The NEW Channel! KN Fishing Smarts on YouTube

My little pet project has been released! KN Fishing Smarts is a channel devoted to those anglers wishing to learn and share knowledge about fishing and fishes. As of now, most of the content pertains to the Sunfish Identification Guide. In time, it will be a plethora of information pertaining to all types of fishing topics as well as fish biology. The content is all free-to-view on YouTube and here on the website.

I have been fishing my entire life, essentially. My father taught me how to catch rainbow trout in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado when I was three-years-old. Over the decades, that enjoyment for fishing has not faded. There exists such a visceral thrill being aside or atop a body of water, wondering what lurks beneath, trying to lure a fish to grab a bait. Perhaps other fishers can only fully relate to that thrill, but I assure you, it’s quite satisfying.

As a young boy at a family cabin in Wisconsin, I would sit on the dock for hours catching sunfishes, mostly bluegill and the occasional pumpkinseed. As I aged, the larger game species became more desirable to seek: northern pike, walleye, smallmouth bass, and the elusive muskellunge.

It was only this last year that I rekindled that enjoyment for catching the smaller sunfishes. The fishing required me to adapt, as we fishers often do, to a style of fishing I had not done in so long. Creative impulses surged through me at every creek, river, pond and lake as I needed to figure out ways to capture species I had never captured before. Being outdoors in so many new habitats was almost reward enough. Though, having captured all 13 species of common sunfishes during the project, and over 40 other species, I must say, the last fishing expedition was well worth it. And it only makes it better that I can share all I learned with you.

Alright. I have about 10 projects I’m fumbling around with—I better get to it. Thanks for having a read!

-K

There and Back Again...

Where have I been? On a grand quest for knowledge of fishes!

I spent the last seven weeks travelling extensively to capture all the sunfishes in the genus Lepomis. (Yes, it technically was a ‘fishing trip’ but it was for work.  I swear!)

I knew I needed to physically analyze specimens of each species to ensure I was able to create a quality identification guide. Capturing specimens from different populations allowed me to gain detailed photos of characteristics that are not available for purchase or even supplied in other guide books. Now I have thoroughly collected and analyzed all the recognized species within the entire genus Lepomis! (All specimens were placed in a holding tank for photographs and data collection before being safely released.) There is a melanistic squirrel cheering for me in Wisconsin; I just know it!

This guide will be free-to-the-public. Yes, FREE! We here at Koaw Nature are all about spreading knowledge and assisting people to gain a better appreciation of our natural world. The Patrons of Koaw Nature donate because they understand the power of the work we’ve accomplished and what the future holds. #natureknights

I am in the process of finishing the last bits of research, typing up identification pages for each species as well as including a guide on hybrid identification. And for as much time as I’ve spent sloshing through swamps, wading in rivers and catching specimens from various impoundments, I’ve spent even more time at the computer researching and creating graphics. Let me tell you…I’d prefer to be swatting mosquitos from my nose while knee-deep in muck rather than stuck at a computer! (I’m sure many of use feel that way in this work-from-home era.) Alas, in order to pull quality outlines of specimens from my photos and making professional-quality graphics, I have been clicking within the Photoshop and Illustrator applications for countless hours…countless hours!

During the trip I put more than four-thousand miles of driving behind a wheel, fished in eight different states as well as the District of Columbia and caught hundreds of fishes of more than forty-five species. It was an incredible trip that was very fruitful, not just for me, but also for the people who will benefit from the guide in the future.

I was only planning on being gone for three or four weeks and it ended up being seven weeks. Time just seemed irrelevant on the trip; I only forced myself to drive back to Virginia so that I could get my vote in for Election Day. (Psst! It seems we will have a much better ally of Nature (and rationality) coming to office in a couple of months!)

What’s next?

As I mentioned, I have to finish this guide. There will be at least thirteen pages dedicated to individual sunfishes on Koaw.org as well as a similar number of videos produced. The videos will be dropping on the Koaw Nature fishing channel that is still yet to be created. I actually have a few videos already produced for the channel but I’m being patient on the release. That’s a quality I’ve gained in my old age—good old patience.

I’m sitting on footage for at least two or three videos for the Koaw Nature channel. I should probably get on the production for that. One video will have me lying down with a beautiful northern cottonmouth.

Oh—I also captured all the esocids (pikes) in North America while on my trip. So I’ll be recreating and upgrading my current guide so it’s a more practical tool.

Alas, I have once again written too much. I must go stare and click inside a Photoshop application for more countless hours!

Cheers! -K

Sunfishes, sunfishes, sunfishes!

It has been such an interesting time here at Koaw Nature. I am so thankful to all who contribute towards the content and to those who are learning from it.

WEBSITE: The website is pretty much revamped! The new layout is easier to navigate and much simpler on the eyes.

MAMMALZ: One of the co-founders of Mammalz contacted me about joining their platform. This is a pure Nature/environment/animals/science platform that is like a mashup of YouTube and Instagram. Mammalz is just out of beta. I really believe this platform has great values. I’ll be posting more content on that site in due time. Come find me! https://mammalz.com/

CURRENT PROJECTS: I usually have a handful of projects in the works at any given time. As for the weekly videos, it’s sort of all being done on a whim as COVID hampered a lot of collaborations I was hoping to put together.

Sunfishes.png

I am working on a Lepomis ID video. These are sunfishes common all across North America. They are very hard to distinguish from one another and they can all hybridize with one another. The hybrids are even more difficult to identify! I’ve been out catching hundreds of sunfishes in the attempts to find interesting hybrids and solid photos of specimens. How can I complain about that work? I’m fishing!

ET MOI?: I am in the last stages of moving. I might stay in Virginia for a little longer and I might go somewhere else; I’m undecided but not stressing about it. I’ve always repeated the old adage: Beggars can’t be choosers. I am not a rich man therefore I must endeavor within my fiscal limits.

Thanks for reading. Cheers! -K