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Burmese pythons slithering their way north from the Southeast?
AIKEN, S.C. (AP) — One by one, seven slithering Burmese pythons were dumped into a snake pit surrounded by 400 feet of reinforced fence at the Savannah River Ecology Lab in South Carolina.
Read complete story from The Clarion-Ledger

Tourney 'outsider' hooks 714-pound record breaker off coast of Florida
SANDESTIN, FL — Chip Temple's first major fishing tournament experience is one he never will forget. An admitted outsider when it comes to fishing's biggest stages, Temple hooked, battled and helped reel in a 714.7-pound, 121.5-inch blue marlin to help the crew of the Jasper Time shatter the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic record.
Read complete story from the Florida Freedom Newspapers

Wisconsin DNR considers wolf-hunting season to control population
New Richmond — The Department of Natural Resources is considering a hunting and trapping season to control the burgeoning gray wolf population, but officials said Tuesday a season wouldn't start for at least five years.
Read complete story from the Journal Sentinel

Mississippi sustaining wild turkey populations
The restoration of native wild turkey populations in Mississippi and across the South over the past 75 years is "one of the greatest wildlife conservation stories," says Dave Godwin, turkey program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks at Starkville, Miss.
Read complete story from the Delta Farm Press

Hunting for one of world's largest shellfish in Puget Sound
With his head nearly buried in sand and saltwater, Victor Mizumori of Redmond was hunched over inside a custom made stainless steel canister with his hands on one of the world's largest bivalve buried in 4 feet of sand.
Read complete story from the Seattle Times

Another fishing record falls in S.D.
YANKTON, S.D. — Another state fishing record has fallen. Matt Sarha of Gayville, S.D., caught a 14-pound hybrid bass in the Missouri River near Yankton. The fish is a cross between a white bass and a striped bass.
Read complete story from KXNet.com

2009 Gulf dead zone may hit record size
Imagine an area the size of Hinds County with virtually no life: you can't drink the water; seeds rot in the soil; and only cockroaches can breathe the air. It's as if a nuclear reactor exploded and nothing survived. Now imagine a dead area 8,000 square miles.
Read complete story from the Jackson Free Press

Feds plan to close Gloucester fish auction for 10 days
GLOUCESTER, Mass. — Federal fisheries regulators announced today that they have planned a 10-day shutdown of the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction, the main clearinghouse for fish brought into this historic port. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it had sent the auction a letter notifying it that it cannot buy, possess, or sell federally regulated fish for 10 consecutive days because of violations of buying illegal cod and falsifying records committed in 2000 and 2004.
Read complete story from the Boston Globe

METHOT: Crossbows approved for all archery hunts
The New Jersey Fish and Game Council has given final approval to the use of crossbows for all species of game where bow and arrow hunting is now allowed. Some might ask, "What took them so long?" as we were writing about the initial proposal in 2006. There is however a lengthy procedure and sometimes contentious public hearings on changes to either Fish or Game Codes in jumping through regulatory hoops and wading through heaps of red tape before a proposal is approved — or not.
Read complete story from the Trentonian

Angler lands N.Y. record trout
Tom Yacovella didn't set out to break the New York state brook trout record. He was just trying to reach beyond his own standard. Two weeks ago, at Raquette Lake, he did both.
Read complete story from UticaOD.com

Record-setting catfish hooked from Ohio River
When it comes to fish, there's big and then there's, well, sir-reel. Chris Rolph of Williamsburg stepped into a zone, Twilight or otherwise, in the wee hours of June 11 while fishing the Ohio River from a boat near Cincinnati. A blue catfish latched on to Rolph's bait, cut skipjack, and 30 minutes later the Ohio served up a state record as certified by the Ohio Outdoor Writers record fish committee last week.
Read complete story from the Columbus Dispatch

New net timer could save sea turtles from drowning
BOURNE, Mass. — Fishery managers trying to protect rare sea turtles from dying in fishing nets have tapped a Cape Cod company to build a device they think can help balance turtle protection with profitable fishing. The "tow-time logger" is a 7-inch, silver cylinder that attaches to fishing nets and records how long the net stays underwater.
Read complete story from the Associated Press

Great white sharks hunt just like Hannibal Lecter
WASHINGTON — Great white sharks have some things in common with human serial killers, a new study says: They don't attack at random, but stalk specific victims, lurking out of sight. The sharks hang back and observe from a not-too-close, not-too-far base, hunt strategically, and learn from previous attempts, according to a study being published online Monday in the Journal of Zoology. Researchers used a serial killer profiling method to figure out just how the fearsome ocean predator hunts, something that's been hard to observe beneath the surface.
Read complete story from the Associated Press

CMR certifies four records
BILOXI — Four anglers recently set Mississippi saltwater sportfishing records. The Commission on Marine Resources certified the two conventional tackle records and two fly-fishing records during its June 16 meeting.
Read complete story from the sunherald.com

10-year old hunter bill passed, goes to governer
Eau Claire, Wis. — The minimum age for gun deer hunting would drop to 10-years-old under a bill passed by lawmakers. Under the bill, kids as young as 10-years-old could shoot while hunting with an adult provided there is only one firearm between them. Supporters say allowing 10-year-olds to hunt would help preserve the state's hunting culture. The DNR estimates 9,000 more kids would get licenses every year.
Read complete story from wqow.com

Good hunting here helped lure Rams kicker from Seattle
Rams fans are familiar with Josh Brown, the team's placekicker, and what he does on the field. But not many realize that hunting played a part in his decision to move here from Seattle.

"I never got a chance to get involved in deer hunting when I was playing for Seattle," Brown said. "I was busy, and the good deer hunting (areas were located at least) 2 or 2 1/2 hours away from the city. (In St. Louis) I can be deer hunting after a drive of just 1 or 1 1/2 hours. That's great."
Read complete story from stltoday.com

With prey scarce, wild dolphins turn to humans
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Like raccoons with picnic coolers or urban coyotes with pet cats, west Florida's bottlenose dolphins are learning that proximity to humans can make for easy meals. They shadow boats, waiting for anglers to discard fish they can't keep. They cruise piers, snatching fish and bait right off lines. Some stick their heads out of the water and beg, as cute as cocker spaniels. Tourists and locals alike are often delighted to reward them. What's cooler than watching Flipper chow down?
Read complete story from wkrg.com

Angler catches 715-lb. blue marlin
SANDESTIN, Fla. — Chip Temple's first major fishing tournament experience is one he'll never forget. An admitted outsider when it comes to fishing's biggest stages, Temple hooked, battled and helped reel in a 714.7-pound, 121.5-inch blue marlin to help the crew of the Jasper Time shatter the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic record.
Read complete story from nwfdailynews.com