The 42nd annual Saltwater Angler’s League of Texas (SALT) Memorial Day Classic Fishing Tournament takes place Saturday and Sunday.
The event will take place out of their clubhouse on Pleasure Island.
The tournament’s entry fee is $40 and allows anglers to compete in redfish, speckled trout, flounder, black drum, sheepshead and croaker divisions.
All categories pay out through third place. Both the redfish and black drum categories are slot-sized fish only.
Junior anglers (15 and younger) can compete for first place prizes for various inshore species ranging from croaker to crabs.
The youth division is free of charge and signing up is not necessary. Kids can just show up and weigh in their catches.
The S.A.L.T. tournament is always a good indicator of the health of local fisheries as the top anglers in the area compete and bring their best to the scales. This year has again been a banner for speckled trout and I suspect we will see solid fish brought in.
The deadline for entry will be closing time Friday for designated businesses selling tickets. Fishing officially begins at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and ends 3 p.m. Sunday.
For more information call 963-0433 or 988-4954.
•
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission has considered a Notice of Intent (NOI) to modify the size limit on black bass on the Lower Sabine River.
The NOI proposes a decrease in the minimum length limit (MLL) of black bass from 14 inches to 12 inches on the main stem of the Sabine River from the Toledo Bend Reservoir Dam downstream to the Interstate 10 Bridge. If approved, these changes will go into effect on September 1, 2016. The daily bag limit on black bass will remain at eight fish.
This modification will maintain consistency with a recent regulation change made by Texas Parks and Wildlife that we have covered at length on these pages.
•
Speaking of Southeast Texas area bass, when the Bassmaster Elite Series anglers visited Toledo Bend a couple of weeks ago, they helped the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries accomplish a unique stocking.
“Typically, fingerlings stocked into areas of good habitat will have a better chance of survival,” said LDWF Biologist Manager Kristi Butler. “Our goal with producing and stocking Florida largemouth bass is to increase anglers’ chances of catching larger than average bass and the Florida/Northern hybrid largemouth bass grow larger than Louisiana’s native Northern largemouth bass.”
Anglers met LDWF hatchery trucks at Cypress Bend Resort Boat Dock on Saturday morning to collect largemouth bass fingerlings bagged with water and oxygen according to LDWF officials. The fingerlings were produced at Booker Fowler Fish Hatchery in central Louisiana, and were roughly 2 to 2.5 inches in size.
“This inaugural stocking event not only directly improves the fishery, but gives the anglers ownership of the lake, which is frequently selected for competitive tournaments,” said Butler. “In fact, in 2015, Toledo Bend Reservoir earned the top coveted spot on Bassmaster Magazine’s ‘100 Best Bass Lakes in the Nation.’”
According to LDWF officials, the effectiveness of placing fast-growing Florida bass into the lake is evident by the numbers of double-digit fish entered into the Toledo Bend Lake Association’s Toledo Bend Lunker Program.
“In 2015, the lake certified 81 bass weighing over 10 pounds. With only a few days left in the 2016 Lunker Program year, the program has certified a phenomenal 139 10 plus pounders.”
•
“Pinky” the dolphin is back on social media.
The now (literally) world famous albino Atlantic bottlenose dolphin has been spotted again on Lake Calcasieu and we are interested in any photos or videos you have as well as recent sightings.
Send information to chester@kingdomzoo.com.
•
We have covered high school bass fishing quite a bit on these pages. There are several key reasons why I believe the high school bass fishing programs in our schools is extremely important.
The fishing industry has been engaging for the most part the same people for innovations for decades now. Part of that is because there were few people from younger generations entering into the industry at any level. That will change with high school bass fishing as well as the collegiate level.
The tech savvy generation of today thinks differently and by merging their ability to navigate ever-changing technology and learning about fishing and competition, we expect there to be innovations in electronics, lures, rods, reels and perhaps in tournament formats to come from young people who started on high school teams.
In many ways the wheel needs reinvented and this generation might be the one to do it.
The fishing industry has had stagnant growth for decades, depending on which source you believe.
Drawing young people into the sport can only benefit the industry and the many jobs it supports across the board from fishing tackle factory works to bait shop owners and yes outdoor writers.
A few years back I wrote a column stating we needed to get kids away from the X Box and into the tackle box. Well, the answer is finally here at least a big part of it. A chance to engage in competition, test oneself on the water and enjoy fishing is a drawing card thousand for thousand of Texas kids.
Most of them will only deepen their love of fishing and continue contributing to the industry for decades to come.
(To contact Chester Moore, e-mail chester@kingdomzoo.com. You can hear him on “Moore Outdoors” Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI or online at www.klvi.com.)