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2B Daily News – Saturday, July 21, 2012 Outdoorlife living A few years ago I got a bright (?) idea to minimize the possibility that bears might raid my food supply when I go camping in national forests. In addition to storing food in ice chests in my van with a tarp over them to disguise their presence, I sprinkled 10 or so mothballs in the van, thinking the mothball odor would be strong enough to block food odors that leaked from the coolers. Is this effective, or just a waste of time and mothballs? (Hal M.) Question: have been tried before with limited success. They may even be coun- terproductive. Accord- Answer: Mothballs OUTDOORS California sees uptick in snake bites WALNUT CREEK (MCT) — Only halfway through the biting season, rattlesnakes may be closing in on a record in California. Bites were up 48 percent in the spring. From April through June, 184 rattler bites were reported to the state Poison Control Sys- tem. During that same peri- od last year, there were 124. "We have a significant increase in cases this year," said Stuart Heard, executive director for Poison Control. He suggests that weather and environment may be a factor. A wet 2011 winter creat- ed good conditions for snake survival; this year's drier-than-average winter may have pushed them to travel farther for food and water. rattlesnake bites are report- ed each year to the Califor- nia center, most between April and October. "They deliver a nasty bite, whether it's a baby or adult," naturalist Katie Col- bert said. "And this is the time of year when people and rat- tlesnakes are most likely to come into contact because they both like to be outdoors now." An average of about 300 food, shelter, family and to avoid predators, but they will strike out if they feel threatened." that many rattlesnake bite victims are young men who were drinking alcohol, said Patrick Roy, a spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game. Researchers have found many victims are bitten in the hand or arm, indicating that the people either inten- tionally reached for a snake or reached into rocks, weeds or brush without taking pre- cautions, Colbert said. She recalls a visitor to Research also found that Carrie Wilson serious health issues for humans and wildlife. Due to bears' highly developed sense of smell, they find the pungent odor of moth- balls unique, which actually piques their interest. Placing moth- balls in or around your camp (or vehicle) may attract bears to your location, thus increas- ing the chance of bears raiding your food cache. There are better and ing to Depart- ment of Fish and Game (DFG) Bear, Mountain Lion and Wild Pig Program Coor- dinator Marc Kenyon, moth- balls are gener- ally made out of a neurotoxic chemical (1,4- dichloroben- zene (PDB)), which if ingest- ed can cause & Can mothballs repel bears at camp? safer options for pro- tecting our bears and your food. You can use food storage lockers if they are available at your campsite to store food and trash, or use bear-resistant food stor- age canisters if you are backpacking. If no other options exist, store food and trash securely out of sight in your vehicle. Remember, waking up in the morning and not having breakfast because a bear ate all your food is a good way to ruin an otherwise enjoyable camping trip. Proper storage of food and trash can help pre- vent a negative bear encounter from happen- ing. Spear fishing along a jetty without a license? that fishing from a pub- lic pier or first seaward public jetty/seawall doesn't require a state Question: I know fishing license. Does this also apply if a diver is spearfishing or col- lecting shellfish along such a jetty? (Jonathan) Answer: No, the per- son must physically be on the pier to legally fish without a license. Once the person is off of the pier or most sea- ward protective bound- ary (jetty) placed to form a harbor, a fishing license is required. When diving from shore, he or she must be within 500 yards of their license (FGC, sec- tion 1054.2). reporting rules Question: What are the rules pertaining to marking a steelhead card? If a fisherman is fishing on the Middle Fork Smith River at one location and moves to another location on the same fork of the river, is the fisherman required to remark his report card? If the answer is Steelhead card yes, then should boats also mark their cards with multiple entries? Every fisherman I know on the Smith River does not make new entries when changing loca- tions on the same fork of the river. Please help clear up this question. Answer: No, the angler would not have to fill out his card again when moving within a single location code. The location code for the Middle Fork Smith River is 2c. An angler can move any where within 2c during a sin- gle day without having to fill another row on the Report Card. However, according to DFG Steelhead Report and Restoration Card Program Coordi- nator Farhat Bajjaliya, if an angler moves between different loca- tion codes within a sin- gle watershed during a single day, then that angler will have to fill out an additional row. A good example of this is the Mad River. It is plausible that an angler can move between loca- tion codes on the Mad River within a single day (codes 8a, 8b and 8c). Every time an angler enters a new location code boundary, a new row for that loca- tion code must be filled out. wondering about the laws in California regarding hunting small game (such as squirrels and pigeons) with a sling. Not a slingshot, but a sling. (Mike H.) Answer: Only meth- ods authorized for the taking of small game or game/non-game birds can be used. Slings are not an authorized method of take under the regulations (CCR Title 14, sections 311 and 475). Hunting with slings (not slingshots) Question: I was Lesson in NY boat tragedy By ERICSHARP McClatchy-Tribune We should all take away a message from the accident in which three children drowned when a 34-foot boat carrying 27 people overturned on Long Island Sound in New York state on July 4. Most boating tragedies are the result of the person in charge making a fatal error in judgment or being care- less. Del Valle Regional Park near Livermore, Calif., who attempted to demonstrate to his child the best way to pick up a rattlesnake. The man ended up being rushed to the hospital for treatment of a bite. MCT file photo There was a 48 percent increase in snake bites in the spring. Some bite victims are simply in the wrong place outdoors at the wrong time. A young rattlesnake bit 7-year-old Gianni Thomas on the foot June 3. He was on the back patio of his fam- ily's ranch home south of Pittsburg, Calif. The snake, which was less than 16 inches long, sank its fangs into Gianni's right foot and didn't let go until the boy's older brother, William, yanked it away as venom squirted over the patio, said the boys' mother, Tina Thomas. Gianni's leg swelled up and darkened, and he become pale and hallucina- tory en route to a hospital, where he fully recovered after a four-day stay. "It was terrifying," Tina Thomas said. "It's a risk on the ranch and, for that mat- ter, for people who hike on trails in open land. You have to watch out and be careful." Thomas said her family members see rattlesnakes every year, but they have seen more this year than in recent memory — at least 20 sightings so far. On average, fewer than one of the rattlesnake bites in California are fatal each year. Bee stings and dog attacks account for more deaths, but rattlesnake venom can kill humans and dogs; they also can lead to limb amputations. As much as she admires their survival tactics and their signature rattle that warns unwelcome visitors, Colbert urges people to keep a distance from the only poisonous snake species in the San Francisco Bay area. Few know rattlesnakes better than Colbert does. She works for the East Bay Regional Park District, and from 1998 to 2007, she did a research project in which she tracked 12 wild rat- tlesnakes at the Sunol- Ohlone Regional Wilder- ness that had radio transmit- ters sewed into their bodies. Fred, Cleo, Lola and the rest of those snakes didn't wander too far from home, reaffirming her view that rattlesnakes are more like cautious homebodies than bite-happy bullies. "Rattlesnakes are more like us than we think," said Colbert, who uses a captive rattlesnake named Fergie to make points in her nature education classes. "They like to go out in good weather. They get grumpy in hot weather. They want DFG reports bountiful start to salmon-fishing season If your fishing gear has been in the garage collecting dust, now's the time to pull it out because the salmon are here, and the bite is on! Anglers and sport-fishing charters off the Cal- ifornia coast are returning to the docks with full boats and happy cus- tomers as the strong ocean salmon bite continues, making 2012 one of the best salmon seasons in years. Mild weather and good ocean conditions are contributing to what fishermen and Department of Fish and Game (DFG) officials hope will continue to be a robust year for ocean salmon fishing. Hopes are also high for big returns to California rivers this fall. "Thanks to the favorable ocean conditions and plentiful food, all the reports we are receiving from the coast are very positive," said DFG Northern Regional Manager Neil Manji. "The charter boats are coming back early enough to make two trips a day because everyone has been catching their limits." The daily bag and possession limit is two salmon per person and the minimum size limit is 20 inches. After several years of closed and reduced salmon fishing seasons, DFG and federal officials earlier this year estimated there would be thou- sands of adult salmon off the coast available for harvest. When ready, the fish will move inland for a run to their traditional spawning grounds. Early forecasts predicted 819,000 adult Sacramento River fall-run Chi- nook and 1.7 million Klamath River fall-run Chinook adults off the coast. The best advice, natural- ists and public health experts say, is for people to leave rattlesnakes be unless it's in a place where it can't be avoided. Regional Wilderness visitor center, Colbert recalls how her radio tracking over nine years honed her rattlesnake fascination. She saw snakes swim across a creek and hang out together. She saw a snake curl up and wait for hours next to a barely recogniz- able path in the grass used by rodents. Back at the Sunol While she knows more about rattlesnakes than most people do, Colbert said she knows not to feel confident because their behavior is unpredictable. "They can surprise you," she said. One news headline that said authorities were "Look- ing into Possibility Over- turned Boat was Over- loaded." Do you think? There's no question that 27 people were far too many for a 34-footer that would feel crowded with a dozen aboard. This wasn't a com- mercial hauler with a capa- cious design to carry freight or passengers. It was a Sil- verton motor yacht designed for recreation or maybe charter fishing. Falling off a boat usually isn't a problem. But what if you whack your head on the hull as you go over the side, or the propeller hits you? If that had happened, the blame would have lain squarely on the skipper who let those people ride on the bow. we've seen this summer, undoubtedly people will use their boats more. With the enhanced danger on the water we need to be even more cautious and alert. I'd hate to see someone With the kind of heat provide fodder for another story like the one out of New York. MCT file photo Anglers could be in for a big fishing season.