Connecticut Broodstock Salmon Report

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

A number of catches reported from the recently stocked areas on the Naugatuck, Shetucket River, and Mount Tom Pond (with some time and effort put forth). A final round of stocking should occur in early to mid-December. Follow us on Facebook and our website to get the stocking updates.

Salmon stocking update. The Naugatuck River was stocked with 75 broodstock Atlantic salmon today (Thursday, 11/10). The upper broodstock area received 30 fish and the lower broodstock area received 45 fish. Most fish (60) stocked today were fish weighing in the 6-20 lb range.

Recap. Approximately 1,500 fish have been stocked earlier this fall. Mount Tom Pond and Crystal Lake (Ellington) were the lakes stocked this fall. Both the Nauatuck and Shetucket Rivers were also stocked. Additional fish will become available from the Kensington State Fish Hatchery later this fall, including more in the 6-20 lb range. 

Maine’s Herons Reveal Their Wintering Grounds

Maine’s Herons Reveal Their Wintering Grounds


Click on Red Highlight for the great story on Heron's

Mushroom Hike

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Mushroom Hike

Take advantage of the outdoors while you can — after all, if you hold off too much longer there could be snow to reckon with! Lace up your hiking boots and join Ryan Bouchard and Emily Schmidt for the Mushroom Hike in Ballard Park in Newport. Bouchard and Schmidt will take you through the park and explain how mushrooms affect the ecosystem and what their role is in the environment. Explore some of the thirteen-acre land through the lens of mushrooms. Learn the plant’s secrets, facts about them, which ones to avoid and which ones to add to your favorite pasta dish.

The Details: Nov. 12 (rain date Nov. 13). 1–3 p.m. $5 donation. Meet at Hazard Road entrance, Newport. To register, call 401-619-3377 or email education@ballardpark.org. ballardpark.org.  

American Museum of Fly Fishing Welcomes New Executive Director

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Manchester, Vermont - The American Museum of Fly Fishing (AMFF) is pleased to announce Robert Ruley as its new Executive Director. The appointment follows an extensive national search led by a Rhode Island search firm in conjunction with the museum's Board of Trustees. Ruley will join the American Museum of Fly Fishing on November 14.

Board President Karen Kaplan expressed her excitement saying, "We are delighted to have Robert Ruley join AMFF as Executive Director. An avid flyfisher, he brings strong experience in financial management and a particular talent for fundraising and community building. We couldn't be happier to have him."

Mr. Ruley has over twenty years of experience working for both non-profit and for profit organizations on Nantucket Island. He comes to the museum from the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, where he worked for ten years as a development professional. He was instrumental in adding hundreds of new members to the Foundation as well as producing a number of events including guided member walks, young member cultivation events and a very popular Cranberry Festival that draws in excess of 7,000 people annually. He seeks to bring the same kind of enthusiasm to the annual Fly Fishing Festival here in Manchester.

Prior to his employment at the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, Ruley spent ten years as Director of Operations at Nantucket Island Resorts, LLC., which operates a collection of boutique hospitality properties, a world class marina and an extensive portfolio of commercial property.

He is also deeply rooted in community involvement, having served as an elected member of the Nantucket Harbor Advisory Board as well as serving as a Trustee, Treasurer and Executive Committee member for the Nantucket Lighthouse School, a respected independent school on Nantucket.

Ruley is a lifelong angler. He has spent many hours casting from the shores and water around New England, The Bahamas, and Florida. Though primarily a saltwater angler, he has spent considerable time lately pursuing trout and salmon in Northern New England and he is looking forward to getting to know the waters around Manchester.

The AMFF welcomes Robert's substantial experience in donor relations and cultivation, organizational programming and non-profit operations and management. The 49 year old father of two is excited about the move to Manchester as well, "My family and I could not be happier about our transition to Vermont. We are eagerly looking forward to it."


About the American Museum of Fly Fishing:
The American Museum of Fly Fishing is the steward of the history, traditions, and practices of the sport of fly fishing and promotes the conservation of its waters. The Museum collects, preserves, exhibits, studies, and interprets the artifacts, art, and literature of the sport and, through a variety of outreach platforms, uses these resources to engage, educate, and benefit all. The Museum fulfills this mission through our public programs (including exhibitions, gallery programs, lectures, special events, and presentations), our publications, and our quarterly journal, The American Fly Fisher.

For more information about the Museum and the 2016 Heritage Award please visit our website http://www.amff.org or connect with us on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

ASMFC Considers Alternatives for Summer Flounder Management

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

BAR HARBOR, Maine — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board initiated development of Draft Addendum XXVIII to the Summer Flounder Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to consider alternative management approaches, including regional options, for the 2017 recreational summer flounder fishery. The Draft Addendum will have options which are designed to achieve the 2017 recreational harvest limit (RHL).

Changes in summer flounder distribution, abundance and availability created problems under the static state-by-state allocations, with overages often occurring. In response, states would implement regulations to reduce harvest, resulting in differing regulations between neighboring states. In 2014, the Board shifted away from traditional state-by-state allocations to a regional approach for managing summer flounder recreational fisheries. A benefit of the regional approach is it provides the states the flexibility to temporarily share allocations. The intent is to set regulations that account for shifting distribution, abundance and availability while providing stability and greater regulatory consistency among neighboring states as well as individual states in achieving but not exceeding the coastwide RHL.

In August, the Board and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) approved a 30% reduction in the 2017 coastwide RHL relative to 2016. This was in response the 2016 Stock Assessment Update which found fishing mortality was higher in recent years and population estimates were lower than previously projected.

The Draft Addendum will be presented to the Board for its consideration and approval for public comment at its joint meeting with the Council in December in Baltimore, Maryland. At that meeting, the Board and Council will also consider extending ad-hoc regional approaches for 2017 black sea bass and scup recreational management in state waters. The Board and Council are scheduled to review the Black Sea Bass Stock Assessment Report and Peer Review Report and consider possible management responses at their joint meeting in February 2017 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

2016 NH Youth Deer Hunt Weekend Results

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

CONCORD, N.H. -- Preliminary reports show that young hunters succeeded in harvesting 246 deer during the 2016 Youth Deer Hunt Weekend in New Hampshire, down 37% from the official 2015 total of 391. This unofficial total does not include information from all registration stations.  The 2016 total is below the average since the special youth deer hunt began in 1999.

 

"Despite very poor hunting conditions with heavy rains on Saturday and strong winds throughout Sunday, many of New Hampshire’s youth hunters were still successful over the weekend in harvesting, what for many was likely their first deer. More importantly, they were safely introduced to the sport by an experienced hunter and hopefully gained some memorable experiences, a new passion, and an appreciation for the state’s wildlife and natural areas," said Dan Bergeron, the NH Fish and Game Department's Deer Project Leader.

 

The youth deer weekend gives young people statewide the opportunity to go deer hunting with an adult mentor. Accompanying adults must be licensed hunters and are not allowed to carry a firearm, so they can devote all of their time and attention to coaching their young companions.

 

Youth also may hunt in New Hampshire during the regular deer seasons. All youth hunters under age 16 must be accompanied by a licensed adult 18 years or older while hunting. "Accompanied" means "within sight and hearing, excluding electronic devices, when actual physical direction and control can be effected," pursuant to RSA 207:1, XXX.

 

New Hampshire also offers special opportunities for young hunters through a youth turkey weekend each spring and a youth waterfowl weekend in September.

 

For the latest harvest numbers on the overall deer season so far in New Hampshire, see www.huntnh.com/hunting/deer-harvest.html.

 

For more information about youth hunting in New Hampshire, visit www.huntnh.com/hunting/youth.html

Connecticut Fall Walleye Stockng Oct.31,2016

Great Ice Fishing Opportunities in Connecticut

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Walleye Stocking Update: Yesterday (10/31) CT DEEP stocked 27,900 young Walleye into 9 waters. These fish will spend the next couple of years growing to reach legal size (18").

  Walleye are one of the most popular gamefish in North America. They grow to a large size, can be caught throughout the year using a variety of techniques, and are known for their exquisite flavor. Walleye are also efficient pelagic predators that play an important role in enhancing balanced fish populations and quality fisheries. The Inland Fisheries Division began stocking fingerling walleyes into a few lakes in 1993 to diversify the State's recreational fisheries. These lakes were selected because they were best suited for walleye, have marginal trout habitat and abundant forage fish populations. In these waters walleyes will create additional fisheries for large open-water gamefish. In addition, a lack of large predatory fishes has been identified as a problem resulting in imbalanced fish populations in many Connecticut lakes.

As part of DEEP Inland Fisheries Research and Mangement Grant (F-57-R), quality walleye fisheries were established in Gardner Lake, Salem and Squantz Pond, New Fairfield. Due to the popularity of the program, two water companies initiated stocking walleye into Lake Saltonstall, Branford and Saugatuck Reservoir, Weston. Also, in 2001, Connecticut expanded the walleye program to include the following lakes: Batterson Park Pond, Farmington; Beach Pond, Voluntown; Coventry Lake, Coventry and Mashapaug Lake, Union. More recently walleye fingerlings were stocked into Lake Zoar, Monroe-Oxford (2011) and Mt Tom Pond, Litchfield; Cedar Lake, Chester and West Thompson Reservoir, West Thompson (2012).

Walleye populations in these lakes are completely supported by annual fall stockings of 4 to 6-inch fingerlings purchased from a commercial supplier located in the mid-west.  Currently the state stocks more than 33,000 fingerlings into 10 public lakes. An additional 10,000 fingerlings are stocked by South Central Regional Water Authority (Lake Saltonstall) and Aquarion Water Company (Saugatuck Reservoir) into their lakes that allow fishing through permit access.  Statewide walleye regulations in Connecticut are an 18-inch minimum size limit and a 2-fish creel limit. Trophy fish awards of walleye catches greater than 23 inches (released) or greater than 6 pounds (kept) have been awarded to anglers from every lake stocked with walleye (since 2001). Most trophy fish awards have come from Lake Saltonstall and Squantz Pond. Check out the link on our Facebook page to see how the Inland Fisheries Division uses electrofishing techniques to sample walleye populations. Inland Fisheries Division is continually exploring new options to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of this program with a priority to assess angler harvest rates to ensure that current walleye regulations are adequate to sustain quality fishing. Please visit one of our walleye lakes and get in on the fast action and excellent table fare that these fish provide!