Pileated woodpecker

I enjoy watching birds when I'm fishing. The sight of an eagle, an osprey, a migrating loon in the spring, colorful warblers flitting through lakeside brush, drake wood ducks, can make an otherwise slow day enjoyable.
Woodpeckers are also sure to attract my attention -- especially the crow-sized pileated woodpecker. These relatively huge birds are one of seven commonly occurring woodpecker species in Ohio.
This winter, I received a release written by Jim McCormac at the Ohio Division of Wildlife about the pileated (pronounced pie-lee-ate-id). When I spotted at pileated while fishing at Rush Creek last week, I decided to share that release here.
"Pileated woodpeckers are unmistakable. No other woodpecker in Ohio – or the United States – comes close in size. The only one that did was the now extinct ivory-billed woodpecker. Pileateds are mostly coal-black with prominent white stripes on the neck and head, and white patches in the wings. A distinctive feature is their bold red crest: red all the way to the bill in males; females have a black forehead. Males are further distinguished by their red “moustache.”
"Their loud laughing maniacal calls carry long distances, often revealing the woodpecker’s presence long before it is seen. The listener is often surprised to learn that it’s a woodpecker that is creating these wild sounds. Another surefire sign of their presence are large, oval-shaped holes, created as nest cavities and also as bore-holes into beetle and ant-infested trees.
"For the most part pileateds shun feeders, preferring to stick to natural foods, although sometimes suet feeders lure them in. They are carpenter ant specialists, adeptly locating ant colonies within trees. When a woodpecker detects ants, it uses its massive chisel-like bill to pry away large slivers of wood and expose the ant galleries. Woodpeckers are equipped with barbed tongues, and they are extremely effective at lapping lots of ants from their chambers.
"Pileated woodpeckers are birds of mature woodlands, and they are doing well in Ohio. Our forests are increasing and maturing, and the woodpeckers are growing in numbers and occupying new areas.
"Having lots of pileated woodpeckers is important for multiple reasons. They are agents of control for various insect tree pests. Pileateds are also what biologists term a “keystone” species, because many other animals benefit from the woodpecker’s work. Their large nest cavities are often later used by everything from flying squirrels, screech-owls, wood ducks, and black rat snakes. Feeding sites are often raided by other woodpeckers, wrens, and various species that otherwise could not get at the food exposed by the big woodpeckers.
"Finally, pileateds are exciting to us: without a doubt one of our grandest birds. Everyone from veteran birders to people who know nothing about birds stops in their tracks at the sight of one. These huge woodpeckers greatly enrich Ohio’s woodlands and we’re fortunate to have them around."
For photos and more articles, visit www.ohiowildside.com

Miserable weekend

After some beautiful weather the last half of the week, the weekend couldn't have been much worse. High winds and a drop of 30 degrees in temperature made Saturday especially miserable. I didn't even try to go out and I heard an unconfirmed report of a boat capsizing in a tournament at Buckeye.
Still, there were tournaments that went on and fish that were caught.
Up at Delaware, the Rick Seevers Memorial Crappie Tournament. I don't know how many of the 60 teams that entered actually fished, but 40 weighed fish and it took a catch of 10 fish that weighed about 8.8 pounds to win. To see the complete results, go to the Ohio Game Fishing site, in The Lounge Forum and there is a link to the full results.
I haven't heard anything about the bass tournaments held at Clear Fork or Buckeye Sunday, but I'm still developing contacts for area tournament results. If anyone reads this who has those results, please send me a report.
I'm looking forward to next weekend, when I have a club tournament on Piedmont. Although the advance forecast shows a warming trend through the week, it also has rain in the forecast at the end of the week. I'll keep my fingers crossed about Saturday.
This is normally a great time of year to fish for bass at Piedmont, but I've had wind and storms ruin days there before!
I did get to Rush Creek for a couple hours Thursday evening. Not a lot of action, but I did hook a couple bass. I Mainly wanted to make sure my small motor would still run after its swim in the lake last fall. I did what I could to prevent damage after it happened, but other than firing it up briefly, I hadn't had a chance to run it until now. It seems to run fine.
Lesson learned: Don't be in such a hurry to get on the water that you forget to clamp the motor down!
On another subject, I had someone ask me where to get a permit for fishing and camping at the AEP ReCreation Land in Muskingum, Morgan and Noble counties. Thanks to modern technology, you can now do that online and I've provided a link to the ReCreation Land portion of the AEP website. You can get a permit there and can also access maps and information about the area.

O'Shaughnessy bass tournament

The Byersauto.com O'Shaughnessy Open Bass Tournament is set for 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. June 13, conducted by Olde Canal Bass Anglers. Entry fee is $60 with a $10 optional big bass side pot. Check-in starts at 5:30 a.m. Check-in is at 5:30 a.m. The club's address is P.O. Box 459, Groveport, Ohio 43125 but it looks like you can pay at the ramp.

Buckeye results

The fishing was good at Buckeye Lake Tuesday evening. Tournament organizer Robin Cross reported that 30 anglers weighed in 50 bass, including five that weighed over three pounds.
First place went Brett Crane with four fish that weighed 9.39 pounds. He also took big bass honors with a 3.86-pound fish.
Scott Clark finished second with four fish that weighed 8.1 pounds, Frank Tipton and someone named Wilkes took third with five bass that weighed 7.39 pounds, Mike Watson was fourth with five bass weighing 6.85 pounds, and Mike and Phillis Goodin finished fifth with five bass that weighed 6.23 pounds.

Kayak classes at Atwood

I frequently see kayaks on area lakes. Sometimes the occupants are fishing, sometimes not. If you've ever wanted to try using one of these simple craft, it's best the learn the basics correctly. If you're interested, check out the following information I received recently from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District:
"The MWCD will host four free “Quick Start Your Kayak” classes this summer at Atwood Lake Park. Sessions will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. at the park beach on June 7, July 10, Aug. 14 and Sept. 11.
Quick Start provides an introduction to paddling a kayak. Participants are presented with basic information on dressing, paddling safety, potential hazards and simple rescues. A minimal paddle skill set is presented and practiced, allowing students to safely and comfortably maneuver on still water.
The class is taught on a brief kayak trip, and the kayaks and all safety equipment are supplied to participants.
The class is free but space is limited and registration is required. For more information or to reserve a seat for one of the sessions, contact MWCD Lake Ranger Shawn P. Tharp at (330) 343-6780 Ext. 2317, or via e-mail at stharp@mwcd.org."

Branfass wins at Leesville

The Y-City Bass Club had a good day at Leesville Lake Sunday, May 2, as 24 out of 31 anglers entered in the club event weighed a total of 62 bass. That total included five five-fish limits, although two of the top five finishers weighed in only three fish each.
Gabe Branfass won the contest by a margin of more than two pounds with a catch of five bass weighing 11.36 pounds.
The rest of the top five were:
2) Wesley Hammer, five fish, 9.13 pounds
3) Mike King, five fish, 8.69 pounds
4) Dave Blackstone, three fish, 8.69 pounds
5) Tyler Shawger, three fish, 8.5 pounds
Blackstone had the big bass of the tournament, a 5.69-pound lunker, while Shawger also had a good fish in his catch, a 4.99-pound bass.
For the complete results, use the link to Ohio Bass Clubs, go to Bass Clubs and click on the Y-City emblem.
The club's next tournament is May 16 at Charles Mill.

Alan Fulks wins big at Tappan

Alan Fulks of Nashportmade the fishing look easy Saturday at Tappan Lake, winning the Southern Ohio Bassmasters club tournament by a margin of 3 1/2 pounds. Alan had five bass with a total weight of 12 pounds, 5.6 ounces, which included the big bass of the tournament, a 3-pounds, 6.6-ounce fish.
Each of the next four anglers also had five-fish limits, but none found the consistent quality of fish that Alan did.
Finishing a disnt second was Eric Woodrow of Duncan Falls, with 8 pounds, 14.4 ounces and Randy Brownrigg of McConnelsville was close behind him at 8 pounds, 6.4 ounces. Chris Lighthizer of Zanesville was fourth at 7 pounds, 15.6 ounces, and Chad Lighthizer placed fifth with 7 pounds, 8.2 ounces.
Out of 27 members fishing, 22 weighed in a total of 59 bass.
I knew it was going to be a tough day for me when I lost the first bass I had on. I didn't think it was a keeper at the time, but I caught a couple later that looked smaller, but still measured 11 1/2 inches or better.
Getting fish to hit wasn't my problem Saturday; keeping them hooked was. For some reason this spring I have been losing too many fish on soft plastic. I didn't have that problem last year and I'm using the same lures and same type of hooks on the same rod.
Maybe, like the pitcher who suddenly can't hit the strike zone, there's something wrong in my mechanics. I'll have to work on it.
The club's next tournament is at Piedmont May 15. I'll be looking forward to that.