THE 



CATCH 



I, 



J s a windy, fall day on the Hatteras Island 

 beach as Bnan Brown stands in ankle-deep surf. 



Dressed in a one-piece camouflage chest wader, 

 Brown casts his fishing line into the Atlantic. As he reels 

 in a small bluefish, his fishing buddies cheer him on. 

 "Go baby go," yell Brown's team members. 



Brown takes the fish off the hook and gives the fish 

 to a judge to measure. For the 1 1 -inch bluefish, Brown 

 scores one point in the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club's 

 45th Annual Invitational Surf Fishing Tournament. 



There is no size limit on bluefish in North 

 Carolina, but there is a bag limit. 



"I was hoping to get two points," says Brown, 

 who lives in Alexandria, Va. "I just found a good luck 

 charm. It is a love note from my 13-year-old daughter 

 saying to have a great tnp. She forgot to call me and 

 wish me good luck. So she hid the note in my waders." 



The surf fishing tournament, sponsored by the 

 Cape Hatteras Anglers Club, promotes catch and 

 release for all fish caught. 



"Fish shall be measured and released alive, unless 

 the angler wishes to keep the fish for eating," according 

 to the tournament guidebook. "Fish should be released 

 by the judge." 



Across the state, many sportflshing groups are 

 promoting catch and release for species such as red 

 drum, which carries a bag limit of one fish per day and 

 a slot limit, or size restriction, of 18- to 27-inches. 



Catch-and-release methods also work with other 

 species, including tuna, king mackerel, stnped bass and 

 bluefish. 



Done promptly and properly, and with the right 

 equipment, fish sustain minimal injury and stress — 

 and swim away for another day. 



Red Drum Survey 



Recently, North Carolina Sea Grant and the 

 N.C Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) conducted 

 a survey on habits of 456 recreational anglers who fish 

 for large adult red drum. 



From the survey, the researchers found that 

 56 percent of the anglers always use circle hooks when 

 catching mature red drum. Another 27 percent 

 sometimes use circle hooks. Studies show that fish are 

 less likely to swallow circle hooks than the traditional 

 J-hooks. 



"The survey shows that already a lot of anglers use 

 circle hooks," says North Carolina Sea Grant 



Continued 



70 



20 AUTUMN 2003 



