Grackles anyone ?

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber &  Photos property of Wayne G. Barber 

• Common Grackles are resourceful foragers. They sometimes follow plows to catch invertebrates and mice, wade into water to catch small fish, pick leeches off the legs of turtles, steal worms from American Robins, raid nests, and kill and eat adult birds.
• Grackles have a hard keel on the inside of the upper mandible that they use for sawing open acorns. Typically they score the outside of the narrow end, then bite the acorn open.
• You might see a Common Grackle hunched over on the ground, wings spread, letting ants crawl over its body and feathers. This is called anting, and grackles are frequent practitioners among the many bird species that do it. The ants secrete formic acid, the chemical in their stings, and this may rid the bird of parasites. In addition to ants, grackles have been seen using walnut juice, lemons and limes, marigold blossoms, chokecherries, and mothballs in a similar fashion.
• In winter, Common Grackles forage and roost in large communal flocks with several different species of blackbird. Sometimes these flocks can number in the millions of individuals.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Rooted in Tradition: 21st Century Farming in Little Compton

Seeforellen strain brown trout return in the Nutmeg State

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

The return of the Seeforellen strain Brown Trout! This fall, we plan on stocking nearly 6,000 seefs, which will be close to 14 inches in length!

This special strain of Brown Trout has not been stocked during the fall in Connecticut since 2016 when they were discontinued from production due to staffing, space, and budgetary constraints. Seeforellens will be stocked into 7 lakes total (Long Pond, Highland Lake, East Twin Lake, West Hill Pond, Beach Pond, Crystal Lake, and Squantz Pond) where they will provide late fall and winter (through the ice) season fishing opportunities.

In addition to providing good access to fishing, these suite of lakes were also chosen because they provide a better opportunity for Seeforellens to “holdover” and grow to a larger size. In the past, our studies have shown that this strain of brown trout can grow to sizes larger than 20 inches when they holdover in Connecticut Lakes! So, please (drum roll anyone) welcome back the Seeforellens. Coming to a lake near you!The return of the Seeforellen strain Brown Trout! This fall, we plan on stocking nearly 6,000 seefs, which will be close to 14 inches in length!

This special strain of Brown Trout has not been stocked during the fall in Connecticut since 2016 when they were discontinued from production due to staffing, space, and budgetary constraints. Seeforellens will be stocked into 7 lakes total (Long Pond, Highland Lake, East Twin Lake, West Hill Pond, Beach Pond, Crystal Lake, and Squantz Pond) where they will provide late fall and winter (through the ice) season fishing opportunities.

In addition to providing good access to fishing, these suite of lakes were also chosen because they provide a better opportunity for Seeforellens to “holdover” and grow to a larger size. In the past, our studies have shown that this strain of brown trout can grow to sizes larger than 20 inches when they holdover in Connecticut Lakes! So, please (drum roll anyone) welcome back the Seeforellens. Coming to a lake near you!

The Rut is on drivers !

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

 Did you know a driver crashed into a deer once every two hours on average in Massachusetts between October and December last year? That's because it's peak deer mating season, which means more deer are on the move and potentially crossing busy roads around dusk and early evening. (Think 6-8 p.m.) And with Daylight Savings coming this weekend, deer may be on the roads even earlier. Stay sharp out there.

GSM Outdoors Acquires Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Irving, TX – GSM Outdoors, a powerhouse manufacturer and technology innovator of specialized hunting, shooting, and outdoor gear, has just completed the acquisition of Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits. This acquisition represents a new and very exciting category initiative for GSM. The company has steadily expanded its core product offerings for hunters and shooters in recent years, and Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits is the organization’s first step into the fishing segment.

Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits are heralded in the fresh and saltwater fishing communities for their high quality and proven performance on game fish throughout the world. Gary Yamamoto, a dedicated angler, formed the company in 1983. His goal was to produce premium soft baits and has expanded manufacturing over the last several decades to include spinner baits, buzz baits, hooks, jigs, fluorocarbon line, baitcaster, spinning rods, and weights. Currently, the company ships over 2.5 million baits world-wide each year!

“This is a turning point at GSM Outdoors,” said CEO of GSM, Eddie Castro. “Although our company enjoys a long history that has been focused on providing innovative products for hunters and shooters, we fully embrace and appreciate all aspects of the outdoors. Especially our time on the water, just as much as we do in the woods or on the range. Bringing Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits into our family of brands aligns perfectly with our mission to provide consumers with premium products to help them be successful in their outdoor recreation pursuits.”

“One of the most exciting acquisitions in GSM’s history, this plants our flag into a whole new category with one of the most iconic brands in fishing of all time.” said Zach Henderson, GSM Outdoors Vice President of Sales. “This is one I personally am extremely passionate about and have put some of my best bass in the boat flipping a ‘Senko’ in the Spring time. We have many anglers on our team at GSM and I’m excited to see us continue to grow the legacy of Yamamoto Baits.”

For more information on Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits and their product offerings, visit their website HERE.

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. We look forward to earning and keeping your business!

Roxbury Vermont Fish Culture Station Ribbon Cutting, Sept. 16

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating construction completion of the new Roxbury Fish Culture Station will be held at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, September 16, in Roxbury after the old facility was destroyed by Hurricane Irene on August 28, 2011. 

“We would like to express our gratitude for all the support along the way, including the Governor Scott Administration, the Legislature, FEMA, and Buildings and General Services,” said Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter.   “We would also like to thank the general contractor, E.F. Wall, for its help during the construction.” 

“The new Roxbury Fish Culture Station will produce 63,000 brook and rainbow trout annually for stocking in state waters.  These fish will provide angler opportunities statewide, which is now more important than ever with the increased interest in fishing due to COVID-19.  In addition, previous studies showed that the old Roxbury Fish Culture Station contributed about $2.4 million of economic impact annually to Vermont’s economy, so we expect that benefit to be even greater in the future.”

Now in its 130th year of operation, the facility was originally constructed in 1891 and was the first hatchery in Vermont.  It has been known locally as “the fish hatchery” and has been a favorite tourist stop in central Vermont for generations.

Roxbury Fish Hatchery
3696 Roxbury Road, Roxbury, VT 05669

The Roxbury Fish Hatchery is located on VT Rt. 12A, 2 miles south of  the town of Roxbury, on a narrow, ten-acre strip of land stretching between the highway and the Central Vermont Railroad line.

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Built in 1891, the Fish Hatchery was a response to Vermont’s decreasing population of native fish.  The State Legislature appropriated funding for the erection of a hatchery to repopulate Vermont’s lakes and streams. Roxbury was chosen for its abundant spring water, proximity to the Central Vermont Railroad line, and the donation of land by a local individual, the Hon. E. H. Spaulding. (from NPS Roxbury Fish Hatchery – link below)

In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene severely damaged the Fish Hatchery property. As of December 2020, it is now fully operational. The hatchery plan was developed by HDR Engineering, Inc. of Springfield, Ill. It was the last recovery project to be completed in Vermont.

2020: Hatchery Fully Operational
The Roxbury Fish Culture Station is now fully operational, with reconstruction finally completed.
“This facility is now Vermont’s oldest and newest fish hatchery,” said Roxbury Fish Culture Station Supervisor Jeremy Whalen. “We were able to preserve historic details of the original hatchery and meet modern water quality standards for the receiving watershed. The new and improved Roxbury hatchery will allow us to raise fish, provide angling opportunities and continue to be a mainstay in Vermont’s history, culture and economy.”
The public will be able to feed the fish as they used to do, in two outside pools.

Net Loss By Audun Rikardsen (Norway), Highly Commended In Oceans - The Bigger Picture

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

In the wake of a fishing boat, a slick of dead and dying herrings covers the surface of the sea off the coast of Norway. The boat had caught too many fish, and when the encircling wall of the purse-seine net was closed and winched up, it broke, releasing tons of crushed and suffocated animals. Audun was on board a Norwegian coastguard vessel, on a project to satellite‑tag killer whales. The whales follow the migrating herrings and are frequently found alongside fishing boats, where they feed on fish that leak out of the nets. For the Norwegian coastguard – responsible for surveillance of the fishing fleet – the spectacle of carnage and waste was effectively a crime scene. So Audun’s photographs became the visual evidence in a court case that resulted in a conviction and fine for the owner of the boat. Overfishing is one of the biggest threats to ocean ecosystems, and according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 60 per cent of fisheries today are either ‘fully fished’ or collapsed, and almost 30 per cent are at their limit (‘overfished’). Norwegian spring-spawning herring – part of the Atlantic herring population complex – was in the nineteenth century the most commercially fished fish population in the North Atlantic, but by the end of the 1960s, it had been fished almost to extinction. This is regarded as a classic example of how a combination of bad management, little knowledge and greed can have a devastating and sometimes permanent effect, not only on the species itself but on the whole ecosystem. The Atlantic herring came close to extinction, and it took 20 years and a near‑ban on fishing for the populations to recover, though it is still considered vulnerable to overfishing. The recovery of the herring has been followed by an increase in the numbers of their predators, such as killer whales, but it is a recovery that needs continued monitoring of herring numbers and fisheries, as Audun’s picture shows.

Park Rangers Discourage Feeding Wildlife After Child is Bit

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

WELLFLEET – Officials from the Cape Cod National Seashore are urging visitors of the park to never feed the local wildlife after a coyote recently bit a child. 

The bite happened on August 11 at approximately 8:30 on North Herring Cove Beach. 

According to the Seashore, the child was taken to Cape Cod Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

The coyote has since been shot by park rangers, who will also collect the animal so it can be tested for rabies. 

 Seashore officials said that summer rangers have been responding to incidents of coyotes acting assertively toward people in attempts to obtain food.

That behavior starts with people feeding the coyotes intentionally by leaving food out, or inadvertently by not removing food scraps and packaging from the beach.

They said that leads to the animals becoming habituated and bold in attempts to obtain food. When wild animals lose their fear of people, they behave unpredictably and aggressively, resulting in injuries to people and a sad ending for the habituated animal.

Seashore officials urge visitors to report assertive coyote sightings to rangers or the dispatch center at 617-242-565

Eastham Massachusetts Issues Plastic Bottle Ban Reminder

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

EASTHAM – The Town of Eastham recently issued a reminder to local business owners that the water bottle bylaw banning the sale of single use water bottles will go into effect on September 21, 2021.

The bylaw was approved at the September 2020 Annual Town Meeting.

 According to Sustainable Practices, the non-profit organization that spearheaded the commercial plastic water ban effort, Brewster, Falmouth, Harwich, Orleans, Provincetown and Wellfleet also adopted the commercial ban in an effort to reduce plastic waste.

Bans on plastic checkout bags and balloons filled with lighter than air gasses (including helium) will go into effect on November 1.

Additional bans on plastic straws, cutlery, polystyrene foam coolers and foam packing peanuts will go into effect on November 30, 2021. Polystyrene food service containers must be 100% recyclable.

Businesses will be allowed to sell water in alternative containers, while Eastham residents and visitors are being encouraged to carry and use refillable water bottles.

USA Olympic Shooters....

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

USA Shooting earned a grand total of six medals at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, making this their best performance at the Games since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. 

USA Shooting athletes won three gold medals in Men’s Air Rifle (William Shaner), Women’s Skeet (Amber English), and Men’s Skeet (Vincent Hancock), two silvers in Mixed Team Air Rifle (Mary Tucker, Lucas Kozeniesky) and Women’s Trap (Kayle Browning), and one bronze in Mixed Team Trap (Maddy Bernau, Brian Burrows). 

USA Kayle Browning Adds Silver to USA Shooting Medal Haul

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

USA’s Kayle Browning added her name to the list of Americans that have won shooting medals in the 2020 Olympics, taking a silver medal in Women’s Trap, Thursday in Tokyo. 

Matching her best performance of her career, she finished second in the 2019 trap finals at the World Cup in Acapulco, Mexico, the 29-year-old from Wooster, AR, struggled early missing the first two targets and three of the first four in the finals, but after a slow start of hitting just 6 of 10 targets, Browning moved from last to first hitting 26 consecutive targets and sitting 31 targets had a two-point lead over eventual winner of the gold medal Zuzana Stefechekova Rehak of Slovakia.

It's Rose Time in New England.

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photos Property of  Wayne G. Barber " Titled" The Hampton's 

Rarest Roses in New England.  Over 1,500 Roses, Dahlias, Japanese Garden and Observatory Open today for Succulents and Orchid photo-op too with admission. A gentleman with his blue pick-up from Texas gave us the last parking spot.!

                            Mystery Ride Co-Pilot Mrs. Susan Paquette Barber, 53 Wonderful Years !

by Wayne G. Barber  and Photo's Property of Wayne G. Barber 

Former DEM chief Janet Coit named to lead U.S. fisheries office

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber  

 It's a rare thing for someone to occupy a Cabinet-level position in state government under three different governors. But Janet Coit was able to do it, steering the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for a decade, the longest tenure of any director in the 44-year history of the agency. 

Now, she’s set to take a set of traits — diligence, diplomacy, likeability — that she used to great effect as Rhode Island’s top environmental official to what will surely be a more challenging position on the national stage. On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Coit's former boss in the Rhode Island State House, announced the selection of Coit to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries office. 

Raimondo described Coit as a source of trusted counsel while she was governor and said she will bring a wealth of experience to what's also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service.

R.I. DEM TO OFFER OVERVIEW OF WYOMING DAM REPAIR PROJECT

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

DEM TO OFFER OVERVIEW OF WYOMING DAM REPAIR PROJECT

 The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will offer an overview of the Wyoming dam repair project at the Hopkinton Town Council meeting Monday, June 21, at 7 PM.

 

The Wyoming Upper Reservoir Dam is about to receive much-needed repairs. The state-owned, 300-year-old dam impounds the Wood River to form the 35-acre Wyoming Reservoir in the towns of Hopkinton and Richmond. It’s a popular site for both fishing and boating and DEM stocks the reservoir with trout.

 

The dam is a high-hazard structure in poor condition, rated with an “Unsafe” status in the most recent DEM annual Dam Safety Report. The dam upgrades will include a new low-level outlet and sluiceway gates, repaired embankment walls and spillway, and the removal of vegetation with root systems that pose a threat to the structural integrity of the dam. Construction will entail the installation of a cofferdam, which is a temporary wall positioned along the dam that holds the water back allowing access to the dam for repairs.

 

DEM is making every effort to minimize the impacts to the public during this project. The drawdown of the dam will be slow and controlled (no more than 3 inches per day) and can be stopped if necessary. Work is expected to continue through spring 2022 at which point the site will reopen for fishing, boating, and paddling activities.

 

Construction work is expected to include closure of the parking lot and limited access to the boat launch starting on or around June 25, 2021. The Wood Pawcatuck Watershed Association is aware of the upcoming work and will keep their website updated with information/closures. Signage will be posted at portage locations upstream along the Wood River to alert paddlers of the changes.

 

Funding for the $2.9 million project is supported by 2018 Green Economy Bond.

Outdoor Scene Special Author Guest 6-6-21

 Posted By Wayne G. Barber  

                                                     Jim Kern, Hiking Trails of America

Kern’s interest in hiking grew. In 1966, he founded the Florida Trail and the Florida Trail Association. In 1976, he co-founded the American Hiking Society with Bill Kemsley, founding editor and publisher of Backpacker Magazine, and Paul Pritchard, then president of the Appalachian Trail Conference. In 1990, he founded Big City Mountaineers. He was the president of the Florida Trail Association for its first 12 years, president of the American Hiking Society for its first nine years and president and board chairman of Big City Mountaineers for its first six years.

His quests for wildlife have also taken him to Ujung Kulon in Java; Baffin Island, Canada; Kenya and Rwanda; the Parks of India; Luzon in the Philippines; Kalimantan in Indonesia; the Ryukyu Islands in Japan and many other places closer to home. Kern also solo-sailed Wanderoo II, a 31’ Pacific Seacraft, to Bermuda. See Sail magazine, October 2007. His pictures have appeared in major magazines and books. He has written for Audubon, Backpacker, National Geographic and others. He has lectured on wildlife and conservation subjects throughout Florida since the late ’60s. As a naturalist, he published a scientific paper in Zoologica: “Observations on the Habits of the Proboscis Monkey, Nasalis larvatus (wurmb), Made in the Brunei Bay Area, Borneo.” The year 2008 was his 50th anniversary as a wildlife photographer and he celebrated the event by publishing a coffee table book entitled The Wildlife Art & Adventures of Jim Kern Photographer.

Kern was the executive producer of the documentary Saving Face, completed in 2008. The film was awarded world premier status at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival in October 2008. It’s the story of Kern’s wayward son Matt, who got into serious trouble with the law and spent 12 years in prison by the time he was 27. In 2003 Matt wrote and his father published FACE, the story of Matt’s life up to and including his clemency, granted by Governor Lawton Chiles. Currently he is in talks with a film production company about doing a feature film about Matt.

Local Pro Gets First Bassmaster Elite Series Win on Neely Henry Lake

Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Wes Logan, of Springville, Ala., has won the 2021 Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake with a four-day total of 57 pounds, 9 ounces.

Photo by James Overstreet/B.A.S.S.

Local Pro Wes Logan Gets First Bassmaster Elite Series Victory At Neely Henry Lake

GADSDEN, Ala. — Wes Logan said memories came flooding back to him throughout the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake.

That’s bound to happen when you’ve fished a place since you were 5 years old.

Logan now has countless new reasons to think fondly of his home water after claiming the tournament title here on Championship Monday. The 26-year-old from Springville, only a 30-mile drive from the Gadsden City Boat Docks, caught a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 57 pounds, 9 ounces. He capped the competition with a 14-1 limit Monday, the third-heaviest of the day.

Logan earned $100,000 for the win, his first in 26 B.A.S.S. events.

The second-year Elite Series angler charged into the lead on Day 3 with a 16-15 bag that tied for the heaviest of the tournament. That made him the last man to weigh in Monday and the only one with a chance to knock Connecticut pro Paul Mueller from the hot seat.

Logan peeked silently at the scale while his bass were weighed. When his winning total flashed on screen, he let out a victorious yell and pumped his right fist over his head. Then he hugged Mueller and hoisted his first blue trophy for his home-based fans to see.

“I started tournament fishing with my dad when I was 5,” Logan said. “We’d come here, Logan Martin and Weiss … I went into practice trying to not put pressure on myself. I wanted to fish like I’d never seen the place before. I wanted to figure out a pattern.”

Having an open mind, even on water he knows so well, was critical this week. Neely Henry was a difficult read for most of the 98 anglers who started the tournament on Friday, postponed by a day because of heavy rains earlier in the week. The storms sent the water table rising and shot sediment throughout the lake. The Elites scrambled to find stable water, many relying on junk fishing to see which lures and techniques produced the best bites.

A trio of lures worked best for Logan — a 5/8-ounce Dirty Jigs Matt Herren flipping jig (black/blue skirt) with a Zoom Big Salty sapphire blue Chunk; a Dirty Jigs No Jack swim jig with a Zoom Super Speed Craw trailer; and a frog, which he used to fill his Day 3 limit.

Logan started the tournament strongly, putting 14-1 on the board Friday, good enough for ninth place. He caught 12-8 on Day 2, climbing to eighth and surviving the cut to 48. He made his move on Day 3 with the 16-5 haul, pointing to a pair of unusual catches as the turning point.

“I caught two bass under a bridge right by the Gadsden City Boat Docks on a crankbait,” he said “I’m not a crankbait fisherman. It was about 11:30, and I only had two keepers at the time. But I caught a 2 1/2 there, and then two casts later, I caught a 5 1/4. I only got one more bite that day.

“When you get that kind of bite when you’re not supposed to, that let me know I had a chance to win. Stuff like that just doesn’t happen all the time.”

Logan didn’t divulge specifics on the crankbait, other than to say it’s specially painted, similar to a black/chartreuse combo.

“I keep that one in my hand around here,” he said. “It’s a confidence thing.”

Logan planned to fish down-lake from the start, but low water in that area made him choose otherwise. Each of the 20 bass he weighed was caught between Cove Creek and Minnesota Bend — both only a 10-minute run from the Gadsden City Boat Docks.

Mueller, meanwhile, went straight for the lower end of Neely Henry and found success. He seized the lead after Day 2 and was in second place going into Day 4, trailing Logan by just more than a pound. Mueller caught the heaviest bass of the tournament Monday, a 6-6 largemouth, but his 13-13 closing weight wasn’t enough to overtake Logan.

“My pattern went away today and I knew that would be the deal,” Mueller said. “I had to fish new water. I was able to catch some fish, and I had a good day. I’m glad at the way this turned out. As short as the morning bite was, I could have been sitting in sixth or seventh right now.”

Mueller caught his best bass, including the 6-6, on a Deps Evoke 2.0 squarebill crankbait (chartreuse/brown back). He earned an additional $2,000 for having the Phoenix Boats Big Bass on Day 4 and overall.

Alabama native Gerald Swindle caught the second-heaviest bag on Day 4 (a 15-0 limit) and finished third with 54-2 overall.

Mueller took home an additional $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and fourth-place finisher Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Logan earned $4,000 for winning while Christie claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

Minnesota pro Seth Feider finished 12th in the derby and didn’t qualify for Championship Monday, but he still left Gadsden with a commanding lead in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. His season total of 525 points gives him a 41-point cushion over Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., (484) with three tournaments remaining.

Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., is third with 464, followed by Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, with 462 and Christie with 457.

Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., is leading the Rookie of the Year standings with 372 points.

The City of Gadsden and the Greater Gadsden Area Tourism hosted the event.

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Bass Pro Shops, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Marathon, Rapala

1. Wes Logan Springville, AL 20 57-09 100 $100,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 12-08 Day 3: 5 16-15 Day 4: 5 14-01
2. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 20 56-03 99 $37,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-03 Day 2: 5 15-03 Day 3: 5 12-00 Day 4: 5 13-13
3. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 20 54-02 98 $30,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-03 Day 2: 5 13-03 Day 3: 5 11-12 Day 4: 5 15-00
4. Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 20 52-13 97 $25,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-03 Day 2: 5 12-15 Day 3: 5 14-14 Day 4: 5 13-13
5. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 20 52-01 96 $20,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 10-07 Day 3: 5 11-04 Day 4: 5 15-02
6. Bryan New Belmont, NC 20 50-02 95 $19,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-07 Day 2: 5 09-11 Day 3: 5 11-07 Day 4: 5 12-09
7. Bob Downey Hudson, WI 20 49-10 94 $18,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 13-02 Day 3: 5 13-11 Day 4: 5 08-14
8. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 20 47-07 93 $17,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-15 Day 2: 5 12-14 Day 3: 5 08-00 Day 4: 5 09-10
9. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 20 46-04 92 $16,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 5 11-07 Day 3: 5 12-14 Day 4: 5 08-05
10. Todd Auten Lake Wylie, SC 17 42-11 91 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 14-04 Day 3: 5 08-09 Day 4: 2 04-12
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Clark Wendlandt Leander, TX 05-04 $1,000.00
2 Cliff Prince Palatka, FL 05-11 $1,000.00
3 Jay Yelas Lincoln City, OR 05-06 $1,000.00
4 Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 06-06 $1,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 06-06 $1,000.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 68 414 872-06
2 76 454 968-01
3 38 222 458-06
4 9 47 115-15

Trout study launched on the Swift River

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Biologists have begun tagging hatchery trout for a long-term research effort. Anglers can stay informed with a project web page.

 

The Swift is bounded by the Quabbin Reservoir’s Winsor Dam to the north and by the Bondsville Dam about 5 ½ miles downstream. So, while some fish enter the reach from Quabbin or from the adjacent McLaughlin Hatchery and some escape over the Bondsville Dam, the study area is a mostly closed system. This means that biologists can estimate population size and learn about fish survival by conducting a series of mark-recapture surveys. MassWildlife biologists will mark every fish stocked into the Swift and then periodically sample the stream and record information on the fish they catch. This type of survey allows biologists to estimate fish populations throughout the year in an area where it is impractical or impossible to count each individual fish.

The fish will be marked in two ways. Biologists will use Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE)—a dye injected just below the skin—to tag trout and indicate the month in which they were stocked. For 2021, all VIE tags will be placed just behind the left eye and different colors will indicate the month the fish was stocked. Additionally, the adipose fins of fish stocked upstream of Route 9 will be clipped; fish stocked elsewhere will not be clipped. The adipose fin is a small fatty fin on the dorsal surface (back) of the fish. MassWildlife staff will use electrofishing equipment to sample the river about once a month for most of the year. This method briefly stuns fish so they can be easily netted, inspected, and then quickly released. By looking at the combination of markings, biologists can learn when and where a trout was stocked in the river compared to when and where it was re-captured.

Anglers will also be able to use the marking to learn about the fish they catch. A website has been launched with details about this ongoing project. Anglers and interested individuals can visit mass.gov/swift-trout to get a list of VIE tag and fin clip combinations that shows release dates and release location. A schedule of electrofishing sampling dates will also be available on the website. 

In time, study results will also be posted to mass.gov/swift-trout. Results from this study will provide valuable details about the short- and long-term survival of stocked brown and rainbow trout. As always, the goals of MassWildlife’s fisheries staff are to gain a better understanding of fish and fish ecology, share the information learned with the public, and provide exceptional opportunities for fishing and other outdoor recreation. It’s important to note that while some hatchery trout can survive year-round in deep ponds with cold water and some coldwater streams like the Swift River, MassWildlife’s stocking program is primarily designed as a put-and-take resource for anglers to enjoy catching trout in the hundreds of lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams stocked statewide.