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.
I found two more solid programs to add to our list of best online fishing shows – 2 Dan’s Fishing, and Rex Hunt’s Fishing Adventures. There are only four episodes of 2 Dan’s, but there are more then 30 episodes of Fishing Adventures. Both shows are well done and feature some of the crazy fishing opportunities available in Australia. Be warned, Rex Hunt’s show features the worst intro music in any fishing show. Ever.
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!
We wasted no time once we arrived at the beach and immediately jumped in our boat, and Dan into his. We had the same guide as before (Cayo), since he seemed to share our intense passion for catching fish. The sea was a little bit calmer this day and we were able to make very good time getting to our destination. Cayo carved his way through the waves and swells with the precision only a person who had spent their entire life on the ocean could do. The sun beat down hard on us as our guide netted bait fish. It was obvious that today was going to be a very hot day on the water, even though clouds had begun to move in. We lathered up with sun screen and headed for deeper water.
