Catch & release only on Dog River

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has made a stretch of the Dog River catch and release only.

F&W fisheries biologist Rich Kirn said the Dog is one of the state's best wild trout streams but the trout population has been in decline for the last decade.

The rule placed in affect is for catch-and-release fishing with artificial flies or lures from the Northfield Falls Dam downstream to the Junction Bridge. All trout caught must be immediately released.

The department will be studying trout populations, habitat and other factors.

The rule will be in place until Dec. 31, 2015.

OutdoorsVT 3-26-10

Another year

Second anniversary of schlepping drek

Don’t you people have anything better to do? Another year has passed and we’re still at it.

  I mean, it’s been two years since I started schlepping drek in this space and you’re still here. For that, I thank you.
 
  Know that I strive to fill this space with something you’ll find worthy of your time each week.
 
  I hope to encourage you to get off the pavement. I try to prod, motivate, educate and occasionally, entertain you.
 
  We’ve had a good year together. Some of it fun. Some not so much.
 
  A couple of columns stick with me.
 
  I got a lot of support for a column about the shooting death of Jacob Kadamus by his father Kevin Kadamus as I pointed out that no shooting should ever be considered an accident.
 
  That column, however popular, was probably one of the most difficult to write, as any father can imagine. The Kadamus family remains in my thoughts quite often.
 
  And one of the most emotional columns of the year hit the page just a few weeks back when I wrote about a marker on the edge of a pond near my home honoring Gordie Anderson.
 
  I could have never imagined the feedback I’d get about that column and I’ve learned a great deal about Gordie, including the fact he was the very proud father of daughters.
 
  I’ve seen a lot of myself in Gordie the last few weeks, but would be very lucky if I were to be remembered with the love and admiration with which Gordie is revered by everybody I have talked to or who has sent e-mail.
 
  Beyond the words, it’s the people I’ve been fortunate enough to work with that stand out.
 
  People like Rochester District Ranger Greg Smith who, despite having no electricity due to a power outage and using the last of his cell phone battery, explained the complex environmental assessment for the Upper White River Integrated Resource Project.
 
  There’s Jim Fredericks, executive director of the Catamount Trail Association, and Ben Rose, executive director of the Green Mountain Club, who always have time to spare at the last minute and never fail to send a note of thanks when their groups are mentioned.
 
  John Hall, the information manager with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, is the kind of government employee you don’t mind paying taxes to employ for his professionalism and easy-going attitude.
 
  The same can be said of State Parks Director Craig Whipple who doesn’t mind spending whatever time is necessary to make sense of the little details.
 
  He’s also smart enough to employ Rochelle Skinner, who has some official title but is in my contacts list as the “State Parks PR chick,” (sorry for the non-PC word, but it’s a joke between us). I wish every person I dealt with was as helpful and fun to work with as Rochelle.
 
  There is Central Vermont Public Service spokesman Steve Costello, whose tireless efforts — among many of his tireless efforts — on behalf of Chittenden Reservoir, osprey, eagles, and other places and critters, are inspiring. He puts his actions where his passions are.
 
  Green Mountain and Finger Lakes national forests recently lost public affairs officer Kristi Ponozzo, who packed her bags and headed west. She was always great to work with and will be missed for her ability to get anything I needed even when it was impossible.
 
  And Michael Smith, who is the definition of what a local volunteer can get done. I know there are some who think he gets too much credit for what many do, but without Michael, where would Rutland’s Pine Hill Park’s trail system be today?
 
  In addition to those folks, I’ve also been happy I had the chance to meet a variety of deer, a coyote, foxes, raccoons, beaver, a porcupine, waterfowl, raptors, reptiles and amphibians, and several skunks who seem to think we put the cat food on the porch for them rather than a semi-feral cat we’ve been trying to tame for the last few years.
 
  Speaking of critters, at least some measure of respect and admiration has to be doled out to the editors who read this stuff every week.
 
  They take out most of the stuff that would get me in trouble and do their best, with varying degrees of success, to rein me in.
 
  But most importantly, the group of people I’ve most enjoyed meeting — whether by phone, e-mail or in person — is you.
 
  As readers, you’ve let me know when I’ve fallen short and you’ve let me know when you liked something. Please keep doing that — good or bad.
 
  And I’m asking the same questions I asked last year.
 
  What is it about this column that you like or don’t like?
 
  Where do I succeed and where do I fail miserably?
 
  One thing I’ve come to realize is it’s not always about the what, where or why, as much as it is about the who.
 
  Tell me what you think. Send comments via e-mail, or if you don’t have one of those new-fangled, fancy, electronic gizmos, just send a plain old letter to the Rutland Herald, PO Box 668, Rutland, VT, 05702.
 
  Here’s to a third year in the great outdoors.
  
  Contact Darren by e-mail at darren@darrenmarcyoutdoors.com or through his Web site at www.DarrenMarcyOutdoors.com.

Another look at Gordie Anderson

In my OutdoorsVt column March 12, I wrote a little bit about Gordie Anderson, a Proctor man who was widely loved and was one heck of an angler.

I'm sad to say I never met Gordie, but talking to folks who did, he was not only one heck of a great bass fisherman, but one of the finest guys you'd ever want to meet.

If you missed it, check it out here.

Since that column ran, I've been meeting a lot more people who have spoke very highly of Gordie. Friends, family members, and others who simply knew him all say he was a top-knotch guy -- the kind we need more of in this world.

One of the people I talked to was fellow Proctor resident Ron Wood who knew Gordie quite well and the two did a lot of fishing. Wood also shared a few photos of Gordie, which I'm posting here (with permission) to honor a man we should all strive to be a little more like in this day and age.

Here's an excerpt from the e-mail Wood sent:

I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know I enjoyed your article on Hook 'em early to establish a lasting love for the outdoors. Gordie was a good friend of mine, so I thought I would send you a few pictures of him. I started fishing bass tournaments with gordie in 1983 while I was still in high school and didn't have a drivers license. My parents had a boat so he would trailer the boat with his old Chevy step side and I would drive the boat. We learned to bass fish together but that guy took it to another level. He lived and breathed bass fishing. I think if you looked behind his ears you would have seen gills he was that good. Anyhow I wish you could have known him he was one on the greatest guys you would ever want to meet. He was a great story teller, father, husband, friend and a huge Proctor Phantom fan not to mention the NY Giants and NY Yankees, which was always a problem with me being a diehard Sox and Patriots fan. ... I just wanted to give you a little history on the 6 year old who learned to fish on Beaver Pond. I miss him very much and think about him often, especially this time a year, as this was his favorite time of the year, ice out on Champlain. He couldn't wait to get after the bass and was often on the water dodging lake icebergs while trying to catch bass. So when I head to Champlain this Saturday I will try to catch a bass or two for my old fishing buddy. -- Ron Wood

Thanks for sharing Ron. Looks like Gordie's spirit shines on.

 

Gordie Anderson, left, and Ron Wood with four nice bass.

The photo was taken October 2008, just two months before Gordie's death.

 

 Gordie holding Wood's daughter Sydney and posing with the Maine buck he shot in the mid-1990s.

 

Gordie posing with a huge bass at Lake Hortonia in the mid-1980s.

Pine Hill Park trails information

Pine Hill Park at Giorgetti Park goes through a "mud season" just like other areas.

Friday, an e-mail was sent out saying the trails were closed to mountain biking and asking people to stay off the trails with their bikes. About 29 hours later, another was sent saying the trails had dried enough to allow bikes.

But with all this rain, the trails might not be dry enough for bikes. Be sure and check before heading up on your mountain bike. No sense in tearing up all the hard work the volunteers put in to make this one of the top biking destinations in Vermont.

In other Pine Hill Park news, dates are set for coming events.

The Pine Hill Partnership annual meeting has been changed due to a conflict to 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, at the Godnick Adult Center on Deer Street in Rutland.

Spring work days will be held at 9 a.m. April 25, and 9 a.m. May 8.

The Summer Sunset 5K Running Series dates are: June 8, July 13 and Aug. 10. Registration will be at 5:45 p.m. with a start time of 6:30 p.m. Race fee is $6 per race or $15 for the series. Participants and volunteers in all three races will get a free shirt.

New this year will be a Summer Fest Mountain Bike Race on July 11. Race either one or two 6-mile laps. Registration will be at 9 a.m. with the race beginning at 10 a.m. Fee is $20 in advance, or $25 on race day.

OutdoorsVT 3-19-10

Turning 100

GMC celebrates Long Trail centennial

The Green Mountain Club threw a birthday party last week complete with cake, skits and a grand celebration.

  The 100th anniversary of the Long Trail was trumpeted with fanfare that extended from South Burlington to our nation's capitol.
 
  Someone on Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy's press staff earned the honor for best line in a press release when they sent a notice that began: "What birthday present do you give to a trail that has everything - drop-dead scenery, border-to-border expanse, and a rich 100-year history?"
 
  While the trail is rightly the focus of the celebration, the Green Mountain Club is celebrating itself as well.
 
  It's the GMC, after all, that shepherded the trail into existence and has built and maintained the path, its shelters, signage, bridges and other features for the last century.
 
  Leahy, along with Sen. Bernard Sanders, introduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate, while Rep. Peter Welch pushed a resolution in the U.S. House, to honor the milestone.
 
  The Senate version of the resolution ends with, "Resolved, That the Senate recognizes the 100th anniversary of the Long Trail of the State of Vermont, the oldest long-distance hiking trail in the United States, and applauds the Green Mountain Club and the many volunteers of the Green Mountain Club for a century of service and for creating, protecting, and enjoying the Long Trail."
 
  Welch reported Thursday his resolution passed.
 
  But the nation's first long-distance hiking trail deserves more than a single day to be feted so there will be events scattered throughout the summer honoring the path through the wilderness.
 
  On May 7, a fundraiser will be held at the Trapp Family Lodge.
 
  A reflection on 100 years of memories and accomplishments will be held May 22 at the GMC headquarters in Waterbury Center.
 
  The Killington Section will celebrate 100 years of the GMC at a fundraiser June 5.
 
  A barn dance is slated in southern Vermont June 16 to kick off four-plus weeks of guided day hikes on the Long Trail that begin the next day.
 
  More about these events can be found online at www.greenmountainclub.org.
 
  In addition, more than 900 Long Trail photos have been made available online from the Special Collection archive at the University of Vermont Library. The archive can be viewed by logging on to cdi.uvm.edu.
 
  A link is also available from the GMC Web site.
 
  The trail, which runs from Massachusetts to Canada, served as the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail, the standard for long-distance hiking trails, and continues to inspire hikers to lace'em up and hit the trail.
 
  "The trail has survived and flourished for a century because of public/private partnership and because hundreds of volunteers care about it as a precious component of Vermont's mountain landscape," said Ben Rose, executive director of the Green Mountain Club, in a press release issued by Welch's staff.
 
  No doubt, the GMC is looking forward to the next 100 years and that bodes well for the Long Trail and the hikers who know how special it is.
  
  Contact Darren by e-mail at darren@darrenmarcyoutdoors.com or through his Web site at www.DarrenMarcyOutdoors.com.

OutdoorsVT 3-12-10

Kids outdoors

Hook 'em early to establish a lasting love for the outdoors

I've been thinking a lot lately about kids and the outdoors. Most outdoor enthusiasts can look back at their childhood and draw a straight line to their love of the outdoors as an adult.

  Recently, while my wife and I were walking our dogs around Beaver Pond near our home in Proctor, I ran across a marker I had never seen before.
 
  "In July 1960, 6-year-old Paul Gordon Anderson Jr. moved to a house on Beaver Pond, thus beginning his life-long love of fishing. His father taught him the basics and from then on Gordie was 'hooked.' He was twice named Vermont Bass Fisherman of the Year and he won countless tournaments and trophies throughout New England. His spirit will eternally abide in this pond and Gordie will forever be 'Gone Fishin.'"
 
  This marker stayed with me for the next few days as it bounced around in my head.
 
  Who was Gordie? But more importantly, I was struck by the connection between a 6-year-old learning to fish and the man who became a tournament champion.
 
  The question was easy to answer.
 
  I asked outdoor editor Dennis Jensen if he knew who Paul Anderson was and he pointed me to an article he wrote about the man shortly after his death Dec. 23, 2008.
 
  Jensen's article quoted a lot of people who all said pretty much the same things: Gordie was one of the best anglers around, but, more importantly, he was one of the best people around.
 
  Not a bad way to be remembered.
 
  Still, it was that inscription about a 6-year-old learning to fish and going on to a life of fishing and outdoor appreciation that I was taken with.
 
  It only takes an introduction to the outdoors to turn a kid into a lifelong outdoor enthusiast.
 
  That's the way it worked for me.
 
  From my earliest memories I was going camping, fishing, hunting or just taking drives through National Forests to look for deer and other wild animals.
 
  Those experiences burned a need for the outdoors that continued to smolder through my high school and college years when chasing girls and other interests were at the top of the list. It rekindled after college and I returned to the outdoor fold hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, backpacking, skiing, mountain biking and other pursuits.
 
  My wife and I have always worked to instill a love of the natural world in our daughters.
 
  My 6-year-old, who detests the idea of hunting (except bears because "they're mean"), can still explain how hunting keeps deer populations in check in order to prevent the deer herd from exceeding the land's carrying capacity and suffering from a population collapse due to disease and starvation - just not in so many words.
 
  Last summer, however, I accomplished something completely by accident.
 
  We were taking a drive to the east side of the state and stopped next to a lake in Quechee.
 
  While walking around, I pointed out some fish in the weedy shallows and, knowing I had my fly rod in the back of the vehicle, my kids suggested I try to catch one.
 
  I quickly tied on an olive Woolly Worm and dapped it into the water about 6 feet from shore.
 
  Immediately a fat sunfish attacked the fly and I lifted it to hand, quickly showed it to the girls, and slid it back into the water.
 
  When I dropped the fly onto the surface of the lake again, a second sunfish devoured the fly, followed by another and another.
 
  Soon, the girls were squealing for a turn and within a short time both girls had brought several fish to hand as we caught dozens of pumpkinseed, a few perch and one largemouth bass.
 
  The wife and I had to tear those girls away that day and all we heard afterwards was, "when can we go fishing again."
 
  They got several more chances to wet a line before the summer was over and they're already talking about going this summer.
 
  A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study shows that children spend more than 53 hours a week with electronic media - a 20 percent increase in five years.
 
  By contrast, the study found, kids spend less than 30 minutes a week playing outside.
 
  Is there any wonder studies continue to show that kids are overweight and participation is decreasing in many outdoor activities?
 
  If we don't introduce our kids to the wonders of the outdoor world, we have little hope of expecting they will continue to have an appreciation for nature and outdoor recreation as they become adults.
 
  The National Wildlife Federation is hosting National Wildlife Week beginning Monday offering adults a chance to get kids outdoors.
 
  The NWF offers many resources on its Web site to help adults get kids outdoors including the "Be Out There," and "Get Wild, Child" programs.
 
  Go to www.NWF.org and click on the "Get Outside" link to find more information than you'll need.
 
  Do yourself and your child a favor by celebrating National Wildlife Week.
 
  Who knows, your kid might grow up to be a bass fishing champion.
 
  Or, just as importantly, she might grow up to enjoy a lifetime of recreation and enjoying the great outdoors.
 
 
 
  Darren Marcy is a local outdoor enthusiast. Contact him by e-mail at darren@darrenmarcyoutdoors.com or through his Web site at www.DarrenMarcyOutdoors.com.

OutdoorsVT 3-5-10

Skiing challenge

CTA race, tour set for March 14

One of the premier events in New England kicks off March 14 when the third annual Catamount Trail Backcountry Race and Tour challenges cross-country skiers with a trail that will cover 17 kilometers from the Trapp Family Touring Center in Stowe to the Bolton Valley Nordic Center.

  The biggest problem along the way is a little thing called Bolton Mountain resulting in a 2,300-foot climb as skiers leave Stowe followed by a 1,300-foot downhill into Bolton.
 
  For those with the lungs and legs to get to the top of Bolton Mountain, breathtaking views of the valley below await.
 
  For the first two years of the event, the race was a competitive event only, attracting some of the top cross-country racers in the region.
 
  Jim Fredericks, executive director of the Catamount Trail Association, said the event has grown each year including a doubling of participants to 50 last year.
 
  He said a lot of people are waiting and watching the weather before deciding whether to register for this year's event.
 
  Last year, the event added a touring event for noncompetitive skiers who simply wanted to ski one of the best 17 kilometers of trail the state has to offer while taking time to enjoy the views along the way.
 
  The race is held on one of the most popular sections of the Catamount Trail, Fredericks said.
 
  Despite adding the noncompetitive component last year, the event is still not for beginners. Participants should be equipped and able to tackle true backcountry skiing conditions and challenges.
 
  "We don't want anyone who hasn't skied the backcountry before," Fredericks said. "They need to at least have a good snowplow."
 
  Each participant should carry a pack with water, food and extra clothes at a minimum because there will be no aid stations.
 
  Racers will kick away from the start at 11:30 a.m. The noncompetitive skiers start at 10 a.m.
 
  Fredericks said that should have the racers catching and passing the noncompetitive skiers at the top of the climb or before the downhill portion.
 
  Racers are limited to one set of skis although they can use climbing skins.
 
  Fredericks said most competitors will likely use a touring, no-wax ski and most will go without metal edged skis.
 
  Fredericks said some racers will carry kicker skins with them to avoid a problem last year's runner up had.
 
  Last year, Olympian Marc Gilbertson sprinted out to what looked like an insurmountable lead. But near the top of the climb, he chose to forego stopping for the minutes it would take to put on his climbing skins.
 
  Eric Tremble, climbing with skins, caught Gilbertson and ended up winning by 1 minute, 4 seconds.
 
  "Marc had really dusted everybody," Fredericks said of the first half of the race. "I would never have thought he could be caught, but he was."
 
  Tremble finished in 1 hour, 35 minutes, 46 seconds ahead of Gilbertson who crossed the finish line at 1:36:50.
 
  On the women's side, JoAnn Hanowski won the event in 2:16:45. Betsy Rickert was second at 2:19:14.
 
  Fredericks said the touring class will take about three to four hours to go cover the 17 kilometers.
 
  The course will be on 30 percent groomed trail and 70 percent ungroomed.
 
  At the end of the day, there will be a meal, raffle and awards for the top three men and women racers.
 
  This year, participants can park at the finish and catch a bus to the start, allowing skiers to leave a change of clothes for the events after the ski.
 
  Registration is limited to 100 participants, but the last day to register is March 11. There will be no race-day registration.
 
  The race is a fundraiser for the CTA as the organization  works toward protection of the entire 300-mile trail.
 
  "It's to raise money to help support the trail, keep it open and protect it," Fredericks said.
 
  About 215 miles are currently protected.
 
  "We have permission (to cross private land), but what we don't have is the ability to know that trail will stay there in perpetuity," Fredericks said. "It's very important to us to get these easements."
 
  For information, go to www.catamounttrail.org or call 864-5794.
 
  Darren Marcy is a local outdoor enthusiast. Contact him by e-mail at darren@darrenmarcyoutdoors.com or through his Web site at www.DarrenMarcyOutdoors.com.