This past week The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources sent out a public service announcement asking anglers to voluntarily release trout for this spring and summer. This announcement, in contrast to recent bottom fishing closures that have been imposed on anglers without good science, was made after 9 trammel net surveys were conducted in different estuaries. The number and size of fish is alarmingly low. I have spoken with many anglers in the past 3 weeks and to a person they are all willing not only to release their trout, but to make sure they tell everyone they know as well. This makes me proud to be an angler and a sportsman. Ive seen a change in the mindset of anglers over the last 20-30 years. We have come to realize our impact on the fishery and have become much more conservation minded than we were in years past. In the past when you heard someone giving a presentation on fishing they always told you how and where to catch fish. These days if you go to a fishing seminar not only do you hear about how to catch fish, but you are likely to hear something about how to properly release a fish and not keeping more than you need. Hopefully this voluntary closure will allow us all to benefit with a strong thriving trout fishery for generations to come. Here is a link to the SCDNR press release for anyone that may have missed it. http://www.dnr.sc.gov/news/yr2011/april28/april28_trout.html
Andy Pickett
CharlestonFishing.Com</font id=“blue”>