Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources – Two Convicted In Separate Cases Of Illegally Importing Wild Pigs Into Kentucky
June 30, 2011
FRANKFORT, Ky. – A Florida man pleaded guilty last week to three counts of illegally importing and possessing wild pigs in Kentucky. State law prohibits persons from possessing and importing wild pigs, or releasing them to run free. Teddy Wilburn King, 55, of Old Town, Florida, paid $300 in fines plus court costs for bringing wild pigs into Kentucky from Florida. King, who was originally charged on June 16, made his plea a week later in McCreary County District Court. Conservation Officer Travis Neal initiated the case after a McCreary County resident killed an escaped pig and alerted Neal to the presence of the animals. King’s conviction followed a similar conviction last April. In that case, Bryan Currey, 46, of Elkton, Kentucky, was convicted of bringing about a dozen wild pigs into the state from Tennessee. Currey, who was charged on January 7, intended to sell the wild pigs to hunters. He pleaded guilty in Marshall County District Court to one count of illegal importation of wild pigs. He received a $300 fine and was ordered to pay court costs plus $250 in restitution to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Wild pigs have been established in relatively low numbers in a handful of Kentucky counties for almost a decade. The numbers have escalated in recent years – department officials have documented the presence of wild pigs in 44 counties, including central Kentucky. “In 2009, we had confirmed wild pigs in 23 Kentucky counties, so their expansion has been dramatic,” said Wildlife Division Program coordinator Steven Dobey. “Unfortunately, our research has revealed that this rapid expansion is often the result of illegal releases by people hoping to manufacture hunting opportunities.” While the opportunity to hunt wild pigs is often glamorized by the media, the negative consequences associated with these non-native animals far outweigh any benefits. Wild pigs are an incredibly destructive species, both for wildlife and farmers. “Their presence is particularly disturbing because wild pigs carry a host of diseases that can infect livestock, pets and even people,” said Dobey. “They have incredible reproductive rates. They destroy habitats. They simply out-compete native wildlife – especially deer and turkey – for food.” The department is committed to preventing wild pigs from becoming further established and severely altering the landscape for the state’s native wildlife. The public is urged to contact Kentucky Fish and Wildlife at 1-800-858-1549 during weekday working hours to report any sightings, hunter kills, or releases of wild pigs.
Minnesota Bound: Minnesota Fishing Museum | kare11.com
June 28, 2011
LITTLE FALLS, Minn. — Fishing and stories go hand-in-hand. No place in the Land of 10,000 Lakes is more evident of that fact than the Minnesota Fishing Museum. Many anglers consider the museum the best kept fishing secret in the state.
“Fishing is personal and it’s family oriented. It connects, it creates memories,” said Mavis Buker, Director of the Minnesota Fishing Museum.
Located in downtown Little Falls, this tribute to Minnesota’s fishing roots was the dream of a pair of fishing buddies. Click Link Below For Full Story!
via Minnesota Bound: Minnesota Fishing Museum | kare11.com.
NY hunting groups back protection of young bucks – WSJ.com
June 28, 2011
Associated PressALBANY, N.Y. — Some sporting groups are endorsing the Department of Environmental Conservation’s proposed restriction on hunting yearling bucks in parts of southern New York, saying the new approach to deer management has led to dramatic improvement in the deer herd in pilot areas.The proposed restriction, affecting parts of Sullivan, Ulster, Delaware, Greene and Schoharie counties, is part of DEC’s draft five-year deer management plan. Under the proposal, bucks must have at least three one-inch points on one side. The antler restriction is expected to protect 70 percent of the so-called spikehorns from being shot.Bill Willis, spokesman for the Five County Coalition of Sportsmen, said hunting groups in the affected counties have asked for antler restrictions for the last three years. And David Hartman, president of the New York State Whitetail Management Coalition that supports the restriction, said hunters in Ulster and Sullivan counties have harvested the biggest bucks since the late 1920s in antler restriction areas. Click Link Below For Full Story!
via NY hunting groups back protection of young bucks – WSJ.com.
WFPL News | Sandhill Crane Hunting Season Continues Forward Movement
June 25, 2011
Tony McVeigh
The legal hunting of sandhill cranes in Kentucky has moved another step closer to becoming a reality, but final approval is still pending. Earlier this month, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved a sandhill crane hunting season in Kentucky. The season, with a mid-December start, would last for 30 days, or until 400 of the huge, migratory birds have been killed, whichever comes first.The plan also needs federal approval, and has cleared its first hurdle.“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Service Regulations Committee approved the Kentucky hunt proposal, which is considered a three-year, experimental hunting season,” Brian Blank of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources told Kentucky Public Radio.Blank says the hunt is still months away from final approval on both the state and federal levels. Click Link Below for Full Story!
via WFPL News | Sandhill Crane Hunting Season Continues Forward Movement.
‘Fallin’ Skies’ hunter gets 13 months, $100K fine – Springfield, IL – The State Journal-Register
June 24, 2011
By CHRIS YOUNG (chris.young@sj-r.com)
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
READ: Charges and plea agreements
Fallin’ Skies video star Jeffrey Foiles will serve 13 months in jail and pay $100,000 in fines after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court on Thursday to two misdemeanor charges related to violation of federal wildlife laws.
Foiles, 54, a professional waterfowl hunter and call maker from Pleasant Hill, in Pike County, was facing a 23-count indictment.
Foiles said little in court Thursday afternoon except to answer, “Yes, sir” when U.S. Magistrate Byron Cudmore asked him if he did the things listed in the plea agreement.
Foiles also agreed to serve a year of supervised release and to give up his hunting and guiding privileges for two years following his release from jail, and to make public service announcements admitting wrongdoing and encouraging others to observe wildlife laws.
In addition, his business, the Fallin’ Skies Strait Meat Duck Club LLC, entered guilty pleas to two felony charges through Foiles’ attorney, Steven Beckett of Urbana.
Beckett acknowledged that the club unlawfully sold wildlife through illegal guided hunts and that it falsified records. Click Link Below For Full Story!
via ‘Fallin’ Skies’ hunter gets 13 months, $100K fine – Springfield, IL – The State Journal-Register.
Snook fishing: South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
June 23, 2011
By Steve Waters, Staff Writer
CHOKOLOSKEE ISLAND ——
I felt my bait get nervous, then watched in awe as a snook grabbed the herring and streaked away, its back making a wake as the fish headed for a tangle of dead trees.
Capt. Brian Sanders snapped me out of my daze by telling me to grab the spool of the spinning reel to keep the snook from reaching the trees.
I stopped the snook a foot short of the line-busting snag and eventually reeled the healthy, silvery fish to the boat so Sanders could remove the hook from its lip, pose for a quick photo and return the 31-incher to the water.
“We’ve been catching a lot of snook like that,” said Sanders, of Davie, who has fished the Southwest Florida coast for more than 30 years and guides there full-time (visit sandersoutdoorguide.com or call 954-609-6260).
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Yet not too long ago, Sanders was wondering when his customers would ever catch a decent snook again.
“I was not fishing for snook,” said Sanders after our recent trip, which also produced snook of 29 and 32 inches, along with sea trout, redfish and a Spanish mackerel. “There were no snook to catch.” Click Link Below for Full Story!
via Snook fishing: Southwest Florida – South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com.
Beach fishing for tarpon – St. Petersburg Times
June 23, 2011
By Terry Tomalin, Times Outdoors Editor
Tyson Wallerstein hoists the 100-plus-pound tarpon caught by Outdoors Editor Terry Tomalin on light tackle off the beach at Sand Key. Tomalin outlasts the fish in a 1-hour, 53-minute battle, but the tarpon leaves its mark upon release.
SAND KEY
When you are beach fishing for tarpon, you have to pick your shots. “We don’t need a lot of bait,” guide Tyson Wallerstein said as we hooked pumpkinseeds in the early morning light. “A dozen or so will do.” In June and July, schools of tarpon move along the local beaches. Some pods of fish move south. Some move north. The trouble is you can never tell which ones will eat. “For the past week, the northbound fish haven’t been hungry,” Wallerstein said as he stopped his flats skiff about 100 yards off the beach. “But you never can tell.” The trick is to be the first boat on the water, when the water is slick calm, so you can see the fish as they approach. Then, when the pod is still 50 yards away, you drop your bait right in their path. “When it hits … just reel, reel, reel,” Wallerstein said. “You won’t get many chances.” Click Link Below for Full Story!
via Beach fishing for tarpon – St. Petersburg Times.
Record bass caught off Block Island – EastBayRI.com
June 22, 2011
By Capt. Dave Monti
EAST BAY — Peter Vican of East Greenwich caught a record 77.4-pound striped bass Sunday, June 19, setting a new Rhode Island state record.
The fish — just one pound shy of the world record — was caught at night using eels as bait outside New Harbor, Block Island. Congratulations Peter!
Peter was fishing with his friend Don Smith, who gave this account of their fishing outing:
“We fished an area on the Southwest side of the Island from 9:30 p.m. until after 1 a.m. Sunday morning. We landed more than a dozen fish apiece over 25 pounds, often doubling up on each drift. Right around midnight we doubled up on several large fish. I landed a 48-pound fish and Peter’s was just slightly smaller. On the very next drift we duplicated the catch with both of landing fish around 45 pounds. Since I had kept the 48-pound bass, all the others were released unharmed.
“We were fishing our usual method of using light tackle, 6/0 octopus circle hooks and drifting live eels. The current was pretty strong and we used 3-ounce egg sinkers to keep the eels in the zone near the bottom. Click link below for full story!
via EastBayRI.com.
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