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Gazette, March 26th, 2014
CAPT MIKE HARRISON Lucy’s Choice Bay Charters
March 23, 2014 I was reading a magazine story the other day in which the husband was heading out to go fishing and the wife asked, “When will you be back?” I tell you an alarm went off in my head and I totally lost interest in the remainder of that story! “When will you be back?” sounds simple enough, but there’s more to it than that. Let me give you some unsolicited pointers regarding the answer(s) to that question. You must avoid at all cost, giving an actual time of day! I’ll assume you are interested in, and enjoy fishing, since you are reading this. Then I can logically conclude that you KNOW how hard it is to “quit fishing”. Right? There can’t be many things more difficult than “quitting fishing”. I guess it’s sometimes a bit easier, like when a violent
storm rolls in, or you run out of bait or beer, or there’s a hole in your boat. But most times whether the fish are biting or not, you don’t want to quit. Let’s get back to answering her question: Try to give a very general, relative answer, while being as vague as you can. And never use the word “before”, as in “I’ll be back before dinner, or before the wedding”. That’ll land you in trouble every time. If possible, use “after”, as in “I’ll be back after lunch, or after the kids get home. My personal favorite is “after while”. Now don’t jump straight to “whenever” if you and your sweetie haven’t been together very long. Developing this level of communication with your spouse takes time. Lucy and I have been married 41 years and I still don’t give the right answer every time. But we’re working on it. Heck, sometimes now she won’t even ask. Wishing you the best, Capt. Mike Harrison
(Pictured Above): Angie from Statesville caught this well decorated Red while fishing with Jeff Wolfe.
(Pictured Above): Lucy caught this Striped Bass near Wilmington aboard Lucy's Choice.
Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters Open April 5
(Pictured Above): The Wildlife Commission will open 1,000 miles of hatchery-supported trout waters in 25 western counties on April 5. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open approximately 1,000 miles of hatcherysupported trout waters in 25 western counties at 7 a.m. on April 5. The season will run through Feb. 28, 2015. While fishing on hatchery-supported trout waters, anglers can harvest a maximum of seven trout per day, with no minimum size limits or bait restrictions. Streams and rivers in the Wildlife Commission’s Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters Program are marked by green-and-white signs. Commission staff stocks these waters from March until August every year, depending on the individual stream. A list of numbers and species stocked by month and county can be found
on the Commission’s website. Many of these waters are stocked monthly, although some heavily fished waters are stocked more frequently. Commission personnel will stock nearly 907,000 trout, with 96 percent of the stocked fish averaging 10 inches in length and the other fish exceeding 14 inches. Stocked trout are produced primarily in two mountain region fish hatcheries operated by the Commission and are distributed along hatchery-supported streams where public access for fishing is available. While hatchery-supported trout waters are open to public fishing, many of those miles are privately owned. “Opportunities to fish on many of these hatchery-support-
ed trout streams are only available through the supportand generosity of landowners,” said David Deaton, fish production supervisor for the Wildlife Commission. “It’s important for anglers to respect the property that they’re fishing on and remember that landowners can take away access if they feel their property is being misused.” Deaton said that anglers can help prevent the loss of public access to fishing by: • Respecting private property and landowners at all times; • Removing all trash and litter from fishing and parking areas; • Parking only in designated areas and leaving driveways See TROUT, page 17B
New Program for Military offered at Pechmann Fishing Center The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, working with the Fayetteville chapter of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, is offering a new monthly program to wounded, active-duty military personnel and disabled veterans at the John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center in Cumberland County. The Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing program will be held on every third Thursday
of the month. The free program will be dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of military personnel and veterans with disabilities through the therapeutic benefits of fly fishing. Program activities include: • skill development; • opportunities for socialization with experienced fly-fishermen; • Fly casting, fly fishing, rod
building and other fishing-related activities; and, • opportunities to participate in guided fly-fishing outings. The topic of the March 20 program, scheduled from 6:30 to 9 p.m., will be “Discovering Fly Fishing through Digital Resources.” This program will guide participants through various fly-fishing resources availSee MILITARY, page 16B
Step Up For Soldiers 9th Annual Children's Fishing Tournament May 17th at Kure Beach Pier Step Up For Soldiers will hold it's 9th annual children's fishing tournament on Saturday, May 17, 2014, Armed Forces Day, at the Kure Beach Fishing Pier in Kure Beach, North Carolina. The
tournament will start at 7:00 and run until about noon. As in past years everything is free. Fishing equipment, bait, breakfast, lunch, snacks, prizes and gifts are all provided by Step Up and their sponsors. This
tournament is open to children of active duty, reserves, and veterans of all five branches of the military. Registration can be accomplished by going to the Step Up See STEP UP, page 16B