From the field

News from around the region

Fly anglers tie for cause in Fayetteville

Fly anglers will be tying flies for charity in Fayetteville on April 19.

The third annual Fly Tie-A- Thon will be held at Tarheel Fish and Game, located at 2800-4 Raeford Road.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the March of Dimes.

Flies tied during the event will be donated to Casting for Recovery, a nonprofit group that organizes fly-fishing retreats for women who have or have had breast cancer.

On April 18, the Tarheel Fly Fishing Film Festival will be held at the Cameo Art House, located at 225 Hay St. in Fayetteville. Doors will open at 5 p.m., curtain at 6 p.m. Proceeds also will benefit the March of Dimes.

For more information call Tarheel Fish and Game (910) 323-5310 or go to www.flytieathon.com.

Big Rock featured in Marlin magazine

The April issue of Marlin magazine features a full five-page historical retrospective on Big Rock written by media director Bruce Paul.

"I was delighted to be offered the chance to write the story, and I'm glad of the way it turned out," Paul said in a recent Big Rock release.

The story features the first prize for blue marlin, changes in the tournament through the years, and the many high points the Big Rock has celebrated. It also features old photos of Big Rock's competitors and friends.

"The tournament has grown so drastically since the beginning," tournament director Crystal Watters said. "It is amazing to see how a small town created an event that came to be known throughout the whole fishing industry."

The 50th Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament will be held June 7-14, based out of the Morehead City Waterfront. For information, call (252) 247-3575 or go to www.thebigrock.com.

Elias breaks BASS catch record

ZAPATA, Texas -- Demolishing the four-day BASS heavyweight catch record, Paul Elias of Laurel, Miss., scored his sixth BASS victory Sunday in come-from-behind fashion at the Bassmaster Elite Series Lone Star Shootout presented by Longhorn on Falcon Lake.

Elias edged his nearest competitor, Terry Scroggins of Palatka, Fla., by just four ounces, according to a BASS release.

Aided by a 37-pound, 11-ounce Sunday catch, Elias jumped from fifth to first. His four-day total of 132 pounds, 8 ounces, overtakes the previous record of 122-14, set in 2007 by Alabama's Steve Kennedy on California's Clear Lake. The top six anglers topped Kennedy's record.

While Elias took the victory, Falcon Lake also starred in the competition. The mainstream reservoir on the Rio Grande River with a surface area of 83,654 acres yielded catches of more than 100 pounds to all of the 12 anglers who qualified for the final day, setting another record. On Sunday, Scroggins nearly eclipsed the one-day BASS heaviest catch record of 45-2.

Tournament results are on Page 7C.

Fishing fans can catch the action from Falcon Lake on "The Bassmasters" at 9 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2.

Striped bass meeting planned

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in Manteo to discuss the commercial ocean striped bass season.

This year, the state will institute a commercial permit to harvest ocean striped bass and fishermen will declare which of three gear types -- gill nets, beach seines or trawls -- they will use. Fishermen will be allowed to obtain only one permit per person.

Once a fisherman declares his gear, he will be locked into the decision for three years.

DMF officials will discuss the permit requirement, quota allocation and beach seine gear parameters.

The meeting will take place in the small auditorium at Roanoke Island Festival Park, Manteo.

For more information, contact David Taylor at (800) 682-2631.