McClory: Economy keeping anglers closer to home?

Here are a few interesting statistics recently published by the Southwick Press. Fewer anglers are planning out-of-state fishing trips in 2009 than in 2008, according to a recent survey. In a February 2009 survey from AnglerSurvey.com, only 54 percent of anglers reported planning fishing trips outside their home states this year. This is a drop from February 2008 when, in a similar survey, more than 59 percent of anglers reported that they were planning out-of-state trips. The ongoing economic recession may be putting a crimp in anglers’ travel plans. In other news from the February AnglerSurvey.com results, striped bass is America’s most popular saltwater gamefish, with 20 percent of surveyed anglers reporting that they targeted striped bass at least once. Flounder (of which several species live in American waters) were the second most popular, with 19 percent of anglers reporting that they targeted the tasty flatfish.Did you know that in 1978, the bald eagle was first recognized as an endangered species in Maine and 42 other states? At the time, about 20 nesting pairs resided in Maine, primarily along the coast, and only one other nesting pair lived in the Northeast, and that was in New York. Approximately 10 years later, the state mandated further protections to protect bald eagles and other endangered species in Maine. As a result of solid species management plans, bald eagle populations have been restored to more than 475 nesting pairs in Maine’s 16 counties. Last Tuesday, legislation was signed by Gov. John Baldacci to remove the bald eagle from Maine’s Endangered and Threatened Species List. This was the first species to be removed from the list.Deer Project Leader Sonja Christensen from the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) reports a total of 11,217 white-tailed deer were harvested by licensed hunters during the combined 2008 seasons. By season, the total breaks down to 8 deer taken during the deer season for paraplegic hunters, 3,521 taken by archers, 5,793 taken during the shotgun season and 1,895 taken during the muzzleloader season. Additionally, 80 deer were harvested during the Quabbin Reservation hunt. The total statewide deer harvest, including the Quabbin hunt figures, is 11,297. For archery, 2008 was another record year with nearly a 7 percent increase statewide, and there was a slight overall decrease from 2007 during the shotgun and muzzleloader seasons, most likely due to difficult hunting conditions resulting from the December ice storm in the central and western regions of the state.Planning a fishing or boating trip in Vermont just got easier. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has developed a website (http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/fish_accessareas.cfm.) to help boaters find access points to lakes and larger rivers for fishing and other recreational opportunities. All department fishing access areas are provided free to the public for angling and boat access. Of the department’s 168 fishing access areas, 128 have a ramp for launching of boats. Those without ramps provide carry-in boat access or shore fishing opportunities.With water temperatures starting to rise, saltwater fishing has started to pick up, especially on Plum Island. From the Kittery Report, Kay Moulton at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island was very enthusiastic about the saltwater fishing there. “The boat fishermen have been doing very well on the stripers at the end of the outgoing tide down near the jetties, but the shore guys have found that outside the jetties the fishing peaks on the incoming tides,” Moulton said. “Out on the oceanfront, the flounder fishing has been pretty steady with a lot of fish in the 17- to 18-inch range along with quite a few schoolie stripers. In the river, the boat guys are doing well on stripers.” In the Boston area, Pete Santini reports, “Big stripers are just about everywhere and trolled live mackerel or our Santini Tube-n-Worm rigs are working well. Best colored tubes have bee