Young fisherman saved the best for last on fishing trip with his dad

Catch of the week

When Daven Wolf’s dad gave the fish the five-minute warning, (”He said we had to go home.”) the 11-year-old from Olpe, Kan., was hoping for a great end to an already successful fishing trip at Coffey County Lake.

He got his wish.

Moments after Daven and his dad both pulled in catfish, the fish of the day hit.

“I needed my dad’s help for a little bit because I was getting tired.”

Daven finally landed the big blue catfish and found that it weighed 26 pounds. That was the biggest fish he had ever caught and was the inspiration for a story he wrote for the Catch, Photo and Release contest sponsored by KVOE Radio in Emporia, Kan.; Fishing’s Future; and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

In his essay, he told of how he had caught eight of the 17 fish that day.

“The bites were nonstop from the beginning,” he said. “When we were almost out of bait, my dad cut the last big shad into five pieces and baited our rods.

“When my dad gave the fish the five-minute warning, it worked.”

The contest details

One mom joked about witnessing a miracle this summer.

“She told me she never thought she’d see her son sit down and write an essay in the summer,” said Phil Taunton, coordinator of the Catch, Photo and Release program.

That youngster was following the rules for the contest that Taunton, the host of a weekly radio show on the outdoors, dreamed up. In the contest, which started June 15 and continues through Aug. 20, youngsters ages 15 and under can submit photos of their catch along with a short essay to Taunton. A panel of four judges then considers the entries and awards prizes in four categories: catfish, largemouth bass, sunfish and crappies. All fish must be caught in Kansas.

Prizes are awarded to winners weekly, and there will be grand prizes given out at the end of the contest.

To enter, send a photo and story (200 words or less) to kvoeoutdoors@gmail.com. If you don’t have email, you can mail your entry to: KVOE Outdoors CPR contest, P.O. Box 924, Emporia KS 66801

All entries must contain the youth’s date of birth, phone number and home mailing address.

Pheasants on tour

No, that headline doesn’t refer to some new rock group.

We’re talking about Kansas pheasants and a tour designed to inform the public, legislative leaders and conservation partners about the status of the popular gamebird and what can be done to improve populations.

The first public meeting will be Monday at the Comfort Inn Convention Center, 2225 S. Range Road, in Colby. The second will be Tuesday at the Pauline Joyce Fine Arts Auditorium, 801 Campus Drive on the Garden City Community College campus in Garden City.

Both meetings will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

There also will be an invitation-only bus tour that will include stops at farms where successful conservation practices have resulted in improved pheasant habitat.

The tour will be co-sponsored by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and Pheasants Forever.

Keeping track of doves

Want to help with a research project on mourning doves? Here’s your chance.

Each summer, wildlife workers with the Missouri Department of Conservation trap doves at the James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area, affix small identification bands to the birds, then release them. Band information returned by hunters and birders helps biologists keep tabs on the birds.

Now the public can take part in the process. A few people will be able to accompany biologists when they trap and band birds from July 28 to Aug. 1. There will be two sessions: 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. each day.

Space is limited to six people per session. Participants must register in advance by calling 816-622-0900.

This story was originally published July 24, 2014 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Young fisherman saved the best for last on fishing trip with his dad."