March 17, 2011 Redfish, Stripers and Speckled Trout

Sick of seeing occurrences like this or this?  NC House Bill 353 to the rescue.  This legislation, currently making its way through the North Carolina House of Representatives, would limit the method of catch to only hook-and-line only for Striped Bass, Spotted Trout and Red Drum.  It also allows for financial reimbursement for commercial fishermen to help with expenses related to retrofitting their vessels and to cover loss of income related to the cessation of catching these species. 
To view the bill (PDF) click here.
Check out the Coastal Conservation (Cape Fear) page and NC Camo's page for information on how you can help.

March 15, 2011 A couple shows

Here are a couple outdoor shows coming up in the Tarheel state.  If I was there I'd be doing my best to check out one, if not both, of them!
The Outdoorsman's Bonzana in Albemarle, NC
The Cape Fear Wildlife Expo in Wilmington, NC
(Click on the links above for details.)

March 12, 2011 Camouflage

Camouflaged trout stacked like cordwood near Brevard, NC. 

If you ask me my favorite color I'd have to say either hunter orange or camouflage. There's a ton of good camo out there these days.  Mossy Oak, Realtree, Predator, ASAT, Skyline,  Optifade and others make some really good stuff.
When we moved overseas I gave away must of my hunting clothes, so when we get back I'll be shopping for new stuff.  It's gonna be a tough decision but right now I'm leaning towards God's Country and Natural Gear.

March 8, 2011 Wishful thinking!

On a recent trip our family visited a local marina and I spent the better part of an hour walking the docks, looking at the ships, dreaming of being on the water.  There's something special about seeing boats moored. 

When I was growing up my family always vacationed along the coast of North Carolina, particularly  the area around Emerald Isle.  We always ate fried flounder and hushpuppies from Frost and we always went to the docks in Morehead City at the end of the day and watched captains, their crews and their clients returning from a day on the water.  For a young boy, already deeply infected with a lust for anything outdoors, the sights and smells on those docks was downright captivating.  Grown men, scorched by the sun, whiskered, sweaty and either exuberant or dejected depending upon their success that day.  And then there was their haul.  Wahoo, tuna, snapper, trout, sharks, dolphin, grouper, spanish mackerel, sailfish, marlin, etc. were strewn across the pier.  Huge, silvery-blue, beautiful giants stacked in rows waiting to be cleaned by the mate, razor-sharp fillet knives, sticky with blood, gleaming in the setting sun.  Gulls crying, swooping lower and lower, jockeying for fish scraps.  Onlookers oohing and aahing at this wonderful spectacle.  Last but not least were the boats.  Chrome and teak and fiberglass with all sorts of neat equipment like anchors and electronics and fishing gear.  Things of art.  It was almost too much for a boy to take in. 

When we get back to the states Emerald Isle, Morehead City and Beaufort will be among of our first stops and you can rest assured we'll eat fried flounder and check out the docks at night.  My kids are gonna love it!

March 4, 2011 Swimming Gobblers?

I like being outdoors and I really like hunting but I LOVE turkey hunting.  If I had to give up all but one outdoor pursuit chasing spring gobblers would definitely be one of the finalists.  There's just something spectacular about the critter Benjamin Franklin wanted to be the national bird of the United States.
One question I've always wondered about turkeys is whether or not they can swim.  So when I saw the article below on the NWTF site my interested was peaked. 

Can turkeys swim? Turkeys and wetlands

So you don’t normally hear the words “turkey” and “wetlands” used together.  Usually when you hear wetlands you think duck hunting or fishing…normally I do too, but in this case I think turkeys!
Spending a majority of this week working with other partners on the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Georgia Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP).  This is an easement program that aims to restore, enhance, and protect wetlands AND their associated uplands (aka turkey habitat).  This is done by limiting the amount of developement on the property, restoring any degraded or damaged wetlands and improving upland habitat.
There is a lot of competition for this program, so a ranking system has been developed to determine which sites are eligible and are good candidates for the program.  In GA the NWTF is a part of the ranking team that makes the decision on what properties will be considered for this program.  The team includes engineers, biologists, soil scientists and wetlands specialists from several agencies including:  US Fish and Wildlife Service, GA Department of Natural Resources, NRCS, and US Army Corps of Engineers.
We not only saw some awesome wetlands along the Ohoopee and Canoochee Rivers, but really unique longleaf sandhills habitat that is home to several endangered species. AND of course TURKEYS!  Saw lots of scratching and some feathers.  So not only is the NWTF helping protect wetlands, where turkeys frequently like to roost, but also the uplands where they feed and nest.  Another example of how turkey conservation comes from some unlikely places and partnerships.
And yes I think there is a picture out there somewhere of a turkey swimming…..

 By the way, here's a link to some of those swimming turkey pictures.