Massachusetts: Affordable On-Water Training Courses, Sept. 15, 16

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Massachusetts: Affordable On-Water Training Courses, Sept. 15, 16

QUINCY, Mass. – Want to learn the basics of powerboating or brush up on your skills? The nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water together with Freedom Boat Club Boston and West Marine offer a choice of two fun on-water training courses taught aboard 21-foot powerboats: “Intro to Boating” and “Women Making Waves,” Saturday, Sept. 15, and Sunday, Sept. 16, at the club’s location at 333 Victory Road, Quincy, Mass.

The “Intro to Boating” course starts at start 9 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, while “Women Making Waves” is offered at 9 a.m. both days. Both are three hours long and affordably priced at $149 per person. Class size is limited to three students per vessel, ensuring each student gets sufficient time at the helm under the watchful eye of a U.S. Coast Guard-certified instructor.

The “Intro to Boating” course covers shifting and steering, basic docking, open-water handling and basic navigation. The ladies-only course, “Women Making Waves,” offers the same curriculum and offers the perfect opportunity to spend a half day learning boat-handling techniques in a supportive environment.

The goal of the BoatUS Foundation and Freedom Boat Club Boston courses is to address the high costs typically associated with at-the-helm training, making hands-on boating education more affordable. The courses also offer area residents the chance to try out recreational boating and give boaters the opportunity to brush up on their boat-handling skills.

Space is limited. Must be 21 years or older. To sign up for a course or seek out others, go to www.BoatUS.org/On-Water.

Bertrand Surges to Claim First Bassmaster Elite Title

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — After what he claimed was a tough day, Josh Bertrand of San Tan Valley, Ariz., mastered the New York smallmouth bass and produced a giant five-bass limit that weighed 23 pounds, 1 ounce to take home his first Bassmaster Elite Series championship today.
Bertrand’s four-day total was 95-3, which earned him an impressive $100,000 payday in the Huk Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet and valuable Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points.
The derby was the final regular-season event before the Top 50 pros in the points race advance to the AOY Championship at Georgia’s Lake Chatuge in mid-September.
Bertrand will begin the championship in second place in points, but taking home the coveted blue Bassmaster trophy at Waddington is a great way to cap off an extraordinary season.
“It’s hard to put into words how I feel right now,” he said. “I am so happy to have finally won one of these, and I’m excited to extend my season into the AOY Championship. But right now I’m going to let this victory sink in.”
The 29-year-old angler said the fishing on Championship Sunday was tougher than the previous three days.
“As it usually does, things were more of a struggle today, despite weighing over 23 pounds,” Bertrand said. “The key for me was confidence in my presentation. All week I’ve been catching my fish on a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm, and I knew it was going to keep on producing — I just had to stick with it until the final minutes.”
That’s exactly what he did, and it paid off big time.
His rod all week was a 7-foot medium action Abu Garcia Premier spinning rod paired with an Abu Garcia Premier size 30 spinning reel filled with 8-pound Berkley Nonoil tipped with a Berkley Trilene 100 Percent Fluorocarbon leader.
“The business end was a No. 1 Berkley Fusion19 drop-shot hook above a 3/8-ounce drop-shot weight,” Bertrand said. “The baits were a 3-inch Gulp! Minnow in an emerald shiner pattern, and the 4-inch Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm was in a green pumpkin color. I can’t say enough about how effective those two presentations were this week.
“My main pattern was drifting rock humps with the river current,” he said. “Most of my fish came from [depths of] 40 to 50 feet, and that program held all week. On the final day it was critical to fish some fresh spots I had checked out during practice.”
Second by less than a pound was Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., with 94-6. He and Brandon Lester of Fayetteville, Tenn., each brought in heavy, 24-3 limits, but Lester finished third with 94-1; David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., the leader going into Championship Sunday, fell to fourth with 92-11 after weighing in a subpar 20-6 limit. Mike McClelland of Bentonville, Ark., with 90-1 for fifth place.
McClelland earned the Power-Pole Captain’s Cash Award of $1,000 for being the highest-placing angler who is registered and eligible and uses a client-approved product on his boat.
Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., received $1,500 as the winner of the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award. He had the largest bass of the tournament with a 6-12 smallmouth on Thursday’s opening round.
Lucas wrested the lead for the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title from Bradley Roy, the frontrunner going into the Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence. He has a 9-point edge over Bertrand. Lucas was awarded $1,000 for the leading the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race at the end of the event.
Bertrand earned the Toyota Bonus Bucks Award of $3,000 for being the highest-placing eligible entrant in the program. The second-highest-placing eligible entrant, Lucas, received $2,000.
Source: Bass “The business end was a No. 1 Berkley Fusion19 drop-shot hook above a 3/8-ounce drop-shot weight,” Bertrand said. “The baits were a 3-inch Gulp! Minnow in an emerald shiner pattern, and the 4-inch Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm was in a green pumpkin color. I can’t say enough about how effective those two presentations were this week.


Source: Jamie Day Matthews BASS 

Connecticut Fresh Water Fishing Report

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

CHAIN PICKEREL The best fishing is at smaller ponds with a decent amount of emergent vegetation and lily pads.  Toss a weedless rubber worm and jig through the vegetation.

COMMON CARP.   Try south of Middletown in the CT River and the coves.  Other carp favorite water include Lake Zoar, the upper Housatonic River, Batterson Park Pond, Aspinook Pond and West Thompson Reservoir. Pre-Bait your area to bring in plenty of hungry carp.

WALLEYE.   Still very few reports for walleye this week except for lots of shorts at Gardner Lake. Nighttime is best now, places to try include Squantz Pond, Mount Tom Pond, Lake Zoar, Mashapaug Lake (although it’s been slow here), Cedar Lake and Beach Pond.

NORTHERN PIKE.   Places to hit include the upper Housatonic River (Kent area), Pachaug Pond, which has great pike but very little fishing pressure for pike in the summer (also try the downstream lakes – Hopeville, Ashland), Mansfield Hollow Reservoir, Winchester Lake, Bantam Lake, Lake Zoar and the CT River.

PANFISH.   Perfect time of year to go to your favorite pond and load up on bluegill and perch.  It’s great for families and will get kids hooked on fishing.  Fly-fishing with small poppers will provide some great catches. Also, try suspending poppers to catch a few crappie.  Looking for a new place to fish?  Check out our interactive mapping application.

Moose Hunt Auction Nets $43,072 for Wildlife Conservation Education

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Vermont’s annual auction of five moose hunting permits was held today when sealed bids were opened and the permit winners were notified.  The bids totaled $43,702.83 which will help fund Fish & Wildlife Department educational programs, such as the Green Mountain Conservation Camps for youths. 

 

Auction winners will hunt in Wildlife Management Units E1 or E2 in the northeast corner of the state during the October 1-7 archery season, or in the October 20-25 regular season.  Permits are for bulls-only. 

 

No regular public moose permit lottery was held because only thirteen moose hunting permits were authorized this year.  If any public lottery permits had been offered, all those with bonus points from past seasons would have had to apply or lose those points, as required by statute.  By law, in addition to the five permits in the auction, five permits were awarded to Vermont resident military veterans in a lottery and up to three permits are available for “Special Opportunity” recipients with life-threatening illnesses.  Source: Vermont Fish and Game Media Press Release 

 

Vermont Fish & Wildlife Installing Water Control Devices on Beaver Dams

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

MONTPELIER, Vt. – To prevent flooding on nearby roads, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department recently completed construction of 19 water control devices on beaver dams in locations throughout Vermont. Known as ‘beaver baffles’ these devices allow some water to pass through the dam without breaching the dam and destroying the wetland. 

The Fish & Wildlife Department expects to continue to install additional beaver baffles throughout the state this year.  The baffles are one of many techniques that department staff employ or recommend to landowners to minimize beaver damage to property or trees.  Other techniques include using fences to protect culverts, or placing wire mesh or special paint around the base of trees to prevent gnawing.

“The wetlands that beavers create provide critical habitat for a variety of wildlife such as waterfowl, songbirds, frogs, turtles, and otters.  These areas can also absorb extra water during rain events and clean pollutants from water, so we work hard to preserve these wetlands.” said Kim Royar, wildlife biologist for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. 

“Baffles don’t work in every situation and can’t replace the need to appropriately manage the beaver population,” Royar noted, “but they can often be used to help reduce flooding and minimize property damage while preserving these important wetlands. Beaver baffles add to the tools landowners have at their disposal for resolving conflicts with the species”

As a result of unregulated trapping and habitat degradation, beavers disappeared from Vermont’s landscape by the early 1700s. Beavers returned to the state after the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department reintroduced them starting in the 1920s.  Today, beavers are once again plentiful and widespread throughout the state. However, most of the roads and villages in Vermont were established before beavers became abundant again.  As a result, conflicts between people and beavers are frequent and can be a challenge to resolve. Beaver baffles have helped.

With funds granted from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and generated by waterfowl hunters through the Duck Stamp Program, the Fish & Wildlife Department has installed more than 300 beaver baffles in Vermont protecting over 3,000 acres of wetland habitat since the program started in 2000. 

“We receive roughly 200 beaver complaints a year,” said Royar.  “Several staff members respond to these complaints, and one technician is dedicated solely to addressing beaver conflicts from spring through fall. Despite these efforts, other management techniques must be used.  We also rely on regulated, in-season trapping to maintain a stable beaver population so Vermonters continue to view beavers as a valued member of the local ecosystem and not as a nuisance.” Landowners with beaver problems can contact the Fish & Wildlife Department for assistance at www.vtfishandwildlife.com.

DEER PERMITS FOR THE 2018/2019 HUNTING SEASON TO GO ON SALE AUGUST 15

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

DEER PERMITS FOR THE 2018/2019 HUNTING SEASON

TO GO ON SALE AUGUST 15

PROVIDENCE - The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announces that permits for the deer hunting season, which includes the “All Outdoors” package, will go on sale starting Wednesday, August 15.

 

Deer permits are sold as antlered deer (buck) permits or antlerless deer permits. Hunters must have the appropriate deer tag in their possession to legally harvest any antlered or antlerless deer. Deer permits are available as individual purchases or resident hunters may purchase one “All Outdoors” package permit for use in Zones 1 and 2 to take up to seven deer during the established seasons. This option is popular because it gives the hunter the flexibility to choose which season(s) to hunt and use their permits. A limit of 350 “All Outdoors” packages will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Licenses and permits are available for purchase online or at DEM's Office of Boating Registration & Licenses in Providence, as well as participating sales agent locations across the state.

 

The cost of each deer permit for residents is $12.50 online or $13.00 at a sales agent; for non-residents, the cost is $25.50 online or $26.50 at a sales agent for each permit. The cost for the resident “All Outdoors” deer permit is $75.00 online or $78.00 at a sales agent. There is an enhanced access fee applied to purchases at sales agent locations. The enhanced access fee is $2 per license and $0.50 per permit for residents; for non-residents, the additional fee is $3 per license and $1.00 per permit. Enhanced access fees are used to offset the administrative costs to bill, track, and account transactions at sales agent locations and support system development, operation, support, and maintenance. Visit www.dem.ri.gov/huntfish to access the online system or for the list of sales agent locations.

 

The deer hunting season kicks off with a youth archery season in Zone 1 on September 8 and 9, followed by the September 15 opener for all archers in Zone 1. Zone 2 opens to youth archers on September 29 and 30 followed by the October 1 opener for all archers. For more information on seasons, bag limits, zones and regulations, review the 2018-19 hunting abstract at http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/huntabs.pdf.

 

To help hunters get ready for the upcoming season, DEM Division of Fish and Wildlife will also host a free informational seminar on deer hunting this month. The program is designed to educate hunters of all ages and experience on ways to increase their success hunting whitetail deer. To date, more than 45,000 people have completed a hunter safety course in Rhode Island, helping to dramatically reduce related accidents in the state and elsewhere.

 

WHEN: Saturday, August 25, 9 AM-4PM

 

WHERE: DEM Division of Fish & Wildlife Education Center, 1-B Camp E-Hun-Tee Place, Exeter

 

The workshop is open to the public and will include classroom and field activities. Participants will learn about where to hunt, clothing and equipment, practicing for success, tree stand tips, scouting, calls and calling, reading signs, animal recovery techniques, and field dressing tips. The session will be led by hunter education instructors from DEM's Division of Fish & Wildlife. The program will be held rain or shine, and appropriate dress for weather conditions is suggested. Participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch, snacks, and beverages. Space is limited and registration is required. For more information or to register, visit www.dem.ri.gov/hunting or contact Jessica Pena in the DEM Division of Fish & Wildlife at jessica.pena@dem.ri.gov
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Maine: Maranacook's Healthy but Vulnerable Trout/Salmon Fishery

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Maine: Maranacook's Healthy but Vulnerable Trout/Salmon Fishery 

Maranacook Lake is an 1800-acre water in Kennebec County, and is one of the jewels in the Winthrop lakes region.  Maranacook is almost like two lakes, with its northern basin that is relatively shallow and approximately 700 acres, and the 1,000 acre south basin that reaches depths of 118 feet and boasts a robust cold water fishery for salmon and brown trout.

Last fall, Region B fisheries biologists spent a number of weeks trap-netting Maranacook Lake. A trap-net, for those unfamiliar, is a stationary net intended to collect fish that are moving through shallow areas. The fall is an opportune time to use trap-nets, as most trout and salmon are in spawning mode and cruising the shoreline in search of suitable habitat and potential mates. Due to spawning habitat limitations, trout (brook & brown) and landlocked salmon stocked into Maranacook Lake are unable to spawn successfully, but that certainly doesn’t stop them from trying.

Three trap nets were deployed in early October near the outlet stream intown Winthrop, at Roseanne Brook on the western shore, and off a rocky peninsula along the eastern shore. The nets soaked for over a month and collected a whole mess of different fishes including brown trout, largemouth bass, golden shiners, white perch, white suckers, landlocked salmon, brown bullhead, and many more. While hundreds of fishes were measured, it was the salmon and brown trout that were most impressive.

In total, 94 salmon and 5 brown trout were trapped, measured, and released. The salmon were comprised of many age classes and averaged nearly 19” and 2.3-lbs. The 20 older salmon (age III+ and IV+) averaged over 21” and 3.3-lbs, with the largest individual tipping the scale at 24” and 5-lbs. The brown trout collection wasn’t as numerous, but it was equally notable. The five browns averaged nearly 20” and 2.5-lbs, with the largest measuring 26.5” and maxing out the 5.5-lb scale!

Maranacook is monitored closely since not only does it have an outstanding coldwater fishery, but it also is bordered by waters where invasive species such as pike and crappie are present. While these species are documented in Maranacook, both populations appear limited at present. For now, their scarcity means good things for the trout and salmon programs.

If you’re looking to catch trout and salmon in central Maine, Maranacook Lake is one you’ll want to put on your bucket list. The salmon are numerous and the brown trout grow large.  But, based on its close proximity to a handful of connected northern pike and black crappie waters, its trout and salmon programs are always in jeopardy. Both invasive species pose a constant threat to native salmonids in the lake. It’s a threat we take very seriously. We’ll continue to actively monitor the fishery through future nettings, frequent creel surveys, and regular correspondence with Maranacook Lake anglers.

Source: Outdoor Wire and Outdoor Wire Photo.