I Hunt, But I Oppose the N.R.A. – NYTimes.com

By LILY RAFF McCAULOU

EARLIER this month, Mitt Romney delivered a speech at the annual National Rifle Association convention, calling for a president “who will stand up for the rights of hunters, sportsmen and those seeking to protect their homes and their families,” presumably with guns. I’d like to remind Mr. Romney that those are distinct groups. Too often — especially during an election year — hunters and N.R.A. members are lumped together as one and the same.I’m a hunter and a sportswoman. I own guns, but not for self-defense. I support gun control laws. I would happily vote to repeal the Stand Your Ground law in my home state of Oregon. In other words, the N.R.A. does not represent me.Among gun owners, I’m hardly alone. The N.R.A. has just over four million members. That sounds like a lot until you consider that about one in five American adults own one or more guns. That’s nearly 50 million people. That means roughly 90 percent of gun owners do not belong to the N.R.A.  Click Link Below For Full Story!  Interesting viewpoint.

via I Hunt, But I Oppose the N.R.A. – NYTimes.com.

Bassmaster Magazine Crowns 100 Best Bass Fishing Lakes in U.S.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Bassmaster magazine, the official publication for members of B.A.S.S., announced Tuesday the 100 best bass fishing lakes in the U.S. The list was compiled in a months-long process that included research from state fisheries agencies, nominations from B.A.S.S. Federation Nation tournament organizers and a panel of widely traveled professional anglers, fishing writers and others.

Despite its reputation as a dangerous place to fish, Texas’ Falcon Lake ranked in first place. The 58-year-old impoundment straddles the Rio Grande and is shared by Texas and Mexico. The 83,000-acre reservoir has been in the news as much for drug cartel-related crime as for its enormous catches of largemouth bass.

Falcon produced the record winning catch for the Bassmaster Elite Series circuit when Paul Elias caught 132.5 pounds of bass during four days in 2008. Although the Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments have not returned to the lake since, it regularly gives up tournament-winning catches averaging more than 8 pounds per bass.

Texas tops the list of states with eight lakes or rivers in the Top 100, followed by Florida, which has seven fisheries on the list, including No. 2-ranked Lake Okeechobee. Rounding out the Top 10 are Lake Guntersville in Alabama, Lake Erie in Michigan/Ohio/New York/Pennsylvania, Lake Champlain in New York/Vermont, Lake Amistad in Texas, Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota, San Joaquin Delta in California, Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho and Clear Lake in California.

According to Bassmaster editor James Hall, the idea for ranking the best lakes emerged at a B.A.S.S. tournament during a lively discussion among outdoor writers with definite ideas about the nation’s top performing lakes. Hall decided the debate warranted a more in-depth investigation.

“Instead of just having opinions, we wanted to put science behind the opinion to rate the ’100 Best Bass Lakes,’” Hall said. “The method was as scientific as we could make it. The result is a list of outstanding fisheries. I think it will be fun for people to consider where their favorite lake stands compared to the best in another state.”
The 100 Best Bass Lakes list was ranked using a variety of qualifiers. Department of Natural Resource representatives provided the five most productive lakes in each state based on electroshock surveys and angler catch rates. B.A.S.S. Federation Nation presidents offered top lake recommendations based on tournament catches, while conservation directors supplied details on lake accessibility and best fish stocking practices.

A blue ribbon panel of outdoor writers, editors, Bassmaster Elite Series professional anglers and fishing industry veterans ranked the final list based on current fishability of each lake, considering its history, big fish and overall quantity potential and aesthetic surroundings of the area.

The list is slated to appear annually. For full details about each of the lakes ranked, as well as more details about each one, visit http://www.bassmaster.com/news/100-best-bass-lakes.

Bassmaster Magazine 2012 100 Best Bass Lakes in the U.S.

1. Falcon Lake, Texas
2. Lake Okeechobee, Florida
3. Lake Guntersville, Alabama
4. Lake Erie, Michigan/Ohio/New York/Pennsylvania
5. Lake Champlain, New York/Vermont
6. Lake Amistad, Texas
7. Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota
8. San Joaquin Delta, California
9. Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
10. Clear Lake, California
11. Rainy Lake, Minnesota
12. Pickwick Lake, Alabama/Mississippi/Tennessee
13. Lake St. Clair, Michigan
14. Oneida Lake, New York
15. Toledo Bend, Texas/Louisiana
16. Kentucky Lake/Barkley Lake, Kentucky/Tennessee
17. Grand Lake, Oklahoma
18. Kezar Lake, Maine
19. Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas
20. Columbia River, Washington/Oregon
21. Kissimmee Chain Of Lakes, Florida
22. Candlewood Lake, Connecticut
23. Santee Cooper lakes, South Carolina
24. Roosevelt Lake, Arizona
25. Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin
26. Lake Fork, Texas
27. Louisiana Delta, Louisiana
28. Lake Ouachita, Arkansas
29. Lake Konawa, Oklahoma
30. Lake Of The Ozarks, Missouri
31. Potomac River, Maryland/Virginia
32. Shasta Lake, California
33. Lake Havasu, Arizona
34. Lake Michigan, Wisconsin/Illinois/Indiana/Michigan
35. Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota
36. Florida Everglades, Florida
37. Lake Charlevoix, Michigan
38. Lake Mead, Nevada
39. Choke Canyon Lake, Texas
40. Lake Seminole, Georgia/Florida
41. Congamond Lakes, Massachusetts
42. Table Rock Lake, Missouri
43. Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire
44. Falls Lake, North Carolina
45. Umpqua River, Oregon
46. Okoboji Lake, Iowa
47. Red River, Louisiana
48. Pueblo Reservoir, Colorado
49. DeGray Lake, Arkansas
50. Trap Pond, Delaware
51. Bull Shoals Lake, Arkansas/Missouri
52. Spirit Lake, Iowa
53. St. Lawrence River, New York
54. Squam Lake, New Hampshire
55. High Rock Lake, North Carolina
56. Arbuckle Lake, Oklahoma
57. Lake Tarpon, Florida
58. Apache Lake, Arizona
59. Lake Powell, Utah/Arizona
60. Perry Reservoir, Kansas
61. Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee
62. Lake Wawasee, Indiana
63. Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia
64. Lake Conroe, Texas
65. Noxon Rapids, Montana
66. Diamond Valley Lake, California
67. Summit Reservoir, Nebraska
68. Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey
69. Rend Lake, Illinois
70. Lake Pleasant, Arizona
71. Lake Audubon, North Dakota
72. Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Wyoming
73. Harris Chain Of Lakes, Florida
74. Cobbosseecontee Lake, Maine
75. Ute Lake, New Mexico
76. Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania
77. Wilson Reservoir, Kansas
78. Elephant Butte Lake, New Mexico
79. Lake Oahe, South Dakota
80. Gull Lake, Minnesota
81. Kerr Reservoir/Buggs Island, N.C./Virginia
82. Dale Hollow Lake, Tennessee/Kentucky
83. Lake Gaston, North Carolina
84. Bullards Bar Reservoir, California
85. Dworshak Reservoir, Idaho
86. Tygart Lake, West Virginia
87. Keith Sebelius Reservoir, Kansas
88. O.H. Ivie, Texas
89. Lake Wallenpaupack, Pennsylvania
90. Lake Murray, South Carolina
91. Lake Sammamish, Washington
92. Lake Eufaula, Alabama/Georgia
93. Enid Reservoir, Mississippi
94. Old Hickory Lake, Tennessee
95. Fort Peck Reservoir, Montana
96. Manasquan Reservoir, New Jersey
97. Lake Mohave, Nevada
98. Lake Lanier, Georgia
99. Sebago Lake, Maine
100. McPhee Lake, Colorado

About B.A.S.S.
For more than 40 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and an expansive tournament structure while connecting directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.

The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications – Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times – comprehensive website Bassmaster.com and ESPN2 and Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, Cabela’s B.A.S.S. Federation Nation events and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.

B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and remains focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.

New North Carolina Freshwater State Record Striped Bass Caught at Hiwassee Reservoir

RALEIGH, N.C. — When he launched his 17-foot Hydrosport on Hiwassee Reservoir on the morning of March 31, Tyler Shields expected he’d catch a few largemouth bass, maybe a smallmouth bass or two. What he didn’t expect to catch, however, was the new freshwater striped bass state record.

Shortly before noon, the 17-year old from Murphy, N.C., reeled in a massive 66-pound striped bass, using a black zoom trick worm and 10 pound test on a Bass Pro Shops Bionic Blade rod. Shields’ state record striped bass eclipses the previous one, also caught in Hiwassee, by nearly 12 pounds. That fish weighed 54.2 pounds and was caught by Larry Keith Verner, also of Murphy, on June 6, 1991.

When he first hooked the giant fish, Shields, who was who was fishing with his cousin, Logan Howard, 15, and friend, Caleb Davis, 15, thought that it was a catfish. However, when he got the fish to the boat, he saw that it was “a big striper.”  He didn’t realize how big it was until he got to the dock and a friend’s father, Brian Kilpatrick, suggested that it might be a new state record and recommended that Shields get it weighed.

The grocery store that Shields visited initially had scales that went up to only 50 pounds. He eventually had the fish weighed on N.C. Department of Agriculture-certified scales at Interstate Welding and Steel Supply, in Marble.

Powell Wheeler, a district fisheries biologist for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, verified that the behemoth was a striped bass and exceeded the existing state record.

Shields, who has a lifetime fishing license, prefers trying his luck on Hiwassee because of its close proximity to his home and because he knows Hiwassee so well — not surprising since it’s the only the lake he’s fished since he picked up a rod and reel four years ago.

Although he said he knew that the last state record striped bass came from Hiwassee — and had heard of anglers occasionally catching whopper striped bass — Shields said he prefers catching largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass year round, and catfish in the summer.

As evidenced by the two state records, Hiwassee Reservoir harbors some very large striped bass, particularly for reservoir striped bass, which typically don’t get as large as their coastal counterparts.

Striped bass, or “stripers,” are regarded mostly as a coastal water fish, living their adult lives in the ocean and migrating up into coastal rivers to spawn. If conditions are right, as they are in Hiwassee, striped bass can thrive in freshwater.

The Wildlife Commission stocks striped bass into several freshwater reservoirs in the Piedmont and Mountain regions, but ironically, Hiwassee Reservoir is not stocked with striped bass. Striped bass in Hiwassee are the “Houdinis” of the fish world, having traversed several obstacles to make it into the reservoir.

“We’ve always focused on other fisheries in Lake Hiwassee, particularly walleye and black basses,” Wheeler said. “However, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources stocks stripers upstream of Hiwassee in Nottely Reservoir. Occasionally, a striper survives passing through Nottely Dam turbine or over the spillway and swims 13 miles down the Nottely River to Hiwassee Reservoir.”

The few striped bass that make it from Nottely Reservoir to Hiwassee tend to grow very large, very fast.

“The rarity of striped bass in Hiwassee coupled with the abundance of forage fishes in the reservoir are the main reasons why Hiwassee has produced the last two freshwater fishing state records for striped bass,” Wheeler said. “In the middle of Hiwassee where stripers are often found, there is simply a lot of food and few other predators to compete with.”

The Wildlife Commission does not manage Hiwassee Reservoir actively for striped bass, but Wheeler said that he has had several encounters with large stripers in some of his fish-sampling work.

“Some anglers also are aware of these very large, but rare, fish,” Wheeler said. “They’ll actively target them in Hiwassee.”

However, most Hiwassee anglers, like Shields, prefer fishing for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass.

Shields’ record is unique in that it not only breaks the freshwater state record, but also exceeds the current saltwater state record as well. That striper, which was caught off Oregon Inlet in 2011, weighed 64 pounds, according to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, which recognizes state records of fish only from oceans, estuaries and coastal rivers.

To qualify for a N.C. Freshwater Fish State Record, anglers must have caught the fish by rod and reel or cane pole, have the fish weighed on a scale certified by the N.C. Department of Agriculture, witnessed by one observer, have the fish 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. For more information on fishing in public, inland waters, www.ncwildlife.org/fishing or call the Division of Inland Fisheries, 919-707-0220.

For more information on fishing in public, inland waters, visit www.ncwildlife.org/fishing.

Larry Potterfield honored for philanthropy to hunters – Sports | The Columbia Daily Tribune

By Nic Halverson

For someone who has a stuffed bear standing on its hind legs in his office, Larry Potterfield comes off as a humble guy.

He certainly came from humble beginnings. Potterfield grew up in rural northeast Missouri near Ely. As one of eight children, money was tight.

In 1977, Potterfield opened a small gun shop with his brother off the Midway exit on I-70 west of Columbia. Now, that little gun shop has blossomed into a titan of the ammunition and shooting industry. As founder and CEO of MidwayUSA, a wholesaler of hunting and gun-related products, Potterfield employs about 400 people and oversees an empire that is expected to bring in $250 million this year.

Potterfield and his wife, Brenda, believe in spreading that wealth around to causes that support hunting.  Click link below for full story!

via Larry Potterfield honored for philanthropy to hunters – Sports | The Columbia Daily Tribune – Columbia, Missouri.

The 35 Best Hunting and Fishing Towns in the US | Outdoor Life

by The Editors

Now in its fifth year, our annual “Best Towns for Sportsmen” feature is an OL institution. Readers love to argue the merits of their burgs based on our rankings; local newspapers crow about the inclusion of their town; and realtors call to ask for extra copies of the issue.This year we’re forgetting all the socio-economic data and focusing on what matters most: hunting and fishing. In the next few pages, you’ll find the 35 towns in the U.S. where we would live right now, based solely on the outdoor opportunities there. Some boast bass and deer, others elk and trout or ducks and redfish. Regardless, each of these towns is an outdoors mecca in its own right, and from sea to shining sea, they offer the best hunting and fishing in America.  Click link below to see who is number one!

via The 35 Best Hunting and Fishing Towns in the US | Outdoor Life.

NBC Shows Anti-Gun Bias . . . Again

By Larry Keane

In an attempt to combat failing ratings, NBC’s Rock Center on Wednesday night aired another biased and sensationalized piece on Remington Arms, and America’s firearms industry. The Rock Center reporter, Scott Cohn, has a well established anti-gun bias — as evidenced by his 2010 “story” on the Remington 700. Cohn and NBC alluded to an unwarranted government regulation of the firearms industry by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). There should be no doubt, last night’s segment was just another piece of agenda-driven “journalism” clearly designed to promote a CPSC takeover of the firearms industry.

Moreover, the firearms NBC chose to demonize were the Remington Model 870 and 1100 shotguns — firearms that have been in production for almost 60 years and are among the most popular models of shotguns in America. They are used by millions of sportsmen, target shooters and for home defense, as well as the U.S. military and thousands of law enforcement agencies all across the country. There are more than 20 million of these firearms in circulation through which billions upon billions of rounds have been fired without incident.

So while this latest attack by NBC may be aimed at Remington, it is really aimed at the entire firearms industry. After all, if NBC can get away with propagating spurious claims about an alleged defect in a 60-year-old firearm model in an effort to push its anti-gun political agenda, then no firearm manufacturer is safe from such an attack.

In looking at the claims NBC is leveling against Remington, it is important to note that they are all based on the opinion of plaintiff’s attorneys and a paid so-called “expert” — hired guns if you will. The so-called expert has made a living testifying against at least 16 other firearms manufacturers. The “opinions” of the so-called expert, who has been paid to give opinions against firearm manufacturers, have consistently been rejected by courts and juries. In my opinion, he just lacks any credibility — watch here.

As a former products liability attorney who represented many in the firearms industry from baseless product liability claims, I can tell you that reports like NBC’s are nothing more than a marketing tool for ambulance-chasing attorneys and “expert” witnesses looking to make a buck. The truth is that product liability claims are exceedingly rare in our industry, especially when one considers there are more than 300 million firearms in civilian ownership in the United States. At one point, one of my former clients — one of the oldest and largest manufacturers — had no pending product liability cases, not even a frivolous one.

My concern with last night’s piece, however, is more industry based. We cannot allow NBC to launch an unwarranted attack against any manufacturer as a means of generating support for a CPSC takeover of the entire firearms industry. Every manufacturer, retailer, distributor and gun owner should be concerned and, more importantly, engaged. Way back in the 1970s when Congress set up the CPSC, it expressly exempted firearms and ammunition products because it feared that the CPSC would be used to advance gun control. That fear is as real today as it was 40 years ago. To ensure the CPSC doesn’t start to control guns, we need to be sure to elect a pro-gun majority to Congress. So #gunvote — Don’t Risk Your Rights.

Consider contacting Brian Williams at Rock Center. Let him know that for a network news show trying desperately to attract viewers, throwing credibility out the window is not a good place to start.

 

A PhD in turkey hunting? New e-book offers advanced tips. | al.com

By Frank Sargeant, Huntsville Times

We’re getting to the time in the turkey season when more is less. The surviving gobblers have heard pretty much every symphony the assembled majesty of thousands of hunters have played for them, and are starting to turn up their noses at the whole thing.

But John Phillips of Birmingham, one of America’s best-known outdoors writers, says it’s still easy to bag a bird if you take a few tips from the nation’s top callers and hunters.

In a new $3 e-book called “PhD Gobblers”, Phillips reviews tips assembled from many of the best of the best over his 40-year career of traveling the country with the top pros. Some of his suggestions are highly-applicable to hunters on both public and private lands of North Alabama.

“The first tip several of the pros gave me when I was researching this book was to stay longer, call less,” says Phillips. “By mid-season, the turkeys are call-shy in a lot of places, so it’s a matter of putting in time in the woods, listening and looking but not doing a lot of calling–if you call much to hard-hunted birds, you might get them to gobble but you’ll rarely get them to come in.”

Phillips sights Ben Rogers Lee, one of the first national calling champions who went on to win the title five times.

“Ben always said you have to decide whether you want to hear turkeys or kill turkeys,” says Phillips. “For smart birds, he suggested hunting them as if you were hunting deer; you scout a lot, look for tracks, feathers, dusting areas, and learn the bird’s daily patterns, where it goes after coming from the roost, where it goes when the day heats up, where it goes prior to flying up in the evening–and then put yourself in position on one of those locations and wait.”  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via A PhD in turkey hunting? New e-book offers advanced tips. | al.com.

Turkey hunting could be dicey this year | The Columbus Dispatch

Spring’s early arrival makes spotting prey more difficult

By  Dave Golowenski

Good neighbor Jim wasn’t exactly complaining the other day as much as just saying that the gobbler season in Ohio arrives too late for optimum hunting.

This after the guy next door said he’d seen a wild turkey in full fan that very morning in March.

“Yeah, the gobblers are out there strutting,” said Jim, who was standing outside in shirtsleeves, though April was a day away.

Asparagus was shooting up from a row nearby, and a couple of peach trees had bloomed and faded, hopefully pollinated by whatever bees survive pesticidal assault. Nature was tossing freakishly warm, but temperature had little bearing on Jim’s point.

“By the time the season starts, the hens are already on their nests,” he said.

Jim’s suggestion was clear: Callers mimicking hot hens in order to drive amorous turkeys in their direction are about as likely to get the desired results in late April and May as do young men honking their horns in an emptying parking lot at closing time.

Hunter experience notwithstanding, the biologists at the Ohio Division of Wildlife believe they have this figured out.

The length of daylight choreographs the hormonal calypso that awakens wild turkey lust. Thus, the balminess of March and, perhaps, of April isn’t likely to throw Ohio’s 200,000 or so gobblers and hens off their dance steps. The premature sprouting of trees and undergrowth, though, can make hunter and hunted less likely to find each other.

The hunt begins on April 23 and runs through May 20, with the youth season scheduled for April 21-22.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Turkey hunting could be dicey this year | The Columbus Dispatch.

Turkeys are in midseason form, but 2012 hunt won’t get started until Saturday | The Courier-Journal

By Gary Garth | Special to The Courier-Journal

Steven Dobey was pretty sure he knew that Kentucky’s 90,000 or so turkey hunters are a determined, dedicated and tenacious group, both in their efforts to protect the resource and their skill in bringing a bird home. But last year’s recorded spring kill of 32,191 birds erased any doubts he might have had. Not that 2011 was a record season. It wasn’t. That came in 2010 when hunters bagged 36,097 turkeys.

But last year’s spring hunt was wet. Soaking wet, with record rains and record flooding. Wet weather and successful turkey hunting don’t often go hand in hand.

“It was very wet last year, and we killed 32,191 birds,” said Dobey, the turkey program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and a hunter himself. “That told me that the drive of our turkey hunters is undeterred. That was a testament to their determination.

“I hunted opening morning and was lucky enough to harvest a bird. It had been raining but stopped, then started raining later that morning. And then it seemed like it rained every day the rest of the season.”

It didn’t actually rain every day of last year’s 23-day hunt, but rain did fall during most of the season, leaving hunting conditions ranging from challenging to miserable.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Turkeys are in midseason form, but 2012 hunt won’t get started until Saturday | The Courier-Journal | courier-journal.com.

Patience is main ingredient for spring turkey success, says hunting author Richard Combs | cleveland.com

By D’Arcy Egan The Plain Dealer

Richard Combs has written the book on wild turkey hunting. The Cincinnati sportsman and author knows the primary tactic for bagging a big gobbler. It’s not a sweet-sounding turkey call, an expensive shotgun or weeks of scouting.”It’s patience,” said Combs. “Turkey hunting is 99 percent boredom and 1 percent sheer excitement.”Turkey calling has become a sport in itself, he said, and there are lots of Ohio hunters who are quite adroit at luring gobblers in with a variety of calls. Even the simplistic push button-style turkey calls, a $20 investment in the spring hunt, can easily do the job.Combs said when his daughter, Hillary, wanted to tag along for a spring turkey adventure more than a decade ago, he encouraged her. At 8 years of age, the youngster was too young to handle a shotgun, so Combs gave her some quick lessons with a push-button call as he drove to the turkey woods. “I let Hillary do all of the talking with that simple push button call,” said Combs. “She called in two gobblers for me that morning, and I bagged my bird.”  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Patience is main ingredient for spring turkey success, says hunting author Richard Combs | cleveland.com.

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