Starting on Monday the following fishing rules change.

From NCDMF and NCWRC News Releases

Starting Monday, seasons open or rules changes go into effect for anglers seeking mountain trout, weakfish and striped bass.WEAKFISH: New restrictions go into effect at 6 a.m. Monday for anglers taking weakfish for recreational purposes or by hook-and-line; minimum length limit — 12 inches total, possession limit — six fish per person per day (previous possession limit was seven fish). For information, contact the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries at (252) 726-7021 or (800) 682-2632 or visit www.ncdmf.net

STRIPED BASS: The recreational season will open at 12:01 a.m. Monday for striped bass in Albemarle Sound Management Area. The season, which will be open seven days a week, closes at 6 p.m. Dec. 31 unless closed earlier by proclamation. The minimum length limit is 18 inches total, and the creel limit is three fish per angler per day. For information, call the NCDMF at (252) 726-7021 or (800) 682-2632 or visit www.ncdmf.net

DELAYED-HARVEST TROUT WATERS: Nineteen designated delayed-harvest trout waters will open in 14 western N.C. counties. No fish can be harvested or possessed from Monday through one half-hour after sunset June 6. Natural bait is prohibited; anglers may use only single-hook, artificial lures. From 6 a.m. June 7 through Oct. 1, 2008, waters will be open to fishing under hatchery-supported regulations (no bait restrictions; no minimum length; seven-trout-per-day creel limit). For maps, regulations, a list of delayed-harvest waters and weekly stocking updates call (919) 707-0010 or visit www.ncwildlife.org.

Well yet another fishing record broken, looks like I need to get to work but the weather isn’t cooperating.

RALEIGH, N.C. (Aug. 27, 2007) — A Granite Falls angler has set the white crappie state record, just three months after the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission opened a new category for the fish.

Eddie Braswell reeled in the record-setting white crappie, which weighed 1 pound, 8 ounces and measured 14 inches in length, on Aug. 15 while fishing at High Rock Lake. He was using a Wally Marshall rod, Shimano 2000 reel and a Bass Assassin lure as bait.

Since he retired from the Commission in 2004, Braswell fishes for crappie approximately 70 days a year, and starting in March or April, he tries to fish at least twice a week. While he fishes Lakes Rhodhiss, Hickory and Norman from time to time, he favors the crappie fishing in High Rock Lake.

His latest catch is the biggest white crappie he has ever caught or seen, so he was anxious to get it in the boat, on ice and to certified scales to see if he had set the new record.

The fish was weighed on certified scales at Food Lion on Hickory Boulevard, in Hudson. Bob Brown, a fisheries biologist with the Commission, verified the catch.

In May, the Commission created a new white crappie state record category after separating the general crappie state record into white and black crappie. The existing crappie record, which was broken in 1980, was a 4-pound, 15-ounce black crappie caught from Asheboro City Lake #4.

To qualify for a state record, anglers must have caught the fish on a hook and line, have the fish weighed on a certified scale witnessed by one observer, have the fish positively identified by a fisheries biologist from the Commission and submit an application with a full, side-view photo of the fish.

For a list of all freshwater fish state records in North Carolina or more information on the State Record Fish Program, click here.

Well yet another broken twice, however this time it was done twice. Guess I need to battle out the heat and try to break one myself.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The first weekend in August was a hot weekend for kokanee salmon fishing — literally and figuratively — as two state records for the small salmon were broken within a day of each other.

Mark Swann of Black Mountain reeled in his 2.48-pound record breaker on Aug. 3 while fishing Nantahala Lake. The next day, Levi Towery of Forest City brought in a salmon from Nantahala that topped Swann’s by a mere two-tenths of a pound.

Towery, 9, caught his 2.68-pounder, which measured 18.4 inches in length, using a Browning rod, with a 6500C Ambassador reel and a Doctor Spoon lure.

Towery, who was fishing with his grandfather Roy Toms, also of Forest City, says he expected to catch a record breaker. He has been fishing for salmon with his grandfather for the last three years and everything he knows about catching the silvery fish, he learned from him.

Toms says he’s been catching kokanee salmon from Nantahala since the early-1980s, many of them much bigger than the one Levi reeled in on Saturday. When he saw last year that the newly established kokanee salmon state record had been set by a 9.2-ounce fish, he knew it was just a matter of time before his grandson reeled in a record breaker.

Nantahala Lake is the only spot in North Carolina where kokanee salmon are found. The fish, which are native to the western United States, were stocked in Nantahala Lake in the mid-1960s by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission in an attempt to establish the species as a forage fish for other predator fishes in the lake. This stock has remained and become a favorite target for anglers.

Kokanee salmon do not grow very large, generally less than 20 inches in length, which is the reason they were stocked as a forage species. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and on small aquatic organisms.

Jake Rash, district biologist for the Wildlife Resources Commission, certified the fish, which was weighed on scales at Ingles Market in Forest City.

To qualify for a state record, anglers must have caught their fish on a hook and line, must have their fish weighed on a certified scale witnessed by one observer, have the fish positively identified by a qualified expert from the Commission and submit an application with a full, side-view photo of the fish.

For a list of all freshwater fish state records in North Carolina or for more information on fishing in North Carolina’s public, inland waters, visit the Commission’s Web site, www.ncwildlife.org.

The recreational fishing season for striped bass in the Albemarle Sound Management Area will open at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1, the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries said in a news release. The season will be open seven days a week and will close Dec. 31 at 6 pm unless closed earlier by proclamation. The minimum length limit will be 18 inches with a possession limit of three fish per person per day. For more information, including gill net regulations, call the DMF at (252) 726-7021 or (800) 682-2632 or visit www.ncdmf.net.

Well I guess it’s time to do some MORE catfishin’ so I can break one. This is the second time this record has been broke in less then 6 months. For pictures of this fish please see www.ncwildlife.org or www.Catfish1.com. The following article is from www.ncwildlife.org

RALEIGH, N.C. (Aug. 22, 2007) — Although it remained unbroken for almost two years since the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission decertified it in 2005, the channel catfish state record has been broken for the second time this year — this time by Wesley Trucks of New Bern, who caught an 18-pound, 5 ounce channel cat from the Neuse River on Aug. 15.

Trucks caught his fish using a Tsunami rod, Shimano 6500 Bait Runner reel and cut eel as bait. He was using the deep-sea gear, including 100-pound test line, in hopes of hooking a sizeable cat.

“If you use smaller gear, you’ll never get a big catfish to the boat,” Trucks said. “But with 100-pound line, the fish has no chance — if it’s hooked, it’s coming on the boat.”

An experienced catfish angler, Trucks knows that patience and fishing go hand-in-hand. And this night was no exception. “Nothing had bitten all night, and then, when I was getting ready to leave, the fish hit the line!”

Trucks said he knew as soon as he saw the fish’s anal fin that he had hooked a channel cat. Channel catfish have an anal fin that is round with 24 to 29 rays while blue catfish have an anal fin that has a straight outer edge and 30 to 36 rays. Shortly after reeling in the record-breaking channel cat, Trucks caught a 35-pound blue catfish.

Most trophy catfish anglers fishing the Neuse River hope to hook into a flathead or blue catfish, the channel catfish’s much-larger cousins, which can exceed 50 or 60 pounds. Neuse River channel catfish, by comparison, average only 2 to 4 pounds.

While they’re common in North Carolina’s large rivers and reservoirs and are found throughout the Neuse River and its tributaries, channel catfish as large as the one that Trucks caught are rare.

The fish was weighed on certified scales at Custom Marine Fabrication in New Bern and was verified as a new state record by Bob Barwick, a fisheries biologist with the Commission.

Trucks’ catch surpassed the previous record by more than 2 pounds. John Davinson, of Clayton, caught a 16-pound channel cat from the Roanoke River on April 10.

To qualify for a state record, anglers must have caught the fish on a hook and line, must have the fish weighed on a certified scale witnessed by one observer, have the fish positively identified by a qualified expert from the Commission and submit an application with a full, side-view photo of the fish.

 

 

A 573-pound bluefin tuna caught off the Virginia coast blew away the state record by nearly 200 pounds, The Associated Press reported Aug. 3.

On June 24, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission certified Frederick “Bo” Haycox’s catch, which was 107 inches long and 70 inches in girth.

The previous record was 398 pounds, 8 ounces, set by E.K. Morrison of Nags Head on Nov. 11, 2003.

The following are the fishing tournaments coming up in NC:

Catfishing:

AUG. 18 -High Rock-Dutch Creek Boat Access 7pm-8am

Visit NCCATS for more info

Bass Fishing:

AUG. 4 -Deep Creek Lures Bass Challenge two-man team open bass tournament, Ledge Rock ramp, Falls Lake; anglers must use only Deep Creek Lures, Falcon Lures, Stanford Lures. Prize: $1,000 first-place guaranteed; $2,500 first place based on 100 boats. Fee: $100. Information: www.geocities.com/piedmontcrappieclassics.

AUG. 11-  Piedmont 2-man Team Bass Classic, Falls Lake

AUG. 25-  Piedmont 2-man Team Bass Classic, Falls Lake

AUG. 25-  Pinestate Bassmasters OpenTeam Tournament, Shearon Harris Dam Site

Crappie Fishing:

AUG. 11-  Falls Lake

AUG. 25-  Falls Lake

Information: www.geocities.com/piedmontcrappieclassics.

Offshore:
AUG. 4 — Bobby Murray Chevrolet Raleigh Saltwater Sportfishing Club King Mackerel Tournament, Sea Water Marina, Atlantic Beach. Fee: varies. Information: Bruce Andrews (919) 833-2800.

AUG. 5 — Sixth annual Talking Trees Children’s Trout Derby, Oconaluftee Islands Park, Cherokee, with pro bass anglers Orlando Wilson and Marty Fourkiller; fly-tying exhibitions. Ages: 11-under. Fee: free. Information: (800) 438-1601, www.cherokee-nc.com.

AUG. 12 — 18th Alice Kelly Ladies Only Memorial Billfish Tournament, Aug. 12, Pirate’s Cove, Manteo. Fee: varies. Next: 24th Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament, Aug. 14-17. Information: (252) 473-1015, nick@fishpiratescove.com, www.pcbgt.com.