Environmental officials are set to conduct a survey of a Central Park lake for the northern snakehead, an invasive predator fish that can live out of water for days.

According to NBCNewYork.com, New York's Dept. of Environmental Conservation is asking that anglers fishing the man-made Harlem Meer secure the razor-toothed fish in a container and alert park staffers, or call 311.

The snakehead species, native to Asia and Russia, has no natural predators and is illegal in most U.S. states. But federal agents have uncovered illegal snakehead selling operations in several states, including New York, Texas, Florida and Missouri. And the so-called "Frankenfish" was recently spotted in the Central Park lake, leading environmental officials to order the survey.

New York, though, is not the first state to report a potential snakehead invasion.



Last spring, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Inland Fisheries (DNR) offered a $200 reward for the successful capture and kill of a snakehead.

"We do not want snakeheads in our waters," DNR director Don Cosden told Fox News at the time.

Last month, a record 14-pound, 3-ounce snakehead fish was caught in Margate, Fla., by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission official.

“It was definitely the largest one we have ever collected," Kelly Gestring, a biological administrator at FWC's nonnative fish research lab in Boca Raton, Fla., told the Miami Herald.

(taken from a Yahoo News source)

On January 17, state Representative Paul Davis introduced legislation that would prohibit the use of all “artificial lures made of rubber." What "rubber lures" actually means is not specifically defined, seeing as how soft baits are not made from rubber at all but from other various substances.
Regardless of the language, the intent of the legislation is clear – to ban the soft baits that Maine anglers use every day, even biodegradable lures currently available. 

Maine's Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife held a public hearing on this bill, where they determined to advance this legislation, as well as one to mandate biodegradable hooks, to a work session for further discussion and possible modification of the bill. At the end of the work session the bill could be recommended for passage, recommended to not pass, pass with modification or a study committee could be formed to further investigate the need for the bill.

At the hearing three individuals spoke in favor of the bill and the remaining speakers, for almost three hours, spoke against the bill. Notably the individual who requested the bill be introduced said the bill was not drafted to his satisfaction and that his intention was to basically ban any lure that had rubber or plastic on it that wasn’t biodegradable – and this included spinners.


According to KeepAmericaFishing, there is no study in the wild showing detrimental impact on fish populations. Years of laboratory tests on soft baits conclude that most fish regurgitate or pass these baits without harm. KeepAmericaFishing urges anglers to continue to speak out on this issue urging the members of the Joint Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to carefully study the facts, both biological and socio-economic before and to either reject the bill or create a study committee of anglers, sportfishing industry experts and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife so the issue can be better understood.

Maine has a rich history with angling and the sport has significant economic impacts to the state. Anglers in Maine provide a $614,401,455 economic infusion to the state each year supporting 6,723 Maine jobs. This economic engine from recreational fishing in Maine also provides $42.8 million in state and local tax revenue. Forty-four percent of Maine’s angling days are done by non-resident anglers, and this ban would affect not only bait and tackle shops but also all tourism businesses.

SCARY stuff! Imagine a world where Soft Plastic's (in all forms) were outlawed.

(Originally printed at WFN- World Fishing Network)

World renowned outdoor artist and sculpture Dan Blair recently sent me some FANTASTIC pictures of his work.  Due to the Spring customs rush I had not had time to download and upload these files. When I did I was amazed AGAIN! 

If you are thinking about adding a mounted fish to your office or home, a sculpture of a fish (made from Bone or Wood), need PRO GRADE hand painted camo, or (really) any outdoorsy art- YOU must call Dan Blair. His company can do most any aquatic/piscatorial scene, sculpture, mount, ETC at a price that will BLOW YOUR MIND! The best part??? He is not only an excellent artist and sculpture - he is amazingly easy to converse with and knows the outdoors better than most hunting and fishing guides! His company has authored over 250 articles on fish carving and sculpturing arts AND has won 270 (thats 2-7-0) awards for their works!  If your in the market to add an affordable Bass (or ANY fish) mount to your wall, do yourself a favor and contact Dan Blair. 

Like I mentioned before- God made fish and Dan Blair breathed life into them! 

Dan Blairs website- www.fish-arts-at-wholesale.com 

Phone- 907-723-3520 

Anybody got an idea when this was filmed? 

Enjoy the video! I did......

Here is an informative video on how to become a better Crankbait fisherman. Hope you enjoy it?! 

(Taken from an article at Bassmaster Magazine)

by Chris Horton 

Sight is probably the most important sense of the bass genus. I say "probably" because most of the research on bass to date has focused on population management, life history, predator/prey interactions, reproductive biology, etc., rather than specific physiological characteristics. However, we do know enough about similar species — and bass in general — to draw some conclusions.

To understand the commitment to sight in the bass species, one needs look no further than the fish's brain. The ocular lobe of the bass is huge, relatively speaking. This means that the fish invests much of its neurological resources in its ability to see.

Anecdotal evidence seems to confirm what scientists see in a lab. In perpetually turbid or dingy waters, bass struggle to grow to trophy size, even if the waters are fairly productive. Why? They can't see well enough to find adequate prey. That's nothing new to the average bass angler. But, what do bass really see? To understand that, we must look at the eye structure itself.

They have bulbous, protruding eyes positioned on both sides of the head that enable them to see a much wider field of view than you or I can see. Basically, their only blind spots are directly below and behind them.

However, much of that sight is monocular, rather than binocular. What's the significance? In order to focus on an object and truly get a good view, both eyes have to see it simultaneously. That means the bass has to be facing the object to discern the true shape and distance, and even then, it has to be pretty close. They may be able to detect motion on one side or the other, but they don't truly understand what they are seeing until they position themselves so that both eyes are peering in the same direction.

Now for the most popular question we biologists get about bass vision, do bass see color? Without a doubt, yes! Not unlike humans, bass have cellular structures in the retina called cones and rods. Rods allow an animal to see black, gray and white in low-light conditions, while cones allow an animal to see color. The exact kind and quantity of cones in bass is uncertain, but the plentiful existence of cones, along with related research, indicates that color selection can be important, depending on the conditions.

Color is a product of light. Light is both absorbed and refracted by water, and the shorter the wavelength, the deeper the color can penetrate. In clear water, the blue end of the spectrum is visible at the deepest depths, while the red end is absorbed more quickly.

However, the clarity of the water also plays a role. If there is a strong algal bloom, or the water is muddy from a recent rain, light behaves differently. In these conditions, colors that contrast with the surrounding water will be noticed more quickly. At night, bass rely on their retinal rods, just as we do, to see shadows and movement. During new moons, there isn't a lot of ambient light in the water, and it dissipates quickly with depth. In these conditions, darker lures have more contrast and can be seen better. On bright, moonlit nights where more light penetrates, more lure colors will be visible to a bass.

Bass can see color. Paying attention to color can make the difference between a curious follow and a definitive attempt to eat your lure.

Originally published January 2011

Isaac Brumaghim was fighting a small tuna from his kayak Sunday when all of a sudden the fish became “heavy” and he could no longer gain line. Suddenly, immediately behind him, the tuna jumped and the surface erupted as a huge shark emerged and filled the frame on a mounted camera. Brumaghim, who was fishing off western Oahu, had captured this dramatic event on video. “I swear I could hear the shark’s jaws chomp closed,” said Brumaghim, who believes the predator was either a tiger shark or Galapagos shark.What the footage does not show, however, is that after the tuna, or kawakawa, had shaken free of his hook, the shark devoured the fish and swam in a circle around Brumaghim before swimming off.

“It was as if the shark was taunting me,” Brumaghim said. “It gave me the heebie-jeebies.”

He gained fame as a fishing tackle inventor, angling authority, author and longtime TV host.
Doug Hannon, known as the “Bass Professor,” whose unique expertise in a wide range of design skills and academic subjects in and outside of angling, died Thursday, March 28, at his home in Keystone, a north Tampa suburb. Hannon was 66.
He recently had neck surgery and was recovering at home, said friend Russ Riley, a family spokesman and president of WaveSpin/MicroWave, a fishing components design company Hannon launched eight years ago, and which he served as its chief engineer.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1946 to a Canadian mother and a father from Texas, Hannon moved to the United States at the age of seven. He attended Governor Dummer Academy in South Byfield, Mass., and went onto Tulane University in New Orleans, La., to complete a B.A. degree. He was also an accomplished guitarist, playing in rock and roll bands there, and developed a lifelong love for running.
Besides his recent success as a fishing tackle and components inventor Hannon documented the catch-and-release of more than 800 largemouth bass weighing 10 pounds or greater to his credit, making him one of the country’s preeminent big-bass authorities. He was also a highly skilled diver, underwater photographer, author, film maker and lure designer. Hannon was one of the long time hosts on ESPN’s Sportsman’s Challenge TV series. He spoke and wrote extensively about the battles to stop the irresponsible use of herbicides in the nation’s waterways.
As one of the world’s authorities on bass fishing, Hannon wrote hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles on his observations. He also penned three books, Hannon’s Field Guide for Bass Fishing, Catch Bass, and Big Bass Magic. He filmed and produced videos with 3M called Understanding Bass, Catching Big Bass, and Bass-Formula for Success, which among them won Cleo and Teddy awards.
He published the Hannon Moon Times nationally and an annual pocket guide for anglers called the Moon Clock now in its 32nd year.
Through his TV work and tips at fishing shows, Hannon gained a following of thousands of friends in the fishing community and often was called on to speak worldwide on his fishing knowledge.
Hannon the inventor
Hannon, while best known for his bass fishing, also had nearly 20 patents for numerous fishing tackle, lures and boating propulsion designs. After its launch last summer Hannon was again riding the crest of worldwide acclaim with his newest innovation, the MicroWave Line Control System by American Tackle, introduced at fall and winter fishing and trade shows in Australia, Asia, and Europe and recently in North America.
One of his earlier inventions, introduced four decades ago, was of the weedless trolling motor blade. It allowed anglers to fish vast areas of previously inaccessible weed beds where bass live and is still used by millions of anglers today. It also put him in the fishing world spotlight.
“He was deeply analytical and had an exceptional ability to visualize and solve complex issues, especially when it came to fishing tackle, lures and components geared to helping anglers enjoy the sport,” Hannon’s friend Russ Riley said. “You could instantly see and feel his passion when he was showing anglers at fishing shows his engineering designs in use such as casting and catching fish. He absolutely loved the sport.”



He will be missed.