Moose Droppings

Imagine you’re a game warden and you have caught a group of individuals violating the game laws. You can write them a ticket and let them go except none of them have a valid ID. Well this is the situation that Jeff Brown a NC Game Warden faced and he took all of them into custody. The reporter for the Indy, a local free far left leaning paper believes the color of these men’s skin is why they were arrested. HELLO they were stealing from all of us by fishing without a license plus he has no way to properly identify them.

Brown asked to see each of their fishing licenses, but no one had one. He then asked for their identification. Among them, all they had were two El Salvadorian ID cards and an expired California driver’s license. He arrested the five men—Antonio Ordaz, Jose Ernesto, Javier Jimenez, Edwin Marquez and Juan Aria—who, because they were fishing at the wrong hole at the wrong time, are in custody at the Immigration and Custom Enforcement holding facility in Alamance County Jail, waiting to be deported to their home countries.
The men could have merely been cited, but Brown chose to arrest them.
“We’re certified state law enforcement officers, and it’s up to an officer’s discretion whether to arrest someone,” Brown told the Indy. “If a person has no I.D. on them, and you feel that they may not appear in court on you, or that they may not pay the ticket off … yeah, we do arrest them.”

On top of that they are criminals because they are here illegally. I do not understand why anyone would expect a law officer, any law officer, to over look whether someone is here legally or not? If you come here illegally why would you respect any of other laws as well including fish & game laws? They are not facing deportation just because they fished in the wrong spot they are facing deportation because they are here illegally.

Of course the INDY must of uncovered ample evidence to prove that Game Wardens are purposely targeting brown skin individuals in the hopes of getting them deported. A pretty serious accusation they have seemed to lay out here but no real evidence to support it.

Within the last two years, N.C. Wildlife officers have checked the licenses of 110,000 anglers. Of those, about 5,000 of them were issued citations. How many of those citations resulted in arrest, the agency couldn’t say.

That translates into less then 5% of those checked getting a ticket and if you have a valid ID I’m sure you are cited and let go. I don’t fish much so I’ve haven’t been checked in a while but hunting I’ve been checked a number of times. The numbers just don’t support a conspiracy to target brown skinned people like the article alleges.

I think the INDY owes an apology to Officer Brown for even suggesting that he was prejudicial in checking these men and enforcing the law. Myself I think Officer Brown should get a big Thank You from the citizens of this state because he got five criminals off the street as well as protecting our natural resources.

The military is looking to increase the size of the bombing range in the Pamlico Sound putting off limits some prime fishing and hunting areas raising the ire of many of the sportsmen in the state.

Joe Albea co host of Carolina Outdoor Journal as well as one of the strong advocates in the OLF fight sent out the following about this issue;

The US Military is currently working on plans to expand two of their bombing ranges (BT-9) and (BT-11) located in the Pamlico Sound. This expansion continues the trend by the military to gobble up as much (land & water) of the N.C. coastal plain as they can. They are doing this under an EA (environmental assessment) which will move the process quicker than an EIS (environmental impact study) and with less public input. All of this started in 2000 with the OLF(outlying landing field) and MOA (military operational area) expansion…… which were stopped.

This bombing range expansion needs to be stopped as well. The military currently owns thousands of acres of quality fishing and hunting areas that are closed to public access. Unknown damage to the environment is occurring due to live fire operations that are not being monitored by the state ( military will not allow access).

The Pamlico Sound is one of the largest estuarine nurseries in the United States and is important not only to fish populations in this state but the entire east coast and gulf coast. This expansion will not only adversely affect fish populations but also control your access to these areas.

Joe Albea
Greenville

The Camo Coalition has also sent out an alert about this issue;

Cherry Point Marine Air Station is trying to expand the Bombing Ranges in Pamlico Sound, which will result in further loss of high quality fishing, boating, and hunting grounds to North Carolina sportsmen as these areas are placed off-limits. The Navy has released an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the new range areas. An EA is a shortcut for an full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which looks in depth into alternatives and impacts. The impact of closing these substantial new areas in the Sound will be great and can not be adequately presented in an EA. We need to have a full EIS on this important proposal from the Navy before they go any further.
Expansion of the Range at Bryant Shoals will place many thousands of additional prime fishing grounds off-limits and will force boaters to detour widely into more treacherous waters in storms. The Range at Point of Marsh in Rattan Bay will exclude fishermen from the best shoreline fishing ground in the State and will add one and one-half miles to the existing four mile circle closed to entry for any reason. No compelling military reason has been given for this expansion. The current target zones have served the military well over the years and expansion cannot be justified given the information presented.
All North Carolina Watermen, Fishermen, Boaters, and others who want to preserve this area for public use need to oppose this usurption of the public domain for unsubstantiated purposes. The Navy is not providing a place for e-mail submissions of public comments for some reason, so we will have to send a written response. We will provide a suggested response under the “Take Action” link that you can edit, print, and send by postal service to the person and address that will be given. We will send a copy of your response to your Congressional Delegation by e-mail so they will know that this incursion by the Navy will be as controversial as OLF.

Although many of us are strong supporters of the military we’d like to see a bit more information and justification for taking this area over and putting it off limits. It would appear that there was an effort on the Navy’s part to sneak this one in under the radar which only increases our suspicions in light of the shenanigans that was pulled with the OLF deal. There is no email address available to voice your concerns so you’ll either have to snail mail it or fax it;
Susan Admire
Naval Facilities Engineering Command
6506 Hampton Boulevard
Norfolk, Va 23508
or fax to: (757) 322-4894.

Camo Coalition has a letter already typed out that you can fill in your information and print to send off the deadline is coming up quick, 17 July 2008. Please make your voice heard on this before we lose some prime costal area.

The annual free fishing day for North Carolina is tomorrow the 4th of July. Anyone can fish in fresh or saltwater without a license across the state.

From midnight until 11:59 p.m., on July 4, anyone — resident or non-resident — can fish in any public water, including mountain trout waters and coastal waters, in North Carolina without a fishing license.
So that anglers of all ages and skill levels have an excellent chance of catching fish, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission stocks a variety of fish in waters across the state, from trout in the mountains to striped bass and channel catfish in the Piedmont and coastal regions.
“The purpose of the free fishing day is to show people how much fun fishing can be,” said Kent Nelson, fisheries program manager for the Commission’s Division of Inland Fisheries. “It’s a great way to spend quality time with your kids outdoors and help them develop an interest in nature and conservation.”

NCWRC

So if you get a chance take the kids and enjoy a day out fishing.

Story & Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

What has become an annual fishing trip on the Risky Business took place this past weekend. As always Jamie and Andy did a great job to make our trip a good one. I’ll let the photos I shot tell the story;

Leaving Port

Who Took My Sandwich?

Steve hauling in a Nice Tile Fish

Brian Fighting One

Mike helping haul another nice tile aboard

Jamie Filming the Action

Taking a break

John Fighting an Amber Jack.

Brian’s Amber Jack

Jody Casting for some Amber Jacks

Unloading the Haul

We had a great day fishing catching our limit of Tile Fish and catching a few Amber Jacks. Hard to believe that even out in the ocean the smoke at times from the wildfire was thick.

If you’re looking for a fishing adventure contact the “Risky Business” out of Oregon Inlet you can’t go wrong they run 1/2 day and full day charters.

Story & Photos by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission reminds boaters to be safe on the waterways and to be prepared for emergencies.

“Before that first trip, take time to prepare,” Capt. Huebner said. “A few minutes beforehand inspecting equipment and getting ready could save many hours of distress and possible injury later. Wildlife officers will patrol the waterways across North Carolina to ensure safety, performing vessel inspections and watching for intoxicated and dangerous boaters.”

Capt. Chris Huebner, NCWRC Boating Safety Coordinator

The NCWRC offers some online resources for boaters like a safety checklist and vessel operators guide in addition to finding out about boating safety courses.
There are two on line classes’ available one exclusively for NC; Boat Ed and another online program that meets the requirements for many other states besides NC is Amboat. Both of these allow you to pay on line, take the class and also complete the test for a certification.

Additionally boaters are urged to follow these other recommendations;

Wildlife officers who patrol the state’s waterways also recommend:
• Wear a Life Vest: Everyone should, but children younger than 13 are required by law to wear a proper personal floatation device. In an emergency, wearing a life vest can be a lifesaver.
• Boat Safe, Boat Sober: Alcohol consumption can prove dangerous for operators and passengers. State law sets a .08 blood-alcohol level as intoxicated and illegal for operating boats and motor vehicles.
• Free Boating Education: Courses are offered at no charge across the state by the Wildlife Resources Commission. Completion also certifies anyone between the ages of 14 and 16 to operate a personal watercraft in North Carolina.
• Blue Light = No Wake: A vessel within 100 feet of a law enforcement vessel displaying flashing blue lights must slow to a no-wake speed. In narrow channels, the distance is 50 feet.

Enjoy the Water Safely

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Every Thursday the News and Observer runs an outdoor section which is pretty good. In a day when many papers have long abandon the outdoors as a place to make cuts the N&O continues to run it weekly. I highlight articles from them often but I rarely point out how good it is to have a newspaper that still writes about hunting and fishing. Many times they pick up outdoor stories from other parts of the country like they did today with a turkey hunting story out of the Miami Herald.
They also feature local stories as well like this weeks story about NC State students learning how to shock fish to study the health of a lake.

If you have a local newspaper that devotes any type of coverage to the outdoor sports you should be grateful and supportive. So a tip of the hat to the N&O for writing about the great outdoors every week.

Photo Courtesy of N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries

A non native shrimp, Tiger Shrimp, is starting to show up in North Carolina Costal waters. The Tiger Shrimp is native to the western Pacific Ocean but they are often used in aquaculture operations and may have escaped. Aquaculture operations in North Carolina do not use the tiger shrimp so it is probably migrated here from one of the operations in other Atlantic or Gulf coast states. North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is requesting that any one that catches a tiger shrimp to please report it to them.

MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is asking fishermen to be on the lookout for a non-native species of shrimp called the black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon).
This shrimp, native to the West Pacific, has been found in North Carolina waters and could pose a threat to the native shrimp species.
Fishermen reported capturing three of these shrimp last year, two in waters of the Pamlico Sound and one offshore from Bogue Banks.
During the past several years, black tiger shrimp have also been reported in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina waters.
It is believed that black tiger shrimp were introduced into the coastal waters of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico by escaping from aquaculture facilities.
No commercial shrimp farms in North Carolina grow black tiger shrimp, so it is unlikely they were released from aquaculture operations in this state.
The impact of these shrimp on native species is unknown. However, many problems can result from the introduction of non-natives, including new diseases and competition for food and habitat.
The black tiger shrimp has distinct dark and white stripes along its back. If a fisherman captures one, he should freeze it, record the date and location where he caught it and contact Trish Murphey at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries at (800) 682-2632 or Trish.Murphey@ncmail.net.

Unknown at this point what the impact of this specie will be and whether it will become another evasive specie impacting native species.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

A short Video to give you an idea of what is at stake.

This is a follow up to an earlier story I did about the court case that could potentially end the long standing practice of driving on the beach to access the area for recreational activities, the decision is in.
A decision that certainly seems to favor the special interests groups and seems to push sportsmen out. The beach access is supposed to be preserved for human recreational access and not to preserve habitat and species. Now I don’t think there is many sportsmen that would oppose sensible restrictions but to set up a distance equivalent to 11 football fields around a shore birds nest to me seems to excessive. At least my quick reading on the subject seems to suggest that is the distance that will be required.

It is also very concerning to me that little if any public input was sought and basically the special interest groups seemed to have the most voice. If I understand it right these are temporary rules while the National Park Service draws up the official rules. I have little faith in the National Park Service because access does not seem to be a high priority for them nor the desires of sportsmen.

Some Important Links to Check out; Tommy over at Carolina Region has an updated story and he has much more information and details about this story. So please check out his blog. The second link you should check out is SAVE HATTERAS & OCRACOKE ISLAND. Even if your not one who normally access the outerbanks please speak out and support your fellow sportsmen and an entire regions way of life.

A story that I’ll admit I have been neglectful in covering pits sportsmen against environmentalist on the use of Off Road Vehicles. Historically people have driven on the outer banks to access areas for fishing and recreational uses and in fact that is what the land was set aside for. In more recent years environmental groups under the guise of wanting to help or protect shore birds have filed lawsuits to stop the practice of operating ORV on Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Latter today in Raleigh a Judge is expected to weigh in on this issue so we’ll have to see which side wins out. For a more in depth story about this I invite you to check out Tommy’s blog entry on Carolina Region.

Spring must be here with trout season opening soon April 5th to be exact. With the threat of the drought continuing through the foreseeable future North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission has adjusted the stocking schedule by shorting it to address this issue.

The Commission plans to stock more than 791,500 catchable-sized trout in streams designated as Hatchery-Supported and Delayed-Harvest Trout Waters. The ratio of stocked fish for most streams is 40 percent brook trout, 40 percent rainbow trout and 20 percent brown trout. Ninety-six percent of the stocked fish average 10 inches in length while the remaining fish exceed 14 inches in length.

Looking for a place to trout fish check out these online maps to find a place to go. North Carolina has some great fishing and spring in the mountains is just fabulous.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has released the details of the changes to the regulations for next year. There was 90 some odd proposed changes and almost all of them passed.

Wildlife Commissioners disapproved three proposed hunting regulations: 1) moving Cleveland and Rutherford counties into the Northwestern deer season; 2) allowing falconry on Sundays and; 3) reducing the buck bag limit in the Eastern Deer Season from four to two.

In addition to these 3 items the proposal to extend the squirrel season to the end of February was not considered because of a “technical issue”.

Fishing and trapping proposals for the most part went through with little change with the following exceptions.

Public input led to the modification of some proposed rules, such as a reduction in the number of jug hooks from 100 to 70 per boat and a consolidation of trapping seasons from one statewide season to two regional seasons.

The failure of the two buck limit would easier to except if the majority of sportsmen opposed it but such is not the case. On one hand it is difficult to accept the fact that a small minority of organized hunters can overcome the majority but then again maybe we should be encouraged that there is hope for our sport as a whole if we can get organized.

Outdoor legend and outdoor Pioneer Claude Hamilton Gresham Jr. better known as Grits has passed away at the age of 85. Most of us who have a love for the outdoors and the outdoor sports have probably read something Grits wrote, or watched one of his many outdoor programs. Grits resume reads like a Who’s Who of the outdoor industry; Gun’s and Ammo, Sports Afield, Peterson’s Hunting, The American Sportsman, Sports Afield Television, Bass Masters, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Guns, Gun World, The American Rifleman, Southern Outdoors, Western Outdoors, Sports Illustrated, and of course he wrote a number of books.
Unlike in today’s world where we have networks dedicated to the outdoor lifestyle, blogs and countless internet options for getting information and knowledge there was a time when there was very few outdoor TV shows available. Grits and a few other television pioneers provided much inspiration to those of us growing up wanting to gain more knowledge about the outdoor world. He’ll certainly be missed but not soon forgotten thanks Grits for all you did for the sport.

Now if your still scratching your head wondering who this guy is check out this video from You Tube I’m sure if you’re old enough to remember the 70’s that you’ll recognize this old gem.