Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

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

In this week's adventure we're going to break out dogs and chase squirrels and raccoons.

But first up, we're going to head to Eastern Kentucky and show you how trout get in some of the remote streams in the Red River Gorge.

So we are down in the Red River Gorge, and we're getting ready to stock rainbow trout here, specifically today into Chimney Top Creek and a couple weeks ago we backpacked trout into Swift Camp Creek, and we also stopped them into East Fork, Indiana, Middle Fork Red River.

We do that because really, there's no easier way to get them down in the creek.

You know, these these fish need to be in water the whole time.

We can't drive the truck right down to the creek.

So putting them in in a bag with water and hiking them down is the next best option.

The journey of these fish really starts at Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery.

There our federal partners in this.

They raise the fish.

And what happens in this particular instance today is, a couple of guys out of my office drove from Moorhead all the way down to Wolf Creek Dam, picked up these fish, and now they're bringing them all the way back to Red River Gorge.

When they get up here, we're going to look at the data, see the number of fish in a pound of fish.

And that kind of tells us how many fish we need to put in a bag.

We count those out into a bucket.

We put it into a plastic bag pump pure oxygen in that plastic bag, seal it off with some castration bands, which prevents any air from getting in and hopefully any air or water from escaping.

they're put on your back And then from there, the clock is ticking.

And we got to get them down to the stream as quick as we can and got to get them out into the water as quick as we can.

These backpacking trips are fun for a lot of folks.

You know, we get a lot of folks from the department and volunteers from different hunting and angling groups, community colleges that sort of stuff that come out and help us because it's a unique opportunity where you get to put fish on your back and hike them down and release them into streams.

And in the past, we've gotten with different state agencies like Department of Juvenile Justice has brought kids out to do this before angling groups like Bluegrass Trout Unlimited.

Today here at Chimney Top, we have, one of the community colleges is coming out.

And then also the backcountry hunters and anglers are coming out to help us today, really without the help of the volunteers we can't do this.

You know, we just don't have enough staff, in my office, especially to to handle stocking these, several hundred fish we█re about to stop today.

I've been fly fishing since I was 18 years old.

My, interests have always revolved around being outside in nature.

And, it's wonderful to fish.

It's even more wonderful to to get into the backcountry a bit and be able to have an experience alone in the water.

Kentucky Afield had done a program several years back about the few streams in the state that require hiking the fish in.

So for the last several years, I've been trying to get on board and meet with the volunteers and find a chance to, to pack in fish myself.

It's a really neat experience, and I certainly hope to do it again.

I think I'll just keep popping the events on my calendar and come whenever I can From there, those fish, because they've been raised our whole lives at Wolf Creek Hatchery, they they naturally are schooling up together, and they just kind of stay together in this big mass for a little while.

But slowly, through the course of the rest of today and definitely into tomorrow, they█ll split up and kind of get out on their own and start adapting to that, wild diet.

Why put all this effort in?

for those adventure anglers.

These aren't your normal pull up walk ten steps, cast a line and you go put some effort and you got to, hike down to these streams.

You got to do some research.

You got to be quiet.

The reward for your effort is not only just the fish, but just the beauty of what's around us.

These are unique opportunities, not necessarily just for us in the Northeast District, but unique across the state.

You know, there's there's only one Red River gorge, and there's only a handful of the streams that we stock.

It's an opportunity for us to, you know, reach another group of our constituents as far as anglers go.

Today I'm here with Joe McDermott.

Joe, you've been dealing with our deer herd for a long time.

And recently in a county in kind of central Kentucky, we've had a positive CWD of a deer.

Yes, sir.

This was a deer that was was in a captive facility, correct?

Yep.

That triggers our regulations.

That changes deer hunting a little bit in three counties, which Breckenridge, Hardin, and Meade.

So Breckenridge, Hardin and Meade Counties now have some new regulations that deer hunters need to be aware of.

Tell me a little bit about what these regulations are.

So when a county becomes a CWD surveillance zone by default, these regulations are enacted.

So what we have in place now we have a ban on baiting and feeding, with the exception of food plots or bird feeders around the cartilage of your home, you can't put out any bait or mineral in the landscape.

Then we have carcass transportation regs.

Basically, you can't take any high risk parts out of the zone.

You must debone the meat before leaving the zone or clean up the skull finish taxidermy products, things like that.

Basically removing all the heavy infectious material.

And then we do have a ban on, rehabilitation of fawns.

If you're in this area, I mean deer season, archery seasons in.

We've already had a muzzleloader season.

Gun season is right around the corner.

Right around the corner.

In this situation, if you have, some corn out or a mineral block, do you need to run out there and immediately try to pick all that up?

Just don't don't deploy anymore, corn, bait, mineral, or anything like that for this year.

You don't have to go out there and try to dig up, you know, a ten year old existing salt block.

Just try not to put any more out for the remainder of the season.

Okay.

And then if you take an animal, let's say you take a big buck and you want to take it to the taxidermist.

If your taxidermist is within that three county and you've taken the animal in that three county zone.

How do you handle that?

It's just status quo business as normal.

You just, you know, harvest the deer.

Telecheck.

Follow all those procedures and then just take it to your taxidermist.

If the deer is harvested with inside the zone, it may stay inside the zone.

No special regulations.

Where that kicks in is in your scenario.

Say your taxidermist is outside the zone and we kill the deer in Breckinridge, Hardin, or Meade counties to take him to a taxidermist outside the zone.

Then you'd have to follow those carcass transportation regulations.

So you would need to cape and skullcap is the most common, way to get that animal out there.

Well, I'm saying if you're talking to a taxidermist, all you need is the cape and the skull cap, but yes, to to remove the rest of the meat, you have to be deboned.

Now, Joe, there's some really big meat processors in that three county area.

What if you use them as a meat processor, but you take your deer and say bullet or Jefferson County?

If you've killed it outside the zone, you can utilize the services inside the zone.

No problem.

Now, for these individuals that are hunting these areas for years, they might not have known it.

There's been an opportunity to drop off your deer skull.

Yes, sir.

For CWD testing, has anything changed in that as far as a requirement?

No.

So in Breckinridge, Hardin, and Meade, although they are surveillance zone, designation, they do not have any mandatory check requirements proposed for this season.

We're going to work processors and stuff in the area to get our samples, but we also have these CWD sample drop off sites, which are just a freezer that's located out there on the landscape for you to put your sample in.

You'll take the head.

All the instructions that you need are right here on top of the the freezer, which will take the head, put it in here 2 or 3 weeks will give you a result.

It's just an additional piece of mind.

You can find out for sure if your animal does have CWD, now still remind people at this point in time.

We've still only had two animals now.

One of them was in a high fence zone.

Yep.

One of them was in Ballard County.

So we've had two cases in the entire state of Kentucky.

We've tested over 60,000 deer since 2002.

So we've done a lot of testing and we're going to do a lot of testing this year.

So ramping it up.

So this is a peace of mind effort.

But we really want the samples.

Yes sir.

We want the samples.

So get involved.

Take your deer head.

Put it in the freezer and then we'll we'll give you the results.

And it gives us another biological sample which that's always good.

That's perfect for us.

All right.

Thank you so much I appreciate it, man.

There's a unique bond between a hunter and their hunting dog.

And a good friend of mine, Jim Doom, took me and his grandson to land between the lakes to demonstrate that.

We█re out here today with a couple of familiar faces.

We're at Land Between the Lakes.

You know this is an area you were born and raised, right?

Since you were this young man's age.

Even before even.

So we're here with Eli.

Eli, We've had you out fishing and frog gigging, you know, the last two or three times we've been out and you've had your dog, Ellie, with us.

She's a great dog to have in the boat isn█t she?

Yes.

But I heard she also does some What else she do?

Trees, squirrels, she trees squirrels.

So we're we're going to go out here on public land and we're going a different route today.

And then we're taking the boat.

Yeah, go take a boat.

Kind of get away from the roads and maybe get some squirrels.

It's not been chased too much.

we're going to get us a mess of squirrel today.

I got a feeling.

What about the breed of dog that Ellie is?

She's a mix.

Kind of an odd.

She's the female was a border collie.

Male dogs, a Belgian Malinois.

Okay.

she got donated to me at 12 weeks old.

You really weren█t looking for a dog either at the time were you?

I was not really looking for one.

we were going to go without a dog for a while.

But about six weeks, we're thinking about getting a dog.

And my brother said, I brought that one by and said, You need this.

So I've spent a little bit of time with Ellie, She's a pleasing dog.

She wants to please you, doesn't she?

She does.

I think it's, you know, with any dog that wants to do that, you can train them to do just about anything.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So she's only two now?

Yeah.

So this is only the second year you've actually had her to do any type of squirrel hunting right?

Right.

She says there's something there.

Let█s go check it out.

Let█s go see.

Yeah, she says there's one there squat down a little bit Eli, I can see him a little bit.

Here you go.

Right there.

All right, hold up.

Got ‘em.

I think.

Yeah.

well, here he comes.

Give ‘em El.

good shot, buddy.

You see the boat is parked right there.

We let her out.

And before we even made a couple of steps up there, she was already barking saying there was a squirrel up here.

She wasn't lying.

Better check that other tree.

she acts like there█s one there too.

hopefully I can get some more.

Well, we're just getting started.

Looks like we got one is a Cedar tree here.

Cedar Tree.

And she was looking over here.

if they left the tree.

A lot of time for your watch, but she won't move So, Jim, I noticed the last tree we were at, You spotted that squirrel while watching where that dog was looking.

So she'll, she█ll visually keep an eye on wherever they go.

Right.

there's one right there.

There he goes.

Right, right over here.

Is that tree there better for you?

this little tree's better.

That's good.

Come here.

Tell me when you see it.

Alright, hold up right there.

See if I can miss Dang it, I shot that darn limb in front of us.

Shoot ‘em!

Here.

Get over on this tree.

He'll stop.

There's another one.

That tree right there where you say there's two of them.

Here's another one here.

Yep.

Going in the nest.

One right above the nest.

You see them, don't you, girl?

He█ll stop.

Get him Ellie!

Put your gun down Eli, unload it I█m going to go get that one to stop.

Come here Ellie, go get ‘em.

It's not exactly a squirrel.

What is that, Eli?

A possum.

My goodness.

Not a possum.

Ra..... A rac..... It█s a raccoon man.

Huh.

That does not look like a raccoon.

It looks exactly like a raccoon.

Good Girl.

I'm sorry.

I shot a tree limb.

She did a good job.

She was holding tight.

She knew something over there.

Go hunt up, go.

See ‘em?

Yeah.

I can shoot at him if you want me to.

Think you got a shot?

If he sits still I believe I can Oh yeah.

You see ‘ em?

I can see ‘em.

I don't know if I can hit this one or not.

I'm going to try.

Here he comes.

Get ‘em Ellie!

That's a pretty good shot of the pistol.

Nice shot, Jim.

I didn't even notice it.

You know that█s the rule.

So you get it.

When you bring a 22, you get to shoot, and it's your turn to keep going till you get a limit.

Or you miss.

Then guess what?

What?

Papaw gets to shoot till he misses.

You may have to go over there right before he shoots and nudged him a little bit.

See if you can't get in to miss and then be your turn again.

I'll tell you one thing.

There's very few things that bring you back to your childhood.

Than slipping through the woods with a 22.

Yeah.

It's a lot of fun.

A lot of fun.

Good practice.

Let█s check these other trees, then we'll make our way back to the boat.

You█d think there would be up this tree.

You'd think he'd already gotten nervous and bailed out by now.

if he was.

We may have a prospect over there.

Oh really?

Yeah.

She's on that tree right there.

Come here buddy.

Got a perfect spot right here for you.

Make sure it's all the way down.

All right.

There you go.

Nice shot.

Got em.

He█s getting ready to come down.

Let's go ahead and reload.

But, he's getting ready to come down.

there you go.

Good girl.

Nice shot.

You put it right.

Right in the head there.

Way to go!

Hey, good shooting.

Yeah.

Let's go see.

We can't find some more.

We go ahead and head east in the boat, Move up the, lake a little way.

There he goes right there.

One out of the big tree.

It came out of here and went to the next one she█s at for sure.

Yeah.

There's another one down there by the water line Jim.

He's on your side of the tree.

He█s gonna go.

Better kill him.

Eli, you see ‘em?

Now I see ‘em.

Oh he's hit.

I hit him right on the head.

I believe he's coming out.

Here he comes.

Nice job, buddy.

You're working on a limit today.

Perfect.

Beautiful little gray squirrel.

Your job is to fill my pouch up.

I walk out here, with squirrels like this.

I'm going to put him in here.

You wanna try another spot?

If you're up for it, I'd like to try one more.

Okay.

Chad.

You see it?

Yup.

He█s on your left hand fork there.

Close to the top.

Oh I think you got it.

I love watching Eli shoot.

He is a dead eye.

It wasn't a headshot but, I don█t care.

It wasn't a headshot?

Well, then it don't count!

Yes, it does!

Oh, you Sure?

That was a great shot.

Nice job, buddy.

Good shot of Eli.

Jim, thanks again for bringing us out.

You're raising a heck of a special little grandson here.

He's really, really good in the field.

Yeah, well, I appreciate that.

You almost got a limit.

You got four.

You got to see him shoot one with a pistol.

That's really cool.

I tell you what, if you if you spend time on the couch or if you've got things that you need to get away from, it's as close to you as your nearest WMA isn't it?

It is this.

Get out and do it.

Put on some extra clothes and go for a walk.

Well, this is a good time.

Thanks, guys.

You're welcome.

Thank you, Chad.

There is a high level of excitement in starting a hunt behind a pack of dogs at night, chasing raccoons.

We're out here tonight in Washington County with a friendly face.

Dr. Mark Brockman, hey, we've coon hunted before, and that's what we're here to do tonight, huh?

Yeah, we're excited to do it.

Really looking forward to getting the dogs out.

So which one's this one here?

This is Doc.

This is the puppy.

He just turned ten months old.

Ten months old.

And he's grown up.

Looks like he's ready to rock and roll.

He's excited.

How many dogs you bring out with you today?

If you remember our last coon hunt, this is Hannah.

I had her as a puppy out there.

She's five now.

And so she's here.

And then we actually have Buzz.

So this is Buzz, huh?

Yes sir.

Oh he█s ready.

Ready.

This is the daddy to the pup that Mark is hunting tonight.

Okay.

All right.

He's a good looking dog.

Big dog.

He is a big dog.

I think this is good enough.

You guys ready?

We're ready.

Man, they're so docile walking along.

You, like, not a care in the world.

And so you turn them, loose then bang.

They're gone.

Yeah.

Yeah, That's what they're supposed to do.

I wish my dogs were that easy to handle walking out here.

They're just kind of like, Yeah, I'm not too sure about this tonight dad and all the sudden bam!

They█re ready to go.

That's a beautiful sound.

Sure is.

That's kind of one of the reasons we do it.

Listen to that.

Tell me what you got going on down here.

So, actually, once we turn Buzz loose, he came around this bottom, the other dog circled back around, and they actually met up and they started treeing together.

Okay, so you think we got one?

One coon.

So we'll see.

Sometimes they█ll coons will be close together and you'll have dogs split.

Sometimes they'll be together.

So it'll just be interesting to see what we all got down here.

They might not be together.

Might not be.

I█ll follow you.

Okay, Let's go.

And sure enough, there he is right there.

And we can actually show you sometimes when it's the summertime or when it's a real leafy tree, we can use a thermal.

Really confirm if we're having a hard time with the lights.

Man, that thermal will allow you to pretty quickly scan a tree and find out.

It gives you confidence in your dog.

Right.

Especially when it's hard to find.

Well, let's do what I want to do.

Tie some dogs off, and we'll see what we need to get done.

Sounds good.

I've got him pretty good here.

Good shot.

So Doc is a young dog, and he's kind of still training.

Yeah.

So Doc's ten months old, and like I said, it's his second coon he's had shot to him for.

Nice job.

Thank you.

Hey, that was fairly quick.

Got the dogs out.

Got it.

Got one treed.

nice job.

Go ahead.

All right.

There's Hannah.

She's on a trail right now.

She's trail barking.

You got two treed.

Yeah.

So we had Hannah treed and we're making our way to her.

And now Buzz and Buzz came.

treed over here.

He's back over this way.

Correct.

All right, so we're going to go to him first.

So we'll go to him first and then go up and over to Hannah.

All right.

That sounds good.

Hannah is going to be on that tree for a while.

But that yeah, that's part of it and that's part of it.

She's trained to do that, so she'll be okay.

Might be in the side of this river here.

Oh, wow.

Look, this dog Doc is down here trying to get out of that old sycamore tree out over the out over the river here.

We'll search this tree.

But, you know, these sycamore trees, especially on the river, they█re going to be hollow the majority of the time.

And a lot of the time that raccoon is going to be on the inside.

Okay.

Now, even if we do see it, you don't want to shoot a raccoon out because it's going to go in the water.

Yeah, dog's going to go after it.

Pull him off here and head to Hannah.

I think that's probably best.

Yeah.

really good way to learn your property.

Oh, yeah.

You turn dogs loose at night, you start realizing how your property lays pretty fast.

Yeah.

You want to know the easiest way to get to them too.

You got one?

Sweet.

I'll tell you what.

Dogs never, never cease to amaze me.

Look at how thick and nasty and narly this is.

That dog is hunting through here at a fast pace.

And as soon as it finds that coon and trees it I mean, it's locked on.

It's jumping and trying it knows it can't climb that tree, but it's not giving up no she█s not.

And like you said, she's been here for close to an hour.

While we went to Buzz and she's she's stay treed and she's got the meat.

Good girl.

Good girl.

He's right here.

He's dead.

Man, that thing sound like a ton of bricks.

Yeah, that's a big raccoon That's a big one.

Nice shot.

Hey, that was a lot of fun.

I can't tell much.

I appreciate you guys getting out here and doing this.

It's obvious watching you guys work your dog.

How how much you one love doing this, but how much you love working your dogs.

Oh, you never know what these dogs are going to do.

You never know what the raccoons are going to do.

Oh, yeah.

You know what, Hannah treed this, this last coon.

Doc, treed one earlier, right?

Buzz, buzz.

And then Doc and Doc was in on.

Yeah, got in on it, too.

So honestly, for a night in the middle of the week to get out and be able to do all this and get home at a decent time and still get to work your dogs as well.

Oh, yeah.

Perfect night.

That's great.

Absolutely perfect night.

Thank you all for coming.

Thanks a lot.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you.

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 Houston Winningham with a largemouth bass that he caught at the family farm pond in LaRue County.

Nice job.

Check out the size of the saugeye that was caught by Meyer Dawson on Taylorsville Lake.

What a beautiful fish.

Here we have Nolan Winningham holding his first smallmouth bass ever.

This fish was caught in the Green River.

Congratulations.

Here we have eight year old Andrew Ducing with his very first deer ever.

This was an after school hunt with an evening with his dad.

This deer was taken with a crossbow in Fayette County.

Congratulations.

Check out this giant buck that was taken by Lydia Pope in Bourbon County.

This buck was taken with a muzzleloader.

Congratulations.

Modern farm season for deer opens next weekend, on November the 9th.

Statewide.

Make sure you go to FW.KY.GOV and check in on all the new rules and regulations.

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.