American Sportfishing Association Press Release:
Procedural Motion Stops Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 in Senate
Fish and wildlife conservation put into jeopardy through partisan politics
Alexandria, VA - November 27, 2012 – In a surprise upset, the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 (S. 3525). After months of discussion with Senate members by a diverse coalition of angling, hunting and conservation organizations to create a historic bill containing 17 key provisions for anglers, hunters and fish and wildlife conservation, the bill failed to pass over a party line vote on a procedural motion.
“The shocking aspect of this bill’s defeat – one that would have such a positive impact on anglers, hunters and fish and wildlife conservation - is that it occurred over a budget argument giving the Secretary of the Interior the ability to increase the duck stamp price $10, thus pumping more dollars into wetland conservation for both fisheries and wildlife benefits” said Gordon Robertson, vice president of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA).
“Adding salt to the wound is that the increase is strongly supported by waterfowl hunters who champion the user pay-user benefit concept for fish and wildlife conservation along with all sportsmen and women as well as the fishing and hunting industries,” said Robertson.
“The Congressional Budget Office has stated that overall, S. 3525 would reduce the nation’s deficit by $5 million.”“It’s a cruel twist that the Senate failed to move S. 3525 over a budget procedural question when in the end the bill adds to conservation and would most certainly have a positive impact on the nation’s economy,” said Robertson. “It would truly be a tragedy if this historic piece of legislation went down in flames due to partisanship and simmering disputes over Senate rules and procedures that have nothing to do with the merits of the bill.”
Robertson further noted, “Previous procedural votes advancing this legislation on the Senate floor have won more than 80 votes. ASA is urging Senate leaders to bring the focus back to fish and wildlife conservation and the needs of the nation’s 60 million sportsmen and women that are addressed in this historic legislative package. We’ve come this far because we’ve kept partisan politics away from this bill. We need to get back on that course.”With just a few legislative days remaining in the lame duck Congress, it will be a challenge to resurrect S. 3525.
The bill ran into trouble when a point of order was raised about whether the bill violated a 2011 budget agreement and a motion to waive the point of order failed by 10 votes. Budget related disputes are not uncommon when large pieces of legislation come to the Senate floor. It is however very uncommon for a budget point of order challenging a provision that would modestly increase revenues to sink a bill. Six senators were not present and the vote on the procedural motion to waive the point of order fell along party lines with the exception of two senators. To see how your Senator(s) voted, please visit the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 page on KeepAmericaFishing™.
“The American Sportfishing Association and the members of the coalition stand ready to work with Senate and House members to find a solution that enables passage of the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 before Congress adjourns,” Robertson concluded. “It will take a lot of effort, but we remain hopeful. This historic package of bipartisan bills was crafted and advanced through Congress thanks to bipartisanship. It is not too late for our Senators to put aside the partisanship that caused the bill to fail and pull this bill from the flames, but they must act quickly.”
Top to Bottom Ratios
By Richard Ziert, 11/2012
Those that pass this article by will not be happy for long. There are more things between the surface float and substructure contours than are dreamt of in most fishing philosophies, or even hard core knowledge of the art. A close examination of these will not only make us better fishermen, but much better managers of that which we control. Here are ten noteworthy comments we can grow into and from. Yes there are more than ten; becoming familiar with what is here will open other portals for us as time goes by. No, they are not absolute laws, but you might be wise to look at them for legitimate truths. Bring these together in whole or part, combining them in “on the water” habits, to find your way home with bigger sacks.
1.) Cold water is thicker than warm – In most cases, deeper water is colder than shallow - making for slower more subtle presentations when cold and/or deep. Warm water rises, cold water sinks. While this comment is true enough on whole, there are times where unusual circumstances appear. Example: Underwater springs maintain a constant water temperature year round. Depending on the time of year the surrounding water can be colder or warmer than spring water.
2.) Moving water mixes more freely and maintains a specific temperature from place to place. The more water movement, the greater the occurrence of finding pocket seasonal stability – the greater the chances of finding fish on edges between the movement and slack water pockets. This comment is not just for rivers, but also for current within lakes.
3.) Current is predicated on the volume of water moving from upstream, coupled with directional air speed affecting the surface in the moment. Current is acted upon, speeding – slowing, by what it runs into, through, or around and to a lesser degree, atmospheric pressure.
4.) Current alone runs slower closer to the shore, the bottom, on occasion - the surface, or extremes of structure, or cover it runs into. Example: Like water through a larger pipe into a smaller one, current speeds up, runs faster through “narrows” situations.
5.) The volume of current and its direction is governed - spot to spot - by forces of water temperature, inlets, rain and runoff, underwater springs, water temperature after the mix, and wind bearings as well as velocity. The further down wind/current we go, the further the “stability affect” until it runs into anything that changes its attitude in that place or seasonally. Example: Heavy boat traffic in a relatively small area can have the same momentary effect.
6.) Spot to spot with appropriate pool levels in mind, when reading contours of bottom lay out, structure, and/or cover, temperature differences, light or dark, always “imagine” the potential – both great and small - between slack and moving water no matter the distance from the greatest force. May the forces be with you? Remember: There’s “practically” more than one force involved.
7.) Light, dark, and shadows play a big role in determining the attitude of fast striking vs. slower to react predators. The greater the light, the more any creature figuratively closes its eyes. The darker the environment the more wide open we need to see. Lighter environments can be shallow, without intervening cover, as well as lighter colored parts to the basin. Darker surrounding influences can be deeper, deeper into weeds, surface chop, water clarity, and cloudy weather, or as in anything else causing back lit or direct shadow used to an advantage.
8.) Reaction Time: The darker, the colder, the faster the water, the more abundant the prey, the slower the reaction time of the predator to hit your particular bait. The predator will take measures to set themselves up for the greatest success under any conditions present. “Imagine” again where those spot to spot best places to find predators under the conditions you face. Example: with a large school of bait fish, headed in a specific direction, where would the greatest surprise attack take place in following that school, or on another hand, laying in wait until they progress to where you instinctively know where they will be?
9.) The greater the light penetration, the greater the chances of finding predators hugging, or within structure or cover that gives them more or less grater access to striking prey. Example: Striking from behind and below is figuratively a darker place than from any other angle in open water. This “light vs. dark” also means a combination of depth, shadow, water temperature, and current speed. Example: Prolonged cloudy or windy days, and surface chop, will find them off the bottom and more apart from traditional cover or structure, more ready to eat. Bright days will find them as far inside or deep in cover as in depth, or shade otherwise to see what’s going on in the twilight created up down and sideways between light and dark. Predators position themselves easily to take advantage of opportunities passing within reasonable range at a speed that is valuable to them under the conditions, and with the greatest chance of success.
10.) The greater the congregation of predators, the greater the chances of small, more active – faster – more competitive predators ruling over larger ones. If you can’t figure out what it takes peripherally to catch the biggest of the lot for the species you are after, or of where you are in the moment, move on to where the congregational size is effectively larger overall. Example: Underwater points often show smaller more active fish on the current facing side, or up on top of the point. Just around the corner of that same point, on the slower side, the current break side caused by water running into the point, there’s an above average chance larger fish can be found.
As the world turns, we become more attuned to the changes affecting our lives. Then, it should be easier to imagine; converting those same primal instincts, principals, or knowledge to existence beneath the waves. Fish adapt to fishing pressure from above and changes in their environment below. One body of water to another, those that follow these quasi-guidelines will find subtle differences taking place not exactly in sync with what is here. It’s our challenge, our responsibility; through the examples we set for others, and our stewardship over all that we prevail that will bring us to a place where we begin to better understand nature, the fish, and ourselves.
Z
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