World Fish Sport

Blind cave fish research may lead to new applications.

2008-12-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

By David Alderton

blind cave fish - Astyanax mexicanus
Blind cave fish.
Photo courtesy JohnstonDJ.
Blind cave characins (Astyanax mexicanus) have long fascinated fishkeepers, thanks to their apparent ability to “see,” even though they are totally blind. These blind cave fish occur only in the San Luis Potosi cave system in Mexico, where their ancestors became cut off by changes in the water level thousands of years ago.

The appearance of the blind cave fish has been modified, as a result of their isolation in this subterranean world. They rely on a remarkable sensory system to guide them when swimming, which scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta have recently been studying.

Blind cave fish have tall, plate-like structures called cupulae along their bodies, which sense changes in water movement in their vicinity. These connect to bundles of specialized cells which in turn convey the information to the brain. This means that as a fish swims past an object, it can instantly detect its position by the water flow around its body helping it to gauge its distance and avoid a collision, or escape from a predator.

Professor Vladimir Tsukruk, who leads the research team, built corresponding cupulae by using droplets of a polymer applied to flow sensors. He discovered that these modified sensors were far more sensitive than the basic sensors currently in use. This means they could have applications in many different areas, ranging from tsunami detection to port security. “It’s a simple but robust demonstration of the potential of bio-inspired design in solving difficult engineering problems,” he said.

These modified sensors may also be valuable as a replacement for sonar in some situations, helping to protect marine life. More widespread underwater use of sonar by the world’s navies is believed to be the major reason as to why whales are now beaching themselves in increasing numbers.

The next step is to develop sufficient computing power to interpret the data coming from groups of these sensors. This, of course, is something that the blind cave fish already does as it swims through its dark environment.

New DVD release: Flying Fish Live

2008-12-13T06:33:00.000-08:00

Have you got our latest DVD Flying Fish Live yet? It has some stunning pictures from videographer Dora Traudisch as well as interviews with Fying Fish staff and students. Filmed on location in Sydney, Whistler, Vassiliki and Cowes, Flying Fish Live has a DVD menu that allows you to click straight to your favourite destination.

If you're planning a trip with Flying Fish or want to relive memories of a past course, order your free copy today.

Pacific nations to cut bigeye tuna catch by 30 percent

2008-12-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

SEOUL (Reuters) - Asia-Pacific nations have agreed to cut their catches of bigeye tuna by 30 percent by 2011 in order to help preserve the fish that is popular in the region served raw as sushi and sashimi.

The deal, announced late on Friday, calls on the 25 members of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission to implement cuts of 10 percent a year on bigeye tuna from 2009 to 2011. The group met this week in the South Korean city of Busan.

The group, which includes South Korea, Japan and the United States, also agreed to place limits on the fishing season and ban fishing of bigeye tuna in international waters, according to a summary of the meeting provided by South Korea's fisheries agency on Saturday.

Western and Central Pacific tuna stocks are the largest in the world and account for more than half the tuna consumed.

A decline in bluefin stocks has increased demand for bigeye tuna, which is fished in the Indian and Atlantic oceans and the Western and Central Pacific.

Worldwide stocks of bigeye tuna, a prime source for Japanese restaurants serving sushi and sashimi around the world, are on the verge of collapse from overfishing, conservationists say.

In November, the European Union and nations such as Russia, Japan and South Korea that fish the Atlantic and Mediterranean, cut bluefin tuna quotas by 30 percent to 19,950 tonnes in 2010.

This fly is a Sure Bet

2007-12-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

By TRAVIS BARRETT

WINTHROP -- Mike Holt employs a simple test for new flies. He ties it to the line at the end of his rod, and casts and strips repeatedly for one half-hour. After the 30 minutes are up, the fly is tossed in either his fly case or his trash bin.

In rare cases, the owner of Fly-Fishing Only in Fairfield picks up the telephone.

When Selene Dumaine heard Holt's voice at the other end of the line last July, she was mildly surprised.

"I'll take as many as you can give me," Holt told Dumaine.

It was a "Sure Bet" that Holt wouldn't be the only angler clamoring for Dumaine's latest creation.

DOWN THE PIKE

Last July, Bob Dionne at Aardvark Outfitters in Farmington placed a call to Selene Dumaine. He asked Dumaine, a local fly tier from Readfield with an outstanding reputation for her work, to come up with a streamer fly which fly-fishermen could use to target northern pike. Dumaine gave it some thought and threw together a bright pattern wrought with gold, fluorescent orange and green.

"I thought, 'Well, pike like to eat yellow perch. I'll make something that looks like a little yellow perch,' " Dumaine said this week at Chandler Pond Outfitters, where she sets up a fly-tying operation for a couple of days each week to try and meet the quaint little store's surging demand. "I did a dozen of them and sent them off, and then I never even heard back if it was a good pike fly or not."

"What Selene's done right is made it so the action is really lifelike," Dionne said. "She's made it so (the fish) can see it and made it in a way they can see it that doesn't look completely (unrealistic). It has to have those lifelike attributes, and Selene's really hit on it."

Soon enough, the glowing little critter's success in attracting northern pike would become a moot point. Weeks passed, and Dumaine returned to the pattern. Instead of using a large hook associated with pike, she tied the identical pattern on a size 6 hook thinking smallmouth bass might be interested in the design.

A customer of both Chandler Pond and Fly-Fishing Only saw Dumaine's creation and quickly grabbed up a half-dozen of them, driving from Winthrop to Holt's shop in Fairfield for hand delivery.

Holt took a look at one and figured he'd put the new fly to the test.

AWARD-WINNING WORK

Selene Dumaine, a registered Maine Guide and custom rod builder, came into regional and national prominence in 1998, only a few years after getting her start as a tyer. It was that March that she was named the Northeast Fly Tying Champion at the World Fly-Fishing Expo in Wilmington, Mass.

Five years later, she was hailed in Fly Tyer magazine as the "modern day Carrie Stevens," and Dumaine has worked hard to carry on the traditions of Stevens, who from her home in Upper Dam outside of Rangeley, crafted the Gray Ghost and other enduring streamer patterns in the early 20th century. Dumaine admits she doesn't really have her own tying style, instead trying to recreate Stevens' methods in an effort to preserve her Maine traditions.

"(Stevens) glued all of the elements of the wing together with lacquer," Dumaine said. "It's called the 'Rangeley Streamer' tying style. She would tie the body, and then she'd attach the wings separately. Her signature was a red band of thread around the head (of the fly)."

Dumaine fills her weeks now by teaching fly-tying classes, filling out orders for Chandler Pond Outfitters and other local fly shops, and by creating custom designs on commission. She said that although it's become increasingly more difficult to design new patterns as she tries to keep up with her orders, it is something she enjoys doing.

"To me, a new fly out of your box is hope," Dumaine said. "You tie on a new fly, and all of a sudden you have new hope. There's a little inspiration out of the fly box with every new pattern you try."

Some of Dumaine's recent fly designs include the "Hook Up" series -- the Caratunk Hook Up, the R&W Hook Up and the Brookie Hook Up -- as well as Jordan's No. 80, designed to honor the 80th birthday of customer Richard Jordan.

"Some are for aesthetics and some are for catching a lot of fish," Dumaine said of her originals.

YOU BETCHA

What Mike Holt experienced that first time out with Dumaine's fly prompted him to call it "The Hoover."

"'The Hoover' wouldn't be wrong," Holt said, "because it cleans out a pool in no time."

What started as a 30-minute test of the fly turned into a morning's worth of fishing, leaving Holt scrambling back to Fairfield in time to open his shop. In an hour and a half, the new fly landed four rainbow trout, three brown trout and two smallmouth bass. Holt couldn't believe its effectiveness, nor could he believe how well it worked with so many different species.

The first rainbow trout Holt caught is believed to be the first fish landed with the Sure Bet.

Holt called Dumaine and told her he'd take however many she could fashion. From that early July start until the end of the fishing season last fall, Dumaine estimated that she made 50 dozen of the flies, some in size 6 and some in size 8. They were sold through Holt at Fly-Fishing Only, by Chandler Pond Outfitters, Aardvark Outfitters and through Dumaine's personal Web site.

Within days, Holt had started an online naming contest for the fly on his forum at www.flyfishingonly.com. Hundreds of suggestions, some outrageous stories and even a few poems later, the name 'Orange Sure-Bet' won out. It was later shortened to the simpler 'Sure Bet' when it was discovered that similar color patterns -- a watermelon sure-bet or raspberry sure-bet, for instance, to cleverly play off the frozen treat homonym -- weren't succeeding in the water.

"I don't know why it works. It's a funny looking thing, and it's pretty easy to tie," Dumaine said. "But it will catch just about anything."

In the end, the Sure Bet became the closest thing to a sure thing the anglers along the Kennebec River have found.

"Between (July) and the end of the season, it was the best-selling streamer or sub-surface streamer we had," Holt said. "It just kept working, and it kept on showing up. Guys would come in here and tell me that they'd landed all kinds of different fish on it.

"I fully expect to have another run on them any time now."

CROSSING OVER

Flies that will catch a variety of species are not that uncommon.

"The Muddler Minnow is a nationally, an internationally, renowned fly," Holt said. "It will catch largemouth (bass), smallmouth, rainbows, browns, brook trout, a whole bunch. The Clauser Minnow is another, and there's the size 14 Elk Hair Caddis. There's a lot of flies that cross over."

What makes the Sure Bet of particular interest, of course, is that it is largely a localized phenomenon. The Sure Bet is not sold outside of Maine, except through Dumaine's Web site.

"Anywhere an olive Wooly Bugger will work, we've found a Sure Bet will work," Dumaine said.

Bob Dionne thinks the Sure Bet succeeds at capitalizing on a new fly's window of opportunity.

"New flies will always work for a few years, and then they don't seem to work anymore," Dionne said. "You have to get more and more realistic, and you have to get smaller and smaller to fool the so-called 'educated' fish. It's more true with trout than anything else. With the advent of new flies, there's something to that thought."

NEW INCARNATION

Soon, outfitters will have a relative of the Sure Bet to offer customers. For the last couple of months, Dumaine has been busy designing the new "Sure Bet Hex," a cross between a streamer and a nymph. Streamer flies typically imitate baitfish or any bugs that swim through the water, while nymphs usually represent insects in their larval stage below the surface of the water.

The Sure Bet Hex is a spin-off imitation of a hexagenia mayfly.

"It's a nymph, but it's also a streamer, too, because the (hexagenia) is such an agile mover," Dumaine said. "It represents a nymph, but it fishes like a streamer on bottom.

"Confusing?"

Not if it catches fish the way its cousin the Sure Bet does.

Travis Barrett -- 621-5648

tbarrett@centralmaine.com

Old Fishing Gear

2007-12-02T05:59:00.001-08:00

I´m cleaning the old boat house and found some interesting antiques? This is for ice fishing.
The boat house before the cleaning :-)

Fishing with the Kids

2007-12-02T05:57:00.001-08:00

Fishing with the Kids

It´s nice when your kids get in the age they can (and want to) fish with you.

Siris baltic herring

Siri and her baltic herring?

Fishing pikeperch in Finland

Angler lands 'catch of a lifetime'

2007-09-07T00:45:00.000-07:00

“I thought I had some sort of really large largemouth. It started stripping line like you were in the ocean”

HORSEHEADS -- Gary Sempler of Horseheads was looking for some decent bass fishing when he and a couple of buddies took to a private waterway near his home a few weeks ago. via PressConnects.com

Full story: PressConnects.com

DON’T MISS OUT ON the national boat, caravan and outdoor show 2008

2007-09-07T00:44:00.002-07:00

Written By: Danielle Carter
On Date: 6/9/2007

At 30% bigger than last year’s show and measuring the equivalent of 24 football pitches[1], the National Boat, Caravan and Outdoor Show promises something for everyone when its doors open from the 19th-24th February 2008. The UK’s biggest outdoor leisure show is now in its 47th year and keeps on growing. With a fresh new layout, it will span six halls at the Birmingham NEC over six days featuring the largest ever display of caravans, motorhomes, boats, tents and holiday homes. Visitors will also be able to take a look at a wide selection of holiday destinations and plan their next trip.

With such a diverse range of products and activities on offer, the show caters for everyone from the most avid camper through to families who are simply looking for a fun, good value day out. Visitors can see exclusive 2008 product launches and get involved in activities such as archery, climbing, and canoeing in an indoor pool. There will also be discounts and deals to be had on a wealth of merchandise and accessories. And you don’t have to rush to see it all in just one day; not only can visitors park for free but they can also camp on site and make the most of their trip.

Show highlights:

NEW! Yeomans Tent & Camping Hall – The Pavilion Hall

This hall will house the biggest indoor tent display in the UK supplied by Yeaomans Outdoors! Visitors will see over 150 pitched tents on display, with a huge choice including specialist lightweight back packer tents, 2–16 berth dome tents, family frame tents, trailer tents and folding campers. The new 2008 range of tents from Outwell, Coleman, Vango, Khyman, Peakland, Cabanon and Conway among others will be on display before you can buy them in the shops. Visitors can also discover a huge range of related accessories and must-have gadgets from a plethora of exhibitors selling everything from sleeping bags and backpacks to waterproofs and cooking equipment. And with special show deals and offers on thousands of tents, awnings and camping accessories even the most reluctant of people will be tempted into the outdoors.

NEW! Boat & Marine – Hall 1

The show offers the largest choice of boats, chandlery and accessories north of London in a new dedicated boat hall, which is 20% bigger than last year. This hall has a huge range of boats on display including offshore cruisers, power boats, river boats, sport boats, canoes, kayaks, jet bikes, RIBs, dinghies and inflatables. Step on board luxury motoryachts from Sunseeker, Fairline, Cranchi, Hanse and many others in the Marina. Visitors can also pay a visit to the Inland Waterways Village to see the show’s largest ever display of narrowboats and inland craft from many of the big name boat builders including Sea Otter, Midland Canal Centre, The New Boat Co., Liverpool Boats and Amber Boats. The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) will also be on hand to offer free advice and information on how to get started on the water.

NEW! Holiday Homes, Park Homes & Destinations – Hall 2

A whole hall of the very latest holiday homes, park homes and lodges. Visitors can view new 2008 lodges, holiday homes and park homes from companies such as, Willerby, Wessex Homes, Tingdene, Salop, Omar, Homeseeker, Allens and Atlas with many exclusively launching lodges at the show. Over 20 units will be on display for visitors to explore and there’s also the opportunity to choose your ideal park location and take a look at the many destinations on offer both in the UK and overseas.

Motorhomes & Touring Caravans – Halls 3, 4 & 5

Visitors will be able to discover new, exclusive, Spring model launches from leading manufacturers including the Swift Group, the Explorer Group, Bailey and many more as well as thousands of new 2008 models from Autocruise, Autosleeper, Autotrail, Coachman, Geist, Fifth Wheel, Pilote, Rapido, Lunar and Avondale among others. Novices will also be able to get help and advice on how to get started touring from The National Caravan Council, The Camping & Caravanning Club, and The Caravan Club. Visitors won’t want to miss the Towsure Accessory superstore, where bargains can be had on cleaning chemicals, outdoor heaters, satellite and TV aerials, mobile mains units, security products and more. Thousands of accessories and outdoor products will be on offer including the latest awnings and porches with lots of show offers to be had.

Don’t miss out on getting first hand tips from the experts. The Caravan Club advisors will be lending their experience and offering free motorcaravan manouvering courses and caravan towing lessons!

And if that wasn’t enough, you can also experience the best tow cars and 4X4’s including The Caravan Club’s Tow Car of the Year winners, as well as find out the latest news on holiday destinations, 'dayout' venues and campsites around the UK and Europe, with thousands of places to visit over the Spring and Summer, so there’s plenty of time to start planning the perfect 2008 holiday.

Tickets are now on sale from the ticket hotline on 0870 730 0963 at the below prices. Visitors can collect a FREE show guide (RRP £4) at the show when they book their tickets in advance of 18th February 2008. Parking is FREE for visitors (normally £8).

Advance Tickets
On the Door Tickets

Adults
£11.50
£14

Seniors
£8.50
£11

Children
£4
£5

Family (2 adults 3 kids)
£30
£35

Group ticket (10+ adults)
£10.50 each
n/a

Call The Camping and Caravanning Club on 0845 130 7257 for more information about the on site camping. Second day admission to the show is half price for campers.
For further information, please contact Danielle Carter or Flora Neeson
Brave PR on 020 7802 8111
danielle.c@bravepr.com / flora.n @bravepr.com

Hibdon Leads Wal-Mart FLW Series On Lake Champlain

2007-09-07T00:44:00.001-07:00

(Sep. 05, 2007 - PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.)... Mild temperatures and smooth water greeted anglers in the Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division tournament on Lake Champlain on Wednesday. The weather gave anglers ample opportunities to make an impact on the first day of competition, but in the end, team BP pro Guido Hibdon of Gravois Mills, Mo., landed five bass weighing 23 pounds even to lead day one of the event. He now holds a 2-pound, 8-ounce lead in the $1 million tournament featuring 190 pros and 190 co-anglers representing 33 states, Canada and Japan.

"Largemouth is all I fished for today," said Hibdon, who has won more than $314,000 in FLW Outdoors events. "I fished not too far away today. I may not catch them again, but the other guys have overlooked some close ones."

Hibdons son, team Chevy pro Dion, had mechanical problems with his motor and called Hibdon to ask if he would come get him.

"He told me that he had a pretty good bag (of fish) and that he was broke down," Hibdon said. "I asked him, ’How good a bag? I had to (rib) him some. But I went and hauled him in."

Hibdon said he caught 20 keepers and had his 23-pound bag by 10 a.m. and then received the call from Dion.

"After I had that 23 pounds, I just quit," Hibdon said. "I lost two good ones. Where I’m fishing, I’m in extremely thick stuff, and I just couldnt get to them. But I knew once I had that weight that there was no point in bruising them. I just decided to lay off."

Brian Bylotas of Olyphant, Penn., trails Hibdon in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 20-8.

Rounding out the top five pros are Skeeter/Yamaha pro Danny Correia of Marlborough, Mass. (five bass, 20-6); team Gain pro Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla. (five bass, 20-3) and team Kelloggs pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas (five bass, 19-11).

Skeeter/Yamaha pro Bud Pruitt of Spring, Texas, earned the days $500 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught.

Overall there were 877 bass weighing 2,380 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 187 pros Wednesday. The catch included 157 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing this week for a top award of $125,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the BP East-National Guard West Fishoff and a shot at advancing to the $2 million, 2008 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sports biggest award. The top 30 pros from both FLW Series divisions after four qualifying events are complete will advance to the East-West Fishoff, which will be held Jan. 17-19, 2008. The location for the fishoff has not yet been announced. Thirty winners from the fishoff will advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.

Wally Coward of Beech Island, S.C., who had never caught a smallmouth before day one of competition, put together an 18-pound, 9-ounce limit of them and leads the Co-angler Division followed by Lynn Baciuska of Afton, N.Y., and Mark Phillips of Fayetteville, Ark., who are tied for second place with five bass weighing 17-2.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dererk Savage of Port St. Lucie, Fla. (five bass, 16-14) and Marc Lamphier of Burlington, Vt. (five bass, 16-7).

Tom Luciano of Pottersville, N.Y., earned $300 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound bass he caught while fishing with pro Roger Crafton of Boca Grande, Fla.

Overall there were 608 bass weighing 1,355 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 173 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included 68 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are competing this week for a top award of $25,000. Like the pros, the top 30 co-anglers from both FLW Series divisions after four qualifying events are complete will advance to the East-West Fishoff for a shot at the $2 million, 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.

Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from Dock Street Landing located at 2 Dock St. in Plattsburgh. Thursday and Fridays weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturdays weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 25 Consumer Square in Plattsburgh, beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturdays weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Wal-Mart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include the Fujifilm trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.

In FLW Series competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The entire field competes for the first three days, and co-angler competition concludes on day three with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated three-day weight. The top 10 professionals continue competition on day four, and the winner is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate in all of its bass tournaments.

Coverage of the Lake Champlain FLW Series tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program airing Nov. 4. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to approximately 350 million households in Europe, Africa and Asia, making it the most widely distributed weekly fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.

Wal-Mart and many of Americas largest and most-respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the worlds leading supporter of tournament fishing.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.

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Mepps GLO Series spinners and spoons. GLOW in the dark

2007-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Mepps GLO Series spinners and spoons are a premium line of Mepps lures that combine the vibration and flash of the classic Mepps spinner with high visibility glow white, chip-resistant vinyl finishes.

A recent addition to the Mepps GLO series is the NEW GLO Little Wolf. These spoons feature 10 highly reflective surfaces and are available in GLO Green.

Mepps GLO Aglias have GLO white blades. The #4 and #5 GLO Aglias also have a high-contrast black/GLO white body.

Mepps GLO LongCast have GLO white blades and a GLO white fin for added visibility. Both the GLO Aglia and GLO LongCast also feature the fish-attracting vibration built into all Mepps spinners.

All Mepps GLO Series lures, with the exception of the Bantam Syclops, come with an open-eye single hook, as well as an attached treble hook, making them perfect for wherever single hooks are needed. Mepps GLO Bantam Syclops™ and GLO Syclops Lites feature ten reflective surfaces and a side-to-side wobbling action that drives fish nuts. GLO Bantam Syclops come in sizes #00 & #0. The #00 is an ultra lite lure that weighs only 1/16 oz. It is perfect for both panfish and stream trout. These are the smallest, lightest lures in the Mepps GLO Series. The #1, #2 & #3 Syclops Lites will catch everything from smallmouth bass and walleye to giant tackle-busting king salmon.

Perfect for stream or lake. There's a Mepps GLO Series lure to match any fishing situation.

Mepps Aglia Marabou spinners

2007-08-12T05:58:00.000-07:00

The Mepps Aglia Marabou combines the vibration and flash of a classic Mepps Aglia blade with the unmatched lifelike movement of a hand-tied marabou tail. We use the finest and softest marabou feathers available for the maximum amount of pulsating action in the water. Like all other dressed Aglias, the Aglia Marabou also features a red turkey quill strike attractor – a Mepps trademark. If you like the Aglia, try it with a top quality, brightly-colored marabou tail. Nothing beats marabou for visibility and action in the water. Available in six standard sizes, #0, #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and twelve proven colors.

Lure size is important. The general rule of thumb is use smaller lures to catch smaller fish and larger lures to catch larger fish.

Dressed Aglias (Ultra Lites and Wooly Worms) in size #00 or #0 are perfect for panfish (bluegills or sunfish) and small stream trout. They are very light, however, and require a nimble rod, equipped with a light action reel spooled with light line; nothing heavier than six-pound-test. Two-pound-test to four-pound-test is better. Dressed Aglias in size #1 and #2 are perfect for larger stream trout and large bluegills, sunfish and crappies. Size #2 Aglias are also excellent for smallmouth bass and walleye.

Mepps Aglias in sizes #3 and #4 are preferred by largemouth bass fishermen. In fact, the #3 dressed Mepps Aglia was rated the best all around lure for largemouth bass by the readers of Sports Afield magazine.

Size #4 and #5 Aglias are ideal for large rainbow trout and steelhead, as well as coho (silver) and chinook (king) salmon. Northern pike and giant tackle busting musky will inhale a dressed #5 Mepps spinner.

Ladies,Share your story....

2007-08-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

Shimano is interested in hearing from all the Shimano women anglers who have a story to share about their days on the water. What were you using when you caught the fish of your lifetime? If you can keep you stories to 400 words or less and send them to Shimano, we will automatically enter you into a drawing to win an 4GB Apple iPod Nano. Oh, and don’t be shy. If you have a picture that compliments your story, pass it along too. One winner will be chosen each month. Winners will be notified by email.

SELECTION OF WINNERS: One winner each month will be selected by random drawing of all eligible entries, subject to verification and compliance with the rules. Winner will be notified by e-mail before the end of each month. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received.

PRIZES: All winners will receive an Apple 4GB iPod Nano, and have their story posted on http://fish.shimano.com. (Approximate retail value is $199.99). All prizes will be awarded. Prizes are non-transferable, non-negotiable and not redeemable for cash, credit or merchandise. Only one prize will be awarded per household. If any prize becomes unavailable for any reason, Shimano reserve the right to substitute a prize of comparable value. Returned or unclaimed prizes will be forfeited, and no alternate winners will be selected.

CONDITIONS & RESTRICTIONS. Entrants agree Shimano has the sole right to decide all matters and disputes arising from this contest and that the decision is final and binding. Except where prohibited by law, entrants agree to allow use of their name, photograph, likeness and any information provided on entry form, in any medium of communication, including print, Internet, radio and/or television and for any purpose, including advertising, promotional or other purposes, by Shimano and/or its affiliates, without additional compensation. Winner by acceptance of the prize, agrees to release, indemnify and hold harmless Shimano, their respective parent companies and affiliates, and each of their employees, representatives, contractors, sponsors and advertisers, from any and all liability, loss, damage, costs or claims related to any allegation regarding the winner’s participation in the contest or the award of, the receipt of, or the use of their prize. Sponsors are not responsible for personal injury of any prizewinner incurred in connection with the use of their prize. Winner may be required to execute an affidavit of eligibility and release of liability prior to receiving their prize. Winner assumes all applicable tax liability for the prize. For the names of the winners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope at the end of each month to: Shimano Fishing Tackle Division/Marketing Dept., One Holland, Irvine, CA 92618.

ELIGIBILITY: Contest is not open to employees of Shimano or their employees. Immediate family members of such employees and employees of any of their affiliated companies, licensees, advertising or promotional agencies, or sponsors are also ineligible. Void where prohibited or restricted. Entrants under the age of 18 must have authorized signature of parent/guardian.

INTERNET: If for any reason, the Internet-related portion of this program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, tampering, fraud, technical failure, or any other cause which corrupts or threatens the administration, security or integrity of the Sweepstakes, Shimano reserves the right, in their sole discretion, to terminate or suspend the program or any portion of the program. ANY ATTEMPT TO DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE FAIR AND LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS PROGRAM WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM THE PROGRAM.

300Xe

2007-08-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

With 25 million Mitchell® 300 reels sold and counting, the new Mitchell® 300Xe exemplifies our heritage of innovation with advanced technology. The Mitchell® 300Xe enhances the joy of fishing through simple design, user-friendly features and proven quality. Anglers who like our family of Mitchell® 300 spinning reels will love the Mitchell® 300Xe for its smoother, stronger and lighter design.

300Xe : 300Xe

SMOOTH DEPENDABLE PERFORMANCE PROVEN OVER 25 MILLION TIMES

	Advanced Polymeric Body and Rotor is stronger than conventional polymeric and graphite materials
	Comfort Touch™ body coating for comfortable handling during long hours of fishing
	Instant anti-reverse for immediate hooksets
	High performance gearing for perfect gear mesh, smoothness and durability
	Multi-disk drag system for precise adjustment and consistent performance
	Aluminum handle for strength and non-flex reliability
	Oversized bail wire and line roller for increased strength, durability and reduction of line twist
	NeverFail ™ compression bail spring

Fall Transition Walleye Secrets

2007-08-07T11:41:00.000-07:00

by Ted Takasaki and Scott Richardson

Though the calendar doesn’t say so yet, weather forecasters count the time around Labor Day as the start of autumn. Walleye fishermen can attest to the truth of that. Fish are no longer concentrated in their summer haunts. Trolling structure or fishing shallow weedlines produces fewer and fewer walleyes.

Days are shorter. Nights are cooler. The transition has come.

"All of a sudden, walleyes aren’t where they were," says Greg Bohn, veteran guide, tackle designer, and member of the Lindy Fishing Tackle pro staff. "They’re gone."

As early as mid-August, subtle changes (that often go unnoticed) signal the start of the fall transition period. Weeds begin dying, from colder overnight temperatures, fewer hours of sunlight, and other factors.

"Dying weeds, that’s what starts it and pushes it," says Bohn. "What a lot of people don’t understand is that baitfish will only stay in those weeds as long as they are very green. Once weeds start to die off, it seems as though baitfish and walleyes start to leave those shallow-water weed areas."

Shallower, dark-water lakes enter the transition period first. Deeper, clear-water lakes experience transition later in fall. Some lakes have green weeds all the way to ice-up.

Walleyes on the move can be hard to locate, so the transition can be frustrating. But, these fish migrate to predictable areas and gather in big schools, generally according to size.

Once the big ones are located, action can be incredible.

"What the fall does is it gives the walleye angler the edge," Bohn says. "The fish are not spread all over the lake. They are in key spots in the deepest part of the lake. You can literally eliminate most of the lake, as you think about where to look."

Where Transition Walleyes Go

"At first, they start to move out to more open-water areas," explains Bohn. "Sand is a really critical thing, if it’s available. They slide out to areas around deep water, like sand bars that come out from shore and drop to deeper water, sand flats, sand points, and sand humps.

"The real sleeper (spot, that walleye anglers don’t fish enough at this time) is sand, especially in September. If you are fishing your summer spots and they aren’t there, start fishing the sand."

Don’t look for walleyes in the deeper water, though, not yet. As the transition is getting underway, it’s still common to find walleyes in 15 feet and less.

At those depths, a good quality sonar unit can be a big help. Walleyes may be so tight to the bottom, they’re difficult to see, but not impossible. Humminbird has a unit that features 640 vertical pixels. Combine that with bottom tracking and the zoom feature, and you can often pick up on walleyes tight to the bottom. Likewise, they may be on the very top of the structure. In that case, spooking fish can become an issue.

The bottom line is this: if an area has the characteristics that should hold fish, fish it.

(Hint: best way to check the shallows is to keep the boat in deeper water, cast to the top of the structure and work back down.)

Live Bait is Hot

This is the time of the year to use live bait. Early in the transition, try half a nightcrawler on a small NO-SNAGG Timb’r Rock Jig. Drag it along the bottom– unlike in summer, when a more aggressive ’hop’ did the trick.

For deeper work, drift or use an electric trolling motor to slow-troll a NO-SNAGG Rig with a 5-foot snell. In 18 feet or less, Bohn likes to use the small 1/8 oz NO-SNAGG sinker. This forces him to move slowly, in order to maintain bottom contact. Bait this rig with half a ’crawler or a whole minnow.

Turnover Tricks

Walleyes begin to move deeper as water temperatures drop toward turnover, which begins at 62 degrees F or so. Instead of looking for fish to be on top of structures, look deeper. They will be in spots like the sharper breaks or on mid-lake humps that top out at perhaps 20 feet, rather than 15, or in holes in soft-bottom flats where depth drops from 15 feet to 20 and then returns to 15.

At this time, walleyes become more selective about where they stage. They generally locate on a spot-on-a-spot. For example, if they are on a mid-lake hump with scattered boulders, they will be on the boulders. If all rock, look for the patch of sand. If all sand, look for the rock pile. Think about fishing that "something different" and you’ll often be in business.

Precision with regard to location becomes important. Because more and more walleyes show up on these few spots, more and more of the lake holds no fish. It’s easy to be skunked if you don’t pay attention to subtle differences on the structure. On the other hand, it can be a bonanza if you do.v"Once you find one walleye," Bohn says, "you’ll often find more."vAs water continues to cool down, through the 50s to the 40s, walleyes tend to locate on structure that leads to the deepest water in the lake. Check points or bars that extend out into the deep basin. "That’s the last stronghold before freeze up," Bohn says.

When water temperatures reach the 30s, walleyes that were in 15 feet of water in mid-August are now down 45 feet or more (where this kind of depth is available to them). They tend to seek out places where mud and hard bottom meets in the deepest water in the lake. Deep boulders become fish magnets.

The deeper water is warmer and holds food at that time of year.

In shallow, dark-water lakes that have a perch forage base, walleyes will dig up mayflies and other aquatic insects from the ‘deep’ mud.

In deeper, clear lakes, they may be at 70 feet and deeper looking for smelt, ciscoes and whitefish that are deep at that time of year. Bohn caught a 6-pounder out of 73 feet of water last October while filming a television show!Bohn prefers to reach those deep fish with a _- or 3/8-ounce sinker. He moves his boat slowly, so he can maintain bottom contact and pick up on subtle bites. But, NO-SNAGG inventor, Ron Lindner, likes even heavier sinkers. Take your pick. Dress your rig with a big redtail chub up to 5 inches long or more. That may sound huge, but 30-inch walleyes are gobbling 10-inch whitefish at this time of year.

For deep jigging or rigging, try using a St. Croix 6-foot, 6-inch casting rod and reel spooled with 10-pound Power Pro braided line to feel the bottom and the bites better. Keep the drag tight until the fish is hooked. Then loosen it, and take your time reeling it to the surface to prevent damage to the fish’s swim bladder.

Fish are on the move as fall turns to winter. Move with them and you’ll turn cold weather fishing into a hot time on the water.

Jig Fishing Techniques

2007-08-07T11:40:00.001-07:00

By Steve vonBrandt

Today's soft plastic lure market is booming with new styles and colors of baits, but when you are looking for the biggest bite of the day, the fish that consistently win tournaments; then anglers in the know go to the bait that has been proven over time to catch the biggest bass; the venerable jig-and-pig.

20 years ago, this bait was reserved for the sluggish bass, or for fishing in the heaviest cover, or for bottom fishing techniques. Today, this bait is being used at all times of the year, in a variety of different fashions.

This bait has remained relatively the same over the past 30 years. It has gone through some cosmetic changes, such as better hooks, livelier skirts, and a broader spectrum of colors and sizes, along with plastic trailers, which enable a wider variety of color options, but this bait, dressed with either plastic or pork, continues to catch bigger bass when other baits fail. Because of the popularity of the flipping technique used by most of the veteran anglers today, the jig has remained among the most popular baits in many anglers tackle boxes. Because of so many recreational anglers concentrating on the flipping technique, the jig's universal effectiveness has been overlooked.

Many people have forgotten that casting a jig is an effective technique also. The jig can be presented at a lot of different depths and around a variety of structure. You are really limiting yourself if you only focus on the flipping aspect of it. Many times during the summer months, we have come in behind other anglers flipping obvious targets, or casting more traditional summer lures, and we have caught bass making roll casts, and looking for isolated pieces of cover that other anglers have missed.

DIFFERENT SIZES

Jig sizes have changed in recent years, along with skirt material and colors. The 3/8 ounce size remains the most popular, with smaller versions are being used more and more with great success. The smaller finesse type of jigs are much more effective in clear water, while the heavier, bulky versions are great for fishing stained to muddy water. Not that the heavier jig isn't effective in some shallower, open water, but a more compact 1/2 ounce bait is more effective, than the bulkier style. I use a shorter trailer for this. This is especially true when fishing some of the finger lakes of New York State, or any of the waters where smallmouth bass are also present. The heavier jig is more effective when the bass are aggressive, as it allows you to fish it faster and cover more water. When the fish are suspended, or you need to keep it in the strike zone longer, the lighter jig is more effective. We always keep experimenting with several sizes, letting the bass tell us what they want. In the summer months, when we swim the jig around boat docks, we opt for the lighter 1/4 ounce size, with a plastic trailer, to imitate a crawfish or baitfish. Swimming the jig is a very effective technique that is overlooked by many weekend anglers. Most small jigs don't have a big enough hook to handle quality bass, which is why we use a Spotsticker handpoured Jighead. We have been using this bait since 2002, when we had great success with it in several local tournaments in cold water as well as in the summer. The Spotsticker has a bigger hook than most, and it handles larger bass well. In warmer, clear water, we like to use a grub or swimming worm as a trailer, this is very effective when you are trying to imitate a crawfish. In colder, or more stained to muddy waters, we like a bulkier trailer, as they displace more water and make it easier for the bass to home in on the bait.

The design of the jighead is another thing you have to think about. They need to be matched to the type of cover you are fishing. A jig that has a head that is more pointed, with its eyelet coming out of the front rather than the top, is going to pull through weeds better than a broad shouldered jig. We like to use a Jungle Jig, by Northland, or a Terminator Pro's Top Secret jig for this. The Terminator has a recessed eye, as does Mann's Stone jig designed by Mike Iaconelli, and they all come through this cover well.These jigs helped us win the Big Bass World Championship several times. They were very effective here in the Northeast, in some of the heavier, weedy cover. When we fish around rocks and wood, we use a jig with more shoulders to help stop it sometimes. Many companies make this type of football or stand up jig, which is great for these situations. When you pull it over an object, the jig tips, adding more action. We have used these jigs effectively on many of New Jersey's reservoirs such as Spruce Run. You must also match the size of the line to the size of the jig hook you are using. A heavy-duty jig hook requires a stronger hook set, so you need heavier line to handle it.

Of course, it helps to know when you're getting a bite. Big bass really thump a jig with the same vigor they do a plastic worm, and many other strikes are felt simply as spongy sensation, or just like you're dragging weeds. That's why it is important to set the hook on anything that feels unnatural, it could be weeds, or it could be a seven pounder!

JIG COLORS

While a black and blue jig seems to be the favorite, we like to match jig colors to the water conditions. A dark colored jig with a big crawfish trailer, moving on the bottom, does a great job imitating a crawfish, but a white jig swimming over cover and around boat docks does a good job of imitating a baitfish. This is great when bass want a slower presentation, or when you can't fish a crankbait or jerkbait with ease. Many times when bass are feeding on shad, but want a slower presentation than a spinnerbait, this is the best choice. It can also catch the bigger bass that are ignoring the spinnerbait. The new "Sweet Beavers" by Andre moore's company, "Reaction Innovations", have been the hottest and most productive soft plastic this year all over the country.

We like the plastic trailers in the summer months, and the pork in the winter.The new Uncle Josh Pork is more pliable in cold water, while plastic gets stiff. In places where many anglers cast tubes or small finesse worms, such as clear water flats, we cast jigs in neutral colors, and catch bigger bass. Many times when bass ignore other baits, the jig will trigger a strike. This is also a great bait for night fishing.

www.reeltimeanglers.com

EPA to approve dumping ban

2007-08-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

Boston Harbor boaters will have to clean up their habits

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | August 7, 2007

Boston Harbor, after a $4 billion cleanup that renovated large waste-water treatment facilities and sewer systems, is set to become the largest port on the East Coast to ban a smaller but no less insidious source of pollution: sewage dumped by boaters into the sea.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency said it is planning to approve a request by state and local officials to ban dumping in Boston Harbor. The no-discharge area would extend three miles from Boston, Winthrop, Revere, Quincy, Hingham, Weymouth, and Hull. After the ban takes effect next spring, boaters would be required to dump sewage farther out to sea or unload it at pumping stations that flush the waste into municipal sewer systems.

Robert W. Varney, administrator of the EPA's New England Office, said commercial and recreational vessels dump thousands of gallons of sewage into the harbor every year. The waste can poison shellfish beds and drive up the number of days that local beaches must close to bathers. Violaters could be fined up to $2,000.

"Enough is enough," Varney said at a press conference with Mayor Thomas M. Menino and other officials. "It's time to stop discharging into our coastal waters. It's time to use pump-out facilities and create an expectation that these will be the cleanest waters in the United States and [that] anything less than that is unacceptable."

New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have already made their coastlines off-limits for sewage dumping from boats. Casco Bay in Maine has also been declared a no-dumping zone, along with eight coastal areas in Massachusetts, most near Cape Cod and Nantucket.

GLOBE GRAPHIC: Proposed no discharge area boundary

But few large port cities, where commercial and recreational boat traffic can be high, have such bans. The port of New York has no such protections. San Diego is one of the few cities to approve a dumping ban, the officials said.

Boston officials said they began focusing on sewage from boats after other major hurdles in the two-decade cleanup of the harbor had been cleared, including construction of a state-of-art waste-water treatment plant at Deer Island and a 2-mile tunnel to carry storm water and sewage away from beaches. State officials said they hope to have all coastline in Massachusetts designated a no-dumping zone by 2009.

"In just over a decade, we transformed our harbor from the filthiest in the nation to the cleanest," Menino said. "No discharge is another part of our effort make sure that Boston Harbor is the cleanest harbor in America."

Some worried that Boston Harbor would be unable to accommodate the 7,000 boats registered in harbor communities and the many outside vessels docking in the area. The harbor has about 26 public and private dockside sewage pumping stations, including 13 in Boston. About a half-dozen pump boats travel the harbor to unload sewage from vessels and ferry it to dockside pumping stations. The services are free, but some worry that the wait for service could be long.

"Let's face it: No discharge is certainly going to make it a lot better, but it's going to be harder for some of the boats," said Paul Bramsen, dockmaster at Boston Waterboat Marina. "People will be running to be emptied out every time they use the boat. The manpower just to take care of this on the docks -- we could probably put two full-time people on this."

But many welcomed the ban yesterday, saying it would result in better swimming and fishing.

"It makes the water clean, and it's worth the effort," said Aaron Kegley, a first mate who pumped about 75 gallons of sewage yesterday from Formality, an 81-foot luxury yacht, to a 23-foot sewage boat, nicknamed Stinky, at Boston Waterboat Marina. The small boat then pumped the sewage into a pipe on the marina, which connects to the city sewer system. The boat makes about a dozen such runs every day.

"No one appreciates the value of clean water more than the Commonwealth's 186,000 recreational boaters and 300 marinas and boatyards," said Leona Roach, executive director of the Massachusetts Maritime Trades Association.

Boaters said that fewer boaters cast sewage into Boston Harbor than they once did, mindful that they would probably encounter scorn from fellow boaters.

"It's kind of a rule of the road as far as boaters are concerned," said Kathy Rowe aboard Once Around, a 95-foot yacht from the British Virgin Islands docked yesterday at Boston Waterboat Marina.

Still, about 15 percent of boaters in Salem Harbor admitted to dumping within 3 miles of the coastline, according to a 2004 state-funded survey of 871 boaters by Salem Sound Coastwatch.

Lawrence J. Cannon, 68, who was piloting the sewage boat at the marina, said most boaters police themselves and refrain from dumping. The proposed ban, he added, "is good for everyone."

Feds shut down Pacific whiting fishery after bycatch dumping

2007-08-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

By JEFF BARNARD

The Associated Press

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — The second most valuable commercial fishery on the West Coast has been shut down for the rest of the year after investigators found evidence a fishing boat and a processing plant were illegally dumping unwanted fish.

Fishing for Pacific whiting would have been shut down early this year anyway, with about a quarter of the annual quota of 208,000 metric tons uncaught, because so many widow rockfish were being taken inadvertently as bycatch, said John DeVore, groundfish staff officer for the Pacific Fishery Management Council, which sets fishing seasons.

But the action points out the difficulties of exploiting healthy stocks of fish — in this case Pacific whiting — without exceeding caps meant to protect species like widow rockfish that were overfished for years — and the temptation to break the rules when a lot of money is at stake.

"Where there are huge financial incentives to hide fish, I think monitoring has to be a very important and integral part of the regulatory regimen we put together," said Capt. Mike Cenci of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. "We're gong to have to start looking hard at finding ways to increase officer presence in all three states, Washington, California and Oregon."

Pacific whiting, also known as hake, has long been the most plentiful fish landed on the West Coast. Most of it is ground up to make artificial crab. Some is processed as fillets, which are finding a growing market in Spain and Eastern Europe.

With global demand for fish strong and quotas on many other species restricted, prices have risen from 2 cents a pound three years ago to 6 cents a pound and more now, making it the second most valuable fishery on the West Coast, worth $36 million to fishermen last year, according to NOAA Fisheries. Only Dungeness crab earns more.

Since 2005, strict caps have been put on the amount of rockfish taken inadvertently, known as bycatch. To keep track observers are stationed on the big catcher-processor ships and mother ships that process fish caught by trawlers. But monitoring of processing plants on shore is sporadic, Cenci said. Trawlers that deliver to shoreside plants have onboard video cameras.

Though still under a rebuilding program, widow rockfish have been recovering faster than expected, and this year's whiting season was tough from the start because boats were catching lots of widow rockfish, said Rod Moore, executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association.

"There was just absolute panic in the fleet," Moore said. "Nobody wanted to be the guy who shut down the fishery because of bycatch. This guy came up with a bunch of widows and panicked and did something stupid and unlawful."

Rather than exceed their share, the 10 Seattle-based catcher-processor boats quit early and headed to Alaska to fish for pollock, said Jan Jacobs, president of the Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative, which represents the boat owners.

Lehew Wins National Guard Junior World Championship

2007-08-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Shane Lehew, 18, of Charlotte, N.C., and Dylan Peppers, 13, of Good Hope, Ga., are the National Guard Junior World Champions after two days of competition on Lake Hamilton. Held in conjunction with the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup on nearby Lake Ouachita, the National Guard Junior World Championship will award $42,000 in scholarships and youth-program grants to the top six competitors in the 11 to 14 age bracket and top six competitors in the 15 to 18 age bracket.

Lehew, from The Bass Federation’s Southern division, won the 15 to 18 age group with four bass weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces. He fished Sunday with Team National Guard pro Derek Jones of Chicago, Ill.

"This is a dream come true," Lehew said. "It’s just an awesome feeling. I did the exact same thing I did yesterday. Early in the morning I used topwater baits. Later in the day we fished shallow water near docks.

"Derek gave me a lot of great tips to better my fishing," Lehew continued. "I can’t wait for what the future holds."

Rounding out the top six anglers in the 15 to 18 age group are Tyler Towers of Star City, Ark. (one fish, 1-9); Joseph Morse of Woodbury Heights, N.J. (zero fish); Sterling Pfundheller of Phoenix, Ariz. (zero fish); Cody Harris of Grand Blanc, Mich. (zero fish); and Nick Sampson of Gorham, Maine (zero fish).

Peppers, who also represents the TBF’s Southern division, won the 11 to 14 age bracket with three bass weighing 3 pounds, 11 ounces.

"Today fishing with Lehew made me change the way I fish," Peppers said. Yesterday I fished in shallow water near grass and today I fished near docks. I used a Zoom Horny Toad today to catch my bass. I hope to be back next year. What a great accomplishment."

Rounding out the top six anglers in the 11 to 14 age group are Robert Ramasci of Wakefield, Maine (two bass, 2-12) Daniel Ruedi of Champaign, Ill. (one fish, 1-10); Ryan Taylor of Canyon Lake, Ca. (one fish, 1-10); Zach Whitten of Oceana W.V. (zero fish) and Connor Mendenhall of Omaha, Neb. (zero fish).

The junior anglers were paired with an FLW Tour pro for competition on Lake Hamilton. There are three anglers to a boat: a junior angler from each age group plus an FLW Tour pro who assists the junior anglers but does not fish. The two junior anglers shared control of the boat for the day but compete in their respective age groups on Saturday. Weights zero on Sunday and the top six anglers in the 11 to 14 age bracket and the top six anglers in the 15 to 18 age bracket continue competition, with the winners determined by the heaviest catch from that day.

Designed to highlight the best up-and-coming bass fishing talent in the country, the National Guard Junior World Championship also provides national recognition for the positive activities pursued by America’s youth.

First-place finishers in each age bracket receive a $5,000 scholarship in addition to a sponsor merchandise package. Second-place finishers receive $3,000 scholarships plus sponsor packages. Third-place finishers receive $2,500 scholarships plus sponsor packages. Fourth-place finishers receive $2,000 scholarships plus sponsor packages. Fifth-place finishers receive $1,500 scholarships plus sponsor packages. Sixth-place finishers receive $1,000 scholarships plus sponsor packages.

Additionally, FLW Outdoors, on behalf of the National Guard, awards $1,000 to each of the state TBF chapters represented by the six finalists in each age bracket. This money, totaling $12,000, benefits each chapter’s youth program.

For more information about TBF Junior Angler programs, contact your state’s TBF chapter. For more information about FLW Outdoors, the Forrest Wood Cup and the National Guard Junior World Championship.