TRCP Clarifies Relationship with AFL-CIO's Trumka

Continued from Journal Page

On June 16, I said that I am “troubled” by Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, serving as a board member for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP).

Here is the response from TRCP’s Katie McKalip:

Mr. Trumka was selected to serve on the TRCP board at our spring meeting, and it was an oversight on our part that his name did not appear as a board member on our website. (We since have corrected this.)

A word about the TRCP’s connection with union members and union sportsmen. In 2007, the TRCP formed the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, a hunting and fishing club that gives union sportsmen the opportunity to unite their union and outdoor lifestyles and connect with fellow union sportsmen across North America. When union members joined the USA, they also became TRCP partners and helped safeguard American sporting traditions and advance the TRCP mission, activities that have contributed to the TRCP’s effectiveness in furthering conservation objectives in the interest of the hunting and angling community.

Last year, the USA became a stand-alone entity apart from the TRCP, although our groups maintain close ties and seek opportunities to collaborate on common goals and bolster each others’ efforts when possible. Rich Trumka said this about the relationship between the TRCP and union sportsmen:

“The USA offers our nation’s union members the chance to organize, sustain and defend a uniquely American way of life – an outdoor heritage both for themselves and for their children and grandchildren to enjoy. The AFL-CIO is honored to have played a founding role in establishing the USA, and we welcome the opportunity to foster our partnership with the TRCP by continuing to promote a conservation message that resonates with union workers everywhere.”

Fundamentally, the TRCP created the USA to promote our conservation mission and strengthen the impact of American workers in determining responsible management and use of our natural resources. Working with influential leaders like Mr. Trumka helps us achieve our goals and objectives concerning public access for hunting and fishing and adequate funding for natural resources conservation.

And here is my response to her:

I appreciate your thorough explanation of the relationship between TRCP  and Richard Trumka. And you make logical arguments for the relationship.

But I still am troubled by the partnership. I don't like Trumka's politics, not to mention his close ties to this president and his dream of "transforming" our country.

On the other side, I do believe that many union members, perhaps the majority, are not in lockstep with their leader and probably do support "traditional" American values and pastimes, including hunting and fishing.

Catch a Carp to Help Lake Conroe Bass Fishery

LAKE CONROE 

Rod & Reel

GRASS CARP TOURNAMENT

Saturday: July 9, 2011    Stow A Way Marina       $35.00

This tournament is being endorsed by Texas Parks & Wildlife, San Jacinto River Authority, and Texas B.A.S.S. Federation Nation

And is being sponsored by Oakley Big Bass Tour, Roadhouse Tackle, Lake Conroe Fishing Guides, Paydirt Custom Jigs, Dock Line, Stow-A-Way Marina and RV Park, Southeast Region of Texas B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, and B.A.S.S.      

Registration: $35.00 per individual  Hours: 7:00am-3:00pm

($5.00 from each entry will go to the Lake Conroe Habitat Restoration Program)

3 Ways To Win:

Largest Carp Brought In Each Hour

Most Carp Brought In Each Hour

Most Carp Brought In For The Entire Tournament

8:00am-9:00am first weigh in

TOURNAMENT RULES

1. PARTICIPATION/ELIGIBILITY: The 2011 Lake Conroe Grass Carp Tournament is open to any angler who has a valid Texas fishing license (unless not required to hold one). Any person under the age of 18 years must have the signature of a parent or legal guardian in the provided space on the official entry form. Valid fishing licenses and other forms of identification may be checked by tournament officials throughout the tournament.

2. REGISTRATION: Early registration will be accepted in the form of checks up to July 2, 2011, and should be postmarked by June 30, 2011. CASH ONLY will be accepted the day of the tournament. Checks can be made out to “The Lake Conroe Restoration Project”, and can mailed to Ron Gunter – 11889 Nicholson Rd. Conroe, TX 77303. Registration on the day of the tournament will begin at 5:00am at Stow A Way Marina. Contestants must be registered to weigh in a fish.

3. PAYOUT: The total payout for this tournament will be at 86%, with 14% retention towards the Lake Conroe Restoration Program. The funding for this program will help purchase future stocks of native aquatic plants that will be transplanted into Lake Conroe.

4. TOURNAMENT HOURS: This tournament will begin at 7:00am and end at 3:00pm on July 9. 2011. Anglers may launch anywhere on the lake, but may not begin fishing until 7:00am. The first “hourly” weigh in will be during the 8:00am to 9:00am hour.

5. PERMITTED FISHING METHODS: This is a rod & reel tournament. Only grass carp caught on rod & reel will be weighed. Both artificial and (legal) natural baits may be used. Please keep in mind that the use of “sport fish” as bait is not permissible. The intentional use of any snagging methods will not be allowed, however any grass carp unintentionally hooked outside the mouth can be brought to the weigh in. Both fishing from a boat, and bank fishing will be allowed during this tournament. Please be respectful of private property owner’s rights. Contestants may use up to three rods at a time to fish. TRAILERING WILL BE ALLOWED for this tournament.

6. PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS: ONLY waters of Lake Conroe will be the designated fishing locations for this tournament.

7. SAFETY: Safe boating must be observed at all times. The use of a legal US Coast Guard approved personal floatation device will be required for all participants any time that the combustion engine on the boat is in gear. All boats constructed with an automatic kill-switch must be attached to the boat’s driver while in use. Each boat must have all required US Coast Guard safety equipment on board, and the boat’s outboard may not exceed the horsepower regulations established for that boat.

8. REQUIRED PERMIT: Grass carp are currently a protected species in Lake Conroe. An official permit from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (allowing for the retention of grass carp) will be required to be in the possession of every contestant during this tournament. The permits will be issued to the contestants at the time of registration, and will only be valid for the day of the event. Grass carp taken from Lake Conroe will not be allowed at any other time. Only grass carp (white amur) will be weighed in for this tournament. No common (German) carp, buffalo, gar, or grinnell will be accepted.

9. SPORTSMANSHIP AND CONDUCT: All contestants will be required to conduct themselves in a courteous and conservative manner. The use of alcohol or illegal substances during tournament hours will result in immediate disqualification from the tournament.

10. SCORING: Beginning with the 8:00am to 9:00am hour, and extending to the 2:00pm to 3:00 pm hour, contestants will earn monetary prizes based on the following- a.) The biggest grass carp brought in; b.) The most grass carp brought in. In case of a tie for most fish, the contestant with the heaviest fish in that bag will take the prize. There will also be a grand champion prize earned for most overall grass carp brought in for the entire tournament.

11. LIABILITY WAIVER: We do hereby release, forever discharge, and agree to hold harmless all sponsors and endorsers (and their associated staff related to this tournament), and all tournament officials from any and all liability, claims or demands for personal injury, sickness or death, as well as property damage and expenses, of any nature whatsoever which may be incurred by the participant while participating in this tournament.

12. RULES CHANGES: All decisions of the tournament director are final and not subject to appeal. Interpretation of these rules will be left exclusively to the Tournament Director. Protests must be in writing within 10 minutes of the official closing of the scales at the end of each hour.

13. QUESTIONS & CONTACT INFORMATION: All inquiries may be forwarded to Ron Gunter – 11889 Nicholson Rd. Conroe, TX 77303/ home 936-264-3073/ cell 936-524-4413

2011 LAKE CONROE GRASS CARP TOURNAMENT

Entry Fee:  $35.00 per person

Name:                  ______________________________________

Address:               ______________________________________

City/State/Zip:       ______________________________________

Phone Number:      ______________________________________

Email:                  ______________________________________

Minor (under 18):  Yes/No_________________________________

By signing this form I have read and understand the rules, and release all liabilities claims, and future claims against tournament directors, sponsors, and its affiliates.

Signature:            ______________________________________

Signature of Parent/Guardian Authorizing Participation in This Tournament for Minor Under 18

Years of Age:        ______________________________________

Please make checks out to “The Lake Conroe Restoration Program”. Mail in registrations post marked after June 30, 2011 will not be accepted.

This form may be photocopied.

Pebble Mine Still Threatens America's Last Great Wild Fishery

From Scott Hed, Director, Sportsman's Alliance for Alaska, and Dwayne Meadows, Bristol Bay National Outreach Director, Trout Unlimited:

As we gear up for the summer fishing season, it’s easy to forget about the big issues.   We’re focused on checking our gear. We’re watching water levels as record snows in the Rockies flood the rivers, promising  hold-onto-your-hat salmon-fly and stone-fly seasons.  We’re watching the promising early numbers in the Pacific Northwest as spring Chinook and steelhead swim pass the counters at Bonneville and Willamette Falls.  Guides are loading up to fly north to Alaska, or just showing up in mountain valleys still filled with snow and fast rising rivers in Montana and Wyoming.  We the fisherman are oiling reels,  checking bank accounts and being kind to bosses as we plan trips to our favorite spots. Some of us are gearing up big for the trip of a lifetime.   Others are still years away from that trip, stashing away money, pinning articles up above the fly-tying desk, and talking with friends over beers about how someday we will go someplace like Bristol Bay, Alaska. 

 

But we need to make sure Bristol Bay is still Bristol Bay when we get there.  The world’s largest sockeye salmon run and the best trophy rainbow fishing anywhere will be in peril if a massive mining project known as the Pebble Mine comes to pass. This is not just Alaska’s issue.  It is not just a commercial fishing or sportfishing issue.  This is about America’s last great wild fishery.   If we falter here, we will have laid down our rods at the feet of a multi-national corporation.  We will have turned an industry with a long history of destroying fisheries loose in a place that provides 40 percent of the wild salmon the world eats.  As fishermen we will have abandoned one of the last places that is hatchery-free, with runs averaging 40 million salmon a year. 

If you fish and have not heard of Pebble, you may have been under a rock.  It is a proposal for the largest hard rock gold and copper mine in North America, bringing with it all the pollution risk and water consumption that comes with mining at this scale. It would sit at the headwaters of the largest salmon fishery in the world, a place where you can catch 5 types of salmon, rainbows, Dollies, char, northern pike, lake trout and grayling.  Its sport fishing industry brings in $100 million a year; its commercial fisheries are worth $400 million each year. Together they provide jobs for more than 12,000 people.   

All those jobs will be at risk. And Pebble Mine will cost taxpayers in Alaska and the rest of the United States for centuries as its toxic waste lingers. When the Pebble Partnership finishes mining in 50 years or so, they will lay off the 800 workers, displacing families, leaving a mess of roads, the world’s largest earthen dam, a ten square mile settling pond, and a hole three-quarters of a mile deep.  We will be faced with a mine waste clean-up of massive proportions.   For those of you familiar with copper and gold mines, whether in Utah, Michigan or Montana, you know what it has cost to clean up past mistakes and abandoned mines.  Just the cost of monitoring the mining activities will cost the taxpayer a fortune.

So, you say, what can I do?  Maybe you have already signed a petition or friended the Save Bristol Bay page on Facebook.  You might have shown the film “Red Gold” at your house and have a “No Pebble” sticker on your boat.  Those are a great start, but we are now beyond bumper stickers.  We have a rare opportunity.   We have a tool to stop this beast.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under section 404c of the Clean Water Act, can veto a location for the disposal of dredged or fill material, even before a permit is submitted, if the waste run-off will have unacceptable adverse effects on water purity, fish, wildlife and recreational areas. That means the EPA could stop Pebble in its tracks. The agency is completing a watershed assessment on Pebble Mine that will be open for comment within a few months. We as fishermen need to let our members of congress, many who are attacking EPA as an overbearing job killer to industry, know that the EPA must take a hard stance on Pebble Mine. No matter your feelings about EPA, taking a hard look at a mine that could ruin thousands of long-term jobs and cost taxpayers for years to come is the right thing to do.  Let the EPA know that.

We have 600 businesses, fishing and hunting clubs, conservation groups, chefs, commercial fishing groups, and tribes working together on this effort. The momentum is there, but we need all hands on deck.  Throughout the summer we will be travelling all over the US, talking with restaurants, fly shops, commercial fishermen and local conservation groups about the importance of this issue.  Take the time to read the emails or the Facebook postings, or if you see something on a local fishing forum. Then get off your duff and do something.  Donate to the cause, whether you can afford to write a big check or need to dip into the beer money to send $20 bucks. Go to www.SaveBristolBay.org today and get involved.

 Your member of congress, your U.S. Senators, the EPA and especially President Obama need to know it is time to say no to the Pebble Mine.  The EPA is reviewing Pebble Mine as you read this.  We sportsmen are middle of the road voters, we need to let President Obama know as election season draws near that taking a hard stance on the Pebble Mine is something we will notice. It is about jobs, it is about cutting spending, it is right for the long-term health of our nation and it is about knowing places like Bristol Bay will be there for that once-in-a-lifetime trip.

So as you gear up for summer, take a moment and consider that the world’s largest wild salmon run could be lost without your help. When you think about what your home river looked like 150 years ago, that is what the rivers of Bristol Bay look like, wild. When you work at your local river clean-up or stream project, remember we still have Bristol Bay, where the habitat is intact. Even if you can’t stand your member of congress or the President, remember this: They will do anything to get elected and you’re a voter, so make Pebble Mine an issue. We will be all over the country this year beating the drum to stop Pebble Mine, but it will take you stepping up.  The time is now to stop Pebble Mine.

Over the Top at Table Rock --- Almost!

Continued from Journal Page

That’s not a causeway that you are seeing in that photo. It’s the top of the dam at Table Rock Lake. The rest of it is under all of that water.

This popular impoundment on the White River rose to historic high levels last week, as 10 to 15 inches of rain fell in a few days on the surrounding area.

And, of course, I had planned to do a little fishing during that time at Table Rock, as a guest of  Bass Pro Shops and Big Cedar Lodge, and then at Bull Shoals with friends. With all of that water flowing out of Table Rock, through Taneycomo, and into Bull Shoals, I decided to postpone the latter part of the trip.

Incredibly, guides Lyle Caldwell and Tony Weldele managed to put us on a few fish at Table Rock, despite all of that muddy, high water choked with debris. Here is Weldele with a spotted bass that probably weighed close to 4 pounds.

And here’s an example of some protected backwater that the mud hadn’t moved into.

At Table Rock, water rose more than 20 feet above power pool and more than 4 feet above the top of flood pool, forcing the Army Corps of Engineers to open all of the flood gates to lessen pressure on the dam. Downstream, floodwaters rushing through Lake Taneycomo spread out into low lying areas of Branson, including the Landing. And, from there, it poured into Bull Shoals Lake, where it will be stored to keep downstream communities along the White River from flooding.

While I was in Springfield, I was treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible collection of fish and animal mounts, tackle, and other items donated to Bass Pro Shops. Much of it will be used in exhibits at the more than 50 BPS stores nationwide.

And when the sun finally broke through on Thursday, Big Cedar Lodge took me and other guests on a wagon ride around the property.

Big Cedar Lodge long has been a favorite of mine, and it was good to get back, despite the dreary weather. Staff did a great job of dealing with the adversity brought on by the historic rains and flooding.

If you are looking for a world-class fishing get-away or a place to take the family for a comfortable vacation with an outdoor flavor, Big Cedar is the place.

How Atmospheric Pressure Affects Fishing

Continued from Journal Page

This is an excerpt from the "Weather" portion of my book, Better Bass Fishing. Of course, the book is written mostly for bass anglers, but this section --- as with many of the others --- can help you beocme a better angler in general by understanding the "big picture."

Generally moving from west to east, areas of high and low pressure determine our weather.

As high pressure moves in, winds tend to blow clockwise and away from the center. Weather within the center of a high-pressure area features clear sky, dry air, little or no wind, and cooler temperatures. Especially during fall and winter, high pressure brings sunny, blue-bird skies, cold winds, and poor fishing.

With the approach of a low-pressure area, the wind blows counter clockwise and toward the center. Weather within the center of a low-pressure area features cloudy sky, high humidity, light winds, steadier temperatures, and possibly precipitation. Fishing almost always is better under these conditions.

Changes occur as one type of pressure is pushed out by another. A low pressure area moving in typically brings unstable weather and falling barometric pressure. Falling pressure, anglers know, typically coincides with better fishing.

But maybe not for the reason that many believe. Some think that high pressure makes fish uncomfortable, which is why they don’t bite well upon the arrival of fair weather and a rising barometer. They also believe that falling pressure prompts fish to become more active.

Actually, what probably happens is that falling pressure allows plankton and tiny invertebrates to become more buoyant and float upward. This makes them easier prey for shad and minnows. The increased activity of these forage species, in turn, triggers bass and other game fish to feed.

Or, falling pressure simply might be an indicator of more favorable conditions overall, according to Bob Ponds, a former professional angler who worked as a radar specialist and supervisor for the U.S. Air Force and the National Weather Service.

“If you have falling pressure, you’re going to have high humidity and clouds. It will be darker and the fish will stray out farther from where they have been hiding and they will bite better,” he says. “Barometric pressure doesn’t affect how fish bite so much as it indicates conditions that affect how they will bite.” 

And what happens when the barometer rises? Why do the fish stop biting? Here’s one theory:

“When you’ve got a rising barometer, fish are going to seek eddies and structure to take the pressure off them,” says Sam Griffin, a lure maker and guide on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. “We can feel a temperature change. They can feel a pressure change. We think that fish hide in cover and behind structure to feed. They also do it to rest.”

Secret: Changing atmospheric pressure is not as likely to affect fish behavior in rivers and streams as it is in lakes and impoundments. That’s because water flow in these fisheries is a more dominating factor for increasing or decreasing pressure than is the air.