Yes, believe it or not this story was reported to me by several sources as true. No Obama is NOT banning sportfishing! Geez, with all the problems in the world, not to mention all the problems in the US right now, you’d think that people could focus on progress, the platform their legally elected president ran under.
The only problem is that these “regulations” don’t exist. What Montgomery was writing about is the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force that has been charged by the White House with developing a comprehensive federal policy for managing the nation’s waterways. Yes, they are interested in conservation and they are interested in setting new guidelines for fishing policies—commercial fishing policies that are threatening to deplete our food supply. Except they haven’t even gotten that far yet. All they’ve released is an interim report [PDF] that discusses what their goals are, none of which involve a ban on fishing. In fact, from what I can tell it’s completely generic legalese that contains no actionable policy recommendations in it all. It says zip about recreational fishing, never mind any sort of plan to curtail it.
No longer accepting input doesn’t mean it’s being banned. I saw how the recent input (read: filibuster) on healthcare went, and if I were Obama I’d be tired of hearing other peoples input. Heck, as an American citizen I’m tired of watching him listen! For once someone needs to stand up and make the right choices for America, not just the popular ones.
The Obama administration is trying to dash rumors that it planned to ban recreational fishing in marine waters and the Great Lakes in the wake of a series of Internet posts warning that such a prohibition was imminent.
But with rumors flying yesterday, Reps. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) and Kathy Dahlkemper (D-Pa.) both expressed concern about the issue in a House Science Committee hearing. They asked the NOAA chief if the administration is considering a ban on recreational fishing.
“Will you please reassure me and the angling public, whether commercial or recreational that their issues are going to be taken into consideration?” Broun asked.
“Both commercial and recreational fishing are vitally important to this nation,” Lubchenco said. “We are not proposing any blanket ban on recreational fishing. I would strongly oppose that, and it is not in the works.”
ESPN outdoors editor Steve Bowman issued an apology yesterday afternoon, saying the article should have been clearly identified as commentary, not news, and should have had more balance. The Web site has since altered the article and added a header identifying it as an opinion piece.
There are a lot of good fishing shows out there, but theres no way you can watch them all if they don’t air in your country. Luckily, many of these shows are making their way onto the net. Whether you want to see some salt water fishing, or freshwater fishing, this list has dozens of species and locations covered. Sit back, grab a beverage and enjoy!
Real Fishing With Bob Izumi, Canada
This is one of my favorite shows. Bob has been on the air or over 20 years here in Canada and I’ve spend many Saturday mornings watching his show. There are four complete seasons of the Real Fishing Show featuring 26 episodes each available on their website.
Getting Hooked With Aaron and Barry, Canada
Aaron and Barry are a prime example that hard work and determination will payoff in the end. The started the show as an online based program and after several years of hard work they were picked up on the Outdoor Life Network.
The Ultimate Fishing Show, New Zealand
We’ve featured a few clips from these guys here and they are always entertaining. You’ll see some tactics and footage here you wont see anywhere else!
Chew On This: Saltwater Fishing Show, United States
This show features Captain Ben Chancey catching some truly massive saltwater fish. If you like seeing huge fish, this features some serious monsters of the deep!
Channel C, United States
This site has a ton of great video content. You can follow all sorts of great shows here, including Jason Quinn’s quest to make it back to the Bassmaster Classic and Jose Wejebe’s serious adventures on The Road Less Traveled.
National Geographic’s Hooked, Worldwide
Tune in and watch some of the biggest and rarest fish from around the world!
2 Dan’s Fishing, Australia
A solid and entertaining show straight out of Oz. You can tell these guys love every second they spend on the water. Of course it doesn’t hurt that they have some lovely sheilas fishing with them too! You can also check out some teasers from upcoming projects on their homepage, 2dansfishing.com.au.
Let us know if we have missed any of your favorites!
For those of you unfortunate enough to live in areas that don’t offer muskie fishing, take a look at these chompers! These teeth can do some serious damage if not handled with care. One look at these and you understand why the people who chase the most fearsome fish in freshwater carry some serious tools to get the job done!
These brutes are considered one of the greatest fighting fish in freshwater and can grow to more than 50 pounds. They are known for their fierce strikes on top water lures and flies.
Name that fish!
UPDATE: Black Bass is correct (although they call this one a Spot Tail Bass). They are commonly found in Papua New Guinea. Both the black and spot tail bass are members of the family Lutjanidae, commonly known as freshwater snappers. Nice job Eric! (AGAIN!)
Well the first day of spring has come and gone. You’d never guess it though if you lived on the east coast of Canada as I do. We had several inches of snow last night and it feel more like January! Fortunately, tomorrow is April 1st, which means fishing season is open! I’ll be heading out for some trout during my lunch break, and if all goes well you’ll see some photos tomorrow. In the unlikely event that I get skunked, you can always check out our forums for other fishing reports around the globe…
Here are a couple photos from the latest spring fishing reports!
Mark and his son with some solid UK carp!
Bill with a nice brown trout and freshwater drum from Lake Ontario, Canada.
With the holidays quickly approaching, I figured this would be a good time to help out anyone looking for a gift for their favorite fisherman/fisherwoman. Instead of a list of what you should get, I figured it would be better to make a list of gifts you should avoid.
