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Vermilion snapper fishing in south Atlantic closed
The National Marine Fisheries Service on Sunday will close the recreational fishery for vermilion snapper in south Atlantic waters from North Carolina to the Florida Keys. The closure, part of a strategy to recover the fish from overfishing, will run through March31. Possession by recreational anglers is prohibited. The commercial fishery closed Sept.18 and will reopen Jan.1.
Among the best deer bagged this fall in North Carolina is a 13-pointer taken by archery hunter Lloyd Rigdon of Mooresville.
He felled the big buck, weighing approximately 175 pounds, in Anson County. Tom Higgins
Weekend angler Brent Long of Cornelius, representing South Carolina in the three-day Bassmaster Federation Nation Championship, took fourth of 55 anglers on Wednesday's opening day on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Tavares, Fla. Long caught four fish weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces. Chuck Murray of Louisburg, representing North Carolina, took 12th place with five fish weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces. Winners of the six regional divisions will earn slots in the Bassmaster Classic championship Feb.19-21 on Lay Lake near Birmingham, Ala. OBSERVER NEWS SERVICES
Fishing Tournaments
Lyn Langston of Timmonsville, S.C., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League Lake Norman Regional Championship Saturday with a three-day, 13-bass catch weighing 30 pounds, 1 ounce.
The victory earned Langston a bass boat and motor and helped him qualify for the 2010 BFL All-American tournament.
Second was Brent Long of Cornelius (12 bass, 28-5, $3,000); followed by Patrick Tierney of Denver, N.C. (14 bass, 28-3, $1,500).
George Hirapetian of Charlotte won a bass boat and motor as the winning co-angler with 14 bass weighing 21pounds, 12 ounces. Second co-angler was Thomas Vickers of Lincolnton (12 bass, 20-1, $1,500); followed by Chad Griffin of Ninety Six, S.C. (11 bass, 18-1, $750).
Lindsay Bigham and Michael Holmes, both of Charlotte, teamed to win a Carolina Catfish Club tournament Saturday on Mountain Island Lake.
The duo boated two catfish, the event's limit, weighing a total of 48.6 pounds.
The runner-up, fishing alone, was Jeff Manning of Gastonia with two fish scaling 46.8 pounds. Tom Higgins
Brothers Billy and Mark Emmart, both of Wilmington, took last weekend's Fall Brawl King Mackerel Classic based at Ocean Isle Fishing Center.
The two topped 169 other teams with a king weighing 41 pounds. They earned $17,000 for the catch made at the Fairway Ledges, 6 miles off Bald Head Island on the east side of the Frying Pan Shoals.
Second place went to a Holden Beach-based team with a king of 38.55 pounds, which held the lead until the tournament's final hour. Tom Higgins
Danny Fletcher of Elizabeth City beached a red drum measuring 50 inches last weekend to take a surf fishing event on Hatteras Island.
The tournament, sponsored by the N.C. Beach Buggy Association, drew 300 entrants from 19 states.
Anglers checked in 151 red drum and all were released alive. Tom Higgins
Boater John Strider of Monroe finished 11th in last week's Bassmaster Southern Open at South Carolina's Santee Cooper lakes, taking home $2,880.
Finishing 22nd was boater Ron Wolfarth of Oakboro with $1,224.
Winning boater was Allan Glasgow of Ashville, Ala., whose three-day bag of fish weighed 38 pounds, 6 ounces, good for $32,400. OBSERVER NEWS SERVICES
Catches of the Week
A 431/2 -inch red drum in the Ocracoke Island surf by Rick Hogan of Burlington. It was his first trophy-sized red after 371/2 years of trying. "Worth the wait," said Hogan.
A 12-pound, 10-ounce black drum and an 8-pound, 6-ounce puppy drum at Bogue Inlet Pier by Lou Pace of Stella.
Lake Norman catfish of 18, 10, 8 and 5 pounds during a 45-minute period by Mac Byrum of Denver, N.C.
Limits of Fontana Lake smallmouth bass averaging about 21/2 pounds per fish on three successive days by local angler Billy Jack Milsap. He caught the bass trolling crankbaits and spoons 25-30 feet off the shoreline.
Approximately 120 spots during two days while fishing at Ocean Isle Pier by Johnny Tyson of Lucia.
A 5-pound, 9-ounce flounder in the Ocracoke Island surf by Nicole Mackel of Pantego.
