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TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2019

- AMMUNITION -
Hornady is proud to announce 350 Legend 170 gr. InterLock American Whitetail ammunition. InterLock bullets feature exposed lead tips for controlled expansion and hard-hitting terminal performance.
- ARCHERY -
Easton’s AXIS SPT is the newest member of the legendary AXIS lineup offering improved field performance for bowhunters with shorter draws and/or lighter-poundage setups comes in three spines, 500, 600, & 700 and is priced to offer and exceptional value and is compatible with all AXIS components.
- BOATING -
The Alabama Marine Resources Division (MRD) will temporarily close the Bay Watch Boat Ramp for repairs on Monday, May 13, 2019, at 7 a.m. The boat ramp is located adjacent to the U.S. Highway 98 bridge at the mouth of the Fish River in Baldwin County, Ala.

- COMPETITION -
Zachary Axtman, of Rugby, North Dakota, weighed a combined total of 27.40 pounds to win the National Walleye Tour Presented by Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops event at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, May 3.
Martin Truex, Jr. overcame pre-race inspection penalties, resulting in him starting from the rear, to conquer Dover’s Monster Mile and win the rain-delayed Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway yesterday.
Brandon Cobb took home the title at Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Lake Fork after catching an impressive four-day total of 114 pounds.
- CONSERVATION -
The Pope and Young Club is proud to announce the support of Vanguard Outdoors through the Club’s Corporate Partner Program.

Cannon Air Force Base, in partnership with The Conservation Fund, announced Monday the protection of 30,493 acres adjacent to the Melrose Air Force Range.
- EVENTS -
Steyr Arms will be hosting the 2nd Annual Steyr Challenge, Oct. 5 in Seetaler Alpe in Austria, with teams from across the globe competing for the title of “Toughest Hunters in the Alps.”
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, along with Neuse Sport Shop and the U.S. Forest Service, will sponsor more than 30 kids’ fishing events across the state in May and early June.
Vermont’s annual, statewide Summer Free Fishing Day is Saturday, June 8 this year, and it will be highlighted by a free family fishing festival in Grand Isle as well as opening day of the state’s regular bass fishing season.

Steyr Arms will be hosting the 2nd Annual Steyr Challenge, Oct. 5 in Seetaler Alpe in Austria, with teams from across the globe competing for the title of “Toughest Hunters in the Alps.”
The public is invited to the Indiana DNR Division of Forestry’s open house event on May 10 to dedicate its newly constructed office building at Morgan-Monroe State Forest, located just south of Martinsville.
Learn how dugout canoes used to be built from experienced volunteers at Indiana's Mississinewa and Salamonie lakes on various dates this summer.
The annual Exceptional Anglers event, Gone Fishin', Not Just Wishin', at Oak Mountain State Park will take place May 8-10, 2019. The event teaches basic fishing skills to students with special needs from the Shelby and Jefferson county school systems.

- FISHERIES -
Indiana's Pigeon River, Turkey Creek and Little Elkhart River will be stocked for the weekend of May 11-12 and Memorial Day weekend, May 25-26. Little Kankakee River, Potato Creek and Slocum Ditch will only be stocked for Memorial Day weekend, May 25-26.
- FISHING TOURNAMENTS -
Boater Scott Wright of Carbon Hill, Alabama, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Choo Choo Division tournament on Neely Henry Lake Saturday with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 14 ounces. Wright earned $3,313 for his day on the water.
- GEAR -
Pack all you need for some fun in the sun in the Realtree Fishing Carry All Tote, which comes in three unique Realtree Fishing pattern colors.
- INDUSTRY -
Guntec USA has seen huge demand for their all-new Gen II .308 Upper. It is made in Scottsdale, AZ, and is built with a proprietary aluminum composition that reduces heat and is extremely lightweight and ergonomically designed

The 2019 NRA Annual meeting wrapped on April 28 with 81,283 total attendees and over 800 exhibitors, including GLOCK. The Company debuted its newest pistol at the show — the GLOCK 45 MOS — which meets growing market demand for an easy way to mount popular optics without expensive slide alterations.
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) will file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q today (May 7, 2019) after the close of the stock market.
Chattanooga Shooting Supplies announced the opening of offices in the Southeast and Southwest. The new locations increase CSSI’s presence nationwide and offer sales and support in addition to its headquarters in Chattanooga, TN.
- INTERNATIONAL TRADE -
If the administration moves ahead with this action, it would mean that the 10 percent tariff that was imposed on certain outdoor products sourced from China, such as backpacks, sports bags, leather ski gloves, camp stoves, camp chairs, bikes and bicycle parts, would rise to 25 percent.

- NEW PRODUCTS -
Streamlight Inc. introduced the Portable Scene Light EXT, a taller model of its Portable Scene Light, featuring a pole and rotating head that extend a full 84 inches high. With its extra foot of height and its 5,300-lumen output, the rechargeable high lumen light allows for complete scene light coverage
DeSantis Gunhide introduces 11 holster fits for the Ruger Security-9 Compact pistol. These include the Mini Slide, Mini Scabbard, Inside Heat and more.
G. Loomis offers its new IMX-PRO Blue Series saltwater rods, now being launched to tackle shops up and down the East Coast and available in four spinning and six casting high-performance models for both inshore and light-duty offshore situations.
Delta McKenzie announces the addition of two new 3D targets for the 2019 tournament season: tapir and howling wolf.

Wildlife Research Center®, the leader in Scent and Scent Elimination, has now released break-through Scent Killer® Air & Space Deodorizer. Powered with cutting edge NO ZONE™ Technology to attack a wide range of odors and knock them out. It attacks odors at the molecular level, not just trying to cover them up with a fragrance.
As we inch closer to scouting for the trophies of fall 2019, SPYPOINT is delivering a new lineup of non-cellular cameras for hunters to effectively and efficiently scout their hunting properties.
- NEWS -
More than 100 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty last year, an increase from 2017, according to the FBI’s annual Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2018 report released Monday.
- NRA ANNUAL MEETING -
The National Rifle Association’s 148th Annual Meetings & Exhibits, presented by MidwayUSA April 25-28, 2019, in Indianapolis, Indiana, was met with energy and enthusiasm from a massive crowd of 81,283 members.

- ONLINE -
Mossy Oak GO is now presenting the third short film documenting Fox Haas' annual spring turkey pursuit in the short film "Mr. Fox's 72nd Turkey Season."
In addition to co-hosting the award winning series “The High Road with Keith Warren”, Matti Warren is a licensed real estate agent in the state of Texas who focuses on farm and ranch properties. In a newly released online video, Matti takes us along on a hunt to fill her freezer at a dream Texas ranch that is listed for sale.
Vanguard recently launched a newly redesigned website. The company chose to build their website on the Shopify platform, which provides a better user experience and adds peace of mind that personal data is being housed on a secure platform.
- ORGANIZATIONS -
Employees of companies that support the National Shooting Sports Foundation at the highest level may apply for education aid through the NSSF Patron Member Scholarship Program. NSSF has made a total of $60,000 in scholarship funding available for a maximum of 25 winning entries.

"Democrat presidential aspirant Cory Booker’s far-ranging gun control scheme that calls for five-year licensing, invasive background checks, bans on semiautomatic rifles and original capacity magazines and more amounts to an outrageous plan to turn the Second Amendment right into a government-regulated privilege,” says the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).
According to the Boone and Crockett Club, more states are being forced to take a closer look at how information gained from GPS technology is being used to hunt big game species. The issue is making its way onto the dockets for some state legislators and governors to decide.
- PASSINGS -
Former International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE) officer and Master Class Shooter Vick Pickett of Mesa, Arizona died April 29 after a 20 month fight with transverse myelitis.
- PROMOTIONS -
O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. announces an online consumer promotion, the MC1sc Centennial Sweepstakes. In celebration of the company’s 100thanniversary and the introduction of its 9mm concealed carry handgun, the MC1sc, Mossberg invites consumers to register to win a limited edition MC1sc Centennial 9mm pistol.
- RETAIL -
The new ALPS Outdoors Renegade X is a compression stuff sack that is also waterproof, providing a lightweight, small-footprint solution for dry gear storage.
- SPONSORSHIPS -
Morrell Manufacturing, makers of a wide variety of high-quality archery targets, is continuing as a Whitetails Unlimited national sponsor.
Texas Trophy Hunters Association (TTHA) announces their new sponsorship from Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC), a Texas-based company specializing in outdoor equipment.
- STATES -
Besides instruction, participants usually have a chance to go fishing in a pond or lake with teachers on hand to help with casting, baiting hooks, and handling fish once they’re landed.
Archers can stalk foam animals in the Foothills at Idaho Fish and Game's new archery range on the Boise River Wildlife Management Area, and other recreationists may notice some changes to trail use in the area near the range.
Fisheries biologists with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will hold a public meeting at Calvary Baptist Church Life Center in Harrisburg at 6 p.m., May 9 to discuss the progress of the ongoing renovation of Lake Poinsett.
To encourage Nebraskans to go fishing and introduce newcomers to the activity, Gov. Pete Ricketts has officially proclaimed the month of May as Take ’Em Fishing Month in Nebraska.
Chronic wasting disease regulations, upgrades to the DNR's license sales system and the department's sustainable forestry campaign are just some of the discussion topics for the next regular meeting of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission, set for Thursday, May 9, at Lansing Community College's Gannon Building.
- TELEVISION -
Join host Michael de Avila as he explores fishing spots for recreational anglers while trying to make them experts in Lunkerville on Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. on World Fishing Network.
This week, Keith Warren’s Deer and Wildlife Stories is in Terrell, Texas at Big Rack Ranch. Here, you’ll see the prettiest typical whitetail deer in the entire deer farming industry- you don’t want to miss this.
- TRADE -
Last week, the Government of Canada removed all retaliatory tariffs on U.S. recreational boats entering Canada, immediately ending a levy that hurt boat businesses on both sides of the border.
- WASHINGTON -
More than 700 guests gathered last week for the annual Ducks Unlimited Capitol Hill dinner and auction. More than 70 bipartisan members of congress were in attendance, along with many congressional staff members, partners in agriculture and conservation, members of the Trump Administration, Wetlands America Trustees and Ducks Unlimited volunteers and board members from around the country.
Recently, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife convened a hearing – titled, “The State of Fisheries” – to examine current fisheries policies and identify opportunities to improve the health and sustainability of marine ecosystems.
Ducks Unlimited “applauds the nomination of Rob Wallace to be assistant secretary of the interior for fish, wildlife and parks."
 

Editor’s Note: Today’s feature first appeared in our companion service, The Fishing Wire.

Snook are no longer on the menu starting May 11 and continuing for more than a year in Southwest Florida due to a shutdown by FWC. (Frank Sargeant Photo)

By Frank Sargeant, Editor

Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) made a pre-emptive strike on restoration of inshore fish on the state's southwest coast devastated by red tide--and shocked many anglers--by moving to shut down all harvest of the Big Three of Florida fishing, snook, redfish and spotted sea trout. The closure, which begins May 11 this year and continues until May 31 of 2020 as it now stands, will likely have a significant financial impact on guides, bait shops, fishing-oriented resorts and tackle and kayak and boat sales to say nothing of individual recreational anglers--but will be very good for the fish.

It won't be the first time one of the state's premiere fisheries has been shut down to allow recovery--in 2010 after a massive winter kill of snook, the commission shut down all take for almost three years.

Millions of adult fish were killed in the most recent red tide, which extended from November 2017 to early 2019, 15 horrendous months. Countless tens of millions more fry-size fish as well as the bait all gamefish feed on were also wiped out.

While some estuarine areas where the tide did not reach remain very good--or even better than before in a few places because the noxious water pushed fish off the coast and well up the bays to escape--others like Sarasota Bay, a narrow bay with three inlets direct to the beach, had a devastating complete kill. Beaches and residential canals were littered with tons of rotting fish, and spending a day on the beach became impossible--many beachfront hotels all but shuttered their doors as thousands canceled vacations.

Rotting fish not only wiped out anglers' hopes but also decimated the beachfront resort business during the extended red tide. (Photo credit FWC)

The red tide finally dissipated as mysteriously as it came, in February this year. The state still has no cure and perhaps never will, though the new conservation-oriented Republican governor Ron DeSantis has appointed a commission and created a department to attack the problem along with blue green algae, a separate issue mostly affecting fresh water but also a major issue in the Indian River Lagoon near Jensen Beach in recent years. (Why there are not more Republican's tapping into the conservationist/boater/angler/outdoorsman vote these days is a mystery well worth exploring.)

The closure will extend from the Pasco-Hernando county line near Tarpon Springs south (including all waters of Tampa Bay) through Gordon Pass in Collier County, just south of Naples.

The area traditionally has been the heart of snook country in Florida. Redfish and trout were already down when the red tide struck, some think from overharvest as a result of Florida's booming population of inshore anglers, guides and kayak fishers. There have also been some water quality issues, particularly on Tampa Bay, where the city of St. Petersburg has had several massive sewage spills in recent years. (In general, though, 40 years of conservation efforts on the bay have brought steady improvement in clarity and consequently in the amount of sea grass, a mark of a healthy estuary--until the disastrous red tide struck.)

There's no question that a complete shutdown will go a long way towards rapidly restoring these important fisheries--the extended snook closure of 2010 to 2013 produced the best snook fishing seen in decades immediately after, and the effect is still obvious, with anglers outside the red tide zones routinely catching and releasing 40 to 50 linesiders in a day when fishing with live sardines.

FWC has been working with partners including Coastal Conservation Association Florida, Duke Energy and Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium to raise and release red drum and snook into southwest Florida waters to help address red tide impacts--a popular move with anglers.

Restocking of juvenile fish may help kick start some areas, but research indicates the best solution for recovery is a healthy stock of natural spawners. (Photo credit FWC)

However, past efforts with limited stockings have shown very small returns relative to the cost--most released fingerlings wind up as chum for larger fish. Nature functioning the way it should is the best cure, by far, and shutting down the harvest to allow spawners to survive is the quickest way to recovery.

For those who enjoy eating fresh fish they've caught themselves, there are still plenty of targets; flounder and pompano from spring through fall, sheepshead and mangrove snapper--two of the best tasting fish in the sea--in cooler months. Off the beaches, there are Spanish and kings, and on the reefs adult mangrove snapper, yellowtail snapper, red and black grouper and of course red snapper, which seem to be doing exceptionally well these days as a result of very tight management for several years.

It's going to be a trying year for many who depend on the inshore fishery for their livelihood. Though many guides have already gone to very limited harvest just to protect their own turf, a complete shutdown will surely cause some customers who would have chartered them to choose something else to do during their Florida visit, or perhaps to head to northwest Florida for a charter, where the fisheries remain open.

The good news is that barring another visit from Karenia brevis and related nasties, anglers are likely to see some exciting fishing when the closure comes to an end next year, and hopefully a strong year class of spawning fish may mean even better fishing ahead.

— Frank Sargeant 
Sargeant is editor of The Fishing Wire

OUTDOOR WIRE
Event Calendar

MAY 6-8
Firearms Industry Compliance Conference

PGA National Resort, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (Website)

JUNE 2-5
NSSF Industry Summit

Cheyenne Mountain Resort, Colorado Springs, Colorado (Website)

JUNE 7-9
D.C. Project Foundation’s 3-Gun Fundraiser

Reveille Peak Ranch, Burnet, Texas. Contact: Dianna Muller di@pro3gunner.com Info: pro3gunner.com/team-match

JULY 30 - AUGUST 1
Import/Export Conference

Washington, DC (Website)

 
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