OUTDOORS: Stay warm — without the bulk

By JOEL WILSON

GLASGOW — Not much going on in the world of the great outdoors these days what with the recent weather. First off, I need to correct myself on the winter pool level at Barren Reservoir. Last week I gave the pool levels and was off by three feet since I used the old 525 winter pool figures from years gone by. My president at the Rod and Gun Club, Vic Pufahl, (he’s my official fact checker) reminded me that winter pool has been raised to 528, and he was (as he usually is) correct. A check of the pool level Wednesday afternoon found the lake standing at 543.5. I’ll let you do the math this time. Meanwhile the corps need to change their Web sites to give the correct winter pool figures.

Not much activity but a few catches of bass and crappie have been coming in. Cumberland River is all out of shape and there’s not much going on there.

I have talked to a couple of dedicated hunters who have been taking some coyotes. An ex-R&GC; president, Les Anderson, told me Wednesday he had taken a solid black one and is having it mounted. He said it was a good looking animal but good looking or not, they are worrisome predators and their population needs to be kept in check.

Ted Garmon, he of crappie catching note, has also been helping with the coyote problem.



Some folks, including yours truly, have trouble distinquishing sandhill cranes from Canadian Geese on the wing. Big flights of cranes have been circling the house of late, making all kinds of sounds. They had a program at Barren River State Park on the cranes including viewing opportunities. I have some friends at church who live on the shores at Barren and have been victims of the crane invasion. They are asking for volunteers to wash cars and such.

Cranes are part of the Kentucky Afield TV show this week, not on Barren but in Hardin County where KDFWR biologist Erin Harper discusses the migration of the birds from wintering grounds in Georgia and Florida northward. Kentucky is one of their favorite refueling and rest stops. There will also be a segment on rabbit hunting and an 81-year old hunter and his prize winning beagles from Pulaski County. The show airs on KET at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, repeating Sunday at 3 p.m.



Since hunting and fishing news was scarce this week, I’ve taken the liberty of repeating a report that was issued by KDFWR writers about this time two years ago on keeping warm in late winter and early spring in Kentucky outdoors.

Advances in the science of keeping warm are miles ahead of where they were 15 years ago. The development of synthetic base layering and clothing with wicking properties makes going afield in winter and early spring pleasurable compared to the way things used to be in the days of wool and cotton.

Gone are the bulk of those outer garments that made one feel inflated with air. They also greatly constricted movement. Also gone is the cold that comes from exerting oneself enough to sweat and then sitting in cold damp cotton clothing the rest of the day.

Outdoors enthusiasts underestimate nature’s chill in late winter and early spring more than any other time of year. Those first warm spells that hit in mid-February to mid-March lull hunters and anglers into a false sense of security. They don’t prepare enough for warmth when chasing sauger in a tailwater, trout fishing, snow goose hunting or deep-water crappie fishing during this time of year. It is easy to wind up so cold you wonder if your teeth will crack and break from chattering in the last few hours of the day.

Hunters and fishermen can prepare to stay warm without much bulk. A thin base clothing layer of polypropylene, breathable micro-fiber or breathable fleece is the most essential ingredient to staying warm. Silk is another great base layer — and it feels great against the skin. These materials allow perspiration vapor to escape and wick away moisture from the skin. This is what keeps you warm.

Don't use a cotton tee-shirt and cotton sweat pants as a base layer. Late winter and early spring weather changes by the hour. It could be 30 degrees at 6:30 a.m., 48 degrees at 10 a.m., 52 degrees at 2 p.m. and back into the low 30s when the sun dips behind the hills in late afternoon. If you’ve exerted yourself during the day and sweated in your cotton tee-shirt and sweat pants, those damp garments become blankets of frost at 5 p.m. Cotton just doesn’t dry and loses all insulating properties once it gets wet.

You can exert yourself while wearing a breathable base layer and the perspiration mostly evaporates off your skin. You stay warm in late afternoon.

Layer some medium to heavy weight insulating fleece over the thin breathable base layer and add a windproof rain suit. You’ll stay remarkably warm with a non-constricting, comfortable outfit. If it is going to stay under 40 degrees for the entire day, you may need some insulated bibs and a jacket or coveralls. Bibs and a jacket offer much more comfort and you can remove the jacket in the mid-day sun and stay comfortable with the bibs and under-layers. Once the sun drops, slide the jacket on again.

Use a thin polypropylene layer sock over thick wicking socks and your feet stay warm and dry all day. A wool sock works as well, but wool makes your feet sweat when walking. The dampness becomes cold when you slow down again. Don’t put on your heavy, warm boots until you arrive at the snow goose blind, tailwater or lake. Your feet sweat like crazy in a heated vehicle while wearing heavy winter boots. Your damp feet feel like frozen blocks of wood two hours after you leave the truck. You’ll be miserable the rest of the day. Wear some slip-on shoes until you arrive at your hunting or fishing destination.

Winter fishermen often use fingerless wool or fleece gloves, but they aren’t too comfortable after a soaking in 38-degree weather.

A trick winter trout and smallmouth anglers use is to spread an even coat of vaseline on their hands and slide a pair of latex gloves over them. Your hands stay warm and the latex gloves shed water. Thin latex gloves allow complete freedom of finger movement, making tasks like tying knots or releasing fish much easier. Pack several pairs of the latex gloves. A puncture hole from a hook or a fish fin ruins the insulating effect of the entire glove.

Use these simple tips during this late winter and spring and you won’t have to leave the trout water three hours early because your hands are so numb you can’t tie on a bait.

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