ST. PAUL – Moms who live in Minnesota are invited to join a free virtual fishing challenge Saturday, May 11, through Sunday, May 12, during Take a Mom Fishing Weekend, when all Minnesota moms can fish without purchasing a fishing license.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is partnering with the Student Angler Organization and Women Anglers of Minnesota to host the challenge.
To participate in the Mother’s Day weekend fishing challenge, moms simply need to join the Facebook group called “Minnesota Moms Fishing Challenge 2024” and post one photo of each fish they catch.
All participants who submit one or more fish photos will have their name entered in a random drawing for prizes provided by the Student Angler Organization and their partners, including gift cards for Scheels and Lund. Additionally, participants are invited to tune in for a pre-challenge virtual Fishing 101 class, hosted by Women Anglers of Minnesota in the challenge Facebook group – facebook.com/groups/967975514717550 – on May 7.
Challenge details are available on the Minnesota DNR website at mndnr.gov/takemomfishing . All fish species and sizes are welcome in the challenge. Participants can snap a photo and let their fish go or keep it if it’s in season.
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“This year’s event follows the successful inaugural Minnesota Moms Fishing Challenge in 2023. Last year, more than 2,400 moms joined the challenge,” Cara Hanson, DNR marketing coordinator, said in a statement. “This year, we hope even more people will join in the fun!”
The Minnesota State Legislature established Take a Mom Fishing Weekend in 1988 to coincide with Mother’s Day. This year, the weekend also coincides with the fishing opener – seasons begin Saturday, May 11, for walleye, northern pike, bass and trout in lakes. To celebrate the fishing season, the Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener event is taking place May 10-12 in Lake City.
- More info: mndnr.gov/gofishing .
– staff report
Take the NDGF Rough Fish Challenge
BISMARCK – The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is inviting anglers to test their skills at catching nongame fish species by taking the Rough Fish Challenge.
The process is simple: Catch all required species – in this case, bullhead, carp and sucker – snap a photo of each and submit your entry on the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov/fish-challenge .
Game and Fish also offers two other challenges: The Classic Challenge (northern pike, perch, smallmouth bass and catfish) and the Sportfish Challenge (bluegill, walleye, trout and bass).
Not sure where to start? Check out the Game and Fish Department’s Where to Fish page to locate a lake or river with these species near you. The page also includes information on boat ramps, shoreline access, fishing piers, stocking updates and more.
– staff report
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Feds to distribute $59M in wildlife grants
Minnesota will receive more than $1.18 million, and North Dakota more than $590,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support the conservation of imperiled wildlife and their habitats through the agency’s State Wildlife Grant Program.
The FWS is distributing over $59 million to state fish and wildlife agencies across the U.S. as part of the program. The grant funds are allocated to all states, commonwealths, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia according to a congressionally mandated formula based on population size and geographic area. State agencies then provide at least 25% of project costs in non-federal matching funds.
“Partnerships with the nation’s fish and wildlife agencies are essential to achieving wildlife conservation and recovery successes that will benefit generations to come,” Martha Williams, director of the FWS, said in a statement.
In a news release, the FWS said grant program funds must be used to address conservation needs described within state plans and can support development and implementation of state programs and priority-setting for species and habitats. State wildlife plan priorities benefit wildlife, especially at-risk or imperiled species, often referred to as species of greatest conservation need.
- On the web:
www.fws.gov/program/state-wildlife-grants
– staff report
B&C confirms new world record Roosevelt’s elk
MISSOULA, Mont. – The Boone and Crockett Club has confirmed a new world record Roosevelt’s elk, the conservation group said Tuesday, April 30.
Timothy Carpenter killed the bull Sept. 21, 2023, in Humboldt County, California. With an official score of 455 2/8 points, Carpenter’s elk smashes the previous world’s record of 419 6/8 points taken by Rick Bailey in British Columbia in 2015.
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Before Carpenter’s entry could be made official, Boone and Crockett procedures required that the final score of a potential world’s record be verified by either an Awards Program Judges Panel or a Special Judges Panel. In this case, the club held a Special Judges Panel in Verdi, Nevada.
Two separate teams of judges remeasured the entry and adjusted the score from 439 7/8 points to 455 2/8 points, according to a news release from Boone and Crockett. No stranger to big elk, Carpenter, 39, has multiple Roosevelt’s elk in the records, including a 2011 bull that scored 398 1/8, which is the current archery world’s record.
“The main objective of any panel, whether it be a Special Judges Panel or Awards Judges Panel, is to confirm the accepted entry score,” said Kyle Lehr, the club’s director of big game records. “Sometimes, differences in measurements are discovered through this process, and corrections need to be made. In the case of Mr. Carpenter’s Roosevelt’s elk, those differences resulted in an increase in score.”
Roosevelt’s elk are one of three subspecies of North American elk for which the Boone and Crockett Club keeps records. Named after Club founder Theodore Roosevelt, Roosevelt’s elk are found exclusively in the Pacific Northwest, ranging from northern California up through British Columbia’s mainland and into Alaska.
They are the biggest elk subspecies, with bulls weighing as much as 1,100 pounds. Carpenter estimates the bull was 11 or 12 years old.
– staff report
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