NC Salt Water Fishing License Reminder

A recent article posted on the MyrtleBeachOnline.com site reminds North Carolina salt water anglers over the age of 16 of the requirement for a Coastal Recreational Fishing License. Violations will be subject to a $35 fine with $120 in court costs.

For more information on the requirement follow this link to the Division of Marine Fisheries website.

Want to see where the money is going? Check out this PDF file.

Heave to and prepare to be boarded...

According to this article in the Windsor Star the United States Department of Homeland Security is denying rumors it is planning a stepped up campaign to interdict fishing boats on the Great Lakes.

Chief Ron Smith, spokesman for the Detroit Homeland Security office, said Tuesday that there has been misinformation circulating that U.S. authorities will launch a special campaign when the fishing season begins this month to stop all U.S. boats re-entering the U.S. from the Canadian side, sending them for inspection.

Don't get them wrong though you still should play by the extensive rules if you don't want a customs inspection:

He acknowledged that U.S. citizens fishing in Canadian waters will be expected to carry a passport or two other valid pieces of identification, according to laws governing all cross border travel. But only those craft that anchor in Canadian waters, dock on the Canadian side or hover alongside a second vessel in Canadian waters will be expected to pass through U.S. customs and immigration upon re-entry.

Read more comment about the regulations and why some charter Captains are saying it could hurt their business via the Crazy Fisherman's blog.

Photo via USCG.mil

2008 Changes to NC Fishing Rules

BlueridgeNow.com has published a good breakdown of the latest North Carolina fishing regulation changes.

Anglers will have to wait another hour before kicking off the opening day on Hatchery Supported trout waters. Commissioners changed the time that trout fishing may begin on these stretches from 6 to 7 a.m. on the first Saturday in April.

In another rule change, kids will get the first cast when catch-and-keep season begins on Delayed Harvest waters like the North Mills, Little River and East Fork of the French Broad. Only youths under 16 years old can fish from 6 to 11:59 a.m. on the first Saturday in June on Delayed Harvest Waters.

That’s the day the waters convert to Hatchery Supported rules.

Finally, some anglers might have to put away the PowerBait.

NCWRC Defines Artificial Lures

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has approved changes to fishing regulations that will in effect prohibit the use of scented "power" type baits on Delayed Harvest streams which are limited it fishing with artificial lures only.

Wildlife Commissioners also approved a fishing regulation, applying to public mountain trout waters, that defines natural bait as any living or dead organism or prepared substance designed to attract fish by taste or smell, while artificial lures are defined as bait that neither contains nor has been treated with any substance that attracts fish by the sense of taste or smell.

”This rule clarifies what kinds of lures are allowable when trout fishing on waters that require anglers to only use artificial lures,” Curry said. “With new attractant lures coming on the market every year and no definition of what comprised natural bait and artificial lures in the NC Statutes or regulation digest, anglers have had a lot of questions.

Stay tuned for more information on the regulation changes.

Art: Duane Raver Reds

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries has commissioned this print by Carolina artist Duane Raver to commemorate the launch of the state's first Coastal Recreational Fishing License. The prints which feature the North Carolina State Saltwater Fish, the Red Drum, can be purchased for as little as $50 up to $180 for an artist's Remarque.

About the artist:

Duane Raver Jr. grew up in central Iowa where he came to love the outdoors and wildlife. Raver soon found that he enjoyed drawing and painting, and many of the notes and sketches he uses today date from his early work in the 1940s.

He earned a degree in Fishery Management from Iowa State University in 1949, and was employed as a fishery biologist by the N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission in 1950. Artwork remained an important part of his life, and he contributed many illustrations to the monthly publication, Wildlife in North Carolina – including more than 200 cover illustrations. Raver joined the staff of the magazine in 1960, eventually serving as editor, before retiring in 1979.

He continues to do wildlife artwork at his home in Garner, N.C.

Like Traffic School for Poachers...

A coworker who recently visited Florida gave us a heads up about this story. Scofflaw drivers are often required to attend traffic school to shave a few points off the old license. In one Florida National Park the same is now true for anglers who violate fishing rules.

Sport fishermen who violate regulations in Biscayne National Park will find themselves back in school, starting in August.

A sharp reduction in marine fauna and a major increase in violations by sport fisherman prompted officials to include the classes as part of a broader plan to prevent the extinction of the park's fish population, said Richard Curry, the park's coordinator for scientific research."To do that, we want to educate fishermen in terms of how their activities affect the environment," he said

First time offenders will have the option of taking classes at the park in lieu of fines.