GW:  Wow.  What a burden on entrepreneurs!  And, here go the costs, which, as always, are certainly to be passed onto consumers.

Beginning Friday, March 1, sport fishing guides operating in Michigan will need an inland guide license to take clients on guided trips on inland lakes, rivers or streams. The license is required for anyone guiding on any water except the Great Lakes, Great Lakes connecting waters and bodies of water with a surface area of less than 5 acres. Great Lakes connecting waters refers to specific bodies of water in Michigan that connect the Great Lakes: the St. Marys River, the St. Clair River (beginning at the Fort Gratiot Light), Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River (beginning at the imaginary line extending due south of the Windmill Point Light, Wayne County, and ending at the imaginary east/west line drawn through the most southernly point of Celeron Island). An inland sport fishing guide can get a license by completing the following steps: Complete the questionnaire, which will be available March 1. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will review responses to verify license requirements are met. Applicants will be notified via email within five business days. If the requirements are not met, applicants will be notified that additional eligibility steps are needed. Applicants who meet the requirements and receive notification of DNR approval can obtain their license via the DNR’s online licensing program or the DNR Hunt Fish app. The resident license fee is $150, and a nonresident license fee is $300. The inland sport fishing guide license is valid for three years after the date it is issued. Captains who possess a valid U.S. Coast Guard-issued captain’s license will receive a license fee waiver. “This is a new statutory requirement for inland fishing guides, and DNR staff has been working to determine the best way to implement it for everyone’s ease of use,” said Brandon Kieft, assistant chief of the DNR Law Enforcement Division. “As with any new regulatory requirement, it will take time to adjust to it. Our main focus during the early stages of this new program is to make sure that everyone who wants to operate as an inland fishing guide is aware of the need for this license.” License requirements To be eligible for a sport fishing guide license, an applicant must: Possess a valid certification in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation issued by the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association, and be able to provide a copy of the certification to the DNR upon request. Possess a valid, lawfully obtained Michigan driver’s license issued under the Michigan vehicle code, an official state personal identification card or a DNR-issued Sportcard. Have not been convicted of a felony or other violation listed within MCL 324.48714a(2)(c) in the last three years. Be eligible to purchase a license for the fish species targeted while acting as a sport fishing guide. Possess a valid state inland pilot’s license issued by the DNR or a valid captain’s license issued by the U.S. Coast Guard, if you intend to operate a watercraft while acting as a sport fishing guide. Possess, while acting as a sport fishing guide, a basic first aid kit that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following: tourniquet, chest seals, compression gauze, CPR mask, trauma shears, sterile eyewash, mylar emergency blanket, bandages, moleskin and tweezers. If you have questions about the DNR inland pilot’s license, contact the DNR Law Enforcement Division representative at your nearest DNR Customer Service Center. Mandatory reporting Beginning April 1, 2024, all licensed inland sport fishing guides must file an electronic report of their monthly catch activity for all trips that occurred on all waters except the Great Lakes, Great Lakes connecting waters, and lakes or ponds with a surface area of less than 5 acres. Details about the reporting requirements are available on the inland fishing guides webpage. Guides who have questions regarding submitting monthly catch activity reports or how to obtain an inland sport fishing guide license can contact Kendra Kozlauskos at 231-330-2845 or DNR-Fish-Charter@Michigan.gov. This new program is in addition to the existing requirements for the Great Lakes charter boat program. Visit the Great Lakes charter boat program webpage for more information. Contact: Seth Herbst (Fisheries), 517-388-7759 or Lt. Tom Wanless, (Law Enforcement) 810-577-6887

NORSK Lithium’s Thermal Core Heating Technology™makes cold weather charging & fishing easy

New Hope, Minn. – In the Upper Midwest, temperatures have been above average this winter, leading to sketchy ice conditions, and difficulty getting to areas that typically hold communities of permanent fish houses and full-size trucks by now. Read more

FORESTVILLE, WI – Those who would nix your right to fish in an instant are active and organized – recreational anglers need to be equally vigilant.

Nearly half of Australia’s fishable waters are now off limits. Some European countries ban catch and release, claiming it hurts the fish. Think it can’t happen here. Think again…

The good news is that American angler interests are backed by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA), the nation’s largest trade association for the recreational sportfishing industry. The bad news is that they can’t completely protect your rights alone…and that’s where you come in.

Recently, ASA VP of Government Affairs Mike Leonard spoke at the annual NPAA conference in Fort Myers, Florida on the topic of advocacy, what ASA is doing on your behalf, and what you can do as an individual to protect your fishing interests. Read more

GSM Outdoors is excited to announce the launch of an all-new brand, The Frog Factory. With the intent of delivering both proven and innovative products in the category of frogs, toads, and hollow-body topwaters, The Frog Factory comes out of the gate offering existing, proven products in the Boom Boom Frog and the Ribbit with a focus on upcoming innovation and development.

“We’re constantly being asked to develop frogs and toads by our pros and end-users,” explains Crispin Powley, GSM Senior Vice President of Fishing. “After hearing that we needed to ‘design something like a Ribbit’ enough times, we decided that it was better to own the original than try to design around it. This brand will be a fun combination of proven designs and modern innovative concepts that will ultimately add value to the frog category in every angler’s tacklebox.”

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be working with the gang at GSM to launch the Frog Factory brand,” says MLF Pro and Boom Boom Frog creator Fred Roumbanis. “The foundation of the brand will be my Boom Boom frogs and the iconic Ribbit series, but we also already have several awesome new products in the works that I can’t wait to get in my hands. Frog fishing is something that I’ve based my career around and I’m ecstatic to help start a brand dedicated to serious frog fishermen.”

For more information on Frog Factory, find them on Facebook and other social media avenues.

For any additional questions or inquiries, please email marketing@gsmorg.com. Or, if you’d like to check out the entire family of GSM brands, please visit www.gsmoutdoors.com. Read more

NSSF, ASA, SOBA, USFWS and Washington Department of Natural Resources partner to continue providing boating and fishing access.

NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, in partnership with the American Sportfishing Association, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, States Organization for Boating Access and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has released another film in the “Partner with a Payer®” series — a collection of videos highlighting the importance of wildlife conservation and management. The latest video, “Waterways for All: Improving and Expanding Public Fishing and Boating Access,” showcases the work being done to continue providing public boat launches and public fishing piers throughout the United States.

To fund these conservation efforts, the Sport Fish Restoration Act authorizes a small federal excise tax on certain items — 10 percent on fishing equipment; 3 percent tax on electric boat motors, tackle and fly boxes; import duties on tackle, pleasure boats and yachts; and a portion of the federal gas tax that is attributable to motorboats and small engines. Since 1952, these excise taxes have contributed and distributed more than $11.3 billion (over $17 billion when adjusted for inflation) to individual states. Together, these excise taxes fund public boat ramps, fisheries projects and aquatic education, providing countless public outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the United States of America. Read more

Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. today unveiled the world’s first hydrogen-powered outboard for recreational boats along with a prototype fuel system integrated into a vessel that the company plans to further refine for testing later this year. The effort is part of Yamaha’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality: deploying multiple technology solutions.

Yamaha joined forces with Roush to develop the fuel system to power the new outboard and collaborated with long-time boat builder partner Regulator Marine to build a boat suitable for testing the prototype outboard. Together, the companies plan to begin testing the protype for viability on the water in the summer of 2024.

“Yamaha is exploring all possibilities to achieve carbon neutrality, and we’ve made commitments for our operations to be carbon neutral by 2035 and our products to become carbon neutral by 2050. That goal within the marine market can only be reached through an approach that leverages multiple solutions. We believe hydrogen is a viable method of achieving these goals,” said Ben Speciale, President, Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit. “Yamaha wants to be a leader in this space, and we encourage others in the marine industry to become involved as we look for ways to build infrastructure and new policy around innovations.”

By working with Roush on the fuel system engineering, Yamaha gains the benefit of more than two decades of hydrogen systems integration and research.

“When you look at Roush’s history with hydrogen, it ranges from land speed record vehicles to spacecraft. A lot of that knowledge we’ve acquired over the years we are now applying directly to this Yamaha project,” said Matt Van Benschoten, Vice President, Advance Engineering, Roush. Read more

GW: The best fishing experience ever might just be in Utah!

With shifting weather patterns and unstable ice conditions around the state, some anglers may think there are no opportunities for fishing this winter. However, streams and rivers can provide a great fishing experience during the winter, as well. Here are a few great fishing options for this time of year.

Blacksmith Fork River

Located in northern Utah, between Hyrum and Hardware Ranch, the Blacksmith Fork River is a nice, small stream that is easy to wade. It is not heavily fished and is managed so anglers can catch a lot of fish. It is also a good spot to catch a cutthroat trout (Bear River subspecies) for the Utah Cutthroat Slam or a hard-fighting brown trout. There is currently an overabundance of brown trout in Blacksmith Fork River, and the current fishing regulations allow anglers to keep an additional four brown trout caught there. Read more