Red Hot Ice Fishing..

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

This is Prime Time for Ice Fishing

MONTPELIER, VT – Late February and early March are prime time for ice fishing, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. 

“The warmer days and cold nights we normally have in late February and early March offer some of our best ice fishing of the year,” said Vermont Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter.  “For safety reasons, you need to watch ice conditions as we get closer to spring, but this is prime time to enjoy the great ice fishing we have on many Vermont lakes.”

“Vermont offers a variety of high-quality ice fishing opportunities for many different species, many of which become more active as daylight increases and temperatures warm.  Knowing a little about where and how to catch these fish can turn a blanket of ice into a fishing hotspot.”

Northern pike are popular with ice anglers and are regularly caught in places like Missisquoi Bay, Dillenbeck Bay, Carry Bay, and Keeler Bay on Lake Champlain in addition to Lake Hortonia, Lake Bomoseen, Glen Lake, Marshfield Reservoir and the South Bay of Lake Memphremagog.  Northern pike are often caught using live bait on tip-ups and are usually found in shallow, weedy waters.  

Landlocked Atlantic salmon can be caught in the Inland Sea area of Lake Champlain, as well as on Lake Memphremagog and Lake Dunmore.  Several of the Northeast Kingdom’s deep-cold lakes support wild (naturally reproducing) lake trout.  Salmon and trout can both be caught using tip-ups and by jigging lures.

Walleyes can be targeted on Lake Carmi, Chittenden Reservoir and Lake Champlain.  Walleyes spend most of their life in bottom waters so be sure to set your gear deep. 

Yellow perch, a close relative to the walleye, are widely distributed throughout the state and, like the walleye, provide a white, flakey, and delicious meat for anglers who plan to harvest their catch.  Like other panfish such as bluegill, pumpkinseed and crappie, perch are most successfully targeted by jigging small lures tipped with a piece of worm or grubs.

Rainbow smelt fishing can also be very productive this time of year as they are feeding heavily before spawning.  Popular smelt waters include Lake Bomoseen, Lake Dunmore, Waterbury Reservoir, Joes Pond, and Peacham Pond.  These waters are also stocked with brown trout which may be enticed to bite by using harvested smelt as bait. 

Vermont’s ice fishing season for trout, salmon and bass began on January 19 and continues through March 15 on 41 of Vermont’s larger inland lakes.  For a list of those lakes, go to page 36 of the “2019 Vermont Fishing Guide and Regulations” available where licenses are sold and digitally on Fish & Wildlife’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com).

To locate places to stay and get help on the latest fishing activity, go to the Vermont Outdoor Guides Association website (www.voga.org).

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VTF&W photo by Chris Powers

Northern pike are often caught using live bait on tip-ups and are usually found in shallow, weedy waters.  

Protect Your Gun Rights !!!!!!!

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

We need to show up and stop this!

"On Tuesday February 12 the Senate will hear testimony on an Additional 10% Tax on all Firearms and Ammunition. This is an incredible attack by Gina Raimondo on our Law Abiding Citizens who want to exercise their Right under the Second Amendment! This will result in Firearms and Ammunition sales being taxed at 17%. We need you at the State House to show your opposition to this attack on your Rights!!!!!

The Progressives are not hiding their agenda; it is right out in the open. They want to Ban all firearms and/or make it incredibly expensive to own, purchase and use your firearms. You MUST get involved. You get involved by going to the State House and standing alongside of your brothers and sisters in this fight. We ask you to get two or three friends and come to the State House any time after 3:30 pm. Please wear your Yellow Shirts, be respectful but be vigilant in your opposition!!!!

On behalf of both myself and Michael O’Neil, along with the RI Revolver and Rifle Association, Federated RI Sportsmen’s Club and Rhode Island Firearm Owners League, we are proud to be at your service again this term. I hope to see you all there this Tuesday.

Connecticut state Rep. @jilchrest introduced House Bill 5700, which would impose a 50% tax increase on ammunition.

She tweeted asking "how much ammunition does someone really need to protect themselves."

"I’ve introduced HB 5700, a 50% tax increase on ammunition. It doesn’t apply to military or law enforcement. I’m hearing push back about the need to protect one's home... but how much ammunition does someone really need to do that? 

ALERT! Connecticut Black Bear Hunting Bill Introduced

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Take Action Today! Connecticut sportsmen should contact their state legislator and ask them to vote YES on SB 586 to permit a limited hunting season for bears. Connecticut members can contact their state legislator by using the Sportsmen’s Alliance Legislative Action Center.

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A bill authorizing a bear hunting season in Litchfield County, Conn., has been introduced to the Joint Environment Committee. Senate Bill 586, sponsored by Sen. Craig A. Miner (R- Litchfield), would be a welcome first step in creating a future statewide season.

Black bear numbers continue to rise in Connecticut, as well as many other states along the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida. As bear populations continue to increase, so do the number of bear conflicts. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) reports that there have been 8,917 sightings statewide in just this past year alone. Without proper management, including hunting, property damage will increase, as will dangerous confrontations between bears and people or their pets. 

SB 586 will allow DEEP to manage the bear population in the county of Litchfield to effectively provide crucial information that the department needs to scientifically manage Connecticut’s thriving black bear population statewide, while also protecting public safety.
Source: Sportsman Media Press Release

Anglers Look To Cement Legacies At 2019 Bassmaster Classic On The Tennessee River

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The 2019 GEICO Bassmaster Classic ds, scheduled for March 15-17 on the Tennessee River, will feature the usual mix of established pro fishing superstars and hungry young pros who are destined to be the stars of tomorrow.

The 52 anglers converging on Knoxville will be gunning for the largest share of the $1 million prize fund, and they’ll be aiming to establish their angling legacy by winning the most important title in professional fishing.

Among the field are eight former Classic winners, including four-time champion Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., and defending champion Jordan Lee of Grant, Ala., who last year became one of only three anglers to claim back-to-back wins in the event.

Seven of the pros have hoisted the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year trophy, including 2018 AOY winner Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., and Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., who has claimed the award three times.

“The Classic is a showcase for some of the most accomplished bass anglers in the world,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “You’ll have veteran pros out there who’ve experienced the huge stage that is the Classic and excelled in that environment in the past. But you’ll also have some young guys who are just chomping at the bit to make a name for themselves.

“That’s one of the most exciting things about the Classic — it literally will change someone’s life forever.”

Whoever wins the event, the immediate effects will be easy to see.

There’s the world-famous Classic trophy, which weighs more than 40 pounds and is easily the most coveted piece of hardware in professional fishing. Then there’s the $300,000 first-place check and the chance to stand before an arena full of screaming fans as confetti cannons set the stage for the accomplishment of a lifetime.

Anglers hungry for first-time Classic glory include Florida’s Drew Benton, Tennessee’s Brandon Lester and Arizona’s Clifford Pirch — just to name a few.

This year’s weigh-ins will be held in Thompson-Boling Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee. The arena, which seats 21,678, has served as the site for some incredible sporting moments, including Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt’s historic 1,000th career victory on Feb. 5, 2009.

As always, the Classic will be held in conjunction with the fan-favorite Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. Known as the most important consumer show in the bass fishing world, the Classic Expo will be held in the Knoxville Convention Center and the adjacent World’s Fair Exhibition Hall.

Companies from across the fishing industry use the Expo annually to debut new products, and fans will be able to purchase many types of lures, rods, reels and accessories for the first time anywhere.

There will be a special one-hour Expo preview for B.A.S.S. members from 11 a.m.-noon March 15. Then the regular times for the event will be March 15 from noon-7 p.m., March 16 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and March 17 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Doors will open to the arena for weigh-ins each day for B.A.S.S. Life and Nation members at 3 p.m. and to the general public at 3:15 p.m.

“I’m especially excited for this event because I grew up in Knoxville and fished Fort Loudoun and Tellico as a kid,” said B.A.S.S. Director Chase Anderson. “Some of the most avid sports fans in the world live right there — and when you combine that kind of passion with an event as spectacular as the Bassmaster Classic, it’s going to be an incredible experience for everyone who attends.”

DEM SALUTES AQUATIC RESOURCE EDUCATION COORDINATOR KIMBERLY SULLIVAN ON RECEIVING PRESTIGIOUS AWARD

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) salutes Aquatic Resource Education Coordinator Kimberly Sullivan of DEM’s Division of Fish & Wildlife, this year’s recipient of the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association’s (RIEEA) Environmental Education Award. DEM Director Janet Coit nominated Kimberly and had the pleasure of presenting her with the award during RIEEA’s annual event at Rhode Island College on January 19.

 

“Kimberly inspires what Rachel Carson called ‘a sense of wonder’ in the people with whom she interacts,” said DEM Director Janet Coit. “She has reached thousands of Rhode Islanders, connecting her with the wonders of nature. Through her Traveling Tidepool, children see up close the incredible marine life surrounding us, creatures like northern puffer, spiny dogfish, pipefish and skates. Her work in Central Falls brought the joy of fishing to Spanish-speaking families, in both freshwater and saltwater environments. Whether teaching adults how to dig for quahogs, or students to count river herring going up a fish ladder, Kimberly changes lives through her work, opening people’s eyes to the natural world. Her special combination of enthusiasm and scientific acumen have allowed Kimberly to successfully influence people across Rhode Island, creating a ripple effect that leads to better stewards for our precious environment.”

 

As the leader of DEM’s Aquatic Resource Education (ARE) program for the past 15 years, Kimberly has been instrumental in expanding opportunities for Rhode Islanders to get outside, enjoy nature, and experience the joy of fishing in a variety of aquatic environments. Last year alone she organized Come Clam with Me classes, expanded opportunities for youths and families from Central Falls to learn to fish, and hosted tidal seines to help participants learn about local aquatic species and reinforce conservation and aquatic stewardship. Among the many programs offered by DEM’s ARE program are marine and freshwater ecology programs for children; State Record, Game Fish, and Children’s First Fish Awards; the Traveling Tidepool for pre-school children; and marine and freshwater Aquaculture in the Classroom programs where Atlantic salmon, trout, and horseshoe crabs are raised and released into the wild.

 

As the primary contact for fish hatchery and fish ladder tours for school groups, Kimberly has taught countless children about freshwater and migratory fish. She also helps coordinate the summer children’s saltwater fishing camp at Rocky Point State Park hosted by the RI Saltwater Anglers Association. A principal fisheries biologist, Kimberly also serves as the lead investigator for the US Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Aid Program for Aquatic Resource Education. Her outreach and educational work extend to cooperative ventures with the knowledgeable staff of the US Fish and Wildlife Service at their Kettle Pond and Sachuest Point facilities, Audubon Society of RI, Save The Bay, and watershed and municipal organizations.

 

A resident of Richmond, Kimberly graduated with honors from Roger Williams University with a B.S. in Marine Biology with minors in psychology and environmental biology. She currently serves as secretary of the national Aquatic Resource Education Association, and is the RI Project WILD State Coordinator, the RI Project WET State Coordinator, and the RI angler R3 representative on the R3 regional committee.

“Kimberly is held in high esteem by state, federal, and non-governmental partners,” Director Coit noted. “She is very generous and always brings a host of resources and expertise to the table, sowing goodwill and new discoveries wherever she goes. That RIEEA has recognized her means so much. DEM appreciates all the ways that RIEEA is increasing environmental literacy across Rhode Island.”

Trapping in Massachusetts answer to our weekly E-Mails on the Outdoor Scene

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Photo of Jeff Traynor, a 3 time guest on the award winning, Outdoor Scene

In November of 1996, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot initiative titled the “Wildlife Protection Act”. The initiative was launched by the Humane Society of the United States, along with a group calling themselves the ProPAW Coalition (Protect Pets and Wildlife), which spent considerable funding on TV ads depicting house cats in foothold traps and dogs missing legs. The slogan “Ban Cruel Traps” evidently resinated with 64% of the state’s citizenry - securing the initiative’s passage. Prior to 1996, MA Fish & Wildlife would contact licensed trappers to help remedy beaver conflict situations. The system worked well; as trappers would make a little money off pelts and beaver glands, the state would collect a little license revenue from trapping licenses, and residents would be relieved of beaver conflict (in the form of flooding to property, compromising septic systems and polluting wells, just to name a few).

In two and a half years following the ban, Massachusetts’ beaver population expanded from 18,000 to almost 55,000 according to reports from Audubon Magazine. Lawmakers scrambled to make amendments to the ban when impatient residents, who had become completely dependent on MA Fish & Wildlife to handle beaver complaints, began breaching beaver dams in the dead of winter (when beavers don’t repair them, and endangered reptiles and amphibians are vulnerable to fluctuating water levels). Whatever negative picture animal rights activists tried to paint of trappers before the ban, it paled in comparison to what unfolded in the state’s ponds, rivers and streams after the ban.

Years earlier in the late 1980s, a national animal rights group became successful getting trapping ban initiatives passed by town, county and state governments. Attempts were made by these groups to disguise regulated trapping as a public safety/animal welfare issue. Expectedly, an article to ban trapping was introduced at a Chelmsford, Massachusetts town meeting in 1988.

According to The Northeast Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, “State wildlife experts reminded residents that regulated trapping was not a public safety issue, and warned that if regulated trapping were banned, there would be numerous undesirable consequences in the form of property damage and wildlife habitat degradation. Despite the warnings, the article was passed, and the trapping of furbearing mammals within the town was prohibited.

Prior to passage of the trapping ban, there were usually one to three complaints of beaver damage in the town each year. Following the ban, the beaver population, unchecked, began to grow rapidly, and the animals began to move into many previously unoccupied wetlands. Beaver dams began to flood houses and roadways. In 1992, state wildlife biologists working at the request of town officials investigated 25 beaver complaint sites. Two of these complaint sites were municipal wells which had been shut down (at a cost of $25,000) because of beaver flooding, and four other municipal wells were threatened. Individual landowners in town had incurred tens of thousands of dollars in damages to private wells, septic systems, lawns and roadways. The increasing beaver population and increasing property damage were directly related to the decision of the town's citizens to ban regulated trapping and allow uncontrolled beaver population growth to commence.”

The residents of Chelmsford were duped further by animal rights activists who had promised in 1988 and again in 1992 to install beaver “flow pipes”, as well as a proposal to "sterilize" beavers in the town (a technique that is not biologically feasible on a free-roaming rodent population). During the four years that the trapping ban was in place, activists never followed through on their promises and were never held accountable for the statements they had made.

At a special town meeting in September 1992, town citizens voted by a two-to-one margin to allow regulated public trapping to resume. During the regular trapping season later that fall and winter, four trappers working with homeowners and town officials removed 87 beaver. Source: Furbearers Conservation

King Penguin's are in trouble ......

Posted by Wayne G.Barber

Source: pewenvironment

The planet's largest colony of king penguins has declined by nearly 90% in the past thirty years. Researchers announced their stunning findings earlier this week after seeing recent aerial images of the colony, located on an island in-between Africa and Antarctica. Exact reasons for the collapse are unknown.
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Establishing additional marine protected areas around the world can help ecosystems be more resilient to changes in climate.
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