Apparently the drift boats are having a good time getting into the action.  According to reports, the huge squid are good to eat; with one fisherman talking about cutting them up and deep-frying them with some Cajun seasoning and beer for the Super Bowl.  Get all the details here.  It probably won’t take long before the monsters become a menace to the commercial fishermen.

It all took place on Rochester, MN’s Cascade Lake.  These two young fellas, one 17 and the other 20, decided to leave a party and head out to blow up some shanties; which they did.  The problem was that a lakeside resident heard the noise and called the police;  while the young men returned to their underage drinking party.  They later confessed to the crime after they had been positively identified by the footprints they left in the snow.

Way to go, guys!

When it gets cold and surface temperatures cool in Arkansas’ White River system the threadfin shad head to lower depths in search of more comfortable water temperatures.  And when the surface temperatures hit 42 degrees, the shad hit the bottom.  When the shad hit the bottom and the dams’ turbines begin to rev up the magic starts to happen.

The shad get sucked into the turbines and spit out on the other side of the dam.   And guess what’s waiting for them?  Big, big brown trout.  Who haven’t eaten in weeks because they’ve been spawning.  And now they’re really hungry.  They sit and wait for the shad to blow through the turbines.

So you head out in a boat, just about to the dam and throw out a big old white streamer and let it drift along the bottom.  I think I need to get to Arkansas for this one.

It’s a frightening thought.  The Carp reproduce very rapidly, get so large (100+ lbs), are so well-suited to the Great Lakes climate and ecosystem; and devour so much algae that it will literally push out other fish populations;  most of which are food for larger species.  If you believe the hard-core fatalists, eventually everything dies off but the Carp.

Michigan and other Great Lakes states have appealed to Illinois to seal off the Sanitary and Shipping Canal; effectively closing the canal to shipping.  That represents billions of dollars to Illinois and the state and City of Chicago are not ready to take that step.  Where do you think Mayor Daley is on this one?

The Supreme Court has refused to rule on the issue it’s headed to Congress.

Meanwhile some clever folks are coming up with ideas like this…

• John Holden of Rockford, IL thinks that they can overfish the Illinois River, build multimillion dollar processing plants, and turn the Carp into food and fertilizer.  All they need is money.  What else is new?  Read about it here.
• Meanwhile, the L.A. Times reported today that Reggie McLeod likes his Carp smoked or pickled.  Apparently the Vietnamese community likes them cooked in coconut milk with lemongrass and chili peppers.  The Polish like to remove the pungent fishy odor by soaking it in milk and onions.   And Joe Tess restaurant in Omaha proudly serves its Carp fried.  So let’s just eat the darn things.

I have a hunch that the way things are going with our economy and in Washington, these folks might just solve the dilemma before Congress gets it on the docket.

Here are a couple shots of one of the ugliest fish I’ve ever come across…our new nemesis, the Asian Carp.  Did you know they jump and are dangerous to boaters?

On December 7 I wrote a post about the ban on Red Snapper fishing in the southeast.  This ban has had commercial and recreational fishermen up in arms but I’m quite certain the Florida Wildlife Commission and other state entities had good reason for this and we’ll likely benefit down the road from this ban.

Then I just read that Grouper fishing has also been banned, effective February 1st and reopening on April 1st.  That makes this the last weekend to fish for Grouper until April;  and the fishing has been lousy as cold has whacked the southeast.  The article appeared today in the Tallahassee Democrat

WESH in Orlando reported that the Florida Wildlife Commission had closed the upcoming Snook season and issued a temporary ban on fishing for Bonefish and Tarpon.  All are in effect until April.

This quote from fisherman-scholar Ted Ames appeared in the Bangor Daily News and sums up the situation up north.  “It’s not a secret, there aren’t too many fishermen here anymore. There aren’t too many fish, either. About 5,000 square miles off the Maine coast no longer produces fish. Gone are the haddock, cod, white hake and halibut.”

Here is an excerpt from the International Game Fish Association’s report:

DANIA BEACH, Fla. USA, (January 8, 2010) — After nearly six months of waiting, Japan’s Manabu Kurita is taking his place along side Georgia, USA angler George Perry in the International Game Fish Association’s (IGFA) World Record Games Fishes book as dual holders of the All-Tackle record for largemouth bass each weighing 22 lb 4 oz and caught 77 years apart.

And here’s a photo of the amazing bass:

It's a new world record!

Way to go Manabu!

For those of you who didn’t know Rusty; he was the guy tying flies in the back room of Gates Au Sable Lodge when he was a kid.  When his dad, Cal Sr. passed away, Rusty took over all lodge operations and did a spectacular job over the years.  My dad bought me my first fly rod; reel and waders from Rusty.

Far more significantly, Rusty was the force behind Anglers of the Au Sable; a proactive environmental concern that fought over the years to protect the Au Sable river system from a barrage of pressure and environmental threats.  Rusty leaves quite a legacy.

There was an excellent tribute to Rusty published in the Detroit Free Press on December 22nd.  Take a moment to read it and remember Rusty for his incredible contributions to fishing the  Au Sable.

Rusty Gates throwing a line on the North Branch of the Au Sable

After that experience I’ve become fascinated with the idea of heading off to the shanty with a bunch of pals for a day of fishing in a big-time shanty.  It’s fun to imagine what people are doing in these shanties and about all the possibilities.  I think about the boys up in Minnesota and Wisconsin heading off in the morning on their snowmobiles with a few flasks of brandy to join up with their buddies and watch the Vikings or Packers on TV in the shanty.  And maybe catching a walleye or two, but I’m not sure that really matters all that much.  So in that spirit, I wanted share some shots of what looks like a cool shanty.

And for anyone who ever thought ice fishing might be dull, here’s a parting shot for you.

Don Dubin, Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame

Hi Dale,

Every time I watch television, listen to the radio, or read the newspapers, I am informed about the Asian carp entering and destroying our fishery. With all the efforts that are being done to control them, I feel that these carp may already be in Lake Michigan. With all the negative publicity about the doom and gloom that these fish will bring to the Great Lakes, I have not seen any positive ideas on how these fish can be controlled..

My feeling is that there might be some good to this bad situation. To start, these fish are filter feeders on plankton, and there may not be enough forage to support a large population of these fish to allow them to grow to a large.size. Also, the Great Lakes may not be suitable for them to reproduce.

If they do invade the Great Lakes,we have to be creative and find ways to control them. Perhaps our hatchery system could be expanded to plant large numbers of predator fish such as walleyes, bass, northerns, and muskies that could eat these carp. The Asian carp as a forage base could be the start of a great new fishery. To help protect our trout and salmon when they are planted, they could be caged and released at a larger size in deeper water. Also, Asian carp are good to eat and may support a commercial fishery. In today’s economy, this would create jobs and a fishery that the fisherman would support.

Today, as the environment changes, so will our fishery. It will be our challenge to find ways to manage it as a great fishery.

Sincerely,

Don Dubin

I personally do not agree with Mr. Dubin.  I think is opinion ignores the massive size and devastatingly voracious appetites these fish have exhibited in the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.  Whether or not the have already entered Lake Michigan is a point not yet proven.  We must do everything within our power and possibility  to keep these fish out of the Great Lakes.