Bring fiddle
and  fishing rod

Don't forget your banjo, fiddle or guitar when you pack your gear for the fishing tournament.
Roger Wise, a DIFF board member, is once again inviting club members to Cabin 10 at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, for a little pre-tournament bluegrass and country music jam session.
If you just pluck a little or are an accomplished picker, drop by and make a little music with Ron and the gang.

Gray trout are on the mend

that day.
fter years of intensive conservation and recovery efforts by state and federal managers and significant sacrifices by fishermen from the mid- and south Atlantic states, all indications show that North Carolina weakfish, or gray trout, are in good shape and the stock has been declared "viable" by state fisheries officials.
Credit for the recovery goes to the fishery management plan devised by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, said Preston Pates, director of the state Division of Marine Fisheries. Such plans describe the nature and problems of a fishery and regulatory recommendations to conserve that fishery. Regional plans are developed through the mid- and south Atlantic fisheries management councils and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission for migratory species like weakfish that move up and down the East Coast. State-level plans are developed for non-migratory stocks like southern flounder and blue crab.
"The take-home message here is FMPs work," said Pate. "By collaborating with partner states, federal agencies, and fishermen, we were able to map out and implement a proactive, long-term recovery strategy for weakfish that today has resulted in a record high spawning stock biomass, along with a continuous expansion of the age structure in the

population. In other words, we now have lots of females producing babies and those babies are growing older and successfully contributing to the stock."
While the comeback is good news, Pate cautioned that regulators will not immediately ease fishing restrictions.  "Even though the stock has been declared viable, it is still vulnerable and must be protected," he said.  "We will maintain the current harvest restrictions for the foreseeable future, and gradually lessen restrictions as the stock continues to build. We can't fling the doors wide open and let folks return to wasteful fishing practices of the past.  If we do that we will wind up right back where we were in the early '90s," Pate said.
The division's annual stock status report evaluates the health of North Carolina's important coastal fisheries, spotlighting successes and as areas of concern. Of the 40 stocks listed, 12 fall into the viable and recovering categories, 12 are listed as concerned, 10 are listed as over fished, and six are listed as unknown. The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission uses this report to decide how to develop fishery management plans.

Tournament

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S Roofing Co., Inc., for paying for the generator.
We also want to thank Barringer and club members Ron White and Roger Wise for once again paying for the lunch Saturday. David McCauley of McCauley & Assoc. in York S.C., donated $100 for tournament door prizes.
Remember, all contestants must register at DIFF headquarters at Cabin 10A between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sept. 27 and must attend a pre-tournament meeting at 11 a.m.

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