On June 9, Crappie USA held a qualifying event at the Mississinewa and Salamonie lakes in Wabash County, Ind. Anglers were not only competing for cash and prizes, but a chance to advance to the Cabela’s Crappie USA Classic Oct. 24-27 on the Barkley/Kentucky lakes at Cadiz, Ky.

All teams were subject to a seven-fish limit presented at the weigh-in. Taking first place and winning $1,000 in the Semi-Pro Division was the team of Charlie Hildreth of Gaston and Paul Hildreth of Muncie, Ind., with a seven-fish weight of 7.97 pounds.

Charlie and Paul were spider-rigging on Salamonie using purple/chartreuse and orange/chartreuse Southern ProTubes tipped with shiners. The pair fished on ledges at four feet deep to catch a total of 75-100 fish for the day.

Second place and $600 went to Don Licht of Indianapolis and Doug Sikoora of Noblesville, Ind., weighing in a seven-fish limit of 7.9 pounds. Don and Doug were also fishing Salamonie on the upper end in 2-4 feet of water.

They were slow trolling over submerged wood and brush, using bladed Crappie Pro jigs rigged on the bottom and a plain hook on top tipped with shiners, to catch a total of 75 fish for the day.

In third place was the Anderson, Ind., team of Don Mandrell and Ron Bilbrey, weighing in 7.28 pounds and earning $400. Don and Ron were fishing near the middle of Salamonie spider-rigging in four- to 20-foot-deep water.

Most of their fish were caught two feet deep in four feet of water using orange/chartreuse Jiffy Jigs tipped with shiners. Driftmaster Rod Holders were utilized to catch a total of 75-80 fish for the day.

Winning the Ranger Cup Award and an additional $500 in the Semi-Pro Division was the team of Hildreth & Hildreth.

First place in the Amateur Division was the St. Louis, Mo., team of Daniel and Steve Gentz, weighing in 7.38 pounds and winning $600. Daniel and Steve were slow trolling jigs and minnows in 10 feet of water with their fish suspended 1.5 feet deep. The team attributed their success to using Stubby Steve’s bait on each of their jigs to catch more than 100 fish for the day.

Second place went to the three-person team of Stephen Moss of Warren, Melvin Shuler of Elwood and Jayden Brewer of Alexandria, Ind., with a weight of 6.82 pounds, earning them $400. The team fished Salamonie in 10-12 feet of water using a double rig with clip-on floats at 3-4 feet deep in standing timber, to catch more than 100 fish for the day.

Taking third place and earning $200 was Michael Bledsoe of Noblesville and Bret Cunningham of Seymour, Ind., with a weight of 6.76 pounds. Michael and Bret spider-rigged double-minnow rigs and jigs in 10 feet of water. They found fish suspended in 3-4 feet of water holding tight to wood and caught 75-100 fish for the day.

Taking the big fish of the event was the team of Licht and Sikoora, with a 1.55-pound crappie and earning $245.

Second place in the big fish contest was the team of Moss, Shuler and Brewer, with a 1.4-pound crappie earning them $105.

The bald eagle is not only the symbol of our nation but the symbol of a successful comeback of an endangered species. Paynetown SRA will celebrate the great bird species during a special weekend of programming June 29-July 1.

The highlight of the weekend will be the appearance of a live bald eagle on July 1 at 11 a.m. The eagle is a permanent resident of the Dwight Chamberlain Raptor Rehabilitation Center at Hardy Lake. Donations will be accepted following the program, to support the care and rehabilitation of the center’s permanent and temporary residents.

Monroe Lake plays an important role in the history of the bald eagle. After disappearing from Indiana, the eagle was reintroduced to the state in the 1980s at the lake. Visitors may hear the fascinating story at a 9 p.m. program June 29.

Visitors may actually see the “hacking” towers, where young eagles were raised and released during the reintroduction program, on a guided hike the morning of July 1. A variety of eagle-themed crafts and drop-in activities will fill out the weekend. A full schedule is available at www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2954.htm

A gate fee of $5 per in-state vehicle or $7 per out-of-state vehicle applies at Paynetown SRA, located at 4850 S. State Road 446 in Bloomington. Questions should be directed to the Paynetown Activity Center at 812-837-9967 or jvance@dnr.IN.gov

Students of the Indiana Master Naturalist workshop at Fort Harrison State Park this summer will be able to complete their coursework in one week instead of eight. The workshop is scheduled for July 16-20 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day.

Sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of State Parks & Reservoirs and Holliday Park, the workshop is designed for teachers and environmental educators who cannot attend a typical eight-week workshop. The workshop is also open to the general public.

Indiana Master Naturalist is an educational/volunteer program developed by the DNR and Purdue University extension. Its mission is to teach adult students about Indiana’s plants, water, soils and wildlife and to promote volunteer service in local communities.

Class size will be limited to 30 students. The fee for the class is $50. Registrations are due by July 1. To register or to learn more about the program, contact Frank Rouse, Holliday Park naturalist, at 317-327-7180, Frank.Rouse@indy.gov or visit www.indianamasternaturalist.org

The standard park entrance fee will be waived for participants.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Jack Spaulding may contact him by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.