Article by Dale Timmons
In a blurb on the disqualification at this year’s Big Rock Tournament in North Carolina last week, I briefly mentioned the new National Saltwater Registry. There is apparently some confusion between this requirement and the federal HMS (Highly Migratory Species) permit. An article in one of the local weeklies last week stated, “First of all, NOAA requires boats and anglers fishing for tuna, dolphin, marlin and other game fish to hold a Highly Migratory Species (HMS) permit. Licensed charter boats must hold an HMS permit, as well as the captain, mates and any anglers fishing a-board [sic] them. The boat’s HMS permit does not cover everyone on board and each individual on the boat, including the captain, mates and any anglers must have individual HMS permits.”
This is simply incorrect. The HMS permit, which covers tuna, marlin, swordfish and sharks (not dolphin), is in fact a vessel permit. On the National Marine Fisheries Service website (www.nmfs.noaa.gov), under the Latest Recreational Fishing Compliance Guide, Section I. Permits, it states, “In order to fish recreationally for Atlantic HMS in federal waters, fishermen must have a valid federal fishing permit for their vessel. There are a variety of different permits available. The required permit will depend upon the species being fished for, what type of gear is being used, and how recreational fishing activities are being conducted. There are three types of permits that can be used to recreationally fish for Atlantic HMS: HMS Angling, HMS Charter/Headboat, and Atlantic Tunas General category. Please note that only one type of recreational permit can be issued to a vessel. Once a vessel is issued a recreational HMS permit, all passengers may recreationally fish for Atlantic HMS species.” I underlined the last sentence for emphasis. To reiterate, all boats, but not all individual anglers, must have an HMS permit. Private boats need an HMS Angling category permit, while charter boats get an HMS Charter/Headboat permit. This is nothing new—it has been a requirement for years. When you weigh a bluefin tuna, shark or billfish at a tournament such as the White Marlin Open, you will have to fill out a Maryland “catch card”, and the first thing you will probably be asked for is your vessel’s HMS number.
Now, back to the National Angler Registry, which is a whole different animal. Starting January 1, 2010, all anglers are required to register with NOAA before going fishing. The new registry will hopefully give a more accurate picture of the recreational anglers’ impact on both the economy and the fisheries than the old MRFSS survey did. Technically called the MRIP (Marine Recreational Information Program), the registry is required of all anglers who do not live in a state with a saltwater license that automatically provides the necessary information that federal officials desire. This year, that includes Maryland. By next year, Maryland officials will probably have a saltwater license in place for the whole state that automatically registers anglers with the MRIP. To get your National Angler Registry card this year, if you haven’t already, simply go online to www.countmyfish.noaa.gov or call 1-888-MRIP-411 (1-888-674-7411). The process is fairly simple and free (this year). Technically, all anglers need to register, and if you are fishing any tournaments, you better make darn sure you do…
After I wrote a paragraph last week about the Triple Surgeon’s Knot and connecting a shocker or bite leader with the Bristol knot, I received a new issue of “Sport Fishing” magazine. They invited readers to submit knots they use for basically the same thing—joining a leader to braid using a double line loop and another connection. The knots were tested, and the reassuring thing was that most of the strongest connections also used a Bristol or an Improved Bristol knot. For the double line loop, however, most still preferred a Bimini (in braid, the editors recommend a 12-turn Bimini rather than the traditional 20 turns), and if I were fishing for blue marlin or big tuna, I probably would agree…
Last week I was asked what I would pick if I had to choose just one lure for inshore fishing. This is not a new question, and it has been kicked around plenty of times before, but it’s still tough to answer. Even though it leaves out my favorite plug, the Mirr-O-Lure, and another old reliable, the Hopkins “metal,” I guess my answer, however, would have to be the bucktail jig, known around here as just a “bucktail.” In this age of super realistic lures that catch a lot of us fishermen, the bucktail doesn’t really look like anything in nature, except for maybe a passing resemblance to a squid or small baitfish. It also doesn’t have any natural action, and the angler is required to provide all the action with his or her rod tip and retrieve speed. All a bucktail does is consistently catch fish. It comes in a variety of sizes, from an eighth ounce up to more than six ounces, and it can be used for everything from flounder to bull dolphin, especially with a wide variety of “trailers” that are used, including strips of “meat” such as squid or fish belly and enticing plastics such as curl tail grubs or the latest Gulp! products. Bucktails also come with several different head shapes. One of the first lures I ever bought was probably an old “shark face” jig with a green plastic skirt. There is one head called the “boxing glove”; another is the “lima bean”. I kind of like the plain round head as well as the new “minnow” style, exemplified by the Spro series of jigs. A thinly shaped head, such as the lima bean, will slice through the water and sink faster than a round head, for instance. When I was much younger, many local anglers favored jigs made by a local angler, “Baltimore George” Richter. I once wrote a feature article on this gentleman, who used a plasticized paint and heated the jig heads as many as four times in the oven, which made the paint like a hard rubber that was very resistant to chipping on the jetty rocks. I still have my little stash of “Baltimore George” bucktails, but I hesitate to use them, and they’ll probably still be there when I die. George made one version with a yellow head and yellow hair, which, tipped with a strip of pork rind, was my favorite for catching the big weakfish (gray trout) many years ago, especially at night on the North Jetty. I don’t think anyone can actually teach you to use a jig. You have to develop a feel for the lure through practice, whether you are bouncing it along the bottom for flounder or retrieving it in a strong current around bridge pilings. Sometimes it works best with no action and a very slow retrieve. Other times you need to burn it. Once you learn to fish a bucktail jig, however, you can always feel pretty confident if there are fish around. In fact, I think I could go to fisherman’s heaven with a couple of “Baltimore Georges” in my pocket and hang with the best of ‘em…
Hard to believe, but this weekend kicks off the 23rd Annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament at the Ocean City Fishing Center. Good luck and fair seas to all of the anglers and crews who are fishing. I’ll be at the weigh station helping out weighmaster Capt. Jack Kaeufer and my other partner in crime, Dave “Gulp” McKay. Hope to see you on the dock…
Contact Dale Timmons at [email protected] or call 410-629-1191.
