May 23, 1999
By Matt Markey
A-T Outdoors columnist
Mail is a funny thing. It allows people to put their thoughts down on paper, fold them into an envelope, slap a 33-cent stamp on it, and all of a sudden it is like they are standing right there at your desk.
Sometimes they hit you right between the eyes. Sometimes it is a pat on the back, or a kick in the pants. And other times it is just a subtle but direct reminder that the lives of everyone are filled with happy and sad moments, days they will never forget and incidents they wish would go away. Our lives are not all that different.
A few letters seem to stand out from the rest of the pack. Here is a sampling, in no particular order, of the mail that has found its way here over the past couple of months. In some cases, the grammer and syntax have been changed to prevent certain people's teachers from thinking all that effort was wasted. In all cases, only the first names are used to
protect the innocent, guilty and anyone with outstanding warrants.
After living in this area for more than 20 years, I have driven many of the backroads and have seen a lot of unusual sights, including lots of dead animals that were hit by cars. Most look like raccoons and possums, but I've seen a few rabbits, birds, house pets and even a turtle or two, but never a deer. You've written a few times about how many deer there are in this area, and how deer-auto crashes are fairly common, but I've never seen a deer that was hit laying on the side of the road. I've seen a few on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and one or two on the Ohio toll road, but none on the local roadways. Any explanation?
Fred R., Tiffin
Good observation, interesting question, easy answer. There are plenty of deer-car collisions on our area highways and secondary roads. It's just that the evidence doesn't stay around long. The county sheriff's office usually has a list of individuals interested in harvesting deer killed in roadway accidents, and these folks rush to the scene once they get the call, and six hours later that deer is dressed and on the way to the butcher. For example, my wife took a 10-point buck with the grill of her Jeep Cherokee a few years ago. It was about 9 p.m. on one of the highways 10 miles or so outside of town. She called me, I called the sheriff, and then drove straight to the site. Less than 30 minutes had passed since the accident, and in that time four people had stopped and asked her if they could have the deer. Only two of the four bothered to ask if she was okay, or needed any help. We gave the deer to the farmer that lived nearby. He got out of bed to come outside and see if she was all right.
I enjoy most of the articles you have in the paper. They are interesting, informative and funny. But what I don't enjoy is the political stuff. Leave that for the editorial page, and please stick to hunting and fishing and outdoors topics.
Larry J., rural Seneca County
In case you haven't noticed, politics is everywhere. All the laws that regulate hunting and fishing make their way through the political process. Every aspect of our lives is impacted in some way by the workings of our political system. That is not necessarily a bad thing, unless we pay no attention to it until it is too late. You don't have to be active politically, but you need to be aware. If you run and hide in a duck blind every time the subjet of politics comes up, you may not recognize your world when you come back.
I have never understood something. Why is it we have so many reservoirs in this area, and they are all supposed to be stocked with fish, but you hardly ever see anyone fishing them? There will be a couple weeks in the spring when the fishermen are there, but there are long periods of time when we never see a single fishermen. We are not fishermen, but we've lived close to one of the reservoirs for more than 30 years and I've watched this year after year. Those fish should bite because they have to eat, right? So why aren't the fishermen out there more often?
Donna S., Fostoria
Probably because those fishermen are lazy. During the highest activity period of the year, usually late April to early June, the game fish in these reservoirs are close to shore and very aggressive. They are coming out of a dormant winter period, and moving into their spawning mode.They strike readily and are fairly easy to catch. Then it gets tougher. When the water warms more and the fish move out from the shore, it takes more work to catch them. You have to put in time, study the water, and try to locate the fish. The Findlay and Fostoria reservoirs are full of fish, but lack structure that holds fish throughout the year. They are shaped like bathtubs, with relatively smooth sides and flat bottoms, so the fish roam a lot. Most fishermen don't want to work that hard, so they give up or go elsewhere. But the few that persist, and take on these reservoirs with a scientific approach, do very well. The fish are there, and if you locate them, they will usually bite.
You have written several times in the last few months about a Michigan hunter named Mitch Rompala who supposedly shot a world record whitetailed deer this past fall. I haven't heard anything new on the story recently. Is this a new world record, or was it all a hoax? I read that if this deer is certified as a record, it is worth millions in endorsements. So why does this guy seem to want to keep it a secret. is he crazy, or what?
Tim S., rural Fostoria
Yes, Mitch Rompala is crazy, but he is the kind of crazy many hunters would like to be. He retired early, lives alone in a small cabin with simple trappings, and spends more than 250 days a year hunting or scouting hunting areas. Several knowledgeable people who have seen Rompola's buck say it is without question a world record. But because Rompala has a long-running feud with the two national organizations that score such trophies, he has been less than cooperative when it comes to getting the information out about the deer. His strange actions have only raised the suspicions of some. I expect it will be resolved soon, and Rompala's huge buck, taken with a bow near Traverse City, Michigan, will be certified as a record. But don't look for Mitch Rompala to be doing the outdoors show circuit &endash; he'll be hunting instead.
Thanks for these letters, and all of the others. Keep them coming, but remember what your fourth grade teacher said: subject, verb, object, preferably in that order.