The Newshound, J.R. Absher, covers the story of a father and son out for a day of fishing, get attacked by a robber and the father wards off the robber with his fishing pole.

Tom Remington

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The future of the East’s premier native trout is looking up, thanks to a coalition of state and federal agencies, academic institutions and conservation organizations.

The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture today released a first-of-its-kind conservation strategy to restore healthy, fishable populations of eastern brook trout throughout their eastern native range. The Conservation Strategy is based on the status and threats information contained in the Joint Venture’s initial report, which was issued in May 2006.

The 2006 report found that only 5% of historical brook trout habitat remains intact. Populations have been eliminated or greatly reduced in almost half of the areas that historically supported brook trout. Poor land management practices are responsible for the majority of this decline.

“Once the partnership recognized the threats facing brook trout within its historic eastern range, we developed regional and range-wide strategies to take swift and deliberate steps to conserve strong populations and restore weaker ones,” said Steve Perry, Inland Fisheries Division Chief for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and Chair of the Joint Venture. “We created a model for fish conservation – a large-scale, habitat-focused conservation strategy for a species at risk. This strategy provides us with a roadmap to significantly improve brook trout populations by 2025.”

The report contains a set of aggressive range-wide and regional targets, including protection of highest quality habitat, improvement of 30% of damaged brook trout watersheds, and reintroduction of brook trout to 10% of those watersheds where they have disappeared. Using the 2006 status and threats data as a baseline, the Joint Venture will evaluate progress toward these targets at five year intervals.

In conjunction with the range-wide strategy released today, each of the Joint Venture states is developing a specialized plan based on that state’s existing brook trout populations and dominant threats. Through these plans, the states will prioritize protection and restoration efforts to meet the collective targets outlined above. Projects will address priority needs in each state, ranging from restoring streamside habitat in Georgia to cleaning up pollution from abandoned coal mines in Pennsylvania, to fixing road culverts to improve brook trout passage in Maine.

“The significance of these state efforts really can’t be overstated,” said Gary Berti, Eastern Brook Trout Campaign Coordinator for Trout Unlimited and the Joint Venture’s Communications Chair. “They are the ones who will do the hard work to make this range-wide plan a reality. And they will need support from conservation groups, watershed associations, landowners, businesses, educators, citizens and policy-makers at all levels to accomplish the ambitious goals laid out in this strategy.”

The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture partnership began in 2004 as a pilot project under the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. Active partners include fish and wildlife agencies from 17 states, federal agencies, conservation organizations and academic institutions. The Joint Venture is seeking additional partners and support to assist in the protection and restoration of brook trout habitat.

Brook trout are the only trout native to the streams and rivers of the eastern United States. Once prolific throughout their historical range, brook trout populations have declined as land use changes have altered their habitat. These fish survive in only the coldest and cleanest water, and they serve as excellent indicators of the health of the watersheds they inhabit.

For more information on the range-wide eastern brook trout conservation strategy and state-specific plans, please visit http://www.easternbrooktrout.net.

This press release was sent to me by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.

Tom Remington

As America continues on its path toward socialism, North Carolina has voted in a plan that will allow residents of that state who are on food stamps, Medicaid or participate in Work First Family Assistance, to get a free fishing license.

But only North Carolina residents who receive food stamps, Medicaid or participate in Work First Family Assistance are eligible for the waiver. Any family member who benefits from the resident receiving those services also can receive a waiver.

“They have to be receiving one of the three,” said Dureatta Gibson, Nash County income maintenance program administrator. “If they are not receiving one of the three, we can’t help them.”

The waiver lasts one year, she said. If the person issued the waiver stops participating in one of the county assistance programs, his or her waiver will last through the end of that year, she said.

The waiver also does not cover trout fishing.

It doesn’t cover trout fishing????? That’s discrimination!

It may not end with fishing licenses. There’s some talk going around that says it may carry over to hunting as well.

Tom Remington

The Outer Banks of North Carolina is a spectacular place to visit, vacation and do some fishing. My good friend Rod Davis treks from his home in West Virginia there at least once a year and has fallen in love.

Below are a couple of pictures he sent me recently. The first one is from a friend of his who also loves fishing the Outer Banks. Her name is Carol Wallis from Avon, N.C. She shows off a drum or redfish she caught. Rod points out to me to notice how crowed the beach is. That’s why he loves to go there.

The second picture is what Rod says the drum look like in the fall.

Thanks Rod,

Tom Remington

Carol with friends on a recent outing to the Outer Banks, catches this drum, by accident?

Tom Remington

A group of scientists are now saying what killed millions of fish in waters in North Carolina back in the 1990s, was caused by a common aquatic mold not pfiesteria (cell from hell) as was claimed by earlier research.

You can read all about the study here.

Tom Remington

The National Park Service announced that beginning April 15, 2006, the Great Smokey Mountain National Park will open to the legal taking of brook trout for the first time in 30 years.

Poor logging practices nearly destroyed the brook trout population years ago before the park was formed. Officials were able to restore brown trout and rainbow trout populations and fishing for those species has been allowed but it has taken that much longer to bring back the brook trout. Scientists didn’t think all three species could exist together. Brook trout restoration has occured in nearly all of the 700 miles of streams in the park.

Tom Remington

Over the weekend about a 1,000 to 1,500 fish, mostly flounder, spot and pin fish beached themselves on the shore of North Carolina. This occured at the Marine Corps New River air base.

They were there and then they weren’t. Officials say when they arrived at the scene, they were pretty much able to just walk up and touch the fish but later in the day they all disappeared.

Officials think what happened may be what’s called a “jubilee”, named from an event that happens quite regularly in Mobile Bay in Alabama. What happens is not exactly clear but when all the right conditions are in place, the oxygen levels in the water drop very low. When this happens, the fish head for the beach. Residents run down and get their fill of fish. It has become kind of an old hat for them there but not in North Carolina.

Officials tested the water when they first arrived on the scene and they too found the oxygen levels very low. Shortly after, the levels were very high and it wasn’t long before the fish all left.

I think Murdoch over at Fly Fishing Magazine lives not that far from there. I wonder if he was out testing another one of his new fish baits?

Tom Remington