Kentucky teen catches state record, 47-pound muskellunge

Frankfort, Ky. – A 14-year-old freshman at Montgomery County High School landed a 47-pound muskellunge while fishing with her family on Cave Run Lake Nov. 2. Sarah Terry's fish is now Kentucky's state record muskellunge.

“I saw it come to the boat,” she said. “It went under the boat and then came back out and hit it. It really chomped that bait. If I had a dollar for every time I said ‘Oh, my God,' I would be rich.”

Terry and her stepfather, Scott Salchli, were fishing the edge of a weed bed near the Claylick Boat Ramp late in the afternoon when the fish struck. Terry caught the record muskie on a Double Cowgirl in-line spinner with two size 10 gold blades and a purple skirt.

The 54-inch fish succumbed as Terry made a figure eight in the water with her lure. Muskellunge that follow a lure but don't strike often fall for this old trick.

“She did the figure eight perfectly,” Salchli said. “She made really good, wide circles. The fish struck just as she was making her second figure eight.”

The new state record is only the third muskellunge the teen has caught since she started fishing for them last September. “It didn't fight that long, but was still unbelievable,” she said. “I was running around the boat ramp. I felt like doing jumping jacks. I could've run laps around the whole lake.”

Salchli, who works for a soft drink company, also guides anglers for muskellunge on weekends on Cave Run. He is also a member of the Professional Musky Tournament Trail. “This is the first Sunday I've had off in a while,” he said. “This was the only fish we saw all day.”

Terry won the in-line spinner that caught the record at a Muskies Incorporated banquet earlier in the year. The teenager realizes the significance and rarity of her catch. “I've been to Muskies Inc. banquets and saw older people who fished for 50 years trying to catch this kind of fish,” Terry said.

Her record muskellunge surpassed the previous state record by nearly three pounds. Lexington resident Scott Flatt caught the former record, a 44.38-pound fish, from Cave Run Lake in 1998.

Maryland waters open to Virginia charter fishing boats
One of 2 new licenses is available to all charter boats in VIrginia waters. The other will be limited.

A new fishing guide license system will allow Virginia charter boat operators access to Maryland waters for the first time in more than a decade. Expected to impact those based in the Northern Neck more than this far south in the Chesapeake Bay, the regulations nevertheless open up possibilities previously prohibited. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission adopted the two-tiered guide license system on Dec. 16, and the new licenses went on sale Dec. 22.

One of them is available to all charter boats plying Virginia saltwaters, while the other will be honored by Maryland as part of a reciprocal agreement still being finalized, said VMRC Deputy Commissioner Jack Travelstead

The license that can be used in Maryland will be issued to a limited number of applicants, and that number will be determined after next year, Travelstead said. Charter boat captains will continue to be required to carry a separate license that covers their passengers' fishing. There is no additional cost if that license and the guide license are purchased at the same time by boat owners.

"The positive impact to Virginians is that for the first time in 15 years, they will be able to charter fishing trips in Maryland waters," Travelstead said. "Maryland has for 15 years limited the sale of their fishing guide license and would not accept a similar license from here in Virginia.

"All of that has now changed. So we now have a fishing guide license here in Virginia, and Maryland has agreed to accept that license as equivalent to its own."
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Lure of Ice Fishing Draws Anglers to Frozen Waters

Courtney Adams, of Hyrum, holds a trout he caught during a day of ice fishing on Sunday at Mantua Reservoir. A couple dozen fishermen braved the frigid conditions on the reservoir. Some stayed in shelters with heaters while others were content to sit out on the ice. (Jim Urquhart | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Mantua - A tiny tent settlement appears to have sprouted in an open area located next to this small town of more than 700 residents in eastern Box Elder County. Whether the sight of a dozen or more small scattered shelters becomes slightly surreal, after understanding they are fishing huts scattered about 100 yards from shore on ice over Mantua Reservoir, depends on perspective.

Inside, warm and toasty, thanks to propane heaters, anglers satiate their need to fish by auguring through the ice, dropping a lure into a hole and waiting for the next bite.

"They hit harder, and they taste a lot better, too," said Nancy Meek of North Ogden, who, with her husband Danny, has been ice fishing for more than 12 years. "I love the serenity, the peacefulness. If I catch a fish, it's a bonus."

A few more fishers, like the Meeks, are content to sit in the open, braving temperatures in the mid-20s and an overcast sky that resembles a dirty gray sheet, their eyes glued to a battery-powered fish finder. The lure of ice fishing differs slightly for each individual. The common denominator?

"It's something to do in the winter that's fun," said Tex Couch of Willard. "I hate staying inside. If I stay inside all winter I get depressed."

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NOAA to Create Saltwater Angler Registry in 2010
Final rule gives states more time to implement local data gathering

NOAA’s Fisheries Service released its final rule today to create a national saltwater angler registry of all marine recreational fishermen to help the nation better protect our shared marine resources. A requirement to establish a registry was included in a statute approved by Congress in 2007.

“Better national surveys of the more than 15 million saltwater anglers will help us demonstrate the important contributions of recreational anglers to both local economies and to the nation’s,” said Jim Balsiger, NOAA acting assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. "The registry will help us gather comprehensive data to ensure sustainable fisheries built on the best available science."

The improved quality of recreational fishing data achieved through a national saltwater angler registry will help demonstrate the economic value of saltwater recreational fishing, and will provide a more complete picture of how recreational fishing is affecting fish stocks. This kind of information is essential to NOAA’s goal to end overfishing as required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. All recreational anglers who fish in federal waters will be required to participate, with some exemptions for those already registered in their states.

The registry is the product of a major recommendation to NOAA in a 2006 independent scientific review by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. The NRC found that NOAA needed a comprehensive list of everyone who fishes recreationally in marine waters to improve surveys of saltwater anglers used to help manage and rebuild fish stocks. The NRC recommendation became law in 2007 with the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary federal law that enables NOAA to manage ocean fish stocks.

The final rule requires anglers and spearfishers who fish recreationally in federal ocean waters to be included in the national saltwater angler registry by Jan. 1, 2010.

Beginning January 2009, NOAA will exempt anglers from the federal registration rule if they are licensed in states that have a system to provide complete information on their saltwater anglers to the national registry.

“NOAA wants to work closely with the states and anglers to better capture the contributions and effects of sportfishing,” said Balsiger. “We expect that this additional year will allow a number of states to put in place systems to register their anglers annually and provide this information to NOAA.”

NOAA had originally proposed that registration be required beginning Jan. 1, 2009, but based on public input decided to give states another year to put in place their own data collection systems.

If anglers are not licensed or registered by a state that has been exempted and want to fish in federal waters, they will be required to register with NOAA. They must also register if they fish in tidal waters for migratory fish such as striped bass and salmon that spawn in rivers and spend their adult lives in estuaries and oceans. However, those who fish recreationally for these migratory species inland of tidal waters need not register, according to the final rule.

Federal saltwater angler registrations will include an angler’s name, date of birth, address, telephone number, and the regions where they intend to fish. This information will be used by NOAA to conduct surveys on fishing effort and amounts of fish caught. Once anglers have registered, they may fish anywhere in U.S. federal waters, or in tidal waters for anadromous species, regardless of the region or regions they specified in their registration. The registration will be valid for one year from its date of issue. Anglers must comply with applicable state licensing requirements when fishing in state waters.

Saltwater anglers will be able to register online or by calling a toll-free telephone number that will be publicized, and will receive a registration certificate. Anglers will need to carry this certificate (or their state license from an exempt state) and produce it to an authorized enforcement officer if requested. No fee will be charged in 2010. An estimated fee of $15 to $25 per angler will be charged starting in 2011.

Anglers who fish only on licensed party, charter, or guide boats would not be required to register with NOAA since these vessels are surveyed separately from angler surveys. Those who hold angler permits to fish for highly migratory species, such as tunas or swordfish, and those fishing under commercial fishing licenses will also be exempt. Anglers registered or permitted to fish in a formal state or federal subsistence fishery will also be exempt, as will anglers under 16.

NOAA received nearly 500 comments from anglers, state officials, and fishing and environmental organizations on its proposed national registry rule during the comment period from June 12 until Aug. 21. The registry is one component of the agency's new Marine Recreational Information Program, an initiative to enhance data collection on recreational catch and effort.

To read the final registry rule and other information about the Marine Recreational Information Program, go to: http://www.countmyfish.noaa.gov

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov.

Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration?
By Bob Wattendorf, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

The Federal Aid in Sportfish Restoration (SFR) program is one federal program that really lives up to its name. For more than half a century, it has been one of the best “user-pays, user-benefits” initiatives anywhere. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has received more than $11 million each year from these matching funds to sustain and enhance public fishing opportunities that return a $7.5 billion economic benefit to the state each year and provide 46 million days of recreational enjoyment.

Purchasing fishing tackle and fueling motor boats contributes to Sport Fish Restoration that ensure safe and sustainable recreational fishing and boating in Florida

In 1950, Congressmen Dingell and Johnson created the original program in response to a request from the fishing industry and angling public. Under this program, fishing tackle is assessed an excise fee at the manufacturers' level, and resulting funds are allocated to state game and fish agencies. The original Dingell-Johnson Act was expanded in 1984 through the Wallop-Breaux Amendment to include import duties on sport fishing equipment, pleasure boats and yachts, as well as tax revenue from motorboat fuel sales. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determines how much of these taxes are returned to Florida based on the size of the state and the number of paid fishing license holders. Since we do not charge saltwater fishing license fees to resident shoreline anglers, nor require any youth under 16, or resident adult over 65 to purchase a freshwater or saltwater license, and many states do, we recover a somewhat smaller proportion of the funds than some other states.

SFR generated $13.3 million dollars for Florida in 2008, of which 15 percent ($2 million) provided for both fresh and saltwater boating access, including building and maintaining boat ramps, courtesy docks and trailer parking. Of the remaining $11.3 million, freshwater fisheries conservation received $5.3 million (based on the estimated number of resident freshwater anglers versus saltwater anglers), and saltwater attained $6 million.
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For additional information go to: MyFWC.com/Fishing/ and click on the Sport Fish Restoration link.