Well Mama (nature) still hasn't gotten over her mad spell, and as a result there is absolutely no fishing news this week that I didn't cover last week. Fishing is as it was, and fish are where you find them so to speak.

With that being said, allow me to get into subjects I rarely have the opportunity to get into, at least this time of year.

As most of you know, I keep up with the fur markets as well as the root markets. It would appear we are in for yet another good year in the fur markets. At least that is true on some things, and not so true on others.

Coon hunters and trappers will continue getting about the same as they did last year. Though most pelts have sold out of the warehouses, there are still a number of "Section III" goods left over. Section III are those blue, early, or dog bit pelts that just won't sell as long as there is other good stuff out there.

Dog hunters, keep that in mind when you are offered only a dollar for your pelts. Trapped coon and unblemished coon will probably start at eight dollars on the low end. That is for fully prime, put up skins.

Mink will not advance. Billy Hines type mink (that is what I and all of Kentucky calls them), which is to say, really big, fully prime mink, may bring $14 tops. The big news, however, will be in the fox and bobcat market. It is early yet to say for sure, but predictions right now call for cats from our area being at over $100, and some say up to $200. I sort of doubt it, but I have seen it before.

Fox (reds) should get up to $40 when fully prime. Everything else will remain the same or a little above last year's levels.

Roots should advance a little this year. At least that is the prediction. There is a lot of apathy where yellow root (Golden Seal) is concerned, but quite a bit of positive thinking when it comes to ginseng. So much so in fact that poaching is fast becoming a problem.

Jeff (Finn) recently sent me an article from Michigan that states it has become so much of a problem up there that the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) is conducting sting operations and putting motion sensitive cameras on known locations. Further research shows fines of up to $10,000 have been levied against poachers.

Folks, the legal ginseng season runs from mid-August until well beyond when you can actually find 'sang'. This season was put there for a reason, and we really should follow it. While tame, or cultivated ginseng is plentiful, believe me, the wild root is not always easy to find. It is the more desired of the two, and was almost extinct a few years back.

In truth, cultivated ginseng is almost worthless compared to the wild root. I believe it was John Morgan (a local root buyer) who told me that while 'tame' was worth about $60 a pound (when you can find a market for it) wild last year sold for over $300 at the digger's level (toward the end).

Who enforces the law? Well, it really doesn't fall into Jeff's responsibility, although I am sure he would make an arrest if he found someone poaching ginseng. The other local law enforcement officers are certainly kept busy with other things that "grow wild" around here. So who does enforce it?

While the harvesting of wild ginseng falls under the United States Department of the Interior, and more often that not the USDA sets the rules on it, anyone can enforce this law, since no one locally really does.

What does that mean? It means we should be policing ourselves and doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

Most of us do! Remember, when harvesting ginseng, to do the following, not because it is the law, but because it is the right thing to do.

NEVER harvest anything less than a 3 prong. ALWAYS plant the berries within a few feet of where you found the plant(s). Any root less than a 3 prong that you accidentally dig up, replant. More often than not, it will survive.

There is certainly a lot to do in the outdoors though the summer, our talents are not limited to fishing or digging roots. Use your imagination, get out there and enjoy. Remember, though, play by the rules, and play safe!