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Striped Bass eNewsletter
Introduction to the the Striped Bass Conservation Coalition (SBCC)I would like to introduce you to the SBCC and our new website. It can be found at www.StripedBassCC.org. The SBCC is a non-profit organization that is very family oriented and is dedicated to the promotion, protection, and preservation of the striped bass fishery. COMING SOON! Striped Bass eMagazine Please understand that we have not been involved with the paper copy of the old Striped Bass Magazine for over a year and a half. As many know, Warren was in Philadelphia for 6-months supporting the troops in Iraq, and just returned to SC this past July. Since that time we started working on this project to make sure that the Striped Bass Fishermen had an organization that could pull them together and support the fishery while providing an opportunity for fellowship with rewards. With your help we can make this happen! One of the projects that we will launch later during 2008 is our eMagazine. We plan for it to be full of striped bass stories, fishing techniques, features, pictures and videos. We believe that we can produce a high quality magazine using the Internet as our delivery and distribution system. And you can have a way to not only get the information quickly, but you will have an archived resource that you can return to over and over again. And we can make the pages come alive through video and sound. That is something you cannot get from a printed book! For those people who subscribed to the printed Striped Bass Magazine, we will attempt to honor your subscriptions even though we did not collect and spend your dollars. You are all important to us and we want you to stay involved. STARTING NOW! Striped Bass eNewsletter We have accumulated quite a few email addresses over the past few years. We want to send information only to those people that want to receive it. You will get two emails from us. One is this newsletter. The second one will follow in 1-2 days and will be a tournament flyer. If you would like to receive both the FREE newsletter and information specifically about tournaments do nothing. However, if you do not wish to receive information about one or the other, simple go to the bottom of the email and follow the instructions to unsubscribe. We have decided to use iContact to help us manage these programs. Remember that if you do not want to receive either of these type emails in the future you must unsubscribe to both lists. That way you will be removed from our database completely. 2006 Strong Man Divisional Champions Team Fling-and-a-Prayer, Jack Sue and Ashley Montgomery are a truely remarkable Family fish team. Their team is dedicated to giving people with physical challenges an opportunity to not only fish, but to compete in a national tournament trail. We plan to accomplish our purpose by providing INFORMATION to all interested in striped bass fisheries, the communities surrounding striped bass fisheries, the manufacturers of equipment used by striped bass fishermen and activities of interest to striped bass fishermen. Additionally, we have plans to start producing a Striped Bass eMagazine. We will honor anyone who subscribed to the NSBA's Striped Bass Magazine by giving them a subscription in our eMagazine. This is basically a test email to screen through all the email addresses we have for striped bass fishermen, fishery biologists, and to the manufacturers of equipment used by striped bass fishermen. If you are not one of these groups and you are not interested in striped bass and the fishery, please opt out of receiving this newsletter. We do not sell or buy email addresses and do not wish to bother those not interested.
SBCC History
What happened to the NSBA?
Is the SBCC an extension of the NSBA? Absolutely not! The SBCC was originally formed as the NSBA of America, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion, protection, and preservation of the striped bass fishery. The SBCC continues this mission but without the commercial applications. In 2005 and 2006 the NSBA of America conducted all the striped bass tournaments for the NSBA, but during the second half of 2006, the NSBA of America separated activities from the NSBA.
In January 2007 the NSBA took over the operations of the tournament activities under the control of Bill Haire while the SBCC was managed by Warren Turner and handled the live fish from the tournaments and continued to support the striped bass fishery by participating in the American Fisheries Society and state fisheries projects associated with striped bass. Because of Warren's obligations to the US Government preventing him from actively running the programs, we felt this separation of responsibilities would be in the best interest of the NSBA and the NSBA of America. Now that Warren has returned to SC, the NSBA of America BOD has decided to sever all perceived association with the NSBA and has changed the name from NSBA of America, to the Striped Bass Conservation Coalition.
Conservation Corner
What's happening to our striped bass fishery?
The various state fishery biologists are always busy finding new ways to support the fishery. New challenges erupt every year!
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) in Virginia recently changed the creel and size limits on two major freshwater fisheries in Virginia. Both changes were designed to accomplish similar but different objectives. On Kerr Reservoir the objective was to increase the size structure of the fishery and to give the fish an opportunity to go through a couple of spawns. Kerr Reservoir is one of only a few landlocked striped bass fisheries that can reproduce. The Smith Mountain Lake objective was to increase the size structure to give fish an opportunity to reach the 20-pound mark and return the fishery to its recent status as a big fish lake. Size was an objective in both cases here but history shows that the water quality in Kerr Reservoir just does not produce the 20-pound striped bass like Smith Mountain Lake. SCDNR biologists recently started a working group where the various stakeholders in the SC striped bass fishery are meeting to determine what can and should be done to improve the striped bass fishery in the SC Low Country. We will keep you posted on their progress. A major concern right now that we all must be aware of is the lack of rain fall and the falling lake levels. Lake Lanier in GA is considered by many to be the best of the Georgia striped bass fisheries. Right now the lake is at an all time low and the forecast for improvement does not look great. Simply put, the pull from the lake to satisfy Atlanta's water needs is currently higher than the current inflows. The Army Corps. must release water from the dam to keep water in the drainage system down stream of Lanier or those fisheries will dry up. Folks, this is a very serious problem and we will keep you informed as developments are made available to us. If any of you have information you feel we need to know about, please let us know.
Fellowship and Social Activities
2008 Tournament Trail
We hope you will check out the website and take a look at our tournament program which is built around families who make up the largest portion of the striped bass anglers. The events are 1-day Saturday tournaments, entry fees can be as low as $25 making them affordable for everyone. However, the trail also has a team tournament
3-Time Team-of-the-Year Champions (2002, 2003, 2005) Team Fisher-of-Men, Captain Mike Green, with NSBA sponsor Hutch Holseberg, Owner of Key West Boats It is our belief that if we build a program that is convienient and friendly to families and fishermen the participation will return and with the participation the sponsors will participate. So it is up to you to get the word out and gets things rolling.
2007 STRIPED BASS CLASSIC This year the SBCC will conduct and administer the 2007 Striped Bass Classic as a “kick-off” of the SBCC inaugural year. Because we are trying to honor those NSBA members who had their 2007 Season dropped, this first event will be a little different from the rest of the SBCC Tournament programs. This Classic will include a 2-Fish Open Tournament on Friday that anyone may enter. Additionally, on Friday those qualifying during the 2007 NSBA tournaments will compete in their TOTY Points Finale. (They already know who they are!) Then on Saturday we start a BRAND NEW YEAR! The SBCC Inaugural year (2008 Points Competition) will start with the 1st Annual NSBA/SBCC Member’s Reunion Tournament and our new BIG STRIPER Tournament. See the details on this in the Tournament Payout section! Teams may enter the Friday 2-Fish Open Tournament, the Saturday 2-Fish Reunion Tournament and the Saturday BIG STRIPER Tournament or any combination. The payout will be 100%. For specific information see other parts of the SBCC website or call the SBCC Tournament Director at 864-915-5348. Striped Bass Classic Week Monday-Thursday November 5-8, 2007: Pre-fish Practice: Official practice days for the event starts on the Monday of the Striped Bass Classic week. However, there are no off-limits to the lake prior to the competition. Registration and meeting: For those members wishing to compete on Friday in either the Early Arrival Open Tournament or the TOTY Points finale, the SBCC will host an early arrival registration and meeting on Thursday night at the Ramada, starting at 8:00PM. Friday November 9, 2007: Pre-fish Practice: Everyone may be on the lake until 4:00PM. However, those competing in the Friday tournament must be checked in by 4:00PM. Early Arrival 2-Fish Open Tournament and BIG STRIPER Tournament: All NSBA & SBCC members may compete in this open friendly event. Entry fee will be $100/boat. Weigh-in (2-fish) begins at 3:00PM. All teams in the Friday Tournament & TOTY Point’s finale must be checked in by 4:00PM and all others must leave the water NLT 4:00PM. Regular SBCC rules will apply to these events. Since the SBCC did not establish the 2007 TOTY program, we will host and administer the Early Arrival tournament and assist the TOTY teams in administering their final tournament. Captain's meeting & Registration for the 2008 Season Kick-off: For those members wishing to compete on Saturday in either the 2-Fish Tournament or BIG STRIPER Tournament, the SBCC will host the registration and Captain's meeting on Friday night at the Ramada, starting at 7:00PM. Each team present at Friday night's meeting will be considered as checked out and do not have to check out again on Saturday morning. Saturday November 10, 2007: NSBA/SBCC Reunion 2-Fish Tournament and BIG STRIPER Tournament: Weigh-in (2-fish/1-Fish) begins at 2:00PM. All teams must be checked in by 4:00PM. Awards ceremony starts immediately after the verification of the tournament scores. SBCC will host the Early Arrival tournament and assist the TOTY teams in administering their final tournament. Weigh-in Location: Cherokee Park , Morristown , TN 37814 |
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