All Outdoors, November 6, 1998

1. Hunter learns the best way to make a friend is to be a friend

3. Congress votes funds for Discovery Center

"Any birds?"

"Yes, I brought back some and left some, and it is possible that those I left gave me as much pleasure as those I brought home. There is only one thing you can do with a dead bird, you know-eat it."-Havilah Babcock, The Best of Babcock

1. Hunter learns the best way to make a friend is to be a friend

Landowners and hunters have much more to offer each other than venison.

CALIFORNIA, Mo.--When Donnie Schanuth knocked on a door near the hamlet of Overton, he was looking for a place to hunt. He ended up with a friend for life. The story of how a knock on a stranger's door blossomed into a life-enriching relationship holds a valuable lesson for land-poor hunters.

Schanuth, 42, is a railroad conductor. For years, he has run trains through central Missouri at all hours of the day and night. Being a hunter, he took more than a passing interest in the abundance of game in certain areas.

He noticed that deer were particularly plentiful in the area between Boonville and Wooldridge. He says he often had to sound the train's horn to warn deer off the tracks. So in 1996, when he decided he wanted to get back into deer hunting, he thought of the Overton Bottoms area where I-70 crosses the Missouri River.

Schanuth didn't know any landowners in the area, so one afternoon he made the neighborhood rounds knocking on doors. The reception he received ranged from flat and immediate refusals to suggestions that he come back when the man of the house was home. Then he knocked on Scharlotte Klein's door.

"I asked if her husband was home," says Schanuth. "She said she was a widow. She stayed behind the screen door like she didn't know what to expect."

Schanuth wasn't the first hunter Mrs. Klein had encountered. Since her husband died in 1990, she had been ignored by trespassing archers, brushed aside by road-hunters and disgusted by poachers who shot deer in her fields and drove away, leaving the animals to rot.

Unaware of this dismal history, Schanuth continued his introduction, telling Mrs. Klein who he was, where he lived, what he did for a living and why he was there. Eventually, she came out on the porch, and they visited a little.

Schanuth learned that she had grown up in the Overton area. "I found out she was a really neat person," he says. "She keeps a journal about things that happen on her land in her life. She is very interested in things going on in the world, and she has definite opinions. I liked her."

Unfortunately, liking her wasn't enough to fulfill his original goal. Mrs. Klein told Schanuth that someone else already hunted deer on her land, and she didn't want it to get too crowded.

But the conversation continued. Commenting on Schanuth's occupation, Mrs. Klein told him she had always been fascinated by the trains that passed through Overton Bottoms. She had lived in the same house since the age of 2 and grew up watching the trains.

"She told me she really missed seeing the trains," Schanuth recalls.Conservation Department "Some trees had grown up so she couldn't see the bluff where the tracks were any more."

Touched by Mrs. Klein's sense of loss at not being able to see the passing trains, Schanuth acted on an impulse. He offered to trim the offending trees. The gesture took her by surprise.

"That was the first time a hunter ever offered to do anything for me," says Mrs. Klein. Before Schanuth left, Mrs. Klein told him to call her after the first few days of deer season; if she and others had already bagged their deer, she might have room for him.

Schanuth got busy, though, and it was late on the last day of firearms deer season before he found time to call. She invited him to come and hunt, and he saw several deer. But he passed up the shots because the deer were silhouetted against the sky on a hilltop. A miss would have sent the bullet careening miles away to an unknown destination.

Though he didn't kill a deer that year, Schanuth remembered his widow friend. Later that month, Schanuth and his wife, Michele, packed up some of their Thanksgiving feast and delivered it to Mrs. Klein's home. Finding her gone, they left it beside her door.

That led to the discovery that Mrs. Klein was a prolific writer of lively personal letters. A correspondence ensued.

Schanuth returned and trimmed the trees as he had offered to do, and by the time the 1997 deer season rolled around, they were fast friends. He had a reserved hunting spot on Mrs. Klein's land, and they each killed a nine-point buck. He also filled First and Second-Bonus Deer Permits, bringing his season total to three deer.

About a year after their meeting, Donnie drove his whole family to Overton for a visit. Michele and Mrs. Klein visited about homemade dolls and other mutual interests. The widow was much taken with the Schanuth's four daughters, ages 4 through 11. She now carries their photos in her wallet as she would pictures of grandchildren.

They like to surprise one another. One Easter Sunday Mrs. Klein and a friend dropped by to the Schanuth's home to brighten the holiday with handcrafted Easter gifts for Dina, Ashton, Jessica and Brittany.

"We just like to do neat things for each other," says Michele. "She's a member of our family now."

Donnie already has bought his deer tags for this year and is looking forward to the hunting season. But he says the hunting is less important to him now. "That's a minor part of our relationship now," he says. "If Mrs. Klein decided tomorrow that she didn't want me to hunt on her land any more it wouldn't change anything between us. We'd still want to maintain our friendship."

When Donnie picked Mrs. Klein up for their most recent visit, she took her late husband's Remington 870 shotgun out of a closet and presented it to him. Her husband would have liked Donnie, she said, and would have wanted him to have the gun.

Donnie, not wanting to take advantage of their friendship, insisted on paying her for the shotgun. "I don't know what I'll do with it," he said. "I don't think I'll hunt with it. It's more of a keepsake from a friend."

- Jim Low -

2. Cold weather means hot trout fishing

The crowds are gone, the cost is small, and Missouri's four trout parks hold a few of the lunkers that make memories.

JEFFERSON CITY--Missouri's catch-and-release trout season opens Nov. 13 at Roaring River, Montauk and Bennett Spring state parks and the James Foundation's Maramec Spring Park.

The parks are open to fishing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of each weekend through early February. The winter season allows anglers who know how to dress for cold weather to have a lot of fun; many catch several dozen trout in a day, with a shot at a lunker or two thrown in for good measure.

"We will stock 100 trout that range in size from 3 to 5 pounds through the course of the season," says Jerry Dean, manager of the Conservation Department's hatchery at Roaring River. "We also have 1,900 trout that are well over 12 inches in length."

Dean starts by stocking Roaring River with 500 trout, then adds to the total with stockings at two-week intervals. Some large brown trout swim from the lower end of the stream at Roaring River this time of year and add to the excitement. An angler caught a 10.5-pound brown trout there recently. The same phenomenon takes place at Bennett Spring and Maramec Spring.

Tackle for the winter catch-and-release season is restricted to flies only, and all fish must be returned to the water unharmed immediately after the catch. Fishing is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anglers are required to have a Missouri fishing permit, a yearly No Creel Fishing Permit ($5) and a no-charge daily fishing tag. No-creel permits and daily tags are available only at trout parks. Headquarters for winter fishing is generally the hatchery building. The exception is at Roaring River, where permits and daily tags will be available at the new Roaring River Inn lodge.

Jigs on single-point hooks meet the definition of a "fly," and are probably the most effective lures for trout park fishing. Mini-jigs of 1/64th, 1/80th and 1/100th ounce work best and can be fished on a fly rod or an ultra-light spinning rod. Black and yellow and brown and white are the favorite color combinations for mini-jigs. Flies that imitate salmon eggs are also top producers.

The best fishing is generally before noon, though anglers catch trout all day long. Cloudy days sometimes offer better fishing, because trout are more active under low-light conditions. Anglers can also catch fish on snowy or rainy days, but they should bring rain jackets or ponchos to keep them dry and comfortable while fishing.

Aquatic insects called midges often are plentiful on park streams during winter, and the trout feed on them. A fly called a Griffith's gnat in sizes 18 to 24 is a good imitation of a midge. Fish it like a dry fly, or skip it just under the surface using your rod tip to give it a jerky motion.

Any winter weekend when the daily high temperature is predicted to be near 40 degrees is prime fishing weather. Some winter anglers are hardy and will turn out to fish even when temperatures are in the teens. Insulated, boot-foot waders are a necessity-where wading is allowed-on such cold days.

During this special winter fishing season it is especially important to release trout in good shape. The Conservation Department offers these tips on handling and releasing fish.

--Squeeze the barb flat on your flies or jigs with pliers.

--Don't play fish until exhaustion and release those you catch immediately.

--Handle fish as little as possible. Avoid disturbing the mucous covering their skin, because it prevents infection. Remove hooks without taking the fish from the water.

--Hold the fish firmly and upside down to reduce its struggles. A fish dropped on the ground has a poor chance for survival. Do not attempt to weigh fish.

--Trout should be handled by grasping them across the gill covers. Never put your fingers in the gills or eye sockets. A wet cotton glove or cloth can help you hold a trout without injuring it. Nets are allowed, and it is sometimes easier to grasp a fish in a net in order to remove the fly.

--Carry a hook disgorger or a pair of needle-nosed pliers. Back hooks out gently, rather than tearing them out. Leave a deeply imbedded hook in the trout by cutting the line as close to the hook as possible. Flesh surrounding the hook will eventually die back and the hook will fall out.

--If you take a photo of a fish, do it while holding the fish in the water.

--Fish should be landed as quickly as possible.

--If a fish appears exhausted, hold it in the water facing upstream until it swims out of your hand.

- Jim Auckley -

3. Congress votes funds for Discovery Center

The $500,000 appropriation underscores the project's importance as fundraising continues for the state-of-the-art urban nature center.

KANSAS CITY--Congress has helped the Missouri Department of Conservation move closer to its goal of bringing the wonders of outdoor Missouri into the heart of Kansas City. The recently approved federal budget includes $500,000 to help build the Missouri Department of Conservation Discovery Center. That facility will be the nation's first urban conservation education center.

Sen. Kit Bond and Rep. Karen McCarthy spearheaded efforts to provide funds for the conservation facility in the budget for the U.S. Department of the Interior. Conservation Commissioner Anita Gorman says getting federal support for the project is the latest accomplishment in a collaborative effort to build the Discovery Center.

"We are very grateful to Sen. Bond and Rep. McCarthy for securing funds for this very important facility," says Gorman. "This is a splendid example of the bipartisan commitment to serve the citizens of Missouri that I've seen throughout this project. Governor Carnahan has been very supportive and worked with us to obtain a prime inner city location for the Discovery Center. Everyone involved has put the importance of educating the public about conservation above all else."

Mrs. Gorman also says federal support of the Discovery Center emphasizes the need for such a facility. "When the Conservation Department was created in 1937 most of us lived on farms. We experienced daily the beauty and importance of our outdoor resources. Now most of us live in urban areas, so if we are going to win the struggle to preserve those resources for the next generation, we are going to have to do it with the help of urban people."

The Discovery Center will focus its education programs on helping children growing up in the city to appreciate the bounty and beauty of nature and learn outdoor skills, such as fishing, hiking, camping, wildlife viewing and hunting.

The Conservation Department expects 200,000 visitors per year at the Discovery Center, a place where people will be able to learn how to explore the outdoors and how to make their yards more attractive to wildlife. Visitors of all ages also will learn to explore nature through writing, drawing, painting and photography.

The Discovery Center and Conservation Department office complex will be built near Brush Creek at Troost, on land provided by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The $4.6 million office facility will include an education resource center, conference rooms, a 250-seat auditorium and the administrative offices for the Conservation Department's Kansas City area urban staff.

The Conservation Department must raise an additional $3 million to build the Discovery Center. As part of funding efforts, the nonprofit Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation is conducting a fundraising campaign to sell bricks and memorial trees for the facility. Missourians can buy a brick for the building or a tree for the grounds for $100 and $500 respectively. Donors' names or messages can be inscribed on the bricks. Each donated tree will have a commemorative plaque honoring a person of the donor's choice.

Donors can send contributions to the foundation at PO Box 366, Jefferson City, MO. 65102-0366. Funds donated to the foundation must be directed to it, and not the Conservation Department. All contributions to the foundation are tax deductible.

- Arleasha Mays -