If your plans include swimming, especially along the Great Lakes, be sure to brush up on beach safety before anyone goes near the water!

In an ongoing effort to create more protections for visitors, Land Use Order 5.1.6 now prohibits people from accessing the water from a state-managed beach when risks to human health and safety are present, such as active rescues, severe weather events, waves more than 8 feet high and other public hazards. These closures will be publicized via on-site signage and/or communication by a DNR employee, such as loudspeaker announcements. Read more

In response to a draft rule published Thursday, June 9, by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that will prohibit lead fishing tackle on certain National Wildlife Refuges, the American Sportfishing Association released the following statement from Vice President of Government Affairs, Mike Leonard.

“The sportfishing industry usually welcomes the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) periodic announcements to expand fishing access in National Wildlife Refuges, but this new proposed expansion comes with a significant caveat that undermines the good will these announcements usually generate. The entire foundation of USFWS and its management of our fish and wildlife resources is meant to be based on specific data and science, yet the proposed rule would arbitrarily ban lead fishing tackle in several refuges based on unfounded and overgeneralized assumptions.

ASA fully supports science-based conservation and our industry has a long record of making changes and sacrifices for the betterment of the environment. That’s not what we have here. This proposal provides no evidence that lead fishing tackle is harming any specific wildlife populations in the proposed areas. Anglers should have the option of choosing non-lead tackle alternatives, but it is important to recognize that these alternatives generally come with the tradeoff of higher cost or poorer performance. Read more

Baltimore County Angler Breaks Record Held 44 Years

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has confirmed Logan Kuhrmann of Essex is the new state record holder for common carp (Cyprinus carpio carpio) in the state’s Chesapeake Division. Kuhrmann, 24, caught the 49-pound carp June 4 while bass fishing in the Susquehanna Flats area of the Chesapeake Bay.

Kuhrmann was using a spinning tackle with a plastic worm and thought at first he’d hooked either a flathead or blue catfish. After a few minutes, the enormous carp was hauled onto the boat and into the live well.

“We’ve seen some really big ones up in the Flats but we’ve never seen one this big ever,” Kuhrmann said. “The bass fishing wasn’t great but this made my week.” Read more

Editor’s Note: Today, our fishing expert Frank Sargeant answers a question that has confused many of us who aren’t familiar with fishing in the West: What the heck are hoot owl restrictions?

If you’re a southern bass and panfish angler, it’s safe to say you’ve never heard of “hoot owl” restrictions on fishing. But for western trout anglers, they’re currently a bone of contention in some waters.

While a lot of conservationists would disagree, the Idaho Department of Game and Fish (IDFG) just released a study that says “hoot owl” restrictions on summer trout fishing—that is, closing down fishing on many streams when water temperature rises during the hottest part of the day—do not protect a significant number of trout during the hot months, at least in some Idaho waters.

The idea of hoot owl restrictions is that trout caught between 2 p.m. and midnight are stressed and then plunged back into water that is already stressing them simply by being too warm and too low in oxygen. Many fish released in the warmer water don’t make it.

Trout do best at temperatures from 70 F down. Brook trout are the most delicate of trout species, thriving only in water from 44 to 64 degrees. Rainbows and browns do best at temperatures from 44 to 67, but still do some feeding up to 73. After that, it’s survival mode.

While the study indicated, as expected, that more trout caught when water temperature above 73 degrees F died after release, it also indicated that anglers were able to catch a lot fewer trout when the water temperature was 73 or higher—the fish simply quit feeding.

In colder water, the mortality of tagged and released fish was lower, but anglers caught a lot more fish, so the overall mortality was higher.

Read more

While fishing with cut bait recently in Berrien County, Michigan, an angler from Hobart, Indiana, caught a new state-record fish: a flathead catfish weighing in at 53.35 pounds and measuring 48 inches!

Lloyd Tanner was fishing the St. Joe River, a tributary of Lake Michigan, in the early-morning hours of Sunday, May 29, when he reeled in the record-breaker.

This fish beats the previous state-record flathead catfish – 52 pounds, 46.02 inches long – caught in 2014 by Dale Blakley, of Niles, out of Barron Lake in Cass County.

Tanner’s fish was verified by Jay Wesley, Lake Michigan Basin coordinator with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

A passion for catfish

“I’ve been fishing Michigan for almost 30 years,” Tanner said. “What draws me to Michigan is fishing for big catfish.” Read more

Contact: Jessica Holley-Roehrs (ORV), 517-331-3790; Sierra Williams (fishing), 517-230-8788 or Ron Olson (Recreation Passport), 517-243-1477

Free fishing, off-roading and state park entry – enjoy it all during Michigan’s ‘Three Free’ Weekend June 11-12

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources encourages everyone to take advantage of “Three Free” Weekend – Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12 – two full days when residents and out-of-state visitors can grab a fishing rod, ride the off-road trails and visit state parks and boating access sites, all free of charge. Read more

DENVER – Fly Fisherman, the leading magazine of fly fishing, offers a new, special interest publication – Fly Fishing Made Easy – on newsstands now. Fly Fishing Made Easy unlocks all the secrets of fly fishing in a special 72-page issue.

Demystifying the perceived complexity of fly fishing is the goal of Fly Fishing Made Easy and readers will receive “turnkey” information into the wonderful world of fly fishing. The issue breaks down the idea of complicated casting instructions, barrier to entry without a mentor or instructor and the difficulty of initially getting started. Read more

Great Lakes muskellunge eggs currently are being collected from the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. These fish will be reared at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan and Thompson State Fish Hatchery near Manistique and stocked in Michigan waters this fall.

In 2021, approximately 232,000 eggs were collected from the Detroit River. Those eggs produced nearly 30,000 fall fingerlings that were stocked in 19 inland lakes and rivers. No muskellunge are stocked in the Detroit River because the abundant Lake St. Clair-Detroit River muskellunge population is supported entirely by natural reproduction.

“The DNR’s goal this year is to collect at least 400,000 eggs to meet our target of 40,000 fall fingerlings for stocking our state’s waters,” said Ed Eisch, DNR fish production manager.

To collect the eggs, mature muskellunge are captured with electro-fishing gear in the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair. Collecting Great Lakes muskellunge is difficult in these areas because of the physical conditions associated with open water, especially in the spring.

As a safety precaution, the DNR requests boats on the water avoid coming close to the electrofishing boat during nighttime shocking work. Read more

INMAN, S.C. –– TrueTimber has teamed up with ProFISHiency and ProLine Baits to host the Big Bass Blast sweepstakes beginning today. At the end of the promotion period, one fan will be randomly selected to win the grand prize pack consisting of prizes from each brand. Fans have multiple options and chances to enter using the Big Bass Blast Giveaway landing page. Entry period ends May 30, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Grand Prize:

– $250 TrueTimber Gift Card

– $100 ProLine Baits Gift Card

– ProLine Baits Bass Series Scent Pack

– ProFISHiency 7’2” Medium Heavy Casting Rod with ProFISHiency P4-13 Baitcast Reel

– ProFISHiency 7’2” Medium Heavy Spinning Rod with ProFISHiency A13 Spinning Reel Read more