Pete Thomas Outdoors

Legal to use compound bows to take bullfrogs?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: In the regulations it says it’s legal to use bow and arrow to take bullfrogs. Does this mean we are also allowed to take them using compound bows? (J. Riggs)

Answer: Yes, compound bows are a kind of bow, so you can use them to take bullfrogs. Bowfishing for bullfrogs will also require you to have a California sport fishing license.  Amphibians may be taken only by hand, hand-held dip net, or hook and line, except bullfrogs may also be taken by lights, spears, gigs, grabs, paddles, bow and arrow or fishing tackle (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 5.05(e)). Since there are some protected frog species that may coexist with bullfrogs, please be sure you are correctly identifying your frog as a bullfrog, Rana (Lithobates) cataesbeiana, before releasing your arrow!


Q: I live in Lake Tahoe on the California side, and hope to tag my first buck this fall. If I have a successful hunt, is it legal to take the buck to our favorite butcher who happens to be just across state line in Incline, Nevada? Or, would I need to find a butcher in California to help process the animal? (Scott Y., Lake Tahoe)

Flying dog photographed just before takeoff (optical illusion)

Only in a dog's dreams could it run swiftly along the beach, sprout wings and fly out over the ocean.

But thanks to a seagull-chasing dog named Snoopy, and some timely camera work by Megan Whiteley, this event looks as though it's about to become a reality.

The optical illusion was created when Snoopy went after a gull on Opotiki Beach in New Zealand.

The image of "DogBird" has gone viral on Imgur (more than 700,000 views) and has been featured by the U.K.'s Daily Mail and GrindTv, among other websites

Whiteley, 22, writes on her Facebook page: "This dog was obsessed with chasing seagulls, and I was zoomed right in as it ran up to a sitting bird, and managed to get a perfectly timed photo just as the bird took off, making it look like a flying dog!"

–Pete Thomas

–Photo is courtesy of Megan Whiteley, via Imgur

Angler's embarrassing moment–losing rod and reel to a fish–is caught on video

How many anglers have lost a rod and reel to a fish, either because you were not paying attention or were just being reckless?

Answer: Lots.

But not too many have had this embarrassing act videotaped and posted to YouTube.

The accompanying footage is three weeks old but at the time of this post it had yet to circulate on the more popular fishing websites (only 6,888 views).

 

It shows an unnamed angler aboard the Top Hook out of Montauk, N.Y., trolling carelessly (while facing the bow of the boat and holding the rod in a precarious manner) and paying the price when a large striped bass grabs the hook and rips the rod from the angler's hands.

(Please excuse the brief profanity.)

"It was my first time ever seeing it and I hope I never see anything like it again," Timothy Schweitzer, who was videotaping, says in the video description.

Thankfully, the rig doesn't look to have been too high-end.

–Pete Thomas

–Editor's note: I'm among those who have lost a rod and reel to a fish. During a very slow bite off Southern California, I set the rod against the rail while I reached into the ice chest for a beer. Of course, in those few seconds, a fish decided to bite. At least the beer was cold.

Man swims with great white shark off Manhattan Beach Pier

When Eric Martin spotted two great white sharks Friday from the Manhattan Beach Pier, he set out to do what he has always wanted to do: swim with the apex predators.

First he put on a wetsuit, grabbed his mask and a long pole he said would be "my defense" if either of the sharks became too aggressive.

Then Martin waded into the surf and swam to an area alongside the middle of the South Bay pier, where people were gazing down at the sharks.

Visibility was poor but the larger shark, measuring about 9 feet, made a pass directly beneath Martin. He could only make out its tail.

Then the same shark made a closer pass alongside Martin.

He said he could see in vivid detail its gill slits, the different shading of its skin and, of course, a slightly open mouth bristling with razor-sharp teeth.

Then, with a few kicks of its tail, the shark disappeared into deeper water.

Unfortunately, Martin did not have his GoPro camera handy. But the accompanying image, shot with a camera phone by a pier visitor named Dani Baker, shows how close Martin was to  the shark.

"You can't really tell the size from the pier because you're 30-35  feet up," Martin said. "Let me tell you, they are girthy when you see them up-close."

Why would Martin, a married father of one, take such a risk?

To prove a point, sort of. Martin is not some nut off the street.

He's co-director of the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium at the end of the pier. He has seen dozens of white sharks from the pier, many times swimming near unsuspecting surfers.

Southern California waters are home to juvenile white sharks–those measuring to about 12 feet–for much of the year. They feed on fish, and if they posed a serious threat to surfers and swimmers, attacks would occur frequently.

Even adult white sharks, which feed largely by ambushing seals and sea lions with upward strikes, will not generally attack a diver simply because a diver is in the water with them.

Divers have been free-swimming with great whites for the past few years, so far without incident, at Guadalupe Island off Baja California, and at other white shark-diving locations.

So Martin proved his point. But mostly, he said, he satisfied his curiosity.

"I've always wanted to do that and it was so awesome," he said. "But I wish I would have had the GoPro."

–Photo courtesy of Dani Baker

What is deemed to be wanton waste by a hunter?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: Is there a place in the regulations that talks about what I’ve heard hunters call “want and waste”? Can you point me in the right direction for the regulations if such a regulation even exists? The question comes up because my hunting partners and I often argue about what is and is not considered edible on a deer. Could I get a ticket because I do not eat the lungs or the liver or heart? Some people I know feel the ribs are not even worth eating. What is the definition of waste? I’ve heard someone say 30 percent can be left in the field but I’ve never seen what the regs say about the specifics of what you could possibly get a ticket for not taking home to eat. (Anonymous)

Answer: In California, hunters must make reasonable efforts to retrieve edible portions of game birds and game mammals. After a hunter has harvested an animal, the law requires that no portion of the flesh usually eaten by humans can be left, either through carelessness or neglect, to go needlessly to waste. Harvesting any deer and detaching or removing from the carcass only the head, hide, antlers or horns while leaving edible parts to needlessly go to waste, is deemed to be “wanton waste” and the hunter can be cited (Fish and Game Code, section 4304). The intent of the law is to prevent trophy hunting and to stop people from taking animals just for mounts.


Q: Why it is illegal to keep Dungeness crabs from San Francisco Bay? (Judy K.)

Massive bait ball, feeding humpback whales, photographed from the air off Ventura

With picture-perfect weather on Wednesday, Liz Vernand and a friend decided to enjoy a 30-minute helicopter ride into the Santa Barbara Channel.

They had no idea that they'd soon be hovering over a swirling mass of anchovies so enormous that it dwarfed the dolphins and whales that were feeding on the schooling bait fish.

"We actually watched the two whales traveling toward the bait ball," said Vernand, explaining that dolphins had corralled the anchovies into the massive bait ball.

The photograph atop this post lends a unique perspective. Viewers can see two humpback whales just to the right of the anchovies (the white streak is the underside of one of the whale's pectoral fins).

A surfacing dolphin is visible next to the whale at the lower right. Another dolphin is swimming alongside the bait ball, above the second whale. The birds, of course, are waiting for any chance to nab some of the fish.

 

Vernand said the whales were lunge-feeding into the mass, horizontally. The bait ball, she added, would sink down during the lunges, making it hard to capture in a photograph from straight overhead.

Late Wednesday, however, Channel Island Helicopters posted video showing the whales lunge-feeding through the mass of anchovies (shot by the crew, posted above). The helicopter pilot did not fly low enough for closeups, out of respect for the animals and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Humpback whales can measure to about 50 feet. The bait ball looks to measure at least 100 feet across, and could involve millions of anchovies.

Its location was about five miles offshore, beyond Rincon Point in northern Ventura County.

"But it was just amazing," she said. "We were supposed to be on a 30-minute trip, but we ended up staying out there for an hour."

A Channel Islands Helicopters spokesperson said it was one of the largest bait balls the company's pilots have ever seen.

–Note: This has been a boom year for anchovies off much of California, and humpback whales have been feasting in this manner for weeks, most notably in Monterey Bay

–To view more of Liz Vernand's photographs, visit the Channel Islands Helicopters Facebook page

Monterey Bay sea lion frenzy enjoyed by all, but especially Whiskie the rescue dog

 

A phenomenal abundance of sea lions and humpback whales feeding tightly together on schooling anchovies in California's Monterey Bay continues to inspire awe among passengers and scientists.  

But nobody seems as excited by this magnificent spectacle as "Whiskie the Whale Spotter," a boxer/shepherd mix who was rescued by Peggy West Stap of Monterey Bay Marine Life Studies, and is a regular on the company's daily expeditions.

In the accompanying footage, captured Tuesday by Capt. Tiffany Thomas, Whiskie the Whale Spotter can be heard expressing what seems to be raw excitement at the sight of so many sea lions, which some people refer to as sea dogs. (Video is best at high volume.) 

Whiskie the Whale Spotter was named because she possesses a special talent for alerting the crew to the presence of whales and dolphins.

"She usually sits in her favorite spot, the captain's chair," Stap explains. "If she runs to the front or back of the boat, 90 percent of the time there's a whale or dolphin. ... She can either hear or smell them, or both.

"She was never trained to spot whales. She is a rescue dog from Michigan, and I think she feeds off our excitement when we observe whales and dolphins. She is a very smart girl."

Whiskie hasn't had to use her talents much recently, because an unusually high abundance of anchovies have kept humpback whales and sea lions in close proximity to port, and the feeding frenzies can be spotted from more than a mile away.

Says Stap: "The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has been the center an incredible wealth of whale activity due to the abundance of anchovies.

"This has been going on since September. There are as many as 50 to 100 humpbacks in the bay in a given day, along with thousands of sea lions. [Tuesday] was the most sea lions grouped together that we had observed.

"It appeared as if you could walk across them they were so tightly bunched. It was an amazing sight to behold."

You'll get no argument from Whiskie.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv

–To see more, visit the Marine Life Studies Facebook page  

–Find Pete Thomas on Facebook and Twitter

Rare killer whale encounter off Kona, Hawaii

Researchers off Hawaii's Kona coast on Friday documented a rare sighting of killer whales, including at least two that were playing host to hitchhiking remoras (see top photo).

There were four individuals in the group: a male, an adult female, and two sub-adults. Three of the four were outfitted with satellite tags, and a biopsy sample was collected from one of the cetaceans.

Cascadia Research Collective stated on its Facebook page that this was only its third killer whale encounter in the 14 years the group, which is based in Olympia, Wash., has been conducting studies in Hawaiian waters.

"These are the first satellite tags we've deployed on killer whales in Hawaiian waters, and we think the first tags deployed on this species in the tropical Pacific, so we are excited about learning where these whales spend their time," Cascadia stated on its website.

The 15-day research project ended Friday, but some of the scientists went back to sea on Sunday and re-located the four killer whales, plus three others, and witnessed a predation event involving a thresher shark.

Cascadia also posted a chart showing the movements of two of the three tagged killer  whales (posted below).

Cascadia added that there is no evidence of a resident population of killer whales in Hawaiian waters: "Whales seen around the main Hawaiian Islands are likely part of a wide-ranging population that inhabits the central Pacific.

"There are some physical differences from killer whales seen in Hawaii compared to the well-known populations along the west coast of North America. The saddle patch (the gray area below and behind the dorsal fin) is very narrow in killer whales in Hawaii, and not very bright."

Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers also participated in the two-week tagging project, which also featured encounters with sperm whales, pygmy killer whales, false killer whales, Cuvier's beaked whales, and rough-toothed dolphins.

–Pete Thomas

–Photos: Top image shows killer whale with at least five remoras hitching a ride. Second image shows an adult female and a sub-adult. Credit: @Robin Baird/Cascadia Research Collective

Any regulations regarding target shooting next to a wetland?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: I was walking the Yolo Bypass Levee north of I-80 this weekend and saw a group shooting from the levee at some targets that were placed right next to the slough and adjacent wetlands to the east. If waterfowl hunters are required to use nonlead shot to prevent incidental lead poisoning, shouldn’t target shooters firing where their shot will enter the wetland also have to use nonlead shot?

It was also disappointing to see a lot of spent shells, clay target debris and glass left all over the ground. Is there any particular regulation prohibiting this? Thanks, (Beckye S.)

Answer: California Fish and Wildlife laws don’t prohibit the use of lead ammunition for target shooting, but they do prohibit people from depositing garbage, shells, glass, etc. within 150 feet of state waters (Fish and Game Code, section 5652.) If you see this again, please call CalTip at 888-334-2258 and report it.

Q: Is it legal to drop Dungeness crab gear prior to opening day? I’ve heard it’s legal to drop gear the day or night before opening day to let it soak overnight. I looked in the Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations booklet but couldn’t find anything indicating whether this is legal or not. If it is legal, how long before opening day can it be dropped? And how early can it be retrieved? (Fred S.)

Speedy car adventure: N.Y. to L.A. in less than 29 hours

Imagine driving from New York to Los Angeles and not encountering any significant traffic, construction delays, weather issues, or speed traps.

Ed Bolian, 28, doesn't have to imagine it, because that's how smoothly his recent cross-country drive turned out to be.

It went so smoothly, that the Atlanta man and two companions were able to shatter the unofficial record for fastest drive from New York City to Los Angeles, with a time of 28 hours and 50 minutes.

They accomplished this modern-era "Cannonball run" with an average speed of 98 mph and a top speed of 158 mph, making extensive use of GPS directional units, police scanners, radar detectors, and a switch to turn off the break lights.

The excursion, earlier this month, is said to beat the previous record, set in 2006 in a 2000 BMW M5 by Alex Roy, by more than two hours.

With Bolian, a Lamborghini sales manager and Sunday school teacher, were co-driver Dave Black and support passenger Dan Huang.

Their odyssey, in a 2004 Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG, began on October 19 in New York City at 9:55 p.m. The 2,813-mile journey was complete when the trio pulled into the Portofino Hotel and Marina in Redondo Beach on October 20 at 11:46 p.m.

"I've thought about doing this for the last 10 years" Bolian, who this week began sharing details of the expedition, told FoxNews.com. "This was always to me sort of the holy grail of American automotive car culture."

The three men stopped only three times for refueling and restroom breaks, because the car was outfitted with two extra 22-gallon gas tanks. Bolian did not divulge specifics of the route, but said that much of it was along the east-west U.S. Route 40, which traverses 12 states.

Interestingly, these sporadic high-speed cross-country record pursuits began way back in 1933, when Edwin "Cannonball" Baker drove from New York to Los Angeles in 53 hours and 30 minutes.

"No one knows Baker's motivation for the run, but his 50 mph average was high impressive, considering the interstate system was not yet built," states the website Jalopnik.

The record got whittled over the years as more Cannonball runs were attempted, and Roy's mark seemed as though it was safe until Bolian came along.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv

–Top photo: Ed Bolian (center) poses with co-driver Dave Black (right) and support passenger Dan Huang at the conclusion of their 2,813-mile odyssey from New York to Los Angeles. Courtesy of Ed Bolian. Second photo shows average and top speed