Here’s a look at Nick Dulleck’s potential world record spotted bass.
Courtesy Nick Dulleck.
Has a California angler caught – and released – the new world record spotted bass?
It appears so.
According to media reports, Nick Dulleck was fishing New Bullards Bar Reservoir on Valentine’s Day when he landed the fish, which tipped the scales at 11 pounds, 4 ounces. It was 24 ½ inches long with a 20 ¾ inch girth.
Dulleck and a friend weighed the fish in their boat before releasing it. That scale has since been certified by the International Game Fish Association – the group that maintains world records – as being accurate. He also got the fish on video in front of witnesses.
What all that means is that Dulleck will likely, if a few other things check out, be recognized for having caught the top spotted bass ever.
The existing record is a fish caught in January of 2015 from the same lake. It weighed 10 pounds, 6 ounces.
Dulleck told his tale to Bassmaster; check it out for more details.
Hunting change
Pennsylvania Game Commissioners are giving farmers suffering from deer damage something they’ve long wanted.
The agency offers what it calls its “red tag” program. It allows farmers to use hunters to kill antlerless deer on their properties outside of traditional hunting seasons, namely through winter and again starting in mid-summer through late September.
There was always one catch.
To participate, landowners had to be enrolled in the commission’s cooperative access program for at least two years prior.
A number of farmers have complained about that over the years, saying that deer damage problems come and go. They always wanted to be able to enroll in the program in years when deer were an issue.
Commissioners finally agreed.
At their recent meeting, commissioners decided to let farmers enroll in the red tag program immediately, regardless of their past history with access.
“If they’re willing to open their land to public hunting today, we can sign them up today,” said commissioner Dave Putnam of Centre County.
Hunter safety
Four people died in hunting accidents in New York last year.
Still, the year was the safest on record, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
There were just 13 hunting-related shooting incidents statewide. That’s the fewest since record keeping began in 1958.
By comparison there were 26 accidents in 2015.
Of last year’s 13 accidents, seven involved self-inflicted wounds. That included two of the fatalities. Eight of those injured weren’t wearing orange, something that’s not mandatory across all seasons in that state.
New York has about 500,000 licensed hunters.
Tree cutting
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is going into the tree business.
In an attempt to generate some revenue, the commission is exploring the idea of timbering some of its properties. There’s some potential there, it seems.
The commission owns about 565 acres at its Kyle Lake property in Jefferson County. Approximately 50 percent of that is forested.
The commission brought in a forester to look at the site and found that it could expect to make perhaps $300,000, said Brian Barner, deputy director for administration.
The other site that has some potential for generating revenue is the commission’s Oswayo fish hatchery in Potter County, he said.
Beyond that, Barner said, there may be some sites where the commission could sell timber. But none of those are very large or likely lucrative, he added.
Boats and carp
Boaters may be asked to pay more to get on the water in Kentucky, all because of an invasive fish.
The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet later this month to consider increasing boat registration fees. The additional money raised would go to battle the spread of Asian carp.
According to a commission news release, the carp, “threaten native sport fish species and present a safety hazard to recreational boaters (and) endanger the $1.2 billion fishing and recreational boating industry in western Kentucky.”
Asian carp school by the thousands and can fill the air with jumping fish when a boat motor startles them.
“The surface of the water around and in front of a moving boat can suddenly erupt with thousands of jumping fish,” said fisheries division director Ron Brooks, a nationally recognized authority on this invasive species. “The damage to boats and injuries to boaters caused by high speed collisions with these fish are increasing each year.”
Kentucky boater registration fees haven’t gone up in 15 years. The proposed new fees would take the cost of registering boats under 16 feet in length from $19 to $24, boats 16-26 feet from $23 to $38, boats 26-40 feet from $29 to $50 and boats longer than 40 feet from $33 to $60. Inboards would increase from $34 to $47 and boats powered only by trolling motors from $9 to $14.
Officials say the new fees would still be below those of surrounding states.
