Category: Fishing

Zinke Announces More than $1.1 Billion for Sportsmen and Conservation

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

This year marks $20 billion in hunter and angler conservation funding

HORICON, WI – Yesterday U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke traveled to Horicon, Wisconsin, where he announced more than $1.1 billion in annual national funding for state wildlife agencies from revenues generated by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration (PRDJ) acts. The Secretary presented a ceremonial check to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for $34,966,603 while visiting the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area. State-by-state listings of the final Fiscal Year 2018 apportionments of Wildlife Restoration Program fund can be found here and the Sport Fish Restoration Program fund here. Allocations of the funds are authorized by Congress. To date, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has distributed more than $20.2 billion in apportionments for state conservation and recreation projects.

“American sportsmen and women are some of our best conservationists and they contribute billions of dollars toward wildlife conservation and sportsmen access every year through the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Acts,” said Secretary Zinke. “For nearly eighty years, states have been able to fund important conservation initiatives thanks to the more than $20 billion that has generated nationwide. Every time a firearm, fishing pole, hook, bullet, motor boat or boat fuel is sold, part of that cost goes to fund conservation. The best way to increase funding for conservation and sportsmen access is to increase the number of hunters and anglers in our woods and waters. The American conservation model has been replicated all over the world because it works.” Read more

Fishing, Hunting

Researchers to Deploy Wall of Sound to Battle Invasive Fish

Three-year study aims to slow movement of Asian carp

 FRANKFORT, KY  — Researchers will experiment with a riverbed bubbler and sound system as part of the ongoing effort to slow the spread of Asian carp throughout the Mississippi River basin.

European technology originally designed to steer migrating salmon back into main river channels will be tested below Barkley Dam in western Kentucky as an environmentally friendly way to block passage of Asian carp upstream.

The Bio-Acoustic Fish Fence (BAFF) creates a curtain of bubbles, and in conjunction with a powerful sound signal, produces an underwater “wall of sound” designed to deter the passage of fish.

Fish Guidance Systems, LTD, a company based in the United Kingdom, invented the device to herd migrating fish around water intakes and dams in Europe. The company describes the fence as a behavioral barrier that requires less maintenance than a physical barrier, such as a screen or an electrical barrier. Read more

Fishing

NMMA Condemns Aluminum Tariffs

Thom Dammrich, NMMA President, reiterated the recreational boating industry’s concerns following President Trump’s formal announcement yesterday of new tariffs on steel imports (a 25 percent tariff) and aluminum imports (a 10 percent tariff) – releasing the following statement:

“The Administration’s short-sighted decision to implement new tariffs is meant to fulfill a campaign promise rather than support robust, pro-growth trade policy. This action will hurt countless manufacturers and uniquely American industries like ours that support 650,000 American jobs and $37 billion in sales each year. 95% of all boats sold in America are made in America.

“The recreational boating industry is disheartened that the Administration has chosen to ignore the warnings from American manufacturers, Members of Congress, and aluminum producers alike. Today’s action threatens the livelihood of Americans in aluminum and steel using industries. The President has chosen 150,000 workers in the steel and aluminum industry over the 6.5 million workers in user industries. Read more

Fishing, General

Secretary Zinke Partners with Congress on Bipartisan Bill to Fix National Parks

WASHINGTON – Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke joined U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Angus King (I-ME), Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and others to introduce a bipartisan bill to rebuild America’s National Parks.

The proposed bill would use up to $18 billion in revenue derived from energy produced on federal lands and waters to establish a special fund within the Treasury specifically for “National Park Restoration”. The bill follows the blueprint laid out in Secretary Zinke and President Trump’s budget proposal, the Public Lands Infrastructure Fund. The Alexander/King bill’s cosponsors are: Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). This bill fulfills one of the priorities laid out in President Trump’s legislative framework for rebuilding America’s infrastructure.

“Infrastructure is an investment, not merely an expense. And every dollar we put in to rebuilding our parks, will help bolster the gateway communities that rely on park visitation for economic vitality. Read more

Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife

Smelt Dipping and Days Gone By

By Glen Wunderlich

At the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland – Point Pelee National Park – 45 years ago, my first smelt spawning-run experience unfolded.  There, with a throng of experienced netters, we strung out the 4×20-foot seine netting, consisting of a large net with sinkers on one edge and floats on the other that hangs vertically in the water.  From the beach, one person would wade near shore holding onto one end, while the other in waders, would venture as deeply into the water as he’d dare.  With a pivoting maneuver around the shallow operator, the net would be pulled slowly back to shore where it was checked for the small, silvery fish.  Although the seasoned netters claimed the action was slow that night, we still managed to haul myriad wash tubs and cans full of the tasty critters back to Michigan.

Over the subsequent years, the Saint Marys River behind the Sears building in Port Huron, became the dip-netting destination for prized catches.  However, our fishing party had to dip through a long night to fill a couple of 5-gallon buckets.

One of my partners learned a valuable lesson one night.  As we were having some success, a couple of strangers noted the buckets being filled and asked if we had fishing licenses.  My pal piped up, “You don’t need a license for this!”  The retort was a simple, “Oh, yes you do”, as he flashed his conservation officer’s badge, resulting in an expensive episode for the uninformed angler.

Along with a valid Michigan fishing license, the equipment needed is a dip net, bucket and warm clothes and a flashlight.  Some areas require a long-handled net, waders and/or a life jacket.  And, if you are successful, you’ve got to be prepared for the drudgery of cleaning them, as well.

Long gone are the days when pickup-truck beds could be filled in a night’s work; in fact, the dismal state of the smelt population now legally limits catches to two gallons per angler. This is the first time in Michigan’s long history of smelt-netting that a limit has been imposed.  According to the DNR, it seems that more smelt are now breeding in the lake waters, as opposed to heading up-stream and past anglers’ nets.  Years ago, a person couldn’t give them away – unless, of course, they were first cleaned.  You still may be able to locate them in local grocery stores for about $6 per pound in the upcoming month or so.

Michigan’s DNR offers the following helpful information:

Spawning runs begin in early spring, soon after the ice disappears, and extend over a 3-week period, as long as the temperatures stay in the low to mid-40s.   Depending on where you live or plan to travel, prime dipping season is mid-April to early May–earlier in the Lower Peninsula, later in the Upper Peninsula.  Note that prolonged cold temperatures generally make for later smelt runs – ideal stream temps are 42-44 degrees.  Precise predictions of just when and where the smelt will run are nearly impossible to make.

For more information about smelt and season dates, read the Fishing Guide.  The Department of Natural Resources Fishing Report Hot Line is open 24/7 and the DNR will report runs when known.  Call toll free 1-855-777-0908.  The best smelt-dipping hours are between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. each night as the smelt spawn.

For those interested in dipping for smelt later this spring, visit the DNR’s smelt dipping and fishing opportunities page online.

Fishing

Modern Fish Act Takes Major Step Toward Becoming Law

Alexandria, VA – February 28, 2018 – The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation overwhelmingly approved S. 1520, the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017 (Modern Fish Act). This legislation calls for critically important updates to the oversight of federal fisheries, including adding more tools to the management toolbox, improving data collection techniques, and examining some fishery allocations that are based on decades-old decisions.

The Modern Fish Act was introduced in the Senate in July 2017 by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). It has since received strong bipartisan support from 12 cosponsors representing coastal and non-coastal states alike. In addition, a broad coalition of organizations representing the saltwater recreational fishing and boating community has endorsed the Modern Fish Act and highlighted the importance of updating the nation’s fisheries management system to more accurately distinguish between recreational and commercial fishing. Read more

Fishing

Michigan’s hand netting season opens Thursday, dip netting March 20

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminds anglers about netting seasons as we get closer to spring. The hand netting season opens Thursday, March 1, and closes May 31, while the dip netting season opens Tuesday, March 20, and also closes May 31.

The following species can be taken during both seasons: bowfin, carp, goldfish, gizzard shad, longnose gar, smelt and suckers. Waters open to hand netting include all Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, the Detroit River and the St. Marys River including all tributaries to those waters from the mouth to a half-mile upstream. Waters open to dip netting include all Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula streams, except Designated Trout Streams.

All other waters are closed to these activities; visit michigan.gov/dnrdigests for full details.

The use of seines, hand nets and dip nets for minnows is allowed all year on all waters (except Designated Trout Streams and those waters closed to minnow harvest) while cast nets can be used for alewives, minnows, smelt and gizzard shad all year on the Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, the Detroit River and the St. Marys River.

For those interested in dipping for smelt later this spring, visit the DNR’s smelt dipping and fishing opportunities page online.

Fishing

Boone and Crockett Club Applauds Bill to Advance Hunter Recruitment and Retention

MISSOULA, MT – The Boone and Crockett Club fully supports a new House bill that seeks to advance hunter recruitment and retention. The Modernizing Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow’s Needs Act of 2017 (H.R. 2591) will provide technical and financial assistance to states for promoting hunting and recreational shooting.

The bill, introduced by Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08) would allow state fish and wildlife agencies the flexibility they need to address the declining number of hunters by using existing funds from the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Fund to increase hunting and recreational shooting opportunities. The bill will also serve to clarify that one of the purposes of these funds is to provide financial and technical assistance to the states for hunter recruitment and retention, hunter education programs, and education programs to the non-hunting public.

“When the Boone and Crockett Club helped draft and get the Pittman-Robertson Act passed by Congress in 1934, we had lots of hunters and game populations were still recovering,” said Ben B. Hollingsworth Jr., president of the Boone and Crockett Club. “Today, game is abundant once again, but declining hunter participation means declining funds. This bill is the right thing to do at the right time to ensure healthy wildlife and ecosystems into the future.” Read more

Fishing, Hunting
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