Felt waders banned due to algae contamination!

In order to fight the continued spread of the species of algae named didymo, the state of Maryland has banned the use of felt soled waders for fishing effective this past March 22! Alaska and Vermont have enacted similar regulations and Oregon may be next.

“A felt ban, it’s not a panacea by any means,” McKnight said. “But it removes the most organism-friendly mechanism for transporting this. Felt is almost like a petri dish for this.

‘We didn’t think we could do nothing because the stakes were too high. We’re talking about pristine waters, great fisheries, at risk.”

Pennsylvania has didymo within its boundaries. According to the Fish and Boat Commission, it’s been discovered in the east and west branches of the Delaware River.

The commission has not yet considered a ban on felt-soled waders, though, said spokesman Rick Levis.

“We do not have any action pending right now related to felt soles. Staff is evaluating the issue, but are not prepared at this time to make a specific recommendation to our commissioners,” Levis said.

Practicing good disinfecting of your waders, boat bottom and water holds, and any other possible means of transport that an invader could use should be common practice for every fisherman because we need to consider the impact that we are having.

That said, there's no way I'll risk fishing most waters that we think of as trout waters (moving water, lots of stones and growth on the bottom) without felt waders. I've slipped to many times and for my own safety I just won't do it anymore, which means that when states ban felt, there are a lot of waters in that state which I won't wade anymore.

I've tried the studs, and rubber soles, and neither provided the traction of felt, and the metal studs become painfully uncomfortable after a while. Further, Trout Unlimited is taking this step:

In the meantime, Trout Unlimited has asked wader manufacturers to phase out felt-soled waders by the end of this year. That hasn’t happened completely yet, but manufacturers have been developing alternatives that will still satisfy anglers, said Trout Unlimited spokeswoman Erin Mooney.

Truly, this smells of another huge overreach by the zero-tolerance types. Have a problem? Institute a ban! By the evidence of the report itself it took only one year to go from discovery of the presence of the algae to a complete ban. Considering how long it normally takes to accomplish anything when politicians are involved, how many alternatives could the have investigated?

Whatever the rulings, I just know that without felt or a reasonable alternative (which either isn't on the market because I have tried everything I could think of just out of curiosity, or is too expensive for me), I simply won't wade certain waters. Since wading is my preferred form of fishing, I guess that means I'll just have to go elsewhere.

Amazing footage: Grouper snatches hooked shark

This is footage any tv crew would drool to have caught!

Fish farming in Singapore

O man, reading this report at Practical Fishkeeping made me drool over the possibilities. This is a report from Jeremy Gay of his visit to a Singaporean fish farm, and includes lots of pictures!

Huge fish kill in Arkansas

The 20-mile stretch along the Arkansas River where an estimated 100,000 drum fish were found washed ashore and floating looks much different now.

Keith Stephens with Game and Fish explains, "We got a call last week from a tug boat operator that found the fish out on the river along the bank, in the river channel and we immediately dispatched somebody to the area to take a look."

Investigators from local and state agencies took samples from the affected area. Stephens says fish kills occur every year, but the magnitude of this one is unusual, and disease could be the cause.

A pollutant would have affected cross species. Stephens says, "Ninety-nine percent of them were Drum, which is a bottom feeder. It's not a game fish in Arkansas."

Read more here

In addition to that news out of Arkansas comes this shocking report:

Bemused U.S. officials are looking into why more than 1,000 blackbirds crashed from the sky in Arkansas on the final day of 2010.

In scenes reminiscent of the FlashForward drama series, state wildlife employees were searching the town of Beebe after scores of birds fell to the ground late on New Year's Eve, continuing into the early hours of the morning.

High winds and tornadoes swept through Arkansas on New Year's Eve, killing seven people, and state staff believe the bizarre incident could be down to the severe conditions.

That story here.

Record price paid for Meltzhoff Bluefin Tuna painting

I'm a little late on this one but when I found the press release in my email I had to share it with you. This is amazing!

Four paintings of game fish by Stanley Meltzoff set unexpected records for the artist's work at the recent Jackson Hole Art Auction, an annual event that specializes in high-end Western art.

Most noteworthy was "Bluefin at Ballyhoo," an oil-and-acrylic painted by Meltzoff in 1979 that sold for nearly $32,000 -- almost 10 times the pre-sale estimate. Another Meltzoff painting, titled "White Marlin," from 1986, sold for more than $21,000, four times the pre-sale estimate.

The results were especially noteworthy in that the Jackson Hole auction is primarily a vehicle for Western art and rarely deals in other genres.

I'd better keep on working at my fish art! The full report is here.

Octopus attacks and eats shark!

This video has been around for a while, but it's still an amazing capture. This octopus has been hunting in a public aquarium...hunting sharks!!

Cletus take the Reel!

Admit it: you identify with this song don't you? :)