Sports

Go ahead, make Mom’s day!

By Dick Nelson


Hudson-Catskill Newspapers

Forget the flowers, candy or anything else you thought about getting Mom for Mother’s Day. The best gift you could give her this year would be a rod and reel so she could go fishing. And not just for any fish. You want to take her out on the Hudson River where those big striped bass have been swimming for the past few weeks.

Historically, Mother’s Day Weekend has been the time when the striped bass fishery explodes. In fact, from the day New York added the inland striped bass to its book of record fish, the record was either established or broken on May 9t, 10, or 11. So, whether you want to call it a coincidence or habitude, the action for these fish is on par to reach the phenomenal stage.

Right now, striped bass up to 40 pounds are taking a varied menu of everything from live and cut herring and eels to trolled artificial lures such as a Rapala DJ-30 and big spoons along the entire stretch of the river, with most of the action still centered around Newburgh and points south.

That, of course, means that huge schools of these fish have yet to arrive, and with herring becoming more numerous this could be the time when things break loose.

While speaking of herring, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Marine Fisheries Division recently announced that commercial fishermen will not be allowed to land Atlantic herring taken from Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Management Area 1A (located in the western half of the Gulf of Maine) through the end of May.

That closure will be followed by a period of restricted days, when, beginning June 1, commercial fishermen will be prohibited from landing Atlantic herring on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

This restriction will remain in effect until Dec. 31.

The closure is in accordance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Atlantic Herring Management Plan. One of the provisions of the plan addresses the need to control “effort” (fishing days) in the fishery to prevent commercial fishermen from exceeding the total allowable catch for each management area and to prevent management areas from having to be closed early.

“Management Area 1A is of particular concern because in recent years the total allowable catch has been harvested before peak market demands abate in the autumn,” said Doug Grout, Acting Chief of Fish and Game’s Marine Fisheries Division. “This year the total allowable catch was reduced by another 5,000 metric tons, so additional harvest restrictions were needed to prevent the quota from being harvested before the fall.”

An exception to the rule is that any vessel may land herring taken as an incidental catch in ASMFC Management Area 1A, up to a maximum of 2,000 pounds.

I mention this, because New York is looking to impose similar restrictions, if not in 2009, then in 2010 for sure.

In the meantime, Greene County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs fish committee chairman Walt Bennett is trying to arrange for someone from the DEC Hudson River Fisheries Unit (HRFU) to hold an informational meeting in Greene County to explain the reasoning behind the “catch-and-release” regulations for American shad.

“I don’t know why recreational fishermen can’t keep a couple of fish, and I distinctly remember Doug Stang, (the DEC’s former Fisheries Chief) telling you up at the New York State Conservation Council meeting in Albany (last March) that they could have easily allowed recreational anglers to keep a few fish without it having any impact on the population,” Bennett said.

“Andy Kahnle (HRFU aquatic biologist) said he would come up for a meeting, all we had to do was set it up, and that’s what I’m going to do,” Bennett said.

In any event, the comment period on the shad regulation ends Saturday. Comments can be sent via e-mail to r3hrf@gw.dec.state.ny.us , or by snail mail to Kathy Hattala, NYSDEC-Hudson River Fisheries Unit, 21 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, NY 12561.

Meanwhile, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently announced changes in recreational fishing regulations for summer flounder — also known as fluke — and scup, also known as porgy. The new emergency regulations are effective immediately and include new size limits and other management measures to help achieve harvest reductions that are required by federal authorities to protect New York’s fisheries.

The new size limit for fluke is 20.5 inches with four in possession, and 11 inches for porgy, with various creel limits depending on the time of the year.

At any rate, public comments on the proposed rule making may be sent to DEC by July 7 for consideration. Comments should be submitted to fwmarine@gw.dec.state.ny.us, or by mail to: Fishing Regulations, DEC Marine Resources, 205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1, East Setauket, NY 11733-3400.

News and Notes: The DEC will conduct two free “Beginners Guide to Freshwater Fishing” clinics at the Wal-Mart Super Center Store in Catskill today — the first from 10 to 11:30 a.m., the second from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

Open to youngster’s ages 10-17 the 1 1/2 hour sessions are limited to 25 students, and each participant must have a ticket to attend. (Tickets are available at the sporting goods counter). Seminar topics include: rods, reels, casting, baits, what fish eat, where to locate them and other useful information, all of which is illustrated in the free 72-page “Getting Started” fishing booklet each participating child will receive. Each participant will also receive a significant free gift, courtesy of Maurice Fishing Supplies.


Last Wednesday, a $300 billion compromise Farm Bill passed through the House-Senate compromise process. But its fate is still in the air as Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer has reiterated a threat by the Bush administration to veto the bill that nearly everyone agrees is “still pork filled”.

As written, the measure increases food stamp and domestic food assistance by more than $10 billion and includes a new program to provide fresh fruit and vegetables to school children; expands some subsidies, extends dairy programs and hikes loan rates for sugar producers. The measure calls on the government to buy surplus sugar, then sell it to ethanol producers to be used in a mixture with corn. There are some limited cuts to direct payments, a few additional dollars added for conservation programs designed to protect farmland, and a trimming of the per-gallon ethanol tax credit that supports blending fuel with the corn-based additive in favor of more money for cellulosic ethanol. In the outdoors, reactions are mixed.

Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska says, flatly, it’s a “bad bill”. Conservation groups have expressed their pleasure with the revival of the Wetlands Reserve Program, but disappointed to see the Conservation Reserve Program acreage reduced. On the bright side, both the Wetlands Reserve and Grasslands Reserve Programs are being revived, although authorized at levels below what they were in the 2002 Farm Bill. There was also a two-year extension to incentives to conservation easements on private lands. These conservation easements have proven invaluable in convincing private landowners to protect their lands for the benefit of wildlife, water quality and other benefits to society.

Dropping anchor ’til next time.

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