Page 4
Spring Edition, March 20, 1985
John Lechliter/KANSAN
Dan Lesco, owner of Overland Park Bait & Tackle, Bill Widmer and Doug end of Clinton Lake. The three were fishing for wallace with artificial lures Smith, all of Overland Park, trv their luck in an overflow siltwav on the east Lesco said their luck was bad, although he had seen others catching fish
'Gone fishing' still springtime motto
By JEANINE HOWE Staff Reporter
A man sits along the shore. The sun beats down. He draws his fishing rod back and casts the line into the water. He sits back, relaxes and waits.
Spring has arrived, and the fish are jumping.
David Jones, Shawnee sophomore, said recently, "I've got the old fishing fever and it's running strong."
Jones, a fisherman for 15 years,
went fishing with some friends
March 1 at Douglas County State
Lake. He said they found a few spots
where the lake was free of ice, and
they were able to catch some bass.
"It's nice to catch fish, to kick back and relax and drink and fish," Jones said.
Roger Thomas, Liberty, Mo. graduate student, says he is a serious fisherman. While other students spent their spring break snow skiing or suttunning, Thomas and some of his friends did some fishing in Missouri.
WHEN THOMAS WAS 5 years old he learned the craft of fishing from his grandfather. He said he enjoyed fishing because he could relax and escape from hectic everyday life.
"I do it more for the fun than for the fish," Thomas said. "I hardly keep any. I catch and release about 90 percent."
He considers himself a serious fisherman, compared to those who drink and fish. But once in awhile, he beers as well and drinks a few beers as he fishes.
"You have to concentrate though."
he said. "If I aren't catching anything, I move 10 or 15 yards. To catch a lot you have to work at it."
Thomas said he went fishing a few times a week each summer. But the best time to fish isn't June or July, he said. It's March 15 to June 1. The ice begins to disappear, the water begins to warm, and the fish begin to spawn and eat more.
MARK RETONDE, owner and general manager at Clinton Marina, said the marina officially opened March 15. Retonde estimated that 300,000 people visited Clinton during their season, which runs from March 15 to Nov. 1.
Phil Huntsinger, professor of health education, enjoyed fishing so much that he operated his own lake a couple of years ago. Huntsinger and his wife owned and managed Douglas County State Lake for two years. When they managed the lake, Huntsinger said, he and his family fished several times a week.
"Fishing has become a major sport in the United States. It is something the whole family can enjoy, whether you young or old," Retonde said. "It is a sport in which you can develop your skills."
"I've been fishing since I was a kid," Huntsinger said. "I like being outside and being with other people."
Mary Schwarz, colby senior, said her whole family used to spend summer vacations camping and fishing. A self-confessed tomboy, Schwarz said she went fishing with her six brothers.
"I like to cast the line out and sunbathe. I can catch two things at once," she said.
Students use camping to escape campus life
By BETH REITER Staff Reporter
To get away from it all, some students replace the books in their backpacks with camping equipment and spend the weekend roughing it without indoor plumbing and electricity.
Wilderness Discovery Outdoor Rental, on the first level of the Burge Union, rents camping equipment to students, faculty and staff. Equipment available is two, four and five-person tents, stoves, sleeping bags, lanterns, life jackets, coolers, water jugs and backpacks. Prices vary according to the number of days the equipment is used.
Rental fees for tents vary from $5 to $10 for a weekend. Stoves are $3 to $4, a sleeping bag is $4.50, a lantern is $4, a life jacket is $2, a cooler is $2, water jugs are $1.50 to $2.50, and a backpack is $3 for a weekend.
Water and fuel bottles, sleeping pads, dining canopies and cooking kits also are available. Cooking kits contain a pan, skillet, plates, cups and pliers for handling hot cookware. The dining canopies provide shade for picnics.
MOST OF THE people who rent equipment have camping experience, Robert Greenwood, Chanute junior and Wilderness discovery employee, said recently. He describes how he brings friends with little or no experience to teach them about camping.
The tents are easy to assemble and are free-standing, without knots to tie. Most of the equipment can be uselessly by a beginner, Greenwood said.
Students may reserve equipment by paying the total rental fee at either the Wilderness Discovery office, open 2:30 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or the Student Union Activity window in the Kansas Union, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
"There's a good deal of paperwork,
so if you are in a hurry, it's a good idea
to leave that out."
**STUDENTS CAN request equipment for the same day it is needed, but there's no guarantee that all of the equipment requested requires a KU ID and a $20 fee are required when the equipment is picked up.**
Greenwood said that more students rented equipment than faculty or staff, and that spring break and
Labor Day were the busiest times of the year.
"A lot of people just go out to Perry or Clinton lakes," Greenwood said.
Some go to Colorado or to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri for longer trips, but most of the students rent a car. They only one weekend, Greenwood said.
David Zimmerman, Omaha, Neb.
junior, said he recently rented equipment for his camping trip in
Missouri.
"It's pretty inexpensive," Zimmerman said. "The equipment is good. I was impressed."
STEVEN HITCHCOCK, Ellsworth graduate student, will be experiencing the outdoors in a different way and participate in orientering meets.
Courses are planned, usually at Clinton or Perry lakes or on West Campus, and maps that pinpoint certain locations are given to each parish in order to assist you in find these locations as quickly as possible using the map as a guide.
The locations are marked and have a paper puncher so the participants can prove that they found the location.
"I've always been interested in maps, and I do a lot of hiking," Hitchcock said.
Hitchcock has planned some courses for the KU Orienteer Club. The club, which has about 50 members, also conducts orientering meets in St. Louis and Birmingham, Ala.
"The dangers are basically the same of any outdoor activity," Hitchcock said.
EXTREMELY COLD or hot weather could make orienting dangerous because the participant could get dehydration or hypotherma. If someone doesn't return in the search a search is started, Hitchcock said.
Michael Eglinski, Lawrence senior and president of the group, said he went to Birmingham, Ala., for spring break to practice for the Intercollegiate National Championship, which will take place there this month.
"You have to be able to use a map really well," Eglinski said. "You try to find the best way and not get lost. The idea is to do it fast."
Hitchcock said students who weren't experienced orientees could participate in the meets. Each meet has an easier, shorter course of about $ \frac{1}{2} $ mile for beginners. Some courses are as long as six miles