<b>Freshwater fishing</b>

March 15, 2013

Santee Cooper System

Catfish: Fair. In both lakes the catfish bite has been inconsistent, with fish feeding well some days and other days being a little slower. After a prolonged period of low water temperatures the catfish’s metabolism will inevitably slow and they will feed less. Move from deep to shallow water depending on the location of the fish. Try drifting gizzard shad chunks or anchoring with cut baits, and don’t be afraid to look shallow. Crappie: Fair. With the cold water crappie fishing has dropped off, and fish are in a winter pattern. Fish are moving out of brush and moving along the ledges and creek channels.

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Midlands area

Lake Wateree

Catfish: Good. Catfish are scattered across the mudflats in 18 to 20 feet of water. Fresh gizzard shad or cut perch are among the most productive baits, and perfect bait sized 4 to 5 inch gizzard shad are thick in the channel and can be cast netted with a heavy cast net of 8 foot diameter or more. Look for the continuous band of bait from 20 to 30 feet down. Striped Bass: Fair. Striped bass fishing has slowed considerably in the last couple of weeks although live shiners or herring in the lower part of the lake will still produce. Look for schools of bait in the Colonel’s Creek area. Largemouth Bass: Slow. Lake Wateree bass fishing remains difficult and the fish seem to be turned off. Try finesse fishing very slowly with soft plastics, or slow roll spinnerbaits along the bottom.

Lake Greenwood

Catfish: Good. Drift cut bait across shallow flats at these times. A cold snap will push the baitfish back out to deeper water and slow the fishing considerably. Crappie: Good. Crappie action has been good at the forks of the Reedy and Saluda Rivers, and also below the 72 Bridge in the Quarters Creek area. Drifting and spider rigging in 12 to 20 feet using worms and jigs seems to be the ticket. Striped Bass: Fair. Few striper reports are coming in, but the best striper action is being reported jigging spoons in 25 feet of water. There is still some schooling activity being reported.

Lake Monticello

Catfish: Good. Patience is very important right now to catching big blues on Monticello. The most consistent way to catch big fish is to anchor on humps with baitfish nearby when you are marking fish underneath them; it make take the catfish a long time to feed, but eventually they will.

Lake Murray

Crappie: Fair to good. Lake Murray crappie fishing has been feast or famine recently, and on some days anglers are wearing the fish out and then the next day no one seems to get a bite. Most anglers are concentrating on the Kempson’s Bridge area up the lake and tight-lining in 10 to 12 feet of water. Purple and yellow jigs are the go-to color. Catfish: Fair to good. Blue cat bite is inconsistent from day to day, and the fish seem to be scattered and moving a lot. Best action is coming for channel and white catfish, which are holding in 10 to 15 feet of water on flats adjacent to the channel. Drifting cut herring is most effective. Largemouth Bass: Slow. Anglers fishing recent tournaments have had tough time, and just weighing in a fish has usually been enough to at least put you in the middle of the pack. Despite warmer air temperatures bass have stayed deep; try Carolina rigging with green worms or fishing Tennessee shad or shad colored crankbaits.

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Piedmont Area

Lake Russell

Crappie: Fair. Fish small to medium minnows or slider jigs in 6 to 12 feet of water around tree tops. Largemouth Bass: Slow. After feeding well for much of the early winter the largemouth bite has really slowed down. Try live herring or jigging spoons in deep water by the Lake Russell dam in 30 to 50 feet. Striped Bass: Slow. Very few fish are being caught right now.

Lake Thurmond

Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good. After being down for several weeks the striper fishing has really improved, and even some bank fishermen report really getting into the fish. There is good fishing in the Little River area, and the fish are starting to stack up down close to the dam. However, these fish are not feeding aggressively, although they may turn on when water temperatures start to warm. Crappie: Good. Look for 20 feet of water in creeks and fish only 2 to 4 feet below the surface. Best jig colors are black and chartreuse, brown and yellow, black and yellow, and black and chartreuse.

Lake Wylie

White perch: Good to very good. White perch action continues to be hot, particularly at night and in the Crowders Creek area, although on some days the schools may be difficult to locate. Look for large schools in 18 to 24 feet, and fish live minnows vertically or small spoons. Crappie: Fair. Crappie are still in deeper water, and 18 to 20 feet is good a depth to start prospecting. A good Lake Wylie pattern is to find deep boat docks or marina structure and drop a chartreuse jig all the way to the bottom and slowly wind up. Slabs can be caught this way on Wylie right now. Catfish: Fair. Cold water can slow the channel cat bite on Lake Wylie, but for blue cats this can be a good time to drift the deep flats on the middle to lower lake with cut bait.

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Mountains Area

Lake Jocassee

Trout: Good. Fish are suspended from 40 to 50 feet deep up to the surface over 100 to 200 feet of water. Target them with Bad Creek trolling spoons, or by trolling or drifting large minnows. Black Bass: Fair. Bass fishing has improved slightly, although pressure remains very low and few reports are coming in. Fish in 20 to 30 feet of water using dark green swamp crawler pumpkinseed worms Texas or shaky-head rigged, or try deep diving plugs. Catfish: Slow. A few catfish are being caught with cut bait fished on the bottom in 60 to 70 feet of water in the rivers.

Lake Keowee

Largemouth and Spotted Bass: Fair. Lake Keowee bass fishing is improving, but water temperatures are still very cold. The predominant pattern remains fishing very deep and slow with drop shot rigs or doodling shaky head worms. Target fish in 30 to 70 feet of water.

Lake Hartwell

Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good. Striper and hybrid fishing is good, particularly in the Conneross area, and some very nice fish continue to be caught. Trolling the major creeks is working well, and umbrella rigs are very productive right now. Look for the birds which will tip you off to where the bait and fish are. Largemouth Bass: Good. Bass are still doing well although up and down temperatures have slowed the fishing a bit from two weeks ago. Fish jigging spoons, crankbaits, or drop shot rigs in 10 to 30 feet around secondary points, at the mouths of major creeks, and on main channel points. Fish are also being picked up fishing jigs around deep structure and brushpiles.

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Record Snakehead <b>Fish</b>

http://www.miamihera...ous-record.html

The moment Kelly Gestring scooped up the strange, slithery fish from a Margate canal he knew he had a record in his net.

Gestring, a state biologist who monitors invasive freshwater fish, wasn’t exactly thrilled about it.

The 14-pound, three-ounce bullseye snakehead was a member of an exotic family of aggressive, fast-growing, razor-toothed air-gulpers that have earned considerable hype as “Frankenfish” and “Fishzilla” over the years. Impossibly large fictional mutations have even starred in a few schlocky sci-fi movies.

The snakehead has never proven much of a monster in Northwest Broward, however, where it was first discovered in a lake in 2000 and remains corraled by the canal system’s flood-control gates and water structures. But the whopper of a catch in the C-14 canal, posted last month on the Facebook page of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, does show the Asian invader population is quite healthy in South Florida.

If caught with a hook and line, the snakehead would have bested the all-tackle world record by 1.5 pounds, but Gestring and colleague Murray Stanford netted this one during an “electro-fishing’’ outing. The technique, which uses a low-level electrical charge to temporarily stun fish for population assessments, doesn’t count toward official sport-fishing records maintained by the International Game Fish Association.

“We knew right away,’’ said Gestring, biological administrator of the FWC’s non-native fish research lab in Boca Raton. “It was definitely the largest one we have ever collected.’’

The snakehead has caused considerable concern outside Florida, where the discovery of a close cousin to the bullseye, the Northern snakehead, spawning in a Maryland pond in 2002, triggered a media feeding frenzy akin to the one surrounding the Burmese python in the Everglades.

Scientists fear snakeheads, predators that will eat just about anything and are generally larger than most native freshwater fish, could take a big bite out local populations if they spread unchecked. The fish’s freakier attributes added to the curiosity. Much like the infamous walking catfish touted as a scourge of the Everglades in the 1960s, snakeheads can survive out of water for several days. And like the catfish, a few species purportedly can wiggle across short distances on land on their fins.

Like other exotics, the four species documented in the United States didn’t swim here. Federal and state wildlife managers believe they were likely released by aquarium owners or breeders for Asian seafood markets, where live specimens were illegally sold in the past.

After the Maryland discovery, the U.S. government moved quickly to ban live imports of all 29 species — a step that many other states, including Florida, had already taken.

Despite that import crackdown, as well as eradication efforts that have included poisoning small ponds and posting wanted signs urging anglers to kill them, the Northern snakehead is considered established in the Potomac River. Federal agencies report that one or more have been caught in Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Gestring said the FWC also considers the bullseye snakehead permanently established in Northwest Broward. Scientists expect they will eventually escape into the Everglades but believe the warm-water species probably wouldn’t survive north of Orlando.

In the Northwest Broward canal system, they don’t appear to have wreaked ecological havoc, Gestring said. After a decade, there is no sign they’re doing any more damage than 22 other foreign fish that also have settled in Florida’s freshwater canals and lakes.

“What we’re seeing is that the native fish population seems to be holding strong,’’ he said. “We’ve not been able to detect any measurable impacts by bullseye snakeheads on any of our individual native species.’’

Shortly before stunning the big snakehead, for instance, biologists also netted a six- to seven-pound largemouth bass, a lunker prized by anglers, and released it unharmed, Gestring said.

Because of their size and strength, snakeheads also have become targets of fishermen as well, but the biologists didn’t put the record fish and others back into the canal. They were catching them last month as part of an FWC effort to promote consumption of exotics as a way to control them.

That’s a challenge with the snakehead, an unappetizing-looking oddity that resembles the native mudfish or bowfin — but with a rack of sharper choppers. During the Python Challenge awards at ZooMiami last month, chunks of snakehead samples were served pan-seared with a honey citrus glaze.

Read more here: http://www.miamihera...l#storylink=cpy

A fish a day, keeps the skunks away.

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CDFW issues <b>freshwater fishing</b> regulation pamphlet

The state Department of Fish & Wildlife has issued its pamphlet of sport fishing regulations for 2013-14.

Changes this year include new regulations on sturgeon, salmon and steelhead retention, new areas where hatchery trout or steelhead may be retained, and a black bass slot limit removal on five waters. Regulation changes are highlighted in the front of the pamphlet for quick reference.

New sturgeon fishing regulations establish a new method of measuring sturgeon and a new size limit of 40-60 inches. Barbless hooks are required when fishing for sturgeon and snares are prohibited. Fish longer than 68 inches fork length may not be removed from the water. For more information: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=58288&inline=1.

Salmon and steelhead anglers in inland valley waters can not fillet steelhead or salmon until they reach their permanent residence, a commercial preservation facility or the fish is being prepared for immediate consumption. All steelhead and salmon must remain in such a condition that their species and size can be identified.

Anglers will be allowed to harvest hatchery trout and hatchery steelhead in most catch and release areas under new regulations.

There will be no slot limit regulation for black bass in McClure, Millerton, Oroville, Orr and Siskiyou lakes. The statewide standard daily bag limit and 12-inch minimum total length regulations will apply on these waters.

Other changes include:

· Yellow Perch have been removed from the sunfish bag limit. Yellow perch have a year-round season with no bag limit.

· Spearfishermen will be allowed to harvest striped bass by spearfishing in the Valley District and all of Black Butte Lake will be open to spearfishing.

· Eulachon may not be taken or possessed.

· Wolf Creek (Mono Co.), Chowchilla River, and Eastman Lake will be open to fishing.

· The Sisquoc River will be closed to all fishing all year to protect listed steelhead.

· Silver King Creek tributaries (Alpine Co.) below Tamarack Lake Creek will be closed to all fishing all year to protect threatened Paiute cutthroat trout.

· Davis and Pine creeks in Modoc County will be closed to the harvest of trout. Catch and release fishing is allowed.

· Smith River Low Flow Regulations - The minimum flow trigger on the Smith River has been increased from 400 cubic feet per second to 600 cubic feet per second.

· Eight amphibians and three reptiles have been removed from the list of species authorized for take with a sport fishing license.

There are other changes to the freshwater sport fishing regulations, so please review all of the 2013-2014 regulations pertaining to the species you intend to pursue.

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Legendary Race Car Driver Tony Stewart Relaxes By <b>Fishing</b> In Florida Before <b>...</b>

Posted on Friday, February 22, 2013 · Leave a Comment 

It was a perfect Florida February day, with mostly sunny conditions and a high in the low 70s. Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, NASCAR champion Tony Stewart and the director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management, Tom Champeau, were on a tour of the upper St. Johns River in the vicinity of Three Forks Marsh Conservation Area. Led by fishing guide Capt. Mike Tipton, they caught 36 bass in just a few hours. Champeau got a strike and then landed an 11-pound, 8-ounce trophy. Such is the stuff dreams are made of and the basis for which the FWC launched TrophyCatch (TrophyCatchFlorida.com).

“Catching and releasing a trophy bass while fishing with the founder of our major sponsor was an incredible experience,” said Champeau. “The only way I could have scripted it better would be for either Johnny or Tony to catch her,” he added.

Bass Pro Shops is a major TrophyCatch partner, and with their expansion to 12 stores throughout Florida, this partnership is a win-win for the fishing industry, conservation and anglers. Morris was ecstatic himself, exclaiming, “What a way to promote this great conservation program!”

Stewart, who hoped to spend the day relaxing before the Daytona 500, said, “Seeing Tom catch that fish was awesome, I was so excited to be there for it.” Three-time Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart will drive the #14 Chevrolet sponsored by Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Marine on Sunday, February 24th, in the 55th running of the Daytona 500.

Capt. Tipton took photos of the beauty, showing the weight registering on the scale, as required for TrophyCatch documentation.

Champeau’s catch will be submitted to the TrophyCatch website; however, as an FWC employee, he is not eligible for any rewards other than a handsome certificate commemorating his catch.

“Catching a bass of a lifetime, with Johnny Morris and a racing legend like Tony Stewart, was the best reward I could ever ask for,” said Champeau.

Florida’s fame as a bass-fishing destination lies in an abundance of lakes and rivers that consistently produce trophy-size bass. To document locations and frequency of catches over 8 pounds throughout the state, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) launched TrophyCatch (TrophyCatchFlorida.com) in October with the support of more than 20 industry partners.

The goal is to use catch information to better conserve and manage trophy bass fisheries and continue to promote Florida as the Bass Fishing Capital of the World.

“Florida leads the nation with more than 25 million days of freshwater fishing participation and attracted more than 1.2 million anglers from all over the world to fish famous lakes like the Kissimmee Chain and Okeechobee and the St. Johns River,” said Champeau. While Florida’s marquee fisheries receive most media attention, Champeau said that anglers should not overlook the countless smaller lakes, ponds and canals.

“TrophyCatch is already revealing that many trophy bass are caught in typical neighborhood ponds,” he said.

While touring the Three Forks Marsh Conservation Area with Morris and Stewart, Champeau explained how the area is being reclaimed through a partnership with the St. Johns River Water Management District and the FWC. Vast marshes that were once drained for agriculture are being reclaimed as impoundments to protect water quality in Indian River Lagoon and St. Johns River. One such impoundment is Stick Marsh, which opened for fishing in the 1980s and is well-known in fishing circles. Within the next five years, more than 47,000 additional acres of water will be thriving with trophy bass, and the FWC is taking measures now to ensure that these fisheries continue to produce decades into the future.

“We estimate the economic impact, once the entire Upper St. Johns Project is completed, will be around $20 million to local businesses,” Champeau said. “The reservoir-enhancement projects being completed now will provide increased depth and more complex lake-bottom topography, which will be more beneficial than simply flooding an old sod farm.”

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South Jersey <b>bass</b> club <b>angling</b> for spring at Vineland&#39;s Blackwater Sports

Staff Photo by Phillip Tomlinson/The South Jersey Times   VINELAND - Fishermen love to tell stories. Just as fun as hauling in a mammoth moss-back is bragging to all of your fishing buddies about it. So naturally, in an age of digital media, fishermen seek each other out online to swap fish tales and share information about their hobby.

For South Jersey bass enthusiasts the place to share rod and reel heroics is the online forum www.bassnj.com.

On Sunday afternoon scores of local fisherman gathered at Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland for the fifth-annual bassnj.com spring kick-off sale.

"The forum started as a local thing, but has spread state-wide in the past few years," Blackwater owner Jeff Shaw explained. "This is a closed door sale for forum members that we do as a way to kick off the spring season."

Blackwater is a sponsor of the bassnj.com forum, where membership is free, and the only dues are regular ribbings from fellow fishing aficionados.

With temperatures in the balmy lower 50s, and the sun shining, thoughts of spring and of landing a lunker bass were naturally on the mind of every angler present, as they patrolled the well-stocked aisles of Blackwater, looking to replenish tackle boxes for another year on the water.

For most of those browsing the store, bass fishing is a hobby that borders on an obsession. For some lucky souls, fishing is a profession.

Adrian Avena of Vineland is a professional on the FLW Tournament circuit, and one of, if not the, only tournament pro from New Jersey.

The FLW circuit consists of 175 top anglers from around the country, and features six tournaments every year with prize purses north of $600,000 for each event.

A 2012 graduate of Chestnut Hill College, Avena is about to start his second season on tour.

He first started tournament fishing as a kid, doing salt water tournaments with his dad and uncle from his family's vacation home in Cape May. He also spent time honing his freshwater skills, and when he started college he got involved in serious bass tournaments.

After spending two years on the bass fishing college tournament circuit, Avena qualified for the pro tour through FLW's Everstart Division.

Winning a prize totaling over $30,000 in 2011 helped stake him to his first year on the FLW tour, covering his travel and operating expenses for the 2012 season. In 2012 he did well enough to pay his way for the 2013 campaign.

But depending on prize money alone won't get you far as a bass pro. In order to cover expenses and earn a living, top anglers rely on endorsement deals and sponsorships to stay afloat.

After breaking through last year, Avena is looking to establish himself, and build his base of sponsors with a strong showing in 2013.

"As a young guy trying to break through it can be tough," he explained. "Sponsorships offset expenses, and right now I don't really have any financial support."

That will change if he can notch a win or a series of strong finishes on tour this year, and earn the level of corporate sponsorships that can establish him as a career pro.

As a New Jersey native, he feels he has an advantage over the competition.

"They say that if you can catch bass here in New Jersey you can catch bass anywhere," he said with a laugh.

Fish in New Jersey waters are exposed to a lot of pressure from anglers; trying to catch bass successfully in New Jersey means mastering a wide array of strategies.

But success at the professional level takes more than just talent and practice. To keep up with the sport's top names, Avena has to do his homework. Using internet resources, he spends weeks in advance of a tournament studying the topography of the waterway, identifying areas likely to hold the trophy bass that will land him in the money.

Regardless of his success on tour, Avena still enjoys fishing the small waters around South Jersey, naming Union Lake, Rainbow Lake in Vineland and Giampetro Park among his favorites.

Contact Phillip Tomlinson at 856-451-1000 or ptomlinson@southjerseymedia.com

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Early Season Back Bay <b>Bass Fishing</b> Tips

Striped bass season begins in the back bays and rivers March 1, and Patch caught up with Dennis Palmatier of Murphy's Hook House Bait and Tackle in Toms River for some tips.

The regulations for striped bass remains two fish per angler, per day, with a minimum size limit of 28 inches.

Striped bass season in the back bays and rivers runs from March 1 through Dec. 31. In the ocean, the season is open year-round.

Anglers fishing Oyster Creek should keep in mind that fishing the west side of the Route 9 bridge over the creek requires a freshwater fishing license. Fishing the east side of the bridge does not, though all anglers statewide must obtain a free registration card online before fishing.

Thanks. We'll email you the next time we update this story.

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Bill would remove possession limits for <b>freshwater fishing</b> on Toledo Bend

A state lawmaker is proposing a bill that would remove the possession limits for freshwater recreational fishing on Toledo Bend Reservoir.

House Bill 109, by Rep. Frankie Howard, R-Many, is pre-filed for the legislative session which begins April in Baton Rouge.

Current law outlines daily take limits and possession limits for freshwater recreational fishing on the reservoir.

According to current law, the possession limits are two times the daily take limits. The law also authorizes the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission to amend rule size limits, daily take limits, possession limits, seasons and times.

Under Howard's proposal, the commission's authority to amend by rule the possession limits for recreational fishing on Toledo Bend Reservoir would be removed.

You can read the full bill here: http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=828729

The bill has been assigned to the House Natural Resources Committee.

Copyright 2013 KPLC. All rights reserved.

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The 2013-14 <b>Freshwater</b> Sports <b>Fishing</b> Regulation pamphlet issued

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has issued the 2013-14 Freshwater Sports Fishing Regulation pamphlet.

Changes this year include new regulations on sturgeon, salmon and steelhead retention, new areas where hatchery trout or steelhead may be retained, and a black bass slot limit removal on five waters. Regulation changes are highlighted in the front of the pamphlet for quick reference.

New sturgeon fishing regulations establish a new method of measuring sturgeon and a new size limit of 40-60 inches. Barbless hooks are required when fishing for sturgeon and snares are prohibited. Fish longer than 68 inches fork length may not be removed from the water. For more information: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=58288&;inline=1 .

Salmon and steelhead anglers in inland valley waters can not fillet steelhead or salmon until they reach their permanent residence, a commercial preservation facility or the fish is being prepared for immediate consumption. All steelhead and salmon must remain in such a condition that their species and size can be identified.

Anglers will be allowed to harvest hatchery trout and hatchery steelhead in most catch and release areas under new regulations.

There will be no slot limit regulation for black bass in McClure, Millerton, Oroville, Orr and Siskiyou lakes. The statewide standard daily bag limit and 12-inch minimum total length regulations will apply on these waters.

Other changes include:

Yellow Perch have been removed from the sunfish bag limit. Yellow perch have a year-round season with no bag limit.Spearfishermen will be allowed to harvest striped bass by spearfishing in the Valley District and all of Black Butte Lake will be open to spearfishing.Eulachon may not be taken or possessed.Wolf Creek (Mono Co.), Chowchilla River, and Eastman Lake will be open to fishing.The Sisquoc River will be closed to all fishing all year to protect listed steelhead.Silver King Creek tributaries (Alpine Co.) below Tamarack Lake Creek will be closed to all fishing all year to protect threatened Paiute cutthroat trout.Davis and Pine creeks in Modoc County will be closed to the harvest of trout. Catch and release fishing is allowed.Smith River Low Flow Regulations – The minimum flow trigger on the Smith River has been increased from 400 cubic feet per second to 600 cubic feet per second.Eight amphibians and three reptiles have been removed from the list of species authorized for take with a sport fishing license.

There are other changes to the freshwater sport fishing regulations, so please review all of the 2013-2014 regulations pertaining to the species you intend to pursue.

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Catch Cormier
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Ponds provide youngsters a close-to-home environment to develop their fly casting and fly selection skills.With the mild winter we?ve had, the coastal ponds are getting thick with grass. The grass helps to maintain clarity, so reds can be easily sighted. Getting a fly through heavy moss is the problem. Consider a bendback style fly. The Prince of Tides has a body made of gold braid covered with epoxy or overwrapped with mono, for extra flash. The Bendback Mullet has a woolhead that pushes water, such that it alerts the fish to its presence.

In areas where there?s no or little grass, dark-colored spoon flies remain a good option this month. Foil pencil poppers in purple or gold are also killers as long as the water stays clear.

Bass are on the spawning beds. Use a long leader, and cast a leech pattern or a sqwirm worm just slightly past the fish, then twitch it slowly across the bed. The result is often a strike. Please release these bass as they are in the process of creating our future.

The first solid bream catches will take place this month in the southern parishes. Two of the best places to fly fish for bluegill in Louisiana is Lake Cataouche near Westwego and Bayou Black near Houma. A slow falling fly like a chartreuse ligon works great in the grass beds.

Millers Lake near Ville Platte produces big chinquapin in early spring. Try a black and chartreuse cap spider, and avoid using a strike indicator. The water in Millers is way too clear and indicators tend to distract the fish.

Crappie will be moving to the shallows this month. Try fluff butts, crappie candies and small clousers.

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Alabama striped <b>bass</b> family tree roots likely all now sprout from rearing ponds

O.P. Harrison of Mobile caught this 12.6-pound striped bass on a live shrimp in late February while fishing for speckled trout in the Theodore Industrial Canal. (Courtesy O.P. Harrison)  

MOBILE, Alabama -- On the same day news broke that 65-year-old James Bramlett of Dora had caught a potential state- and world-record 70-pound striped bass from the Black Warrior River in northeast Alabama, pictures of a 12.6-pound striper landed near Mobile began circulating through social media.

O.P. Harrison of Mobile was fishing for speckled trout in the Theodore Industrial Canal that late-February day when the fish hit a small live shrimp he was fishing on 6-pound-test line.

While Bramlett's fish will most likely replace the 55-pounder Charles Totty pulled from the Tallapoosa River in 1959, Harrison's will be admired simply because not many people in the southwest part of the state have ever seen one in its scales.

Few people around Mobile target stripers. Like Harrison's fish, they are rare bycatch that eats a bait a fisherman is using to target another species.

While Bramlett's huge fish was the result of intensive restocking of Atlantic and Gulf striped bass in reservoirs above dams across the Alabama River since 1979, the genetic origins of Harrison's fish are a little bit murkier.

Striped bass were once common in the rivers and estuarine environment of the northern Gulf coast, according to information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has overseen an interstate fishery management plan guiding the species' recovery since 1986.

They were found from Texas to the Suwannee River in Florida, and inland hundreds of miles up the Alabama River and Tombigbee River systems and to St. Louis on the Mississippi River.

Historical reports indicate the fish were landed commercially from the late 1800s through the early 1960s. Except for a remnant population of Gulf-strain striped bass in the Apalachicola River system in northwest Florida and infrequent catch reports in a few other river systems, they are no longer common throughout their range.

While the Alabama conservation department Web site contains information stating that there "may" still be a native population of Gulf striped bass migrating through the Mobile Bay estuary, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division District V chief fisheries biologist Dave Armstrong, who's based on the Mobile Bay Causeway, said not enough is known to say if native Gulf-strain stripers still swim state water.

"As far as if we have a run or not, I believe we are more likely sustaining a semi-resident population derived from previous stocking efforts," Armstrong said. "These fish do have the instinct to run and they'll cover a lot of ground."

Armstrong said that instinct likely contributes to the large congregations of striped bass - and some hybrid bass - that gather just below Claiborne Lock and Dam on the Alabama River and Coffeeville Lock and Dam across the Tombigbee River.

James Bramlett and his wife Janice stand with the 70-pound striped bass he caught from the Black Warrior River on Feb. 28. The fish broke the existing 53-year-old Alabama state record for the species by 15 pounds and is potentially a world record for landlocked striped bass. (Joe Songer/jdsonger@al.com)  

"Those fish are most likely resident fish that are taking advantage of the abundant shad numbers just below the dams," he said. "They also prefer to live in the cool, running water just below the dams, especially during the hotter months."

Ben Raines, an avid diver and knowledgeable fisherman from Fairhope, reported seeing a single 10-pound striped bass as he and it swam along the rock jetties at Perdido Pass in 2008.

Raines said there could have been other stripers around that he just did not see.

The reasons for the decline of native striped bass along the northern Gulf coast are speculative, according to the USFWS.

Along with the impacts of commercial fishing, environmental alterations, the construction of dams across traditional spawning corridors and industrial and agricultural pollution have also been implicated as probable causes of the drastic decline of striped bass.

Alabama's Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division began restocking reservoirs above dams in the northern part of the state in 1979.

In 1985, the first striped bass were stocked below the dams across the Tombigbee River at Coffeeville and at Claiborne on the Alabama River, according to WFF stocking data provided by Armstrong. Those fish were Atlantic-strain stripers, which were stocked for the first seven years.

The first Gulf striped bass fingerlings were stocked beginning in 1992 and the Atlantic-strain fish have been used in only two years since.

Including that first stocking, more than 2.1 million Atlantic and Gulf striped bass fingerlings have been released at the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers, where they form the Mobile River.

Armstrong said the site is used because it provides the fingerlings with more than one option in deciding which way to swim upon release, the water's deep and cool and there's plenty to eat.

Over the past seven years, an average of 65,000 fingerlings have been released between May 14 and June 2, according to the WFF data.

Fisheries biologists have concluded that natural reproduction is occurring in the upper Coosa River near Rome, Ga., resulting in large numbers of naturally produced striped bass showing up at Weiss Reservoir in northeast Alabama and other Coosa River impoundments, according to the WFF.

Studies on reproductive possibilities among striped bass stocked just above the Mobile-Tensaw Delta have not been done, Armstrong said.

No one can say for sure, but 2.1 million-to-1 odds suggest that O.P. Harrison's fish was probably a 6- to 8-inch long fingerling when it was stocked as much as a decade ago and more than 30 miles from where it was eventually caught.

It's intriguing to believe, however, that at least one true Gulf striped bass still swims along generations-old migration routes in Alabama, especially if it has a mate.

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TrophyCatch to promote <b>bass</b> conservation

For decades, the state of Florida has been recognized as the place to go to catch a big largemouth bass. Last fall, on Oct. 1, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) started TrophyCatch, a program to recognize the biggest bass caught by anglers and encourage them to let their trophy bass swim to fight another day.

Already the program is paying great dividends.

Bob Williams of Alloway, N.J. was fishing on Rodman Reservoir Feb. 18 with guide Sean Rush of Trophy Bass Expeditions when he landed a 13-pound, 14-ounce largemouth. Rush picked up his phone, contacted the FWC and a short time later freshwater fisheries staff were on the scene documenting his catch and then releasing his fish.

Rush will get more than $1,000 in rewards for catching and releasing a fish weighing over 13 pounds.

Since TrophyCatch was rolled out, 31 Lunker Club bass weighing 8 to 9.9 pounds and 24 Trophy Club bass between 10 and 12.9 pounds have been verified and released. Those fish can be viewed at TrophyCatchFlorida.com.

Bass weighing 13 pounds or more are Hall of Fame fish. Williams is the first angler to go through the process. His 13.88-pound female was weighed on certified scales, measured at 27 inches long and having a 20-inch girth, and was released near where she was caught. Biologists also clipped a small piece of a fin to look at genetic features of the fish.

Williams, and all anglers who successfully enter a Hall of Fame fish in TrophyCatch, will receive a free fiberglass replica of their bass from New Wave Taxidermy, a custom ProLine rod and US Reel baitcaster, gift cards from Bass Pro Shops, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Rapala Lures, fishing apparel from Bass King Clothing and a DVD of Glen Lau’s “Bigmouth” videos.

Williams and any other angler who catches and records a Hall of Fame largemouth will be recognized at a banquet and memorialized at the Florida Bass Conservation Center in Sumter County.

Just days after Williams’ catch, Tom Champeau, the FWC’s director of Freshwater Fisheries Management; Bass Pro Shops founder and owner, Johnny Morris; and NASCAR champion driver Tony Stewart were fishing near the Three Forks Marsh Conservation Area off the St. Johns River with guide Capt. Mike Tipton when something really memorable happened.

The threesome landed and released 36 bass but Champeau caught a female bass weighing 11 pounds, 8 ounces. His catch was submitted to the TrophyCatch website but because he is an FWC employee, he is not eligible for any rewards, other than a certificate recognizing his catch.

TrophyCatch is a three-tiered conservation program set up to encourage anglers to report and release their fish weighing 8 pounds or more.

Bass in the Lunker Club (8 to 9.9 pounds) or Trophy Club (10 to 12.9 pounds) categories caught in Florida waters simply have to be photographed on a scale with the weight visible and on a tape, showing the length. The documentation can be reported online at TrophyCatchFlorida.com any time of the year.

Bass heavier than 13 pounds caught between Oct. 1 and April 30 must be reported immediately through TrophyCatch for weight verification and release.
The FWC’s Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management has received positive feedback for its innovative program to encourage bass conservation from not only Florida anglers but also bass fishermen and bass pros nationwide.

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Pro <b>bass fishing</b> legend, TV star Jimmy Houston at sports show

 CHARLESTON —  If you want to know about the outdoors and only have an afternoon, head down to the Charleston Civic Center on Friday, they’ve got the 44thannual West Virginia Sports Show running Friday through Sunday, and from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, they’ve got Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Famer, Jimmy Houston.

Houston is one of America's favorite fisherman, and has been on national television for over 30 years. His show, “Jimmy Houston Outdoors,” consistently ranked as the #1 outdoors show on ESPN for 20 years.

A legendary angler, Houston, who makes more than 120 appearances a year, was inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.

Come see Jimmy in person at The Great Outdoors Marine's show display, in the coliseum area of the Civic Center, where he will be promoting  the Nitro and Tracker fishing boats powered by Mercury outboard motors.

The show runs 2 to 10 p.m. Friday and then 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The show is one of the area’s largest indoor displays of new RVs, fifth wheels, Class A,B & C motorhomes, trailers, toy haulers, and pop-ups, along with recreational vehicles, personal water crafts, and ATVs. In addition, over 30 exhibitors will feature products and services associated with outdoor sports, RV & boating.

Children may enjoy rockwall climbing, mining for precious stones, along with face painting and balloon art by RC the Clown.

Ticket prices are $6, $5 for seniors and $1 for children ages 6-12. Children under 6 are admitted free.

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Public can have input on largemouth <b>bass</b> regulations

Fisheries biologists with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission are holding open houses throughout the state to gather public input on largemouth bass regulations.

The idea is to hear from the bass-fishing public before making recommendations on possible changes to size and bag limits or possibly other changes to the bass regulations. The FWC has already conducted online surveys and is still accepting mail-in surveys to reach bass anglers.

“This is an opportunity for anglers to provide their thoughts and ideas about Florida’s largemouth bass regulations,” said Allen Martin, regional fisheries administrator for the FWC in Lake City. “Should they stay the same? Should changes be made? You tell us.”

The two workshops closest to Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast are:

March 11 (from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.) at Scott Driver Park, 3950 S.W. 99th Drive, Okeechobee.
March 12 (from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.) at Bass Pro Shops, 200 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach.

There’s no set schedule. Anglers participating in the bass workshops can come and go as they please.

One question biologists hope to answer is whether anglers favor broad-brush regulations for bass that are simple to understand and enforce or customized regulations that address problems in specific areas but make the regulation landscape more complex.

The review of regulations is called for in the FWC’s recently approved black bass management plan.

Martin said the FWC could produce recommended changes to bass regulations in the fall. More public workshops will be held to gather input on the proposed changes, if any are recommended.

The health of the largemouth bass population is important to Florida’s economy. Seventy percent of the state’s freshwater anglers fish for largemouth bass. Florida bass fishing generates $1.25 billion in annual economic impact, according to the FWC.

Anglers who cannot attend one of the workshops can download and mail in a bass regulations survey at: www.myfwc.com/fishing/freshwater/black-bass/bass-regulations.

Kids fishing tournament: The Pahokee Rotary Club will host a Kids Fishing Tournament from 8 a.m. until noon March 16 on the fishing pier the Okeechobee Resort, formerly known as the Pahokee Marina. Awards will follow from noon to 1 p.m.

Rotary Club member Mike Garcia said several Lake Okeechobee fishing guides plan to assist in teaching the kids about fishing in what the club hopes will become an annual event.

Participating boys and girls will receive free rod and reel combinations as well as tackle boxes provided by Fish Florida, the nonprofit organization that uses proceeds from the sale of sailfish license tags to support kids’ fishing programs.

For more information about the kids fishing day in Pahokee, call Garcia at (561) 924-5238 or email him at: circlespharmacy@bellsouth.net.

For information about purchasing a sailfish license tag to support kids’ fishing programs, go to www.fishfloridatag.org.Turk

Turkey season: The spring turkey hunting season began Saturday and continues through April 7 in the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area in northern Palm Beach County. Turkey hunting at Corbett is allowed on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays only.

No quota permit is required. A valid hunting license, wildlife management area permit and turkey permit are required, unless exempt.

For information on spring turkey hunting at 41 other wildlife management areas that do not require quota permits, go to www.myfwc.com/hunting.

Tags: Fishing, largemouth bass, turkey hunting

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 2nd, 2013 at 5:40 pm and is filed under Fishing, Hunting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Big <b>Bass</b>: Alabama Striper May Be a Landlocked World Record

James R. Bramlett shattered a 54-year-old Alabama state record with this 70-pound striped bass he caught on February 28. The Dora resident, 65, may have also eclipsed the IGFA all-tackle world record for a landlocked striper when he hauled in this monster on the upper Bankhead Reservoir.

Heath Haley, a district fisheries biologist for Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries who viewed the fish shortly after it was caught, says the pending state record (which was weighed on a certified scale in Sumiton and now awaits only the completion of paper work) is remarkable by Alabama standards. Bramlett’s catch beat the prior record—which had stood since June 28, 1959—by 15 pounds.

“It’s definitely uncommon,” Haley says. “This fish certainly, in my opinion, was an anomaly. It’s a very fat, chunky fish. The previous record being 55 pounds, the fact that it hasn't been broken since the 1950s, it’s just incredible that not only he broke it, but he shattered it. You just don’t see them that big that often.” Haley measured the fish at 45 ½ inches long, with a girth of 37 ¾ inches.

The freshwater striper very well may be remarkable by world standards, as well. The International Game Fish Association all-tackle world record for landlocked striped bass is a 67-pound, 8-ounce fish caught May 7, 1992, by Hank Ferguson in Los Banos, Calif.

Bramlett was fishing near the Gorgas Steam Plant on the Upper Bankhead, an impoundment on the Black Warrior River in north-central Alabama not far from his home. An experienced angler, he was targeting one of his favorite spots on the river that day at the urging of his wife, Janice, who will undergo surgery soon and wanted Bramlett to get in one last fishing trip before she goes into the hospital. After seeing a big fish roll on the surface, he cast a 10-inch gizzard shad on a 6.0 Mustad hook to the spot. He landed the striper after a 20-minute fight, and his first phone call was to Janice. (Bramlett was unavailable for an interview this week due to his wife’s impending surgery, but Janice said he was excited by his catch and the attention it is generating. “He’s got a lot on his plate right now,” she said.)

If the fish does become a world record, as expected, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, Haley says. “He’s very humble, very generous. He does a lot of fishing, and he showed me some photos of big catfish he’s caught in the area. I’d love to spend a day on the water with him!”

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FWC commission names June 1, Sept. 1 license-free <b>fishing</b> days

CRESTVIEW — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday selected June 1 and Sept. 1 as this year's saltwater license-free fishing days.

The requirement to have a recreational fishing license will be waived on these days for Florida’s residents and visitors who saltwater fish.

All other regulations such as seasons, size limits and bag limits still apply on these days.

The commission offers four license-free fishing days  — two saltwater and two freshwater— each year. While it annually selects new saltwater license-free fishing days, freshwater license-free fishing days are always the first Saturday in April and the second Saturday in June.

This year’s freshwater license-free fishing days are  April 6 and June 8.

This year’s June 1 saltwater and the June 8 freshwater license-free days are during National Fishing and Boating Week. This week promotes boating and fishing across the country as fun and healthy outdoor activities.

In 2012, 37 states had at least one license-free fishing day during this annual event.

"The Sept. 1 saltwater license-free day falls on Labor Day weekend, when many families will be out on the water, enjoying one of the last big fishing weekends of summer," a spokesperson said.

"License-free days not only introduce new anglers to the lifetime sport of fishing; they also economically benefit the state, as those 3 million anglers cited by the American Sportfishing Association’s 'Sportfishing in America' report, shop at tackle stores, purchase boat fuel and bait and travel to their favorite fishing hole," a spokesperson said. "Some of this money even finds its way back to the FWC via the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sport Fish Restoration Program specifically to create more fishing and boating opportunities."

See MyFWC.com/Fishing to learn more about saltwater and freshwater fishing in Florida.

BE RECOGNIZED

You can sign up for a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission freshwater angler recognition program at www.TrophyCatchFlorida.com.

Those who photograph and release a largemouth bass heavier than 8 pounds are eligible for rewards or certificates for catching qualifying freshwater fish from among 33 species in the program.

DID YOU KNOW?

The state has more than 3 million anglers, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

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