OUTDOORS
JIM MORRIS
I have been thinking quite a bit lately about “Deadliest Catch,” the reality series on Discovery Channel about crab fishing in the Bering Sea. Not only have I been hooked on this series, I am reading the book “Time Bandit” by the Hillstrand brothers and have kept up with the off-camera developments on the Internet.
Seems like I am not the only DC fan. I talk to people almost daily who watch the show. Some know even more about it than I do, which always astonishes me.
The show is so popular that ratings made it the No. 1 cable program on Tuesday night, June 8.
Reading the book “Time Bandit” gives DC fans some good insight into what makes these captains and crews on the roughest, coldest sea in the world do what they do.
This column actually is a poor substitute for a column I had hoped to write about Andy Hillstrand, younger brother of Johnathan by one year. I had heard that Andy was really into horses and happened to live just outside Evansville, Ind., when he wasn’t in the captain’s chair of the Time Bandit, a 113-foot crab boat built by their father.
Evansville is all the way across Indiana from here in the southwest corner of the Hoosier State. But that’s not too far to drive for an interview with Andy Hillstrand.
Well, to make a long story short, it didn’t happen. And it also shows you can’t always believe what you read on the Internet. There are several Web sites about the Hillstrands and their Hobby Horse Farm for horseback riding and training. The only problem is that Internet news is all old.
After a bit of detective work to try to set up the interview, I found out the Hillstrands had picked up and moved to Arizona when not in Alaska. Arizona is a bit farther to drive than Evansville and Homer, Alaska, is way, way up there.
So, hopes of an in-person interview dashed, I am back to just watching “Deadliest Catch” on Tuesday nights.
No carp ... yeah!
There was good news (although probably not expected) that studies showed there are no Asian carp in an area of the Little Calumet River in South Chicago. The area was poisoned and electrofished a few weeks ago to detect if the carp had taken up residence in that area close to Lake Michigan.
More than 40 species of fish were detected, but there were no silver or bighead carp.
This bit of positive news does not mean the local, state and federal agencies involved will be letting down their guard against the invaders. In fact, a third electrical barrier is being constructed and will go into operation sometime this year.
Short shots
Tournament results: Josh Strawser of Arcanum won the Miami Valley Bass Masters event June 5 at Grand Lake St. Mary’s with a three-fish weight of 9 pounds, 10 ounces. Second place went to Chris Pope of Greenville with a weight of 7-4. In third place was Butch Shearer of Piqua at 6-5.
Anyone interested in joining MVBM can visit miamivalleybass.com.
Economic hit: One has to wonder how BP can possibly cover all of the economic shortfalls that will be attributed to the massive oil leak. For example, a recent survey by AnglerSurvey.com shows that the Gulf crisis will change angling in many ways.
Slightly more than 40 percent of anglers who planned to fish the Gulf, Florida Keys or east coast of Florida in the next 12 months anticipate their fishing activity in those areas will decrease as a result of the leak.
Outdoors columnist Jim Morris can be reached through his Website at www.tinyurl.com/ylh2rol or by e-mail at sports@Dayton DailyNews.com.
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