University Daily Kansan / Friday, September 21, 1990
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Crappie, good times lure fishers to lake and river
By Mike Brassfield
Bzzzzzzzzzzsnlash!
With a flick of his forearm, Jerry Thomason cast his line 58 feet into the ripping blue expanse of Clinton Lake.
Thomason, wearing dark green high-waders, walked into the lake and began to reel in his line. The wind sent tiny waves rolling past him and onto the mossy rocks on the east side of the lake.
wrence resident, displays catfish he caught from the Kansas River below the dam.
Thomason, a Kansas City, Mo., resident, was fishing at the lake Saturday morning. He said he fished on about four times a year.
"I've fished in Canada, Hawaii,
Minnesota, Missouri and here," he said.
"I fish all year round. If I didn't
go fishing, I would shrimp much."
Thomason said he was fishing for crample and white bass
"I don't worry about catching them. And I don't worry about keeping them. I just came here to have fun." he said.
Amy Waiel, manager of Clinton Marina, said the majority of people who fished at Clinton fished for bass that were caught off the coast depends on the time of year, she said.
"Every fish has a different season," Waiibel said, "Crappie spawn in the spring, so that is traditionally our busiest time."
People also come to Clinton to fish
for bass, catfish, walleye, bluegill and other fish, she said. The numbers taper off during the summer, but the fall is busy.
"It drops off during winter, too, though there are quite a lot of people who ice fish," she said.
Bob Wallace, manager of Clinton Lake State Park, said an annual fishing license cost $13.50 for state residents and $28.50 for nonresidents. In addition, a 24-hour license can be purchased for $4.50.
Licenses are available at the park headquarters, Clinton Marina, the Douglas County Courthouse and all bait stores, he said.
There are no limits on the amount of crappie or white bass that can be taken out of the lake, Wallace said. But there are limits on other fish. For instance, fishermen are allowed to only five walleye a day in Kansas.
Jim Pilch, Lawrence senior, said he enjoyed fishing at the lake and on the Kansas River.
"I like to sit on the shore in the
early morning and try to catch catfish or white bass," he said. "It's a good way to get away from everything for a few hours. I only go about every three weeks. I have this thing called school that gets in the way."
Don Hewitt, Bonner Springs reside,
had a good day at the lake
Saturday. While fishing from a
pond, he caught two white bass and 27 crappie.
"I like to fish from a boat because you have more versatility; you can move around more," he said. "And I like fishing at Clinton because of the diversity. There's a lot of different kinds of fish here."
"I fish because I like being outside,
I like being on the water, and I like eating the fish," he said, holding up his catch and smiling.
Meanwhile, on the shore, Thomas son was having no luck.
"I the only fool out here today," he said, looking around him. "The fish just aren't it biting. But I'm still not sure. That fish is the day they bury to burry it."
Thomason took a minnow off his hook and put on a plastic worm.
"It's such a simple sport, really, but people make it complicated," he said. "The fish don't make it complicated. They bite on the same thing they bit on 20 years ago. To the fish, it's all the same."
Owens and Henry Guearv, Topeka resident, fish from the Kansas River dam
Jane Rudolph/KANSAN
Model Masters' planes fly near Clinton Lake
Model airplanes provide excitement, recreation for beginners and experts ready for a challenge
By David Roach
Kansan staff writer
Look in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a loy!
No, it's not a toy, said Richard Ballard, president of Jayhawk Model Masters, a Lawrence organization of model airplane builders and pilots.
"The models have all the controls and everything else that a regular airplane has," he said. "They obey all the same laws of aerodynamics."
Back then, model airplane aviators gathered at Broken Arrow Park to fly their planes. But the group moved to a site near Clinton Lake about 12 years ago, as civilization closed in on the park, Ballard said.
The Model Masters lease about 100 acres from the Army Corps of Engineers, where they have put in a parking lot and built a runway.
The Model Masters and their models have been obeying those laws in the Lawrence area since 1952, Ballard said.
The facility is named Jayhawk International Model Airport, in honor of the foreign students in the club.
"Safety is a big concern as far as spectators go," Ballard said. "These things are definitely not toys."
The models typically fly 100 pounds and weigh about 20 pounds, Ballard said. They have an average wingspan of 5 feet to $7\frac{1}{2}$ feet.
He said most people were attracted to model airplanes for the challenge.
"It's an extremely difficult thing to learn to do," he said. "It takes an average of three to four months just to learn how to fly solo. Then you
start learning the stunts."
Don Miller, a 1990 KU graduate and Lawrence resident, said model airplanes were a relaxing hobby.
"It's something good to do on weekends, like biking or golfing," he said. "It has a lot of recreational value."
Ballard said a basic beginner's airplane, called a trainer, cost about $400, including a radio control station A regular plane costs about $1,000.
"A wood kit is the way to go, because you're familiar with the airplane inside out," he said. "It takes a lot of work to build one, and when you finally fly it, you get a lot of satisfaction."
He said most people buy ready-made airplanes that require little assembly.
Miller said he started flying a trainer about a year ago and has recently begun building a more advanced model of an Army Peashooter, a vintage post-World War I fighter plane.
Miller, however, said he preferred to build his own.
The Lawrence group sponsors two competitions each year that attract competitors from across northeast Kansas. Ballard said.
The club's next competition is scheduled for Oct.14.
The Model Masters has more than 50 members and is affiliated with the National Academy of Model Aero-Engineering which has about 300,000 members.
Canoeing on the placid Kansas River is a relaxing way to spend an afternoon with a friend or to see the wildlife along the river bank
Relax with a canoe on the Kansas River
By Jamie Elliott
Kansan staff writer
"I usually go on the Kaw," Danofo Burg said. "It's peaceful and serene. It's a great way to get away from the hectic跑入路.
wonderful feeling of serenity."
"You can see the blue herons soaring gracefully, the box turtles jumping in the water, or just watch the water pass the trees. There's a
K. T. Walsh, buyer for Sunflower Surplus, 804 Massachusetts St., said the store rented many canoes to students
"Most of the canoees we deal with are 'fat-waters'," she said. "They're people out for a calm afternoon on the river."
Although a majority of Sunflower customers want to just relax and float on the water, Sunflower also sells many kinds of canoes for everything from white-water canoeing to long-distance wilderness trips.
"I think the Kaw is the most popular spot to go, there's so many places to get in and out, or stop and have a picnic on the bank," he said.
The closest place to go for whitewater canoeing is the Rocky Ford White Water Park near Manhattan, built by the Corps of Engineers. But it is also nearby Kansas River was the place to go for a float, afternoon a lot swim.
Sunflower also offers a variety of books, magazines and videos to help beginning canoeists pick up the basic strokes. Dan-Burnt learned to
canoe when he was a Boy Scout in Michigan and said that learning to canoe was not difficult.
"Anyone who can walk and chew gum at the same time can do it," he said. "It's like riding a bieye."
George Frazier, Overland Park graduate student, said he was a novice at canoeing but enjoyed it anyway.
"I didn't learn," he said. "I just got out. I don't do it to get away, it's more like an experience that you want to do a sport. It's a way to get out."