Fly fishing for carp in the urban waters of Denver
April 3, 2009
- Image via Wikipedia
Go to any pond at any park in Colorado and carp will be swimming lazily near the shore. Most rivers and streams are the same. The large fish, often weighing between 10 and 20 pounds, has been shunned by fisherman in the United States for years. However, there is a small group of fly fisherman who are setting out to catch carp as their sole target, and their numbers are growing.
Even some of the prominent members of the nation’s fly fishing community are coming forward with tales of catching carp. One of these is Dave Whitlock, a world renkowned fly tyer and fly caster. In his article, “Stalking the Golden Ghost”, he shares his insight on catching carp. He claims that carp “are faster than a trout, stronger than a permit, and have more staying power than a small mouth bass.” Read more
It’s time for trout
February 26, 2009
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A look at the calendar will tell you that spring is still over a month away and won’t officially arrive here until the equinox occurs on March 20. But a visit to the banks of your favorite local trout streams this week might suggest a different timetable. For avid trout fishermen, spring begins when the folks from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) arrive at streamside carrying buckets full of feisty trout as that most anticipated rite of spring, preseason stocking, finally begins anew. Read more
Mosquito Creek Outdoor’s Indian River Lagoon Fishing Forecast
February 2, 2009
By Captain Tom Van Horn, Angling News
As winter seasons go here in Central Florida, we certainly can’t complain about the cards dealt to us thus far. With the exception of a few really cold days, I mean really cold, gorgeous fishing condition has prevailed and we experienced so excellent fishing as well. Read more
North Sea sees recovery of cod stocks
February 2, 2009
“Photo: Hans-Petter Fjeld (Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 2.5)”
By Jasper Copping, Daily Telegraph
New figures from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) show that the number of adult fish in the North Sea is expected to increase by 42 per cent this year, the largest rise in almost 30 years.
Significantly, the quantity of fish capable of reproducing is this year expected to exceed 70,000 tons – the number set by scientists to mark the lowest level possible to ensure the species’ long term survival. Read more
Fishing in Lake Michigan
January 26, 2009
Fishing in Lake Michigan by Steve Masters
Fishing in Lake Michigan
Seasons of Fun
Early Fishing Season
- Fishing the upper bay offers many different types of fishing. Early in the season, (starting May 15th) walleyes can be caught around the mouths of the rivers emptying into Little Bay de Noc. These rivers are the Whitefish River, the Tacoosh River, the Escanaba River, and the Days River. The waters off the Ford River also present excellent fishing excitement early in the season. Read more
Ice-fishing contests draw good turnouts
January 26, 2009
Michigan City — Thirty ice anglers bundled up to brave frigid temperatures on Saturday morning during the Annual Michigan City Chapter of the Izaak Walton League ice fishing contest. Chapter Treasurer Tracy Pilipiak of Michigan City said that, overall, they were pleased with the turnout. Read more
Ice fishing heats up
December 10, 2008
At the risk of a blatant non-sequitur, Colorado ice fishing is hot. Reports from locations such as Antero Reservoir and the popular lakes in North Park indicate early action has been very good. The only concern is making certain ice is safe at your chosen location, a safeguard that usually involves drilling several holes as you progress onto the lake.
After a slow summer in the wake of last winter’s severe fish kill at Antero, ice anglers have been pleasantly surprised to find a solid bite through ice up to 5 inches thick. The early bite includes a number of larger trout to 6 or 7 pounds.
Marabou jigs and tube jigs were producing the best results at the three Delaney Butte Lakes and Lake John. Higher elevation spots such as Jefferson Lake have paid dividends for modest-size lake trout.
Economists: Alaska still top fishing state
December 10, 2008
ANCHORAGE – Alaska continues to hold its own as the nation’s No. 1 fishing state, with salmon fisheries providing the most jobs. However, employment in the crab fishery has dropped substantially in part because that fishery was privatized, state economists say.
A report in the November issue of Alaska Economic Trends, published by the state Department of Labor, notes that in 2007 the overall harvest of Alaska seafood was third highest in value since statehood and the sixth largest in volume.
Despite depressed salmon markets in 1998 and from 2000 to 2003, Alaska fisheries have recovered in recent years. 2006 and 2007 brought record harvest values: $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion, said state labor economists Brigitta Windisch-Cole and Josh Warren.
The value of Alaska’s 2007 harvest was 3.6 times the value of Massachusetts’ harvest, the nation’s No. 2 fishing state, they said.
For 2007, the latest year all complete figures are available, the average monthly fish harvesting job count was 7,260. At the peak of summer, the monthly job count rose to 20,137.
“Add the thousands of jobs the fisheries created in seafood processing, support service industries and government management, and the economic importance of fisheries to Alaska becomes even more clear,” the economists said.
While employment in the salmon, halibut and sablefish fisheries were down slightly the drop in jobs was most dramatic in the crab fleet, which generated only 418 jobs in 2007, a 40 percent decline from 692 jobs in 2002.
Economists said one reason for the decline is the crab rationalization program implemented in 2005 in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, home of the state’s largest crab fishery in terms of volume.
Between 2003 and 2007, crab employment in those areas fell by 34 percent and peak month employment fell from 1,694 in 2003 to 584 in 2007, a 65 percent drop, the economists said.
As intended, the crab rationalization program reduced fleet size, and distributed individual share quotas to area fishermen based on their harvest history adjusted to the total annual harvest quota.
Salmon fisheries have traditionally provided the most jobs of all of the state’s fisheries.
In 2007, salmon employment made a strong recovery in volume and value from its low point in 2002. The 2007 overall salmon harvest of nearly 950 million pounds was Alaska’s third-largest salmon harvest in 27 years and worth nearly $417 million.
That was the highest value in eight years and worth more than six times the value of the 2002 harvest.
Reeling In an Elusive Catch
June 6, 2008
In Florida, the report would have been routine: an alligator in a pond. But in Glen Burnie, reports of a baby gator in a lily-pad-covered pond near a miniature golf course prompted a six-day hunt.
Anne Arundel County police first learned of the creature Friday, when a resident reported seeing a tiny alligator floating in a pond near the Arundel Golf Park, which features miniature golf, batting cages and a driving range. Animal control officers set a trap baited with food; the alligator, assumed to be an abandoned pet, showed no interest.
“We didn’t know anything about catching alligators or what they like to eat, so I used cat food and dog food,” said Officer Glenn Johnson, a 20-year veteran of the animal control unit who is assigned “all the weird stuff.”
The gator played hard to get, and at times Johnson doubted that the little fellow existed. Other nonbelievers included instructors at the Arundel Golf Park.
“We all thought it was a big bullfrog or something,” said Ron Jefferson, an assistant professional at the range.
Although he stopped by the golf course nearly every day, Johnson never spotted the gator. But sightings began to pile up, including one from an off-duty police officer who nearly hooked the gator while fishing in the pond.
Determined to make a catch, Johnson arrived at the pond Wednesday morning with fishing poles and treble hooks, which a wildlife expert in Florida had told him could be used to safely hook a gator’s scaly skin. By mid-morning, Johnson had caught a few glimpses of the gator.
“I was waiting for my boss to get all of these calls that there was an on-duty officer in uniform with his big animal control van fishing on the job,” Johnson said.
By lunch, Johnson was frustrated. But, as he sat beside the pond for a quick bite of fast-food fried chicken, the gator began to glide his way. Johnson grabbed a fishing rod and quickly hooked the gator.
Now, as Johnson tells it, this is the point in the story where he would like to claim he wrestled the gator to the ground, avoiding chomping teeth and death itself. But the gator was only 18 inches long, and Johnson was able to simply grab him behind the neck and place him in a cage.
The gator appeared none too happy in the cage or in an aquarium back at the office. But he was a hit with the officers who stopped by to snap photos. The police public information office sent out a news release announcing the capture: “The alligator is available for interviews. lol.”
The Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo near Frederick invited the gator to live in their “Louisiana Bayou” with a dozen other alligators, and Johnson delivered the animal yesterday morning.
Officials at the family-owned zoo say the gator is in quarantine so he won’t infect his future roommates with any pond ailments. He will need to see a veterinarian, as he is a little thin and his left back leg looks as if it was attacked by a wild animal. And he still doesn’t seem very happy.
“He’ll need some time to adjust to yet another new environment,” said June Bellizzi, the general curator at the zoo. “It might take him a little while.”
Outdoors notebook | Program pays anglers for catching squawfish
June 1, 2008
How would you like to get paid to go fishing?
One way is the Northern Pikeminnow Bounty Fishing Reward Program that is underway in the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Not only can you earn some bucks while wetting a line, but you can also do your part in getting rid of these juvenile salmon- and steelhead-devouring predators better known as squawfish.
The cash-reward project funded by the Bonneville Power Administration began in 1990, and is open through Sept. 28 from the Columbia River mouth to Priest Rapids Dam, and from the Snake River mouth to Hells Canyon Dam.
The first 100 fish (9 inches or longer) caught by each angler is worth $4 apiece; the next 300 are $5; and after 400 fish it is $8. Specially tagged fish are worth $500 apiece.
The weekly field catch report from May 19-25 showed 1,144 anglers caught 4,523 for a 4.0 fish-per-rod catch. Overall, 3,873 anglers have caught 12,369 fish.
Last year, 26,827 anglers caught 191,154 fish, including 168 tagged fish. Since 1990, more than 3.1 million squawfish have been eradicated from both rivers. The highest catches started at the end of May and went through July 1, and ranged from 12,234 fish per week to a high of 14,008.
Some anglers haul in hundreds of dollars during the season, but a few make much more catching these pesky fish.
In 2006, David Vasilchuk of Vancouver caught 5,714 squawfish (eight were tagged fish) and earned $48,348 before taxes. Second was Nikolay Zaremskiy of Gresham, Ore., who got $45,351, and third went to Thomas Papst of West Linn, Ore., with $42,388. That year, the top 20 anglers cashed in 61,262 fish (47 tagged) for $487,229.
Some of the best catches came from the The Dalles Boat Basin check station; Boyer Park in the Snake River below Lower Granite Dam; and the M. James Gleason ramp in the Lower Columbia River Washougal.
It didn’t take long this spring for someone to possibly break the state squawfish record.
Pamela Ramsden of Deer Park was fishing near Boyer Park when she caught a 26.25-inch fish that weighed 7.91 pounds on May 16, said Melissa Dexheimer with the state Fish and Wildlife’s Sport Reward Fishery.
The previous record (caught by Andrew J. Wallman) was 7.36 pounds from Mason Lake near Shelton on April 5, 2000.
The fish caught aren’t just thrown away in the trash; they are used to make liquid organic fertilizer for agriculture and fish meal for poultry and dairy cattle feed.
There are 17 check stations along both rivers. Anglers must register in person each day before fishing.
Catches must be checked in at the station each day, and reward vouchers will be given.
The fish prefer rocky areas with fast currents near dams, islands, river mouths, points, eddies, rows of pilings and ledges or bars in the river. They prefer depths of 7 to 25 feet.
Early morning, near sunset and at night are prime time to catch them. Baits of choice include worms, salmon eggs, fish entrails, chicken livers, crayfish tails, shrimp and grasshoppers. Artificial plastic lures like grubs, worms or shads work well. Squawfish are attracted to light-colored lures in the day and darker ones at night.
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