This week on Kentucky Afield.

If you haven't tried it, you're missing out.

We█re hunting frog legs using air rifles.

Then, We're taking a look back through the archives and trolling for white bass on Lake Barkley with Ruth Brane.

It's all next on Kentucky Afield.

Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

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

The warm summer nights we've been having recently makes for a perfect time to get outdoors in search of some bullfrogs.

We're out here today with a very familiar face, and we're in Shelby County getting ready to do one of my all time favorite activities.

And that's gigging or shooting frogs.

Yeah, I'm so excited.

I can't wait.

It's so much fun.

I know you've done this a lot and you've taken kids out shooting, gigging frogs.

What a great way to introduce someone to the outdoors.

It is a lot of fun.

It's something great to do in the summer.

Yeah.

So if kids are out, the weather's great.

Yeah, everything's wonderful.

We're going to have so much fun.

It is a lot of fun.

You know, there's a lot of ways you can do this.

You can do a rod and reel, you can do it with a gig.

You can do it with a rifle.

You can shoot them with a bow.

Tonight, I brought a couple air rifles, and you?

Brought gigs.

I've never done anything but gig frogs.

Okay.

Well, I take that back.

I've caught a couple with my hands, but I've never shot one with a gun before, so we're going to try that tonight.

I'm super pumped about that.

You mentor so many people and get them involved in the outdoors.

You know, you actually took my daughter on her first deer hunt.

It was a blast.

So much fun.

She still talks about it all the time.

Your passion and love for the outdoors and mentoring really transitioned perfectly for you because recently you started a new position with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

You're now a Department of Fish Wildlife employee.

Yep.

And you are heading up our R3 program, which tell me what R3 is.

So R3 is recruitment, retention and reactivation.

So if you've never hunted or fish before, we're going to try and introduce it to you.

If you're doing it, we just want to make sure that you come back and maybe if you left for a while or haven't done in a few years, we want to get you back into it and show you how much fun it is, how it's a great hobby to have, and hopefully we'll get some frog legs so we can eat some later too.

And if you never had frog legs, this ranks up right up there as one of my absolute favorite things to eat.

We've got about 20 minutes till it's going to be dark enough to kind of start making our way around with those air rifles.

You can sometimes start shooting them before it's completely dark and you don't even really have to spotlight them.

So let's go get our gear.

It's going to be fun.

Let's get after them, this is going to be a blast.

Yeah, well, Rachel, we got way too much gear.

I brought this little net.

Probably wondering, “what in the world?

Is he just going to hand grab frogs?” And I may grab a frog.

Yeah, this is actually if we shoot one that's out in the water just a little ways.

Well, I'm super excited about trying to shoot once.

I think we should try that first.

All right.

Hey, that sounds good.

Listen, you hear them?

All right, let's get out here and take a look and see if we can't get you loaded up.

We're going to try to score your first frog with the air rifle right off the bat.

We█re just going to leave these right here for now.

Let's walk down and take a look.

Sounds good.

Oh, yeah.

You can see all their eyes.

That's a good frog.

Rachel, why don't you go and get loaded up?

Okay.

I probably need to sneak up a tiny bit closer with this gun.

Oh, wrong way.

I don't know why it█s not pulling.

Maybe I didn█t cock it all the way.

That's all right.

He'll be back up here.

Oh, I didn█t cock the pellet rifle all the way.

And I think that frog would have been close enough for me to gig.

That's okay.

There'll be more.

Get ready, because we're getting ready to see some big█ns.

I think, like right in here by this big pipe.

There should be a few sitting up here.

Well Rach█, there's one right there.

But I believe that one is a hair small.

That'll be next year█s frog, what do you think?

Yeah, go on around.

See if we can't find another one.

That one looks a little bigger.

It's not a big frog but it might be good for your first one with an air rifle.

I think this distance is probabl Oh, that was a good shot.

This is what the net█s for, right here.

I'll tell you one thing.

Those air rifles will flat stone them.

That's crazy.

Frog number one.

Heck, yeah.

You know what?

You get 15.

I get 15.

Let's try to get another one.

Okay.

I missed.

Got him.

Didn't hit him where I wanted to, though.

Pellet gun still took him down.

That's a better frog.

Oh, it actually went in right where I was aiming, but it came out here.

Look, you think that didn't do a number on them?

It's really perfect for frogs, those air rifles are.

let's get loaded up again.

Try to get us another one.

I'll tell you one thing.

The worst mistake you could ever make is take one of these air rifles and go, “Oh, its a BB gun, you don█t have to be safe with them.” Yeah.

I would hate to get shot with one of these.

It could be really, really, really bad news.

Absolutely.

You got to treat these just like a regular firearm.

They for sure are.

You smoked him.

Oh, Rachel, Right there.

Okay.

You want to shine or shoot?

Here?

I'll shine.

You shoot.

Let me make my way up here.

This way.

Just a little bit.

Ready?

Yeah.

All right, He's down.

We got another one right here.

Nice job, Rachel.

Laying right there.

Thank you.

Look at that one.

Look at the white belly on that joker right there, Rachel.

That's our chicken from earlier, that is.

I'll hold that light.

Okay.

You want this light here?

Yeah.

Nice shot, Chad.

Wasn't as big as I thought.

We're going to take it.

Yeah, he█ll eat.

I've had good frog legs at restaurants.

They don't compare.

No, not close.

When you go get fresh caught frog legs instead of farm raised, there's something about them, they█re just different.

Yeah, for sure.

Alright guys, that frog's hit and he's not too deep to still get.

There we go.

Thank you.

Good frog.

I think that'll eat.

There's a big one in the water.

Was i high on that?

You know, I don't know.

But that frog is going to come back and we're going to get that frog here in just a minute.

He's on the bank now.

Do I need to shoot him again?

Yeah.

Did I hit him or is he swimming?

He's going to come right back up to this bank.

We got a blood trail.

I've never seen a frog Get away.

Leave a puddle like that.

I know.

It's crazy.

That frog█s coming back to the bank.

I don't believe it needs another pellet.

We're just going to go out there and try to stick this lid on it.

Got him.

Good job.

Well, did you see that?

Did he get out?

He snuck out the side.

Dang it.

Oh, there are two frogs.

Oh we got him.

Okay, here we go.

This is that big one that we shot earlier.

Heck, yeah.

That's a good frog right there.

Look at that.

The shot on this hit right here.

Yeah, that was a good shot, though.

That█s a great big frog.

That's a good one.

That's a really good frog.

Heck yeah.

He's going to eat good.

Hey, we got a couple more ponds, so let's go regroup.

And I think I'm going to leave the scope air rifle.

We'll take the other rifle you got there.

We'll lighten the load a little bit.

Maybe we'll carry the gigs next time around.

Yeah, We'll see if we can gig a couple.

Let's go make it happen.

Sounds good.

I think we got them.

What do you think, Rach█, Can you make that shot?

I'm going to try.

Oh!

Good shooting, Chad.

got it.

Nice job, Rachel.

Look at that.

That's a good frog.

I think you got him.

Yes, that's a good job right there.

Not easy to get to those cattails like that.

This is so fun.

No, there's a big one.

Good job.

You got him?

Yeah, I can't hardly see.

Oh, yeah.

There we go.

Good job, buddy.

Nice.

Oh, you smoked him.

All right.

It's been great.

I really do appreciate it.

Hey, for someone who wanted to know more about R3 and how to get involved and how to reach out and learn a little more about the outdoors, what's the best way for them to do that?

Go to the website.

fw.ky.gov And then if you click on the education tab, you'll find a “Learn to Hunt and Fish and Shoot” tab.

That's your best place to start.

So there they'll take you to like our hook and cook classes or field to fork.

We've also started putting together basic learn to hunt and fish information on our website too.

I'll tell you what, tonight was a perfect basic learn how to gather frogs.

And you know what?

We got a skillet full of goodness right here.

Yes, we do.

I can't wait.

Located in McQueary and Pulaski County is Beaver Creek Wildlife Management area.

This WMA is over 17,000 acres and offers excellent hunting and outdoor opportunities.

Except nighttime hunting is prohibited.

This property consists of steep, mountainous terrain and mixed hardwoods and contains approximately 150 acres of open fields.

Take note that this WMA falls within the Daniel Boone National Forest and is owned by the U.S. Forest Service.

Within the WMA lies Beaver Creek Wilderness area where motorized or mechanized equipment are not allowed.

Remember that wildlife management area users must abide by the Kentucky Hunting, trapping and fishing regulations.

Also, keep in mind that regulations on WMAs often differ from statewide regulations.

So be sure to review the hunting guard or website for the specific WMA that you are hunting.

And for more information about this WMA or the latest regulations or restrictions that pertain to it, visit our Web site at fw.ky.gov or call 1-800-858-1549.

This month, in celebrating our 70th anniversary on the air, we're going to take a look back to the eighties on a fishing trip that we took with one of the most colorful and entertaining fishing guides we've ever had the pleasure to fish with.

You want to be on TV?

You're so handsome.

You should be on TV.

You█d probably get a contract.

Ruth Brame is a 72 year old fishing guide from Hopkinsville.

She's probably caught more white bass from Lake Barkley than any other angler in the state.

Recently, Ruth permitted me to tag along as she educated Norm Minch on how to find and catch this species.

Come here little fishy.

Ohh... Splash, splash, splash.

He's not very big, is he a keeper?

You want to keep him?

These old wrist breakers are.

They are out here.

Sometimes I think the little ones jump on when they run through a school like that before the large ones can get ahold of it.

Not much you can do about that.

Oh, Norm, look there.

It's one of yours.

I believe that█s that same one we catch every time we go by, don't you?

I believe that█s that same little fish.

Only he doesn't have a torn mouth.

He does now.

Poor baby.

He's going to be hair lipped.

There█s two things that are unpredictable, a woman and a fish.

You can█t ever tell where they are and what they're doing.

Can you?

I got this fish I had last fall, he was a whopper.

And I'd get him right up to the boat and then he'd take off.

I dipped at him three times.

It's really hard to hold those fish and get with your right hand and get the dip net net under with a left hand.

Someone told me I should lip them but I would wind up probably with the bait in my finger.

I don't think I can be as cool as those professional guys are, get too excited.

Oh, there he is.

We have to stop production again while we get the fish in.

That is production.

Oh, do you ever do a show when you can't find any fish?

All the time.

All the time.

Don't you think this is exciting?

This type fishing.

I just love it.

Any time you're catching fish, I'm not going to be fussy about what kind they are.

I like to catch crappie.

I like to catch bass.

I like to catch anything that swims.

These fish, they█ll come in and stay on gravel bars.

And it's a matter of finding them when they come into the shallow water on the bars feeding.

You can catch a bunch of them if you can catch them doing that.

Most of the time they're kind of scattered, but they will be large fish.

This is where they normally are right in here.

They're hanging out spot.

Another fish, woe is us.

I noticed when I came down here they oh, there's here's another one.

Norm they just won't leave us alone.

Oh my goodness.

Is it a terrible to be molested by fish kind of molestation I could take from now on out.

The sky has these streaks up in it like that, and it's pretty.

Ruth has been a guide on Lake Barkley for about five years, but can recall fishing the rivers and streams that make up the lake with her father when she was a child.

In fact, she can't remember not fishing.

This friend of mine said that he remembered when I walked around with a fishing pole.

I told you this, Norm, I think with a fishing pole over my shoulder and a can of worms in my diaper I don't think that's quite right.

Oh, goodness.

He hit so hard and he missed it.

Oh, well, there is.

But now I finished with my dad from.

I just truly I don't remember not fishing.

I remember the first big bass I ever caught in a pond.

That was a vivid memory.

But I tagged around after my daddy and we just had a wonderful, wonderful life together fishing.

And he fished with me until he was 89 years old.

My daddy used to hold the fish down under the boat.

When you see a boat passing, and sometimes his fish would get off and, “aw shucks, I guess I should have gone on and gotten him in”.

And you got one Norm to.

That's pitiful, Norm, you wait.

I might have one more pitiful.

He's small isn█t he.

We█ll put him back.

Catch him next year.

Come to the very same spot and catch the same fish.

Sometimes I wonder why does it fascinate me so when, it's just like any other sport.

My husband was a golfer.

He loved to golf.

Golf bores me stiff.

We got along just great until we tried to fish together.

Oh, he wanted to go home if the fish weren't biting, that didn't go very good with me.

So we decided I'd fish and he would golf.

And that way we got along just great.

I'll never forget the first jump striped jump I saw.

Oh, my gosh, What on earth is that?

And this man who worked with my husband down in the post office made a bait, no one knew how to fish for stripers.

His name was Claude Brown, and he made this bait cut up baby pants, white baby pants, and tied them on to a single hook, wound them like you would a fly.

And we, of course, had to put some lead on the line, and we throw that thing into those striper jumps and they would just eat it up.

Had we had all this sophisticated equipment back then that we have now, we could have really made a splash.

He's a nice one isn█t he.

Is he, is he food on the table, Norm?

Yes ma'am.

We have to get Norm█s consent to keep these fish.

Since she is a senior citizen, I thought that Ruth would fish once or twice a week.

However, I soon found out that's not the case.

During fishing season, when you can fish when you want to, I average about at least three days a week.

And then, you know, sometimes when you guide you, you get thrown into fishing maybe five days.

That's that's a little tough, especially if you're working, trying to get someone on fish.

You have to get a lot of these people want to get up real early.

And there's most of the time there's no point in getting up so early during the summertime when the fish are feeding and you're going to catch them in the jumps.

They are hardly ever going to start much activity until they open the gates and start the turbines down at the dam.

And they drop that when they start the current through here, that pulls the minnows out into the shallow water and then the fish, the stripers will go in and feed them.

And if we don't get a fish right through here, we're going to turn around, go the other way.

But this is where they usually stay.

We'll have to go up the bridge right after a while.

There were a bushel of fish up there yesterday.

When Barkley Lake was being impounded.

Right through here was a road they built for people, the old ferry approach.

And this is gravel all out in here where we are right now.

And of course fish like gravel.

And of course, this is just Barkley Lake, your bridge right there.

They had a ferry that ran across here and it in the summertime fish were really stay on this area out here.

I don't know if they're here now or not.

I haven't tried it before, but they love to run around those piers down there.

That's an excellent place for them.

I think when a boat gets too close to a striper jump, the noise from a boat will scatter your minnows, and in turn the stripers will leave.

On Kentucky Lake it didn't bother you because it was so deep.

But this lake is so shallow.

I think it does bother them.

You know, you'll have people who argue that it doesn't bother them, but I think it does definitely.

I█ve had too many good jumps messed up that way.

I always when I see a jump I█ll run fairly close to it and then I'll turn on my trolling motor and the trolling motor doesn't bother them.

This is this almost looks like a fall day doesn█t it?

The sky is so clear and bright, beautiful day.

Any day is beautiful when you're catching fish, isn█t that right?

That█s exactly right.

Now let's check in and see who else has been out having fun in this week's Ones that didn't get away.

Here we have Payton Kincaid with a giant 17 pound hybrid striped bass that was caught at Guist creek lake.

This fish was caught while trolling his secret bate.

What a fish.

Here we have Sean Clark with a nice shovel Nose sturgeon that was caught below the locks of McAlpine Dam.

We were actually there to witness this.

What a fish.

Here we have a nice smallmouth bass that was caught on yellow Creek by George Miracle.

Nice fish.

Here we have Delbert Schweitzer of Harrison County with a huge blue catfish.

This fish weighed over 53 lbs and was released after it was caught.

Nice job.

Check out this beautiful fish that was caught by Amy.

This is a 40 inch striper that was caught out of lake Cumberland.

Nice job.

As you and your family make your summer plans to hit the water.

Make sure you take the proper safety precautions and always wear a life jacket.

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.

Did you know the Kentucky is home to the largest elk heard in the eastern U.S. with an elk zone twice the size of Yellowstone National Park?

Look how big that animal is.

I mean, this is just amazing.

And we enjoy one of the most diverse fisheries in the country.

Just ask Christine.

Very nice.

Oh, and by the way, Kentucky is known for being one of the top five states for trophy white tails each year.

Additionally, more than 100,000 Kentuckians have benefited from our conservation education programs like the Salato Wildlife Education Center, Summer Conservation Camps, and our learn to hunt and fish classes.

Or did you know about the 1.6 million acres open to the public?

These are just a few things that Kentucky's Department of Fish and Wildlife have helped preserve.

This is one of several we have on the Kentucky River.

She's got plenty of room in that nest for chicks.

Who pays for conservation in Kentucky?

Well, since the department receives no general fund state tax dollars, we rely on the sportsmen and women of the Commonwealth.

He's been waiting years for that.

So if you enjoy Kentucky's resources, help us manage them by purchasing a hunting or fishing license today.

You can do so by visiting fw.ky.gov.