Striper fishing still active at Weldon  - It may be late in the season for striped bass spawning runs at the Roanoke River near Weldon, but anglers continue to have tremendous catch-and-release days. Some erstwhile saltwater guides remain in the area to offer uninitiated “rockfish” chasers a boat and the knowledge to avoid the river’s large stone impediments and make a trip productive, safe and less expensive (lower units add up after a while).

Marine Fisheries Commission ends purse-seining of menhaden  - The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted at its May 11 meeting in Atlantic Beach to end the controversial practice of purse-seining for menhaden in North Carolina waters. Menhaden may still be harvested by other means.

Feds force state to close, restrict gill-net fishing in two areas  - The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted at its May meeting in Atlantic Beach to close the lower Core Sound, Back Sound and the North River to all large-mess gill nets and to restrict the amount of nets that can be fished in an area from Lennoxville Point near Beaufort to the US 58 bridge between Emerald Isle and Cape Carteret. The votes came on the heels of the National Marine Fisheries Service informing the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries that the state needed to lower the number of “interactions” between gill nets and endangered sea turtles. Closure of several areas and restrictions in other areas were determined by a 6-3 vote to be the best course of action. The three dissenting votes were cast by commercial members of the Commission, fish-house owners Mikey Daniels, Joe Smith and Bradley Styron.

Two youths take gobblers on Macon County handicapped hunt  - For Miguel Villagomez, a visually impaired eighth grader who was guided by Gene Piver of Asheville, a long-time member of the National Wild Turkey Federation, the hunt ended with a bang at first light that left a big gobbler flopping on the ground. It took a little longer for 8-year-old Cory Holbrooks of Franklin to connect, but it was no less sweet. Holbrooks, whose walking ability is impaired, high-stepped through a cow pasture in the predawn darkness, learning that it was best to avoid the scattered, plate-sized dark spots.