Bob Sampson: New regulations may affect catches, expense of fishing
Featured Business » .By BOB SAMPSON
sports@norwichbulletin.com
Posted Mar 24, 2010 @ 08:11 PM
Anglers across the state are waiting for a number of items to be passed during this year’s legislative session that will affect marine fishing this season.
The Department of Environmental Protection’s regulatory package, which includes changes to marine regulations for fluke, weakfish, black sea bass and winter flounder, had not been made official as of this writing.
The change of most immediate concern regards the winter flounder season, which opens April 1 and runs through the end of May. The minimum length of 12 inches is the same as last season. However, the creel (catch) limit was reduced from 10 to two per day.
This reduction in creel limit is essentially a moot point because very few anglers in this area have caught any winter flounder, let alone 10 during the past few seasons.
This species has made a small comeback to the north in Massachusetts waters, with Boston Harbor and Quincy improving in recent years. For some reason, winter flounder have not responded positively to increasingly restrictive regulations here in Connecticut waters.
Part of the reason winter flounder catching has been reduced during the past few years is the timing of the season. In the distant past, some of the best winter flounder catches were made in places such as Bluff Point shortly after ice out in early March.
Flatfish are a cold-loving species and because water temperatures, even during a couple of our recent cold, wet springs, have still been borderline for this species’ comfort levels. A high percentage of large keeper-size flatfish already have left their wintering areas, such as Bluff Point, by the time the April 1 season opener rolls around.
There are still a few flatfish around to catch, with the Niantic Bay area providing some of the better catch reports in this part of the state during the past five or six years. Early flounder fishing is a tradition for many marine anglers, so for some, getting out, even for a skunking, marks the beginning of our marine fishing season.
License issue
The one problem is this year everyone older than 16 must have a license to fish in Connecticut’s marine waters for the first time.
One of the most important bills in front of the Connecticut legislature this year is SB 207, a proposal to roll back the doubling of license fees by our legislature in October 2009.
There are too many types of licenses to list them all, though the proposed changes can be found on the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen (CCS) Web site, www.ctsportsmen.com.
Those modifications of most immediate importance to Connecticut residents, who are readying themselves for winter flounder, spring striper or freshwater fishing, are a reasonable $10 fee for a Resident Marine Waters (saltwater only) Sport fishing license, $40 for a Resident Inland Waters (freshwater only) license or $50 for a Resident All Waters Sport license (fresh and saltwater).
The fact that SB 207 is moving in the General Assembly shows that many sportsmen have contacted their legislators regarding their views on lawmakers’ irresponsible action in October. If, and hopefully when, SB 207 is passed, the saltwater license will remain at $10, the freshwater license will be reduced to $25, and the all waters license will be rolled back to $32.
Don’t stop bugging your local politician until this bill has been passed, and hopefully implemented immediately to save sportsmen from over-paying for the privilege to fish and hunt in this state. For this reason, it’s a good idea to delay buying a 2010 license as long as possible. They can be purchased with a credit or debit card online at the last possible moment.
Bob Sampson’s outdoors column appears in the Norwich Bulletin every Thursday.
Featured Business » .By BOB SAMPSON
sports@norwichbulletin.com
Posted Mar 24, 2010 @ 08:11 PM
Anglers across the state are waiting for a number of items to be passed during this year’s legislative session that will affect marine fishing this season.
The Department of Environmental Protection’s regulatory package, which includes changes to marine regulations for fluke, weakfish, black sea bass and winter flounder, had not been made official as of this writing.
The change of most immediate concern regards the winter flounder season, which opens April 1 and runs through the end of May. The minimum length of 12 inches is the same as last season. However, the creel (catch) limit was reduced from 10 to two per day.
This reduction in creel limit is essentially a moot point because very few anglers in this area have caught any winter flounder, let alone 10 during the past few seasons.
This species has made a small comeback to the north in Massachusetts waters, with Boston Harbor and Quincy improving in recent years. For some reason, winter flounder have not responded positively to increasingly restrictive regulations here in Connecticut waters.
Part of the reason winter flounder catching has been reduced during the past few years is the timing of the season. In the distant past, some of the best winter flounder catches were made in places such as Bluff Point shortly after ice out in early March.
Flatfish are a cold-loving species and because water temperatures, even during a couple of our recent cold, wet springs, have still been borderline for this species’ comfort levels. A high percentage of large keeper-size flatfish already have left their wintering areas, such as Bluff Point, by the time the April 1 season opener rolls around.
There are still a few flatfish around to catch, with the Niantic Bay area providing some of the better catch reports in this part of the state during the past five or six years. Early flounder fishing is a tradition for many marine anglers, so for some, getting out, even for a skunking, marks the beginning of our marine fishing season.
License issue
The one problem is this year everyone older than 16 must have a license to fish in Connecticut’s marine waters for the first time.
One of the most important bills in front of the Connecticut legislature this year is SB 207, a proposal to roll back the doubling of license fees by our legislature in October 2009.
There are too many types of licenses to list them all, though the proposed changes can be found on the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen (CCS) Web site, www.ctsportsmen.com.
Those modifications of most immediate importance to Connecticut residents, who are readying themselves for winter flounder, spring striper or freshwater fishing, are a reasonable $10 fee for a Resident Marine Waters (saltwater only) Sport fishing license, $40 for a Resident Inland Waters (freshwater only) license or $50 for a Resident All Waters Sport license (fresh and saltwater).
The fact that SB 207 is moving in the General Assembly shows that many sportsmen have contacted their legislators regarding their views on lawmakers’ irresponsible action in October. If, and hopefully when, SB 207 is passed, the saltwater license will remain at $10, the freshwater license will be reduced to $25, and the all waters license will be rolled back to $32.
Don’t stop bugging your local politician until this bill has been passed, and hopefully implemented immediately to save sportsmen from over-paying for the privilege to fish and hunt in this state. For this reason, it’s a good idea to delay buying a 2010 license as long as possible. They can be purchased with a credit or debit card online at the last possible moment.
Bob Sampson’s outdoors column appears in the Norwich Bulletin every Thursday.