Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

Join us as we journey the Commonwealth in search of outdoor adventure.

This week, we're going to jump on the green River with some volunteers to try to save some mussels.

Then we're going to look back at my daughter Campbell's first deer hunt.

But first, we're going to jump in a deer stand with some archery equipment in an attempt to fill the freezer.

Early archery season.

I've got an east wind which is putting me in this stand.

It's the only stand i█ve hunted this year.

We've had this consistent east wind.

I've been seeing some deer, had a couple of pretty close encounters, and I have seen a small eight point buck.

So I know there's some bucks running around in here.

So conditions are just about perfect.

Light breeze temperature in about 60 degrees.

Let's hope something comes out here today to try out these beans.

What a crazy morning hunting the beans You know, I got to be honest, I wasn't excited about hunting this stand this morning because this is not my favorite morning spot.

I've had a lot of luck in the evenings, but the wind put me in this situation where this is the stand I need to be in.

thought for sure that deer is going to bust me.

That deer walked right in that trail, the same trail I walked in on, finally presenting itself a shot.

Felt like it was a pretty good shot.

I'll wait it out about 30 40 minutes, see if I can't pick up a good blood trail.

And hopefully I've got some fresh venison in the freezer.

Oh, yeah.

Here we go.

Here's blood.

And here's my arrow.

Definitely blood soaked.

Alright, I always like to take my arrow where it's found.

I've got a lot of blood right here.

This is where my trail starts.

So if I ever need to come back and repick it up, it gives me a good spot right there.

You know, it's going to get really warm today, like almost 90.

So, I would█ve liked to have stayed up there and hung it a little bit longer.

But due to the fact that I'm pretty sure this deer is down, I waited about 30 minutes.

It's time to go see if I can't locate it.

I have a very, very solid blood trail right here.

Right here is where she entered the woods here.

There she lays right there.

Probably ran 120 yards or so.

So.

Looks like she's down.

Let's go check.

Well, I'm super, super excited to have my first year on the ground of the year.

It was a great hunt.

You know, I didn't see any bucks, but I saw quite a few does and they were literally surrounding me.

I didn't expect a deer to come from the exact path, which was straight downwind from where I was at, but it sure did.

I tell you what, there's not a better way to bring fresh venison home to the table than getting out early with a bow and arrow or a crossbow, and putting the venison in the freezer.

It's a great start to the season.

When we found out that the water levels on green River were going to change due to a dam removal, the biologists and the volunteers stepped into action.

Today we're on the banks of the Green River, and we're going to meet up with a couple of biologists and a whole crew of volunteers as they try to do a very important mission, and that is to save and relocate some mussels as this water level starts to change.

We're going to meet up with Monte McGregor, who's a biologist with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and learn a little more from some of these volunteers.

Find out why they're out here and what we hope to see in the Green River in years to come.

I just pulled up here next to Mike Compton, and you're actually finding some mussels in this muddy bank right here?

Yep.

You're kind of heading up this project and all the volunteer efforts to get down here and do this recovery.

Tell me why this is so important.

So a couple years ago, I think it was 2016, lock and dam six on the Green River breached, caused a major safety hazard.

But for decades, talk of removing the lock and dams on the Green River has been discussed to remove them.

And so, with the breach of lock and dam six that spurred more conversations to remove lock and dam five, as well as Barron River lock and dam number one.

And so that process is happening now.

And in a couple of weeks, lock and dam five should be fully removed.

And with that, the water levels are going to drop significantly and it's going to leave some mussels high and dry for a while I'm with Cassie here with the Sam Shine Foundation, and you are a volunteer out here helping restore these mussels or get them back to the water.

But you have a vested interest in conservation and water quality.

Yes I do.

Our foundation is a conservation focused family foundation, and I'm their director of freshwater programs.

So I'm thinking about rivers all the time and thinking about how we use our water.

And so we're all about stream reconnection.

And those fish that carry mussels up and down the stream can get to them easier with streams reconnected.

And so I'm interested in what's happening here in the Green River.

And certainly I'm interested in the mussel population.

So it isn█t often that you can grab on to the animals and actually do something for them that day, but this feels very rewarding.

I feel like a hero.

Well, we can't come to the Green River and talk about mussels without talking to Dr.

Monte McGregor.

Monte, you spend a lot of time out here on Green River.

It's one of the most significant tributaries in the whole Ohio River system in the country.

It's got about 75 species of freshwater mussels.

That's about 25% of what we have in the country, all here in one river system.

And so it's got a lot of fish species as well.

And anytime you find mussel species, you know, a lot of diversity.

You have good clean water, you have great fishing.

There's a connection there to the fish.

And so it's good for everybody.

You've spent your life helping the mussels.

I mean, you've spent studying and researching and found new ways to raise mussels.

We've released tons of mussels back into Green River and other rivers throughout the state of Kentucky.

Today, the help is a little more hands on and it's not research based, it's you're physically digging them up and putting them out a little deeper water so that they don't dry up.

Right?

Right.

And, so we're here just to help the mussels get back into the deeper water where they might not be able to naturally, they're not used to that kind of fluctuation and that quick, especially since it's never gotten that low before, ever.

So we're just here with a team of folks from all over the place that are even from other states that have come knowing the importance of the Green River.

And we're looking for rare species, we're looking for common whatever, and just throwing them back in deeper water and giving them a chance to make it.

So you are literally coming in and saving these mussels.

Now they can move, but asking them to move long distances or to try to move while dry just doesn't work very well.

It doesn't work as well, and a lot of times there's a lot of wood or rocks.

They'll bump against that and then they get wedged and they're trapped.

So we're going through trying to free up those mussels, put them into deeper water to where when the water is drained a little bit, they'll be able to still survive.

It does feel full circle to be here today helping these mussels out.

And we just kind of pulled up to you while you were out here on the stream.

Have you already relocated some mussels back to the water today?

Oh yeah, I wish I had kept count.

I started counting about, an hour in this morning, and I'm probably up to about 50 mussels.

Wow.

And we're at this point just it's just a save.

You just get them back into water where they're not going to be left high and dry.

I was looking at these trails down here.

You can actually see where the mussels kind of have a clear path to the water here.

So they're probably going to be okay.

They don't need my help as much as some of those down in the more in the gravelly areas.

Some of them are huge.

Like look at the size of this.

This is a living animal.

I don't know what that weighs.

Probably pound and a half.

That's a big size mussel.

Is this one of the more common, not common, what do we got here?

This is the washboard, and it's one of the more common species we have anywhere in the country.

In the eastern United States.

It gets really large, even a lot larger than that.

They can weigh 7 or 8 pounds.

A lot of other stuff we have, we have this is a fat mucket.

It█s really pretty.

It's got a lot of beautiful rays on it.

Wow.

It's also common in these deeper pools.

It uses a bass as a host.

So anytime you see this species, you know you're going to find bass.

It's sister species.

Is the regular plain pocketbook.

And, this one gets really large.

It's like a softball size.

And it also uses a bass.

And they have a little lure and they go fishing.

So they're out here in the bottom of the river, and they got a little piece of flesh.

It looks like a fish.

And they're wiggling it like that.

So anytime you see a bunch of these, you know there's a good bass population around.

They're not going to eat the bass.

Their lure is to get the bass to try to eat it.

And when it does, that's how it releases its eggs, right?

That's correct.

So this species here is called the yellow sandshell.

And it's really not that common in the Green River.

This one uses a gar as a host.

And there's a lot of gar in the river.

And it comes out at night time.

The fish will under the moonlight will see it and come and strike it thinking it's a little fish.

And that's how it connects to its fish host.

So it's pretty amazing.

I know you do a lot of work with mussels and other fish species in all of our waterways in the state of Kentucky, but a project like this, there's only so many mussel biologists to go around, and it takes volunteers, doesn't it?

Oh, it does tremendously.

Conservation is a team sport, is what I often say.

Yeah, absolutely.

So there's people all up and down through here that are doing the exact same thing you're doing.

Some of them are out on rock bars and picking up big numbers of mussels.

And right now you're kind of focused on this muddy area where it's got some wood substrate to kind of free them and get them over to the deeper water, and you're having success.

How many mussels have you recovered today?

Today I've probably recovered about 300 or so.

Oh, wow.

Everyone has a vested interest in having cleaner, clearer water, and I can't think of a better way to help clean our water systems than the use of mussels.

It doesn't get more natural than that.

No, no, no.

And I'm sure you you've done a lot of programs on mussels.

You know, one mussel can filter like 15 gallons of water a day.

And that's for those that need a little help with math conversions.

That's a keg of beer.

Yeah, yeah.

So that's a, beer doesn't weigh as much in Kentucky as bourbon, I know, but.

And that's one mussel.

You start thinking about the hundreds of thousands that are out here, and the way that they pull the water in their siphon and blow it out.

I mean, they're feeding on that plankton and bacteria or whatever it is that they're pulling it out.

You can only imagine what millions of those up and down this river, the impact that we'd have if the mussels weren't here, it would be detrimental.

Right.

It's kind of one of those you don't know what you got until it's gone.

So we're working to be sure that we actually bolster the numbers and they come back.

Yeah.

So the mussels can live a long time.

And this one here is about 7 or 8 years old.

You can see some, you know, one, two, three, four, five, six.

And then the seven is on the edge of the shell.

So you can actually age in by the rings like a tree.

And the longest lived mussel in the state of Kentucky would be what?

Probably about 100 years the spectacle case.

And it's also found in the Green River.

Now, what's the difference between mussels and clams?

So a lot of the ones you're seeing that on the banks are the Asian clam.

These don't need fish host.

They reproduce way differently.

These reproduce self fertilization and these are a lot more prolific.

And there's thousands and thousands of them.

And they live about 2 or 3 years and die.

And so some of these are natural mortality that where they just die natural The interesting thing about this river is the dams that are coming out are in the best part of the river.

So we're going to see probably one of the best restoration projects available in the country by taking out 3 or 4 of these dams, because we're opening up new habitat for fish, mussels, any aquatic species in the best part of the river, that's not been really available to those animals for over 100 years.

It's such a cool project.

Restoring the Green River, which runs through a beautiful part of central Kentucky.

This is an amazing place, it's amazing river, and we're trying to do what we can to keep it that way.

With youth season coming up this weekend.

Now, let's take a look back at my daughter Campbell's first deer hunt.

My daughter should be home from school any minute And i█m going to step inside and surprise her today with her very first deer hunt.

So Campbell, you know for the last couple of years, you█ve been asking me about wanting to deer hunt.

Sit up here I want to talk to you for a second.

You█ve been wanting to deer hunt for a long time, right?

Yeah.

And every single year when you wanted to go deer hunting You█ve had a volleyball tournament.

Well This year because, you know because of corona virus you don█t have a volleyball tournament.

And you█re going to be out of town.

But i█m out of town.

So I feel really bad because I know you█ve been wanting to deer hunt and unfortunately I can█t take you.

and I really want to be there for your first hunt But i don█t want to hold you back either, so What if I told you I got you something?

What if I told you I got you this?

You know what that is?

That is your license.

And it's your deer tags.

And I got you a new hunting jacket.

This is for me?

Yeah, and some hunter.

Cool!

Some hunters orange and a new shirt.

And guess what?

I can.

Guess what?

What?

Miss Rachel, who you have been going and shooting with.

We're going to squeeze as slow as possible.

Okay.

Miss Rachel is going to take you this Sunday, and you get to go on your very first deer hunt.

Are you excited?

Yeah.

And I will be getting home right about the time you guys get out of the stand.

So if you get a deer, I'll be able to come there and help you out.

Yeah.

Well, Rachel, I can tell you that Campbell is pretty excited to be going deer hunting with you.

Chad.

That's awesome.

I've known Campbell a long time, and I'm so grateful you asked me to mentor her for her first hunt.

And I'm just as excited as she is to get out there.

Campbell, are you excited?

Today's the day.

Yeah.

And we're going on what?

What are we doing today?

We're going on my first hunt.

First hunt?

And what are we going to try to harvest today?

A deer?

Yeah.

Deer.

Taking a kid on a hunt is not only a fun experience for the kid, it's also a great teaching opportunity.

Exactly.

There are some deer scat right there actually.

And the ground blind is right around the corner here.

Sound good?

Yeah.

You ready?

Yes.

Good.

And now you're just going to rack your bold up there.

Yeah.

Push it down.

Yep.

Keep that finger off the trigger.

We█re on safe there, see?

Yeah.

Okay.

All right we█re overlooking a food plot here so I feel like we'll have some luck.

It█s kind of hot and windy today, though.

Yeah it█s good weather.

Yeah.

So I believe the last shooting light is like 7:40 somewhere in there.

We still have about three hours.

I think, until dark.

So we'll just sit tight.

Let's see if we can get a deer to come in soon.

Yeah.

How far is it to the other end of the field?

I don't know.

What do you think?

What's your guess?

I don't know, looks pretty close through the binoculars though.

It's not going to pull it through here.

You're going to have to look through here.

So if you look through that and press this button it█ll show you a yardage at the bottom.

The screen is blocking it for me.

It says 371, but that's all the way down to that red tree.

So obviously we█re not going to shoot that far.

But I think that the deer will be feeding on the food plot at this end.

So I would think that we would get a close shot like 100 or closer.

Yeah.

We█ve got a good win tonight.

Feel confident.

Milkweed█s a good scent checker.

You really see what the wind's doing.

Yeah.

I see a deer out there, Campbell.

There's deer walking up right now.

Oh, gosh.

You're okay.

She's walking to us.

I see her in here.

See her?

Yeah.

Okay.

Do you want me to zoom in or anything.

No, this is perfect.

If you look at it█s head It's a button buck Campbell.

Can you tell?

Oh, yeah.

It's up to you, but I think maybe we could wait for a bigger doe.

What do you think?

Yeah.

Let's wait.

Yeah.

Okay.

But what we want to do is shoot just like that deer is standing right now.

And you can look through your scope and practice.

Keep your finger off the trigger.

He might be quartering away a tiny bit, but he's pretty much broadside.

Yeah, that's how we want to shoot a deer.

Okay?

Okay.

Hey, Campbell.

There's a little squirrel.

See him?

Oh, I see.

Oh my gosh.

Look at it.

That's funny.

Campbell, there's another deer.

It's way in the very back of the field.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's a big doe.

But she's still really far away.

I mean, 300 yards, she's far.

Yeah.

There's a squirrel with her.

Yeah, she looks fat and happy out there.

She's eating, but hopefully she'll eat this way towards us.

It looks like a big doe.

Looks through your scope.

See if you can find her.

There's a button buck.

Here it comes.

Go ahead and ease your safety off.

It'll be in range once it gets to the top of the hill.

The button buck is in the way.

So we're just going to wait for them to feed around in that food plot.

This is kind of the key.

Is keeping your nerves at bay, having patience, okay?

Okay.

Just like we practice on the range.

Only going to take good shots.

And when it's right, we're just going to slowly squeeze the trigger and stop.

And looks like just a couple more steps that way and you might have a shot right behind her shoulder, okay?

Okay.

She's turning.

Alright you feel good, you on her still?

Yeah.

Alright put it right in that pocket of her front shoulder and just slowly squeeze the trigger like we practiced, okay?

Okay.

Good shot Campbell.

Did I get it?

Yeah.

You got it.

Listen to her.

Listen to her.

Just wait.

Listen.

You hit her really good.

You hit her really good.

You hit her really good.

Well, Rachel, I was just getting back into town when I got a call from Campbell and told me she just had shot, and, man, she was excited.

She definitely was excited.

Hello?

Hey, Dad.

Hey hun.

Hey.

Guess what?

What?

We got one.

You got one?

Yeah.

That is so exciting.

Yeah.

Well Chad, as soon as Campbell shot, I was watching with my binoculars.

I knew she made a great shot and that the blood trailing was probably going to be a pretty great learning experience for her.

We started her right at the hit site.

She was the first to find blood right away.

Here, I see blood.

We talked about where the deer went into the brush and she led us right to it.

There it is.

Way to go girl.

Good job.

That's a big old doe.

Well Rachel, obviously it was an experience that I would have liked to have been there for.

I'm so happy that you were able to take her.

Tell me a little bit about what mentoring a hunt meant to you.

Well, I mean, it's really special.

You know what your first year like, I think I was shaken more than Campbell was.

As soon as she shot I couldn't get my nerves in order.

For year after year Campbell's wanted to go.

We hadn't been able to put it together and you stepped right in, and you've made a lasting memory for her, so I can't thank you enough.

Well, it was a lasting memory for me, too, Chad.

And something that I think everybody would enjoy if they just take a kid or an adult out hunting.

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 super impressive buck that was taken by a 12 year old Timothy Rothman.

This was an archery harvest on the opening day of bow season.

Nice job.

Braden Marshall hit the woods with his crossbow and took his biggest buck yet.

Nice job.

12 year old Walter Bowen hit his grandparents farm pond in Owsley County and caught this impressive bass.

Here we have ten year old Kenzie Helton who took this nice buck with a crossbow while hunting in Pulaski County.

Check out this impressive five by five bull elk that was taken in, not County, by Brady Sandlin.

Congratulations.

Hopefully you're making plans to get a youth out for the new, expanded modern firearm season.

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.