My wife and I had spent the hot spring day at Madison on May 18 and we got home late in the afternoon. As I stepped from the truck, I noticed something in the sun-drenched crushed-stone driveway. At first, it looked like a round piece of baked clay slightly bigger than a quarter.

Then, I looked closer. I said to my wife, “We have a tiny visitor.”

Without knowing what kind of creature I was referencing, she automatically replied, “You’re not keeping it.” She knows me pretty well.

I carefully picked up the recently hatched baby map turtle. It was in bad shape, cooking in the sun, caked with dried and cracked mud, totally exhausted, and so dehydrated it was on the brink of death. Taking it inside, I carefully placed it in shallow pan of lukewarm water and waited to see the outcome.

A couple hours later, I checked on the little turtle to find a tiny head poked out and viewing its surroundings. The water was doing the trick, and as the turtle rehydrated, it became more active.

We kept the little fellow for a couple days to make sure it would have a shot at surviving and then released it in our pond. As soon as I eased the turtle into the water, it was off like a shot, swimming at top speed in the direction of some underwater cover.

Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is not a proponent of keeping turtles as pets, advising: “Pet turtles do not like to be held and are loners; therefore, they can become boring pets for children.”

I’m sure there is a lot of truth about a turtle being a “boring pet” since kids today are swept up in modern media, text messaging, Facebook, Snapchat, and mindless video games slaying vampires and zombies. But back in the day, turtles were pretty exciting.

Keep in mind, the first pet turtle I had was over 64 years ago. This was even a couple years before we had television at home! Back then, I’d take a turtle to watch any day over a board game.

Stocking fish

The Brookville Lake tailwater has received more than 3,000 new brown trout averaging 8 inches, thanks to the DNR’s annual stocking of the area. The stocking was split between the State Route 101 bridge and Brookville Town Park. DNR also stocked 1,500 rainbow trout in late April.

Special trout regulations for the Brookville Lake tailwater include a 7-inch minimum length limit for rainbow trout and an 18-inch minimum length limit for brown trout. The daily bag limit is five, of which only one may be a brown trout. A fishing license and trout stamp are required to fish for trout.

Best catch-and-release practices while fishing for trout include minimizing time the fish is out of water, minimizing time reeling in and unhooking the fish, and wetting hands prior to handling the fish.

Catch-and-release anglers who hook a trout in a sensitive area, such as the gills, gut, or throat, are encouraged to leave the hook in the fish and cut the line at the hook eye. Fish often shed hooks quickly, and the method increases their chances of survival.

And Dobbs Park Pond in Terre Haute is receiving 200 channel catfish as part of DNR’s Go FishIN in the City program. These are part of an ongoing stocking effort at Dobbs Park. The pond received catfish earlier in April and a final stocking is set to take place in June, for a total of 500 catfish stocked in the pond.

The fish will come from Cikana State Fish Hatchery in Martinsville. The channel catfish are expected to weigh an average of 1.3 pounds and measure up to 18 inches in length.

Go FishIN in the City (wildlife.IN.gov/7508.htm) is dedicated to bringing anglers and fish together during peak fishing season.

Muskie population at Brookville Lake growing

The muskie population in Brookville Lake has increased substantially in the past two years, according to sampling by DNR fisheries biologists. They have caught far more muskies the last two years during standard sampling than in previous years, with some of the highest catch rates observed since monitoring began in 1994.

“In the past, we might see a single muskie every eight nets we would run during the walleye spawn,” said Corey DeBoom, DNR fisheries biologist. “In the last two years, we’ve been capturing an adult muskie every two to three nets. We used to handle about 20 adult muskies in an average year, but we saw over 50 in 2018 and 45 again this season.”

DNR biologists suspect the increase is a result of improvements to muskie rearing techniques. Hatcheries have produced larger muskie fingerlings for stocking in recent years, leading to increased survival. “Anglers have also started to report an increase in the number of fish they are catching,” DeBoom said.

Anglers targeting muskie at Brookville Lake should focus their efforts on windblown shores, areas near the dam or other riprap, and standing timber. Fishing in low light and cloudy weather can improve odds of catching muskie. The best times of year are in the spring and fall, when cooler surface water brings the fish into shallower depths.

Most of the muskies at Brookville Lake will currently run 30-40 inches in length, but biologists have handled much larger fish up to 49 inches and 38 pounds.

Indiana K-9 program graduates seven teams

A ceremony May 16 on the south lawn of the Indiana Statehouse recognized the graduation of seven teams from the DNR Division of Law Enforcement’s K-9 Resource Protection Program. The seven graduating teams represented the states of Kansas, Oregon, Utah, and Virginia.

The K-9 teams trained and honed their skills in Orange County in southern Indiana in order to qualify for the graduation ceremony.

“The officers and their K-9 partners graduating today have completed nine total weeks of rigorous training,” said Major Tim Beaver of DNR Law Enforcement. “That is a tremendous personal investment and a lot of time spent away from home. The first time you locate that lost child or that trespassing poacher, it will all be worth it.”

The Indiana K-9 program started in 1997 with a pilot program of two teams. The effectiveness of the program was quickly realized. The program grew to a team of 12 units located throughout Indiana. There is at least one K-9 unit in all 10 Indiana DNR Law Enforcement districts.

The Indiana K-9 program is not only well respected in the Hoosier State, but also recognized as one of the top programs in the nation. Indiana has helped start and train teams from seven sister natural resource agencies (Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, Utah, and Virginia).

Indiana K-9 teams are trained in man-tracking, wildlife detection, and article searches. All canines are trained to locate whitetail deer, wild turkey, waterfowl, and ginseng. Indiana teams excel in man-tracking and locating firearms.

In the past 22 years, K-9 teams across Indiana have been involved in more than 6,000 poaching cases. They have been used to find hidden game and guns, as well as to find shell casings in road hunting and spotlighting cases, and K-9 teams are used to find lost hunters, as well as poachers who have tried to conceal themselves from officers.

Because of their unique abilities, K-9 units are often requested by other state and local law enforcement agencies for help in locating evidence in their cases and in locating missing persons or fleeing felons.

Youth Fishing Derby

On June 1, Monroe Lake’s Paynetown State Recreation Area (SRA) is sponsoring “Cast a Line and Catch a Fish.” Children ages 16 and under are invited to participate in the free fishing derby. Borrow our equipment or bring your own; bait will be provided.

A prize drawing will be held at 10 a.m. for all participants. New and beginning anglers are welcome; instructors will be on hand to teach the basics and offer assistance. No advance registration is necessary – just show up.

Monroe Lake On the Water series

This series aims to get you kayaking the waters of Monroe Lake, regardless of your experience. The reservations typically fill quickly, so don't wait until the last minute to sign up. (And make sure you requested to be wait-listed, if your choice is already full.)

Intro to Kayaking Workshop is located at the Paynetown SRA with a charge of $10 per person (kayak provided), and each workshop is limited to 8 people:

•June 23 at 10 a.m., sign up at http://bit.ly/introkayak-6-23-19 by June 19

•June 30 at 10 a.m., sign up at http://bit.ly/introkayak-6-30-19 by June 26

•July 14 at 10 a.m., sign up at http://bit.ly/introkayak-7-14-19 by July 8

•July 28 at 10 a.m., sign up at http://bit.ly/introkayak-7-28-19 by July 25

Explore Monroe Paddling Trips, $10 per person trip fee (plus $20 for a kayak rental, if you don't have your own), each trip limited to 10 people:

•June 11 at 9 a.m. (Pine Grove SRA), sign up at http://bit.ly/explore-6-11-19 by June 7

•June 19 at 7 p.m. (Pine Grove SRA), sign up at http://bit.ly/explore-6-19-19 by June 13

•July 9 at 9 a.m. (Stillwater-Northfork), sign up at http://bit.ly/explore-7-09-19 by July 5

Dugout canoe building

Learn how dugout canoes used to be built from experienced volunteers at Mississinewa and Salamonie lakes on various dates this summer.

Mississinewa’s 1812 living-history event volunteers will be making two dugout canoes for their October reenactment, and are inviting people to watch them work using both traditional and non-traditional tools. The volunteers will be working on several dates throughout the summer.

Dates for Mississinewa Lake canoe building are July 20 and Sept. 21; meet at Bostwock Pond in the Miami SRA. Dates for Salamonie Lake canoe building are June 15 and August 17; meet at Wildlife Management Pond at the Lost Bridge West SRA.

All demonstrations will be from 10 a.m.-noon. There will be limited opportunity for the public to participate. Property entrance fees apply.

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 may contact Jack Spaulding by email at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.