Hello, and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I█m your host, Chad Miles Join us as we jorney the commonw in search of outdoor adventure.

This week we're headed out to Taylorsville Lake to meet up with Creel survey clerk Josh Rinkel and hear a little bit about his music.

Then we're going to jump in the truck with the game warden as he conducts dove field surveys.

But first, we're going to round up the kids and head out at night as we take them out for their very first frog gigging experience.

Well, Rachel, we're back out here and at it again, waiting for it to get dark.

Doing one of our favorite things.

What are we doing tonight?

Frog gigging.

We're frog gigging again.

And, you know, last time we came out and we frog gigged some of these same ponds.

Had some luck.

But today it's going to be a little more special.

Yeah, it is going to be special.

So we have two kiddos that are coming with us.

My son Leo.

It's a crazy thing you know he never told me that he wanted to frog gig.

Yeah.

And it just came out in conversation that, that's the one thing I really want to do.

So talked to you about it and you go, well guess what?

You have a cousin or niece.

I have a niece.

A niece, essentially.

Yeah.

And she wants to frog, too.

So she's quite a bit younger than Leo.

She'll be ten soon.

But, my favorite thing about frog gigging is any age kid can do it.

And it's an adventure.

They get to hang out all night long in the dark and run around and see what we can get into and find.

Let's get those kids rounded up, and we'll go down and start doing a walk around before it gets completely pitch black.

We got a couple ponds to hit, right?

Yeah, we're going to try for four.

So this one is like our fishing pond.

It's easy to get around.

I think this will be the best place to start at.

Yeah.

And then we'll hit two that are kind of in the woods.

So it'll be not as fun of a hike back there, but an adventure for the kids.

And then we'll save the best one for last.

Okay, so it's going to be fun.

Let's get them.

Yep.

Sounds good.

All right, let's go see what we can't find.

Dang.

That was a frog.

He jumped in, didn't he?

So you know what deer do when they bust you?

They blow.

It's like the same as a frog jumping in the pond.

That means they knew we were there.

When you see a frog and you get real close to it and it disappears, if you'll turn your light off and stand here for about 3 or 4 minutes, sometimes they'll come right back up where they were at.

If they're up in here, the grass is making it hard to see.

So the ponds up quite a bit.

We got water like to where I'm standing here.

So we'll walk back to check a couple other ponds and just see.

There's a little bullfrog right there.

Right there looking right at us.

It's a little bitty frog.

I don█t know if we will be able to get to him or not.

Oh.

Just went under.

Here you go Leo.

Alright we see our first frog that's maybe big enough to get here.

Leo is going to... Now look, can't let that hit anything before you get there, because he█ll jump.

Just get it all the way close as you can.

Get a little closer.

You got him!

First frog.

He's not a giant frog.

But I'll tell you what a little bit of practice with a frog gig and you didn't hit his leg, so you didn't tear up anything.

But, yeah.

You want to try to get him right up there kind of in the head, but nice job.

Good job, buddy.

Thank you.

You're allowed 15, so we need a bunch more.

We've hit three of the ponds, but the best pond is still to come with a little bit of a hike.

But we're going to explore our way over there.

And in the event that we have some frogs that are way out there, I did bring a pellet rifle.

A really fun way to to try to take a frog If you can't get a gig to it.

So we're going to carry it over there because it's a long walk back and we don't want to backtrack.

So we're going to try to get one with the gig for Chi Chi.

Oh, that was so close.

It's okay.

That was a great try.

Hey.

It's okay.

That was a great try.

It was really close I was like off by a couple inches.

When we find a frog, you really just need, like, a spotlight on it.

And then you turn the rest of the lights off.

I think that helps blind them a little bit more.

Oh, Rachel, with a good shot.

I got his leg.

You got him nice job.

Here Chi.

Really exciting now that we get to this stocked up pond and seeing a whole bunch of them.

There's frogs everywhere.

They're going nuts.

Yeah.

Leo, did you get yours?

Yeah.

You got him, got him.

Nice job.

That was pretty cool.

We were actually stalking two frogs, and I didn't want Leo to try to get this thing because I thought it would scare hers away.

There's so many frogs in here.

I'll tell you what.

This is uncommon.

I have to say, when I was a kid, I used to see frog ponds like this a lot.

And this is uncommon to have this many frogs.

They're everywhere.

Chi Chi come here.

Here's a little bitty one just for practice.

Can you see him right there on the water all spread out?

Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Don't move.

We might be onto something here.

I think you got him, kid.

Chad is going to go swimming.

Hold that for a second.

Booya!

Chi Chi got a frog.

Chi Chi got her a frog.

He might not be the biggest frog in the woods, but guess what?

It's your first frog.

Well Chi Chi what did you think about that.

Your very first frog.

It was awesome.

It took a lot of tries before that, but I finally got it.

But you know what a lot of things in life don't happen the first time.

You stuck with it, you didn't get frustrated.

Probably fifth or sixth time.

And next thing you know all about practice, isn't it?

Yes.

Hit him but couldn't get any push on him.

I got it on the way down.

On the way away.

He took off.

I think you still got him.

I had the flashlight in my mouth.

Oh.

So what do you think about frog gigging?

It█s a lot of fun, isn't it?

It's a lot of fun.

It's exciting and everything moving at once.

But you've done a pretty good job.

You've already got several frogs tonight.

We're not done.

Put it in the bag.

I think I got him.

Oh, yeah, I did.

Yeah, surprisingly.

Oh, girl.

Don't move.

She got it?

I think so.

Oh.

Got it.

Oh Chi Chi look at that frog girl.

That's a big one.

Looky there.

You got him.

Nice job.

That's a real good one.

There's one there.

Go ahead, Leo.

What?

In all my life, I've never seen one sit there after they've been missed.

Oh, there he goes.

The other ponds probably had frogs like this.

We just couldn't see them.

The water is up high, and these frogs are on the back side of the cattails, and, it's actually fantastic.

It's amazing to get out in the outdoors if you're like a starter for a new kid, you know?

It's a great adventure.

Maybe I'll get one more.

Who knows?

I think you got him.

Nice job buddy.

I say we grab that air rifle and walk right back down through there and see what jumps out.

Got that one for sure.

You got it.

Oh, that's about perfect.

You stone smoked him, Rachel.

Nice job.

I didn█t even see where... Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

You got him under the chin.

You gave him no knock out right under the chin.

Good job dude.

Nice job buddy.

You wanna try to gig one more for Chi Chi?

Here's one right here, Chi Chi.

Oh, yeah.

Right here.

Come over here with me.

Get him Chi.

Oh.

Oh.

Got him.

Got him.

Well, I'll tell you what, Rachel.

This was an incredible experience.

So fun.

It's all worth it, isn't it?

It's worth it all.

Let's get all the gear, rounded up all of our dead flashlights and head back.

What do you think?

Sounds great.

Sounds good.

Here's the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

We have many part time seasonal jobs that have some interesting folks working in those positions, including one of our Creel survey clerks.

This beautiful summer morning, we're out here on Taylorsville Lake, and I have a special guest with me today.

Josh Rinkel.

How are you doing?

I'm good Chad.

How are you doing, man?

I'm doing good.

Yeah.

You actually have pretty much toured the world playing music.

Bluegrass, right?

Yeah, I was in a bluegrass band for ten years, and then, you know, before I was in that particular band, I was in some other bands, and then pretty much since I graduated high school, I've been wide open, running the roads between touring, rehearsing, being in the studio, getting from gig to gig.

I was gone for 75% of the year.

And you're actually married to a musician as well?

I am, yeah, I'm married to Laura Orshaw.

She's a Grammy nominated fiddler.

Been on the Grand Old Opry several times, and, she's one of the best.

So what instrument you play?

I play guitar.

I started out playing banjo when I was, 13.

And then, I got decent on the banjo, but then I picked up guitar and I started singing.

I started songwriting.

And that's where I found my true passion for the music was in singing and songwriting and just trying to tell a story from my perspective.

Yeah, well, it's hard to fish and play a guitar at the same time.

So we didn't bring a guitar or a banjo today.

We're going to play a little string music on a spinning rod.

That's right.

I'm here for business, man.

Well, let's go see if we can't get a couple fish going.

I think, we're going to pull out on this flat and, try a couple different techniques, see if there's any white bass or hybrid out there.

Yep.

Sounds good.

Let's make it happen.

There's one.

Dang bluegill.

Got you a bluegill.

That's not bad bluegill for Taylorsville.

I tell you what.

If he's big enough to fillet put him in there.

Oh, here we go.

Dang that's a good one.

I don't know what I got, but I'm going to guess it's a hybrid.

It could be a white bass.

It's not a crappie.

And he's not ready to be caught yet either.

You need the net?

It's a hybrid.

Yeah.

I'm gonna grab that net.

Oh, that's a good one.

I got a light line on here so.

You want me to net him?

You can, if you like.

There we go.

First one on the boat.

That's a good one, too.

We will take it.

Nice.

When they hit, it's like a freight train, isn't it?

Yeah.

There we go.

It's a hybrid.

Now, this lake has a lot of white bass too.

But the hybrids you can see, see how those lines are broken.

And they don't go in a consistent pattern.

See that?

So this is definitely a hybrid.

Those are one of my favorite eating fish right there.

Let's put it in the live well.

See if we can't catch a couple more.

There we go.

Got it?

Yeah.

Man, he hammered that thing.

He let you know he was there, huh?

Yeah.

He said not so fast.

Yeah, he's.

I might try to bring him on around.

What a fight.

They absolutely fight.

That's a good one.

Yep.

Come on, get away from that motor.

There we go.

Nice.

Yeah, man.

Nice job.

That one will make many a good tacos right there.

Yeah.

That's a nice fish, man.

It is.

It's a challenging fish to get to the boat and it's too challenging to put back.

So we're going to keep it.

That█s right.

Nice job buddy.

Oh.

Listen to that sound.

That's what you want to hear right there.

I hope this is another hybrid.

Oh, man.

Oh, he just come off.

Oh, man.

That was a good one.

They're out here.

They're just roaming and since we're not live scoping, we got to use the old fan cast method here.

So Josh, we talked about him being a traveling musician, but Josh right now is actually working as a creel clerk here on Taylorsville Lake, and a creel clerk, They go out, and a lot of people think you guys are out there, game wardens and you're writing citations.

It's not your job at all, is it?

What your job is, is just to find out what's the satisfaction level and how many people are catching fish, isn't it?

Yeah.

So pretty much what I'm doing is I'm riding around the lake and I'll find a group of people fishing and I'll ease up on them.

And it's pretty much just a survey to ask them about their fishing experience for that day.

And then later on in the survey, I'll get to their overall experience and satisfaction level of the fishery.

And I'm asking them how many hours they've been fishing just that day, what they've caught.

I have to record sizes for everything.

And a lot of people, you know, if you're out here catching 50 or 60 crappie and you know the short ones are short, you're not going to measure them, you're going to throw them back.

So I tell people just to give me their best guess on size, I ask them what I've kept, what they've thrown back, if they're a state resident, what they're targeting.

And then I go in to what's called the Angler Attitude Survey, which is the fun one for me.

Just because people get to give me their feedback on what they think about the lake.

Do they love it?

Do they hate it?

Do they want to see any changes made?

Yeah, well, what we use it for in Kentucky is to help us guide rules and regulations.

It helps us set our creel numbers and dictate how we can manage the fishery for angler satisfaction.

You catching them today?

Yeah.

I got you.

There we go.

What's it going to be?

Oh, let me get the net.

It's a white or a hybrid one.

Looks like a white bass.

It is a white bass.

There we go.

I didn't think he was what we were after because he wasn't really fighting that hard.

There you go.

That'll work though.

There's that.

Sorry to hit you with the fishing pole.

Oh you're good.

Nice catch man.

Thank you.

Throw that one in there.

Oh, here we go.

This might be a crappie the way it's coming in.

Nope.

Another white bass.

You need the net?

No.

He's a little one.

White bass.

It looks like a white bass.

Let's get a good look at him here.. All right, Josh, you mind to open that up.

I'll pitch him in there.

Well, Josh, the boats are coming out and it's getting hot.

Let's grab these fish and get back and fillet them up.

Call it a day.

What do you think?

Sounds good to me.

You know, I was cleaning these fish up.

Made me think about how many comments I get about people who say they do not like eating white bass or stripers or hybrid bass or yellow bass.

Those are all in a classification called maroney.

And those fish, in my opinion, if cleaned properly, are some of the best table fare you can find in the state of Kentucky.

I lay them right there with crappie.

So I'm going to show you how I clean these up.

And, I absolutely love them.

They're very firm.

They can be grilled.

They can be cut up, chunked up, sauteed.

You can deep fry them.

They're just excellent for the table.

So here's a small to medium size hybrid.

So obviously this is just like the way you clean any other fish.

Cut down around the neck.

Go down in and around rib cage.

There's your fillet.

Now, at this point in time, you can really push down and stay close to the hyde.

Or you can let it ride a little above it, maybe an eighth inch or so.

And what that will do is, yes, you're going to lose some of the meat, but it's the meat that's got that red on it.

So I'm going to come in and let my knife here just kind of slide along a little bit, leaving some of that meat right against the... See that?

Now, still got a little bit.

Once you get that little bit out you can then take your knife and just run alongside it.

Just like this.

Take that out.

What you're left with in my opinion, this is about as good as it gets.

There you go.

And of course, there's another piece of that as well.

I'm going to clean it up.

But next time you catch a striper or a white bass or a yellow bass or a hybrid and you're throwing it back because you're like, man, I just don't like eating those.

Give them a try.

You won't be disappointed.

Well, Josh, there you go, buddy.

We left a few out there today.

Alright, man.

Yeah we did.

You got to leave stock for next time.

That's exactly right.

Yeah, well, that's enough for you and your wife.

You guys can have a meal out of it.

We'll do it again.

But I love your story.

I love the fact that you got into bluegrass music.

You've toured the world with that, and now you are back here with another one of your true passions.

Spending time on the water.

That's right.

Yep.

And never hurts when you come home with a bag full of fish filets for the kitchen.

It's my favorite right here.

It was nice meeting you.

Take care of yourself.

You too.

Thank you Chad.

Dove season is right around the corner here in Kentucky opening up on September the 1st.

Are you trying to remember exactly what you need to know before you hit the field.

Well let's find out.

As we ride along with a conservation officer.

So today we're in Grant County.

We're going to be going to Curtis Gates Lloyd WMA the public dove field to check some hunters, make sure everybody is in compliance.

Shouldn't be any real big issues up here today.

Opening day of dove season.

So hopefully there's plenty of birds for people to shoot at.

We'll see what happens.

It█s important to patrol dove fields because of the sheer amount of people that can be on a public field.

They can be very crowded.

It█s always good to have eyes on a public field.

How are we doing, gentlemen?

When checking a dove field we want to make sure that everybody has a hunting license first and foremost, along with their migratory bird permit The migratory bird survey, the HIP survey is also required so we make sure everyone has that number.

which shows that they filled out the survey.

which all those numbers go into data for the department along with any federal programs for migratory birds.

So you've got the migratory bird permit, but you also have to have a hunting license.

There was one gentleman who had his migratory bird permit but had not purchased a hunting license.

He recieved a citation for hunting without a license.

Not only are we looking for compliance with regulations making sure everyone has license and permits but also we want to address saftey issues that might be out there.

Making sure people aren█t shooting low birds.

Make sure people aren█t set up in areas they aren█t suppose to be set up where they can shoot across the road or have shots rain down on a passing car or anything like that.

If you would happen to damage someone else's vehicle other than yours, you could be held liable to pay for those damages.

Just something to keep in mind, though.

Care if I check your gun real quick?

You loaded?

Yes, sir.

All right.

Whenever I█m checking someones shotgun I always ask them first if it█s loaded.

Sometimes they█ll unload it when they see you walk up to them.

I█ll unload that gun.

Making sure it█s pointed in a safe direction and then going through the process of checking the magazine to see if it█s plugged or not.

All right, you█re good to go.

One in the chamber?

Yup.

You got your license handy real quick?

Yeah, I have a screenshot.

That works.

You got the migratory bird permit.

So you need two things.

You need a hunting license and then you need the migratory bird permit as well.

Let me check your gun real quick if you don't mind.

Okay.

So you're tube right here that holds your shells.

It has to be plugged.

To hunt with a shotgun, the gun cannot be capable of holding more than three shells.

So that's going to be two shells in the tube So if I can fit three shells in here, that means it's not plugged.

So it doesn't have a plug in it.

Another situation where he didn't have a license.

He had his migratory bird permit and his HIP survey.

Then he also did not have a plugged shotgun.

His shotgun was capable of holding more than three shells.

Anytime we come across a violation we try to do little bit of education on it as well, make sure that everybody knows what the rules and the regulations are and get them squared away as best as we can before we send them back out in the field.

Good afternoon.

Officer Sorrell, Fish and Wildlife.

We had any luck yet?

The vast majority of people that we come in contact are compliant.

They have everything that's required.

Hunting license, permits.

Every once in a while you'll find somebody that may have forgotten something, but majority of the people are happy to see us when we're out on the field.

It keeps everybody honest.

It shows them that we're out there doing our job and enforcing those rules and regulations that everybody's supposed to follow.

Have we had any luck?

One?

All in all, today went pretty well.

It was a little slow as far as opening day goes, but the weather's been really good.

Most people out there have had some shots at birds.

There were a few issues that we had to address with citations, but no major egregious violations.

Perfect.

Hopefully that trend will continue and hopefully just a successful dove season.

Alright you have everything.

I appreciate it.

No problem.

You guys have a good one.

You too.

Good luck.

Now let's check in and see who else has been out having fun.

In this week's ones that didn't get away.

Check out this beautiful largemouth bass that was caught by a 14 year old Harper Smothermon.

She was fishing in Guist Creek Lake with her grandfather.

I love this picture.

Check out Lennox Wethington, who caught her very first catfish while pond fishing in Taylor County, Kentucky.

Check out Sam Greenwell with this nice 13 inch crappie that he caught with a Texas rig trick worm.

Nice job.

As summer winds down, many of our fall hunting seasons here in Kentucky are about to open up.

I hope you're ready.

And remember, hunting and fishing on private property is a privilege.

Always ask permission and thank the landowner.

Until next week, I'm your host, Chad Miles.

And I hope to see you in the woods or on the water.