Field Notes

From Wisconsin’s The Janesville Gazette:

Milton-Area hunters reacted loudly Monday night to the prospect that the [Wisconsin] Department of Natural Resources may bring back earn-a-buck regulations in an effort to curb the spread of chronic wasting disease. . . .

Said another: "You're not going to eliminate (chronic wasting disease) no matter how hard you work at it. Just let us go out and hunt. CWD is basically getting shoved down our throats in some areas."

Do you think earn-a-buck regulation are a good way to curb CWD? Would want such regs in your area?

It’s bad enough that Utah fisheries officials recently discovered the whirling disease parasite in brown, cutthroat, rainbow, and brook trout, as well as whitefish, in the Duchesne River in Duchesne County. What’s potentially worse is that, through a series water diversions, the trout disease could be spread to the state's most popular fishery: Strawberry Reservoir. Here are the details from The Salt Lake Tribune, including what anglers can do to help.

Esopus Creek, one of New York’s renowned Catskill-region trout streams, was once loaded with big wild rainbows and often lined with eager anglers. The numbers of both has declined in recent years, largely due to silt added to the fishery via the New York City water-supply chain. Last Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from NYC in a lawsuit brought by sportsmen and environmentalists, and the city must now pay $5.2 million in fines for violations of the Clean Water Act. Whether this decision will actually stop the discharge of muddy water into Esopus Creek is still up in the air, but it is at least a partial victory for Catskill anglers and may well have much larger implications, as water agencies from across the United States that sided with the city may find that their own practices are likewise subject to the federal law. Read the full story here.

From Minnesota’s Pioneer Press:

A federal judge sentenced country music star Troy Gentry on Friday to three months of probation and a $15,000 fine for killing a captive black bear named Cubby in a fenced enclosure near Sandstone and then trying to pass the bear off as a wild animal shot during an authentic bow hunt.

Gentry had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in November as part of a deal with federal prosecutors. Gentry agreed to forfeit his ill-gotten bear and the bow he used during the hunt. The 600-pound bear is immortalized in a taxidermy display at Gentry's Tennessee home. Gentry also agreed to give up his Minnesota hunting privileges for five years.

What’s your take? Is Gentry any different from other poachers? Is his punishment fair?

Last month, we asked for your comments on a story reporting that Idaho had adopted new rules to ban in-line muzzleloaders during primitive-weapons seasons. Many of you disapproved of the change. You were hardly alone.

From the Casper Star Tribune:

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission may revisit its decision to ban the use of in-line muzzleloader rifles in some hunting seasons, after commissioners have been deluged with letters and phone calls from angry hunters.

I admit I wasn’t looking for beavers during the 2 years I spent in the Big Apple working in the F&S editorial office. Just the same, I never saw one and hardly expected to. After all, the toothy rodents that appear on the city’s official seal had not been spied in the actual city by anyone in 200 years. That is, until a biologist videotaped one swimming up the Bronx River last Wednesday. Check out the full story and watch the video here.

In a column leading up to this year’s Classic on Alabama’s Lay Lake, Mike Bolton of the Birmingham News wrote that he liked the chances of the “local” boys in the contest. This was a fairly bold prediction, given that no home-state angler has ever won the event in its entire 37-year history. But Boyd Duckett broke the curse and proved Bolton right. Here’s the latter’s report:

Rookie Classic angler Boyd Duckett of Demopolis broke the curse to become the first angler to win a Bassmaster Classic in his home state. With confetti falling and "Sweet Home Alabama" blaring over the loudspeakers this afternoon, Duckett lifted the Bassmaster Classic trophy over his head before a delirious crowd of about 15,000 in the BJCC Arena. Duckett's win on Lay Lake marked the first time an Alabama angler has won the Classic since Phenix City's Jack Chancellor 22 years ago. California's Skeet Reese finished second and two-time Classic winner Kevin VanDam finished third. Duckett had a three-day catch of 48 pounds, 10 ounces and beat Reese by just six ounces.

For more coverage see:
“Alabama Angler Wins Bassmaster Classic”
“Sweet Home Alabama”
“Boy, Oh Boyd!”

From an Associated Press Story on Idaho’s LocalNews8.com:

The Idaho state Senate voted 24-to-nine Friday to approve an industry-backed plan to regulate Idaho elk ranches.

Montana and Wyoming have outlawed such shooter-bull hunting preserves.

What do you think?

In their infinite wisdom, television producers have long known that what the viewing public really wants to know is what happens when a Pennsylvania family that bottles doe pee for hunters meets an Ohio family that throws princess parties in their hair salon. Curious? Of course you are. So first check out this story from PA’s The Sentinel, then look for an upcoming episode of “Wife Swap.”

From The Birmingham News
A huge rally by two-time Bassmaster Classic winner Kevin VanDam on Saturday put him atop a 10-man logjam for today's final round of the world championship of bass fishing on Lay Lake.
Weather permitting, the 25 remaining anglers were to leave at 7 this morning with VanDam leading 10th-place angler Randy Howell of Springville by just 51⁄2 pounds.
If Van Dam holds on he would become only the second angler to win more than two Classics.
VanDam busted the scales with a 19-pound-plus catch to jump from 19th to first Saturday. Also improving was California's Skeet Reese, who moved from third to second and Florida's Terry Scroggins moved from fifth to third.

Here's ESPN's Unofficial Bassmaster Classic Top Five as of 8:57 AM CST on Day Three (Today):
1. Kevin VanDam 42-3
2. Boyd Duckett 41-5
3. Terry McWilliams 38-9
4. Dean Rojas 35-6
5. Mike Iaconelli 34-9