Ashton Langley catches 27-pound striper

Photo courtesy of Ashton Langley

Ashton Langley had a great day recently. He was at Lake Russell and was trolling using a planer board and fishing at 12 foot depth when he hooked up with this 27-pound striper. A 25 minute struggle followed, but Langley was the winner as evidenced by this photo.

Langley is a Travelers Rest native and works at the Steve Borkland State Farm Insurance Agency.

Congratulations to Ashton Langley. Many of us fish a lifetime and never catch a fish like this.

DNR assistant director receives conservation award

Emily Cope at Belfast Rifle Range dedication
Photo by L. Ross

Emily Cope, Assistand Director of the S. C. Department of Natural Resources recently received the 2010 2010 Forest Legacy Conservation Excellence Award. This nataional award by the USDA Forest Service is presented annually to one of the state partners for exceptional leadership in conserving forested land at the state level.

As mentioned in a recent post to this blog, Cope was instrumental in securing the 4,664 acre Belfast Plantation for South Carolina sportsmen.

Cope was born in Lodge, SC, and was hired by DNR in 1999 and has worked for the Forest Legacy Program for twelve years. With her long tenure with FLP, she has developed the FLP in South Carolina into the largest in the region. Over 75,000 acres of forest has been protected. Cope has worked tirelessly with other organizations and has taken a leadership role in making this happen. Her efforts with groups such as The Conservation Fund, Katawba Valley Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, and the National Wild Turkey Federation has been outstanding.

Our congratulations to Assistant Director Cope for a job well done. Her legacy will be enjoyed by generations of South Carolinians.

Kayaks and Fly Rods

Photos by L. Ross

It doesn't get much better than fly rods and kayaks in the spring. It is a great pastime and a good way to have some quality time alone.

A few days ago, I went to a remote pond on game management property. It does not have road access and a kayak or canoe has to be packed in to fish. It is usually worth the extra work.

I started about 7:30 a.m. and tied a medium sized popping bug onto my leader. A nice bluegill struck on the first cast and after a short battle was on the stringer. I worked along the shoreline and picked up bluegills, shellcrackers and bass. It was a nice mixed bag and will go good with some hush puppies, slaw and iced tea.

I do use bait with the fly rod for bream occasionally, but using a medium sized popping bug is better because it will also attract the random bass. You never know what to expect on the next cast.

I hope your spring is going as well as mine and you are getting onto the lakes, ponds and rivers for some action.

Belfast WMA opens new gun range

Photos by L. Ross

On May 6, Emily Cope, DNR Special Projects Co-ordinator introduced John Frampton, Director of SCDNR, who was the first in a series of speakers having a vital part in making the Belfast Project and the new gun range a reality.

Frampton thanked a large group of people who had invested a lot of time and money in the project. Among them, he gave special thanks to Cope, who had a hand in all the negotiations and details of securing the 4,664 acre property for South Carolina sportsmen.

The rifle range is a state-of-the-art facility and in the near future, it will be supplemented with a nearby pistol range. The range is just off highway 56 on #560 and only a short distance from the plantation house.

Work is already underway to establish an archery range on the property immediately surrounding the house. I will feature 3-D and regular targets and plans are in the works to have an elevated platform to simulate shooting from a treestand.

This is a welcome addition to sportsmen in the surrounding area and DNR is dedicated to maintaining the property and making it available to a wide range of the public.

Facilities such as this are vital to stimulate recruitment into the shooting sports and hunting.