apple due to the fruits it produces.

The process of building your own bow is involved and requires some time and tools to build so participants will need to be at class both days, and due to the physical constraints will need to be in high school or older. The participants should bring pair of leather gloves and a sack lunch if they like and perhaps a water bottle or soft drink each day.

We hope that you will join us if you are interested in building your own bow. I have built several in these classes along the way and found the course and the bows produced to be very enjoyable to shoot and to create. It brings a very unique sense of accomplishment to shoot a bow that started out as a large chunk of wood, and through your own hand work was transformed to a beautiful instrument to fling arrows.

Fishing Rod Building Course
Build a fishing rod to your specifications! A fishing rod building class will be held on February 7,14, and 21, 2013 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center near Toddville, Iowa. Custom rod builder and naturalist Chuck Ungs, will lead participants through the process of building a St. Croix, Rainshadow, North Fork Composites or other brand of spinning rod. When finished with this series of classes, you will have a base of knowledge to move on to other rod-building projects. Of course you also get to keep the rod you build. For additional information or to register, please call Chuck at (319) 892-6485 or e-mail to Chuck.Ungs(at)LinnCounty.org. Registration by January 18 is required. Class size is limited. Class cost depends on the brand and model of fishing rod blank and options selected.