| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Monday August 30 2010 @ 09:56AM CDT | |
 Finally, red snapper anglers have a ray of hope that they will be able to catch their favorite species in 2010. Of course, two important steps must be accomplished before anglers will be allowed to catch the fish that made the Alabama Gulf Coast famous – NOAA Fisheries’ blessing on the fall snapper season[Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Tuesday August 24 2010 @ 10:18AM CDT | |
 Ken Weathers is looking for a few good catfishermen. Actually, more than a few would be better to deal with what the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) biologist considers a threat to native fish populations in two waterways in southeast Alabama.The culprit is the flathead catfish, also [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Friday August 20 2010 @ 10:59AM CDT | |
 For the past 40 years, Dr. George Crozier has been monitoring the amazing ecosystem called the Gulf of Mexico from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. He’s witnessed the peaks and valleys, usually dished out by Mother Nature, but also from human interaction.And, Crozier admits he played a role in what he [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Monday August 09 2010 @ 10:24AM CDT | |
-SM.jpg) Capt. Joey Abruscato was in the midst of cleaning speckled trout he’d caught in Mobile Bay recently when a visitor approached the fish-cleaning table at Dauphin Island Marina.“I was cleaning fish at the marina and the catfish and pelicans were hanging around just like they normally do,” Abruscato said. [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Monday July 26 2010 @ 10:44AM CDT | |
 After making a run at the Bassmaster Classic title on Lay Lake in February before finishing fourth, Prattville’s Russ Lane continued his success throughout the Bassmaster Elite season and is among the 12 anglers who will compete in the postseason’s two-tournament Toyota Trucks Championship Week.The [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Monday July 19 2010 @ 11:47AM CDT | |
 With blades chopping noisily through the thick summer air, the aircraft slowly eased off the ground as Capt. Hugh Bailey and Chief Warrant Officer Lyle Harmon completed the checklist for another mission in the Alabama National Guard’s role in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response.Satisfied with the airworthiness, the pilots [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Friday July 09 2010 @ 10:13AM CDT | |
 With the rebirth of viable stands of the majestic longleaf pine in south Alabama, one of the denizens of the longleaf ecosystem is being given another chance to mount a comeback.The Eastern indigo snake, a protected and threatened species throughout its range, disappeared in Alabama in step with [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Tuesday July 06 2010 @ 11:07AM CDT | |
 Gliding through the water virtually without a sound, Mike and Heather Ros eased up to their favorite fishing spot in Weeks Bay and tossed a live shrimp near the pier.As the bait settled to the bottom, Mike watched as speckled trout and redfish swam almost close enough to touch. Obviously, the couple [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Friday June 25 2010 @ 10:09AM CDT | |
 The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council continues to hold out hope that there still could be a red snapper season in the northern Gulf this year.At its meeting in Gulfport, Miss., recently, the council passed a recommendation that an emergency rule be implemented that allows the regional administrator [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Monday June 21 2010 @ 09:38AM CDT | |
 The Deepwater Horizon oil spill claimed another victim this week. Just a couple of weeks ago, Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo officials vowed to maintain plans for the 78th annual rodeo and the Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament in July. However, the reality of the spill’s impact on the northern Gulf[Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Friday June 04 2010 @ 10:14AM CDT | |
 Already scheduled to be the shortest red snapper season on record, the 2010 season for all practical purposes could be over after a single day, Tuesday’s opening day.At 5 p.m. on opening day, with the oil spill continuing to spread, NOAA Fisheries has closed federal waters south of Alabama’s territorial [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Friday May 28 2010 @ 10:58AM CDT | |
 In times of trouble, I’ve always considered it a virtue to maintain a sense of humor – lesson learned from my mother, who always seems to find a reason to laugh at almost any situation.Take, for instance, as tragic as the Gulf oil spill appears to be, the folks who participated in the Alabama Wildlife [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Thursday May 20 2010 @ 01:43PM CDT | |
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In its final meeting of 2010, the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board received an update on the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and received public testimony on a wide range of conservation issues that included a request to reduce the creel limit on bass at Lake Guntersville to five fish and [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Monday May 17 2010 @ 03:24PM CDT | |
 As the nation waits in nervous anticipation as the massive oil spill looms off the central Gulf Coast, it appears a slow westward movement of the slick will be to the good fortune of Alabama and the detriment of Louisiana.Still, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to the impact of the spill on [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Monday May 10 2010 @ 09:50AM CDT | |
 While Mother Nature decides where the oil from the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster eventually ends up, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) is coordinating resources to deal with the potential impact along the Alabama coastline with its numerous environmentally sensitive[Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Friday April 30 2010 @ 03:03PM CDT | |
 Wheeler Lake is kind of like a middle child. It sometimes gets overlooked. Although it’s smack-dab in the middle of Alabama’s Tennessee River run, Wheeler doesn’t get the attention of its fellow river lakes – Guntersville and Pickwick.Yet, this 67,100-acre lake does have its followers, like Decatur’s [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Friday April 23 2010 @ 10:51AM CDT | |
 Guess how many species of bats are found in Alabama? As Ben Stein asked: “Anyone, anyone?”To most people, a bat is a bat is a bat - a much-maligned creature with a face that only a mother could love. However, the 15 species of bats that inhabit our state – that’s right, 15 – play a vital role in [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Monday April 19 2010 @ 03:17PM CDT | |
 In a cherished ritual that happens each spring, the fish known by numerous names – cobia, ling, lemonfish, crab cruncher – comes lazily swimming along the beaches of the northern Gulf of Mexico en route to its summer haven amid the numerous oil and gas platforms in the western Gulf.The annual migration [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Friday April 09 2010 @ 10:03AM CDT | |
 When it comes to wild turkey hunting, I must admit that I’m severely afflicted with what some people term as a “disease.”Steve Barnett would also be diagnosed with the same malady, which makes the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division wildlife biologist the perfect candidate to head a team to [Read More] |
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| Weekly Column by David Rainer | |
| Posted by on Friday April 02 2010 @ 09:25AM CDT | |
 Take two hurricanes named Ivan and Katrina and add three years of drought. What those add up to is a disaster for Alabama’s oyster reefs. The crashing storm surges from the hurricanes displaced many of the oysters from the reefs. The subsequent drought then wrought more havoc by allowing the water [Read More] |
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