Friday marks the 2nd Annual New Bern “Top Shelf” Fishin’ Festival, hosting 50 wounded warriors and disabled veterans for a day of fishing. A nonprofit military support service called Operation North State (ONS) is putting on the festival for the second time. New Bern's festival is one of seven held across North Carolina throughout the year. 

The festival is at Lawson Creek Park from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The festival is free to wounded warriors, disabled veterans and caregivers. Fishing Licenses, fishing equipment and tackle will be provided.

Organizers said the event will be held rain or shine.

Iowa's free fishing weekend begins Friday, giving residents the chance to angle for a lunker without the $19 cost of purchasing a license.

The annual free fishing weekend sponsored by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will run through Sunday. It's a good time to introduce young children to the sport, because it's a time of year when fish move closer to the shore, said Joe Larscheid, chief of the DNR's fisheries bureau, in a release.

"“Kids will stay interested and have fun when the fishing is good," Larscheid said in the release. "Once the interest in fishing is gone, just let them play. It isn’t about how many fish you can catch; it’s about sharing your time and having fun together."

All other regulations related to fishing in Iowa remain in place throughout the weekend.

The fishing is good at the Jersey Shore. By Dan Radel. Wochit

A couple more for the board as Phil and Konor had a 13 pound drum and a 19 pound bass. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)

While we wait for the backwaters to warm up and ignite the fluke bite, anglers are having a ball with stripers, bluefish, weakfish and black drum. A fantastic week of fishing should barrel right on through this weekend.
 
“The Brigantine surf is going off like crazy as a variety of bass, blues and black drum are hitting the shores,” said Andy Grossman, Riptide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine. “The time of day or tide doesn’t seem to matter, but more drum are being caught at the North End while bass and blues seem to be mid-island and the South Jetty.”
 
This week’s weigh ins included Willy Lakes with a 22-pound boomer, Phil Moses with a 13-pound drum and 19-pound bass, Eric Patrikia with a 29-pound bass and Lou Schiavo on a 10-pound bluefish. Also noteworthy, kingfish began to infiltrate the surf this week as customer Gary landed 12 of them using bloodworms during the low tide hours.
 
“It was a very good week of fishing in Avalon,” stated Tammy Carbohn of the Avalon Hodge Podge, Avalon. “Fluke finally bit hard and the largest was a 4.73-pounder taken by Bruce Quigley from State College, PA while fishing behind Stone Harbor with a bucktail/squid combo.”
 
  Nichole's big blue she caught recently in Brigantine. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)

 
Carbohn also reported that tiderunner weakfish finally moved into the area as three very large spiketooths were checked in this week, the heaviest being an 11.7-pounder taken by Ken McDermott of Avalon using bucktail and purple worm. “Bluefish and bass are still around however with the rising water temps, the stripers fishing is starting to turn into a night bite using fresh bait or swimming plugs,” added Carbohn. “The blues are not quite as big as earlier but they are still here in good sized schools.”
 
Talk about beating the drum. It sounds like the Delaware Bay shores lit up with black drum activity this past week according to Cathy Algard of Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle, Wildwood. “Drum are everywhere along the Delaware Bay shoreline from the ferries up to and beyond Reeds Beach.
 
There is also a good drumfish bite over at Slaughter Beach on the Delaware side of the Bay,” said Algard. Just to name a few weigh ins, Eric Tomasello of Woolwich, nailed a 79-pound boomer, Jim Tomasello of Woolwich battled a 50 pounder in Bayshore Channel, and Luke Dombrowski of North Cape May, decked a 67-pounder. “Some large linesiders are also in the mix, especially on the North Wildwood, Stone Harbor and Cape May beaches,” added Algard.
 
Alexa with her first keeper bass at 37" in Brigantine. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)

 
Thomas Baker of Spring Hill, Fla., weighed in a whopper 51-pound striped bass caught on bunker from the North Wildwood surf. Bill Collins of Glendora scored a 36-pounder on a clam in North Wildwood and Brian Ritchie of North Wildwood checked in with a 21 pound striper from the Cape May wash.
 
Weakfish have moved into the Hereford inlet area as anglers are hooking the spiketooths on bucktails tipped with pink Zooms or bloodworms floated under a bobber. “Flounder fishing has been best behind Wildwood with mackerel strips, spearing, minnows and Gulp! all taking shorts and a few keepers.”
 
DJ Zolna, age 12, of Rio Grande, checked in with a 3-pound, 12-ounce Flounder caught on Mackerel. And yes, Crabby Jack is back! The ornery clawed curmudgeon gives the crabbing 3 Claws this week, and he said things should improve this week now that we are past the full moon.
 
The Delaware Bay was booming for drum this week according to Matt Slobodjian, Jim’s Bait and Tackle, Cape May. “We had fish up to 78 pounds coming in to the scale and most of the drum fleet is fishing right in the Bayshore channel a few miles or less out of the Canal,” said Slobodjian.
 
Harry Barcan of Westminster, Pa. weighed in a 78.8-pound boomer and Maryanne Reynolds of Beasley's Point weighed in a 72-pound drum. “Stripers are still hanging tough in the bay too,” added Slobodjian. “The water temperature jumped up 10 degrees and I don't think they will be there much longer but they are right now.” Denise Mulholland of Cape May Court House proved it when she put a cow 51.5-pound bass on the shop scale and reported that her crew also caught two other bass over 40 inches.
 
Word has it that the first signs of croakers have shown up, mainly in the Canal area waters. On the sea bass front, Slobodjian tells that the fishing was “spotty” this week but that the fish are holding on the deeper water reefs such as the Cape May and Deepwater Reef.
 
This Friday and Saturday is the Jim's Bait and Tackle Shark Tournament. To get in on the action, call the shop at (609) 884-3900.
 
Reach Nick Honachefsky at beachnut33@hotmail.com
 

 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Rick Scott announced that June 4 and 5 will be a license-free saltwater fishing weekend, and June 11 and 12 will be a license-free freshwater fishing weekend for Florida residents and visitors.
 
On these weekends, a fishing license is not required.
 
Scott said, “Florida is the fishing capital of the world, and I am excited to announce two license-free fishing weekends this month that include both saltwater and freshwater fishing opportunities. As children get out of school for the summer break and more tourists visit our state, I encourage every family to take advantage of these weekends to enjoy Florida’s great outdoors with their loved ones.”
 
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is hosting these four license-free fishing days near National Fishing and Boating Week.
 
The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s website offers information on events sponsored by businesses and communities during National Fishing and Boating Week, as well as locating fishing sites, identifying recreational species and finding fishing tips.
 
This free fishing weekend is a part of the eight total license-free fishing days the FWC offers each year. All bag limits, closed areas and size restrictions apply on these dates.
 
To learn more about license-free fishing days and fishing tips, visit the FWC website.

Some people arrive early to get their favorite spot along the banks the Bevier Park pond for the annual Waukegan Park District Fishing Derby, which is scheduled for Saturday, June 4. (Waukegan Park District)

What's the lure of the 26th Annual Fishing Derby at Bevier Park in Waukegan Saturday? Free catfish, freedom from having to buy a fishing license and family members having a chance to win prizes for the largest fish in different age categories.
 
"The Fishing Derby is a family tradition. We see the same families and groups attend year after year and have photos to prove their fishing abilities," said Theodora Anderson, manager of community relations for the Waukegan Park District.
 
"Because it is a family affair, we have seen infants to older seniors," Anderson added. "Attendance is diverse and reflects the community."
 
The park district has stocked the pond at 2255 W. Yorkhouse Road with several hundred pounds of catfish in varying sizes, and because this event falls within the four days of Free Fishing Days from June 17-20 as declared by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, no fishing licenses are needed to participate.
 
Anderson says anglers should register ahead of time because the park district has been drawing hundreds to the event in recent years. Last year, there were 370 entrants. Only one pole per person is allowed, and there are poles to borrow on a first-come, first-served basis with an ID. The fees for pre-registering for the derby are $3 for kids ages 12 and under and $5 for everyone else. Registration on the day of the derby is $5 and $7, respectively. Call 847-360-4300 to register.
 
Registration starts at 7:30 a.m., and participants can grab their favorite spot at 7 a.m.. The derby starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs through 10:30 a.m., when a horn will sound to end the event, but people often stay and picnic.
 
"The same woman enters the pond first," Anderson said about some of the traditions that have developed over the years. "She always pre-registers and arrives well before 5 a.m., often as early as 4 a.m., to be the first in line and therefore first to the pond. She has a favorite lucky fishing spot.
 
"People make a morning or day of fishing and enjoying the park," she added. "Some pitch tents or bring umbrellas. There are plenty of coolers and picnicking throughout the park. The fishing derby turns into a day at the park for many families."
 
Prizes are awarded for the largest fish by length in the following age categories: 4 years old and younger; 5 to 8; 9 to 12; 13 to 16; and 17 and older. Fishing equipment, picnic and camping items are the prizes.
 
"All have fun because the pond is usually stocked with about 800 pounds of catfish a few days before the event, so there is a lot of action (and) competition, and people can keep what they catch," said Anderson. "Those fishing get to have bragging rights about the best section of the pond to catch a fish, share stories from previous years, and talk about the best bait to use."
 
Anderson added that "an extended family can usually leave with 20 or more fish" if luck is on their side.
 
fabderholden@tribpub.com
 
Twitter @abderholden
 

Recreational anglers are getting the boot from one of Hood Canal's most popular fishing spots.
 
Backed by the federal government, the Skokomish Tribe is reasserting control over its namesake river and will block public access for the upcoming salmon fishing season.
 
"We've always known the river was ours," Skokomish Tribe Chairman Charles "Guy" Miller. "We never doubted that for a minute."
 
The state doubts it. For now, though, it will go along with a recent legal opinion issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The department's solicitor agrees with the tribe that the portion of the Skokomish River running alongside its reservation is part of the reservation and falls under the tribe's control.
 
The department's opinion boosted the tribe's standing during this year's protracted negotiations with the state over the Puget Sound salmon fishing season. The late-breaking agreement reached last week greatly reduces fishing opportunities and makes the lower main stem of the Skokomish off-limits to nontribal fishers.
 
The change has angered many recreational anglers and might lead to a legal challenge from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
 
"(We) don't agree with the claim but until we fully evaluate it and legal action is explored, we're going along with it," said Laurie Peterson, Fish and Wildlife's Puget Sound fisheries manager.
 
The lower main stem of the Skokomish River runs along the reservation's south and east borders before flowing into Hood Canal near Union. The 2 miles between a state-run salmon hatchery and the river's mouth attracts thousands of salmon-hungry anglers each year.
 
"On opening day, we'll get thousands of them," Miller said. "They'll be casting from the shore, sometimes lined up shoulder to shoulder."
 
The typical "Skok" angler comes from nearby communities and isn't a boat owner. The river's closure means they'll likely have fewer opportunities for salmon fishing, said Mark Downen, a Hood Canal fisheries biologist.
 
The river's popularity has lead to environmental problems and conflicts with the tribe and nearby shellfish farms.
 
In 2009, the abundance of human waste along the river forced an emergency closure of commercial, tribal and recreational shellfish beds near the river's mouth.
 
Shellfish inspectors found numerous piles of poop and trash in bushes along a stretch where 2,000 sport fishers had been at one time. Many anglers had accessed the river through a farm alongside the reservation. Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers found that many of the anglers lacked fishing licenses and were taking more than their legal limit of salmon.
 
Thousands of pounds of commercially harvested clams had to be dumped, and the tribe was forced to delay large harvests of oysters and other shellfish.
 
In the late 1970s, anglers had to get a permit from the tribe to fish the Skokomish. According to the Interior Department, the state acknowledged the tribe's authority over the river in 1978. Nearly a decade later, "the state's position seems to have changed," the department stated in its opinion.
 
In 1987, the state and tribe signed an oddly worded memorandum asserting that the state "does not acknowledge that the Skokomish River is part of the Skokomish Reservation, and the Skokomish Tribe does not acknowledge that it is not."
 
In its opinion, the Interior Department relied on an 1855 treaty and 1874 executive order that established the reservation's boundaries.
 
"The bed of the Skokomish River along the southern and eastern boundary of the Reservation … was reserved for the benefit of the Tribe, and did not pass to the State of Washington at statehood" in 1889, the Interior Department concludes.
 
Fish and Wildlife will have enforcement officers at the river when the fishing season begins. Their purpose is less to catch anglers breaking jurisdictional rules the state doesn't fully acknowledge and more to ease expected conflicts between tribal police and anglers. Some anglers might have not heard about the new restrictions. Others might know but will "try to fish anyway," Peterson said.
 
"Tribal police could be out there seizing gear and boats," she said. "That's a looming concern. There could be problems there this season."