Category: Fishing

Michigan: starting March 1, residents will pay $12 for Recreation Passport; first increase in seven years

Passport gives year-round access to state parks and other outdoor recreation opportunities, and an easy way to help protect natural resources for the next generation

If you told Michigan residents that for just $1 a month they could enjoy vehicle access to more than 100 state parks and recreation areas, 140 state forest campgrounds, hundreds of miles of state trails, historic sites, family-friendly events, hundreds of boating access sites and other outdoor spaces, most likely would jump at the chance. Starting March 1, they can.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources today announced that the regular Recreation Passport vehicle entry fee for residents will increase from $11 to $12 – the first Recreation Passport price increase since January 2013. All other resident Passport fees stay the same, including those for motorcycles, mopeds and commercial vehicles. Read more
Fishing, Hunting

Camping World Closing 27 Gander Mountains

Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis has announced that twenty-seven former Gander Mountain retail stores will close by the end of January. Camping World spent $100 million buying outdoor retailers in 2017 and 2018, but sold many off in 2019 as the RV industry slowed down. Now, the company says it will maintain the Gander RV as a retail brand under the Camping World portfolio, but would strategically shift away from stores that cannot sell and service RVs. Restructuring costs are estimated at $56 million. The company’s three RV sales and/or service locations will operate under three names: Camping World, Gander RV and Outdoors, and Gander RV.

Archery, Firearms, Fishing, Hunting

Select Upper Peninsula streams no longer have increased brook trout daily possession limit

An experimental regulation that allowed for 33 streams in the Upper Peninsula to have a 10-fish daily possession limit for brook trout is no longer in effect. During its regular meeting Thursday in Lansing, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission voted to return the five-fish daily limit to those streams, effectively immediately.

The regulation expired Oct. 1, 2019, and the commission then voted in November to extend it. Read more

Fishing

Florida House Bill Would Protect Hunters, Anglers and Trappers, Create Tax Holiday for Fishing and Hunting Supplies

On November 25, Florida Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Member Representative Tommy Gregory pre-filed legislation that would increase harassment protections for sportsmen and women and create a sales tax holiday for hunting and fishing supplies.

Specifically, House Bill 777 would augment the statute prohibiting harassment of hunters, anglers and trappers by extending protections to prohibit harassment on public lands and public waters.

The legislation would also establish an outdoor sporting goods tax holiday on September 5, 2020 for firearms, ammunition and fishing supplies. Read more

Fishing, Hunting

Michigan DNR public land auction starts Tuesday

Looking for property? DNR public land auction starts Tuesday

Nearly 150 surplus parcels, up to 160 acres in size, are available

Lake views, river access, winding trails and more – in many prime locations throughout much of Michigan – are available starting Tuesday, Dec. 10. That’s when the Michigan Department of Natural Resources begins its winter auction of surplus public land, offering 147 individual parcels ranging in size from less than an acre to 160 acres.

The auction is part of the DNR’s strategy to efficiently manage public land while maximizing outdoor recreation opportunities for residents and visitors. Bids will be accepted through Jan. 8, 2020.

Land is available in counties mainly in central/northern Lower Michigan and in the Upper Peninsula. Counties include Allegan, Alpena, Bay, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Clare, Crawford, Delta, Dickinson, Houghton, Iosco, Jackson, Kalkaska, Lake, Mackinac, Midland, Missaukee, Muskegon, Newaygo, Otsego, Saint Clair and Van Buren. Several of the largest parcels are in Alpena, Dickinson and Newaygo counties. Read more

Fishing, Hunting

Aqua-Vu® introduces HDi Gen 2 Underwater Viewing Systems

Evolved HD optics, water-clearing video software and more upgrades highlight

Aqua-Vu® HDi Gen 2 Underwater Viewing Systems

Crosslake, MN (December 4, 2019) – At first ice, guide Brian “Bro” Brosdahl likes to go for a little swim. Call him crazy, but Bro chalks it up to research.

The most remarkable part of Brosdahl’s underwater exploration isn’t that he’s able to take the plunge without getting wet. Rather, it’s that this particular ‘trick’ reveals hidden fish and other enigmatic underwater details . . . right from the comforts of his ice shelter. In other words, Bro’s little trick puts him steps ahead of other anglers in a game defined by one’s ability to sniff out untapped pods of fish.

“That’s the genius of an Aqua-Vu,” says Brosdahl, a pioneering Northern Minnesota ice angler. “The optics of the new HDi Gen-2 cameras are so precise and tuned-in they can vividly display leaf colors on aquatic vegetation and the bugs living on them. My HD10i Pro shows me individual rocks so clearly that I should probably take up underwater agate hunting,” he laughs. Read more

Fishing

TrophyCatch to give away new bass boat in live drawing

One lucky TrophyCatch registrant is going to win a brand-new bass boat this weekend and the public can enjoy the festivities. Thanks to conservation partnerships, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) TrophyCatch program will be awarding a Phoenix Bass Boats Pro 819 to one of five randomly-selected finalists. The boat is powered by a 200hp Mercury Marine motor and MotorGuide trolling motor, guided by Lowrance electronics, and anchored by Power-Pole Shallow Water Anchor System.

“It’s an incredibly nice bass fishing package valued at over $56,000,” said Jon Fury, director of FWC’s Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management. “Everyone who sees it — staff and anglers alike — have been impressed with the design and layout. Only generous partnerships with industry and conservation leaders like Phoenix Bass Boats and Mercury Marine make such an offering possible.”

The drawing will take place this Saturday, Dec. 7, following the 2 p.m. weigh-in for the Bobby Lane High School Cup (BLC) fishing tournament at Camp Mack, a Guy Harvey Lodge, Marina & RV Resort, 14900 Camp Mack Rd., Lake Wales, FL 33898. The public is invited to attend the drawing. The five drawing finalists were randomly selected from 28,384 TrophyCatch program registrants, and are Ben Furfine, Charlie Hobson, Mike Jarvis, Roland Paradise Jr., and James Morgan. The drawing this Saturday will determine which of the lucky finalists will go home a winner of the new Phoenix bass boat package.

The Bobby Lane High School Cup is a nonprofit tournament held annually to raise funds to provide educational scholarships for high school seniors with an interest in bass fishing. Teams from all over the southern states come to compete for the title of BLC Champions.

TrophyCatch is a citizen-science conservation program that rewards anglers who catch, document and release largemouth bass heavier than 8 pounds throughout Florida. Data collected by the program help the FWC better enhance, conserve and promote trophy bass fishing. Anglers who wish to participate — and who want to be included in next year’s boat drawing — can visit TrophyCatch.com to register and learn more.

Fishing
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