thej enkinscountytimes .com
The Jenkins County Times
Friday, March 10, 2023- Page 9
Oaiuknmg'
with
Talmdge
By Talmadge Fries,
Special Contributor
for
The Times
Gladiolus or glads are easy
to plant in your garden and
are very enjoyable.
The new bulbs are in the
garden centers now and
if planted now will give
you some enjoyment this
summer.
Prepare an area in your
garden where you would
like a splash of tall color
and begin the process of
preparing the soil for your
bulbs.
There are a lot of colors to
choose from and I would
suggest buying mixed
color bags of bulbs for the
garden, unless you want a
solid color display in the
garden.
Remember that the larger
the bulb, the larger the
flower will be.
When planting the glads
in the garden, choose a
location that has moderate
sun. Plant the bulbs to
the recommended depth,
because if you plant the
bulbs shallow, the stems
will topple over easier
when blooming.
If needed, the glads may
need to be staked or sup
ported while blooming.
Glads can be left in the
soil year after year. Just
remember to maintain
them and fertilize the area.
Most glads will multiply,
but the offspring will be
smaller to begin with when
blooming.
Glads make excellent
backdrops in the garden,
use them for a background
for lower growing plant
and flowering bulbs.
They are excellent cut
flowers and make a wel
come addition to any vase
or cut arrangement for the
home.
As always, join your local
garden club for a wealth of
information and gardening
fellowship.
Uncle Rogers
Tales of the Ogeechee
River Otters and the
Ogeechee River
River otters can thrive in a variety of environments
- hot, cold, low lying, mountainous - including fresh
water and coastal marine habitats, like rivers, lakes,
marshes, swamps, and estuaries. The Ogeechee river is
home to a great amount of otters. They need a healthy
environment with plentiful food sources, and they will
quickly move to other environments if there is pollution
in their area. Water quality issues and loss of aquat
ic or wetland habitats pose long-term threats to the
overall health of river otter populations. However, the
ogeechee river doesn't pose too much of a threat to the
otters. If you are fishing or just riding the river, you will
be able to see many of them at work on the side of the
river banks or maybe taking a relaxing swim.
River otters are semi-aquatic animals, meaning they
live in and near water, but are land mammals. Their
soft, dense fur keeps them warm in the variations of
their environment. They have tiny ears and nostrils
which they will close up when going underwater to hunt
and fish. Their webbed feet help them swim while their
claws allow them to dig up food or pry open prey. In the
Ogeechee River basin, their main prey is crayfish.
River otters make their dens in the burrows of other
mammals or in natural hollows, such as under a fallen
tree, or tucked into river banks. They build underwater
entrances for their dens, which protect a nest that otters
will line with leaves, grass, moss, bark, and hair. Otter
families tend to respect the boundaries of other otter
territories.
Mating pairs will give birth to one to six pups per
year, usually in the spring. They need their mother until
they are about three months old. River otters can live
more than 20 years in captivity, but typically live about
nine years in the wild. Males can reach 25 pounds and
females average about 18 pounds when they are adults.
Their tail is about a third of their length.
So, this week as you spend time on the river, please
be kind to our webbed footed friends and just say a
quick hello as they go about their daily tasks.
Happy Trails!
Uncle Roger
Forecast the fishing for
late-winter/spring rainbows
By G. Lewis
Special to
The Times
The old saying the worst day fishing is better than the best day at the
office is simply not tme. It’s almost tme, but there are some really bad times to go fishing,
like whenever your Grandpa wants to go.
We’re enjoying a little cold snap right now, but a lot of our trout lakes don’t ice over.
And the water is begging to be fished as soon as daytime temperatures get back to the
low 50s or 60’s. . This is the time of year when an angler has a chance to catch bigger
trout for the table. The fish hatcheries want to find forever homes for surplus brood stock,
putting those big old rainbows that can weigh 4 to 8 pounds out to pasture while last
year’s holdover legals can go 12 to 18 inches. While food sources are scarce, bigger trout
can be easier to catch than they will be in May. Flashers and hoochies and wedding ring
spinners tipped with bait can catch fish, but fly-fishing methods are a better bet. In the
cooler spring, trout seek shallow water because the shallows warm first, which promotes
weed growth, which in turn promotes the insect activity that draws in little fish. Larger
trout feed on the minnows, cmstaceans and
insects. While shallow water offers better feed
options, it is also a danger zone where larger
trout may be taken by ospreys. Trout tend to
rest and rove along the ledges where the light
green shallows give way to deep blue depths.
Rocky points, submerged rim rocks and
even, in bigger reservoirs, flooded road and
railroad beds also offer the kind of habitats
where big trout like to hunt. For the fly angler,
a slow-sinking line is the best option because
trout may be closer to the surface. Optimal
trolling speed in most cases will be between
.8 and 1.2 miles per hour, about the speed of
a slow walk. Establish a trolling circuit to fol
low a contour line or to hit the rocky points.
Feed out 30 to 50 feet of line behind the boat. Vary the trolling speed and change direction
by zigzags over the trolling circuit, which changes the action of the flies. A lot of strikes
come on the deceleration or on the outside of a turn.
Rods can be kept in rod holders, but strikes are often missed on fly gear because of the
shock-absorbent nature of the line. Hold the rod in hand, the tip near horizontal. If a fish
bites, lift the rod and set the hook with a quick strip of line. A slower initial speed allows
lines and flies to sink. Watch the amount of drop, the angle of the line and length. The
boat operator can control depth by adjusting speed and lengthening or shortening the lines.
Watch the weather for the days between storm fronts when temperatures increase and
the wind is light. Like grandpa told me, trout and salmon bite ahead of a storm front, and
again after a low-pressure system. The Old Farmer’s Almanac says the best days to fish
are when the moon is between new and full. That means we want to fish from March 21 to
April 6.
My grandpa used to watch the barometer and tell us when the fishing was going to be
fair. He would say something like, “When the barometer is below 29.7, the fishing won’t
bite as good. What you want to see is when the barometer is low and rising.” Then grandpa
would say, “But it’s always a good day to go fishing.” Happy fishing y’all!
HI
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JCTimes 3-l0-23.indd 9
3/9/2023 10:00:28 AM
