For the third consecutive year, B.A.S.S. and Alabama Power are partnering to award two $5,000 scholarships this year for students currently attending, or planning to attend, a technical school or community college in the state of Alabama. The applicant must reside in an Alabama Power service area and be a member of a B.A.S.S. High School Club or the B.A.S.S. Nation, a […]

Those who love to fish the Gulf State Park Pier should not hesitate to head down to Gulf Shores-Orange Beach right away. Judging from what I witnessed last week, the fishing is on fire, especially for Spanish mackerel. Anglers were reeling in Spanish after Spanish on the Gulf’s premier fishing pier, which juts some 1,540 […]

The red lionfish population off the Alabama Gulf Coast is a little smaller now that the second of two spearfishing tournaments finished a two-week run, with the final weigh-in last weekend at Tacky Jack’s in Orange Beach. An invasive species from the Indo-Pacific, lionfish have spread throughout Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic waters. Lionfish […]

Mandy Stone worked hard as a paramedic in Roanoke, Alabama, which often required a weekend away to decompress. Stone was on one of those getaways when her life changed forever. “Ten years ago, I went to north Georgia for the weekend,” Stone said. “On the way home I hydroplaned, went down in a ravine and […]

Very few things irritate me more than litter, especially when the litterbugs toss their trash on public land or in public waterways. The Conservation Enforcement Officers at the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) are in a constant battle to deal with litter on public lands and waterways. Hopefully, a new law sponsored […]

Regulators say catch limits for red grouper in the Gulf of Mexico will stay at this year’s levels indefinitely. This year’s catch limits and targets were about 60% lower than 2018 levels.

While perusing social media during this seemingly endless summer, I kept seeing photos of slab crappie that were coming from the Alabama River. Wait, I thought those slabs were caught in the spring when the crappie are spawning or in the fall when the weather and water temperatures have considerably cooled. Turns out, these anglers […]

Rickie Knight fishes a lot – in tournaments all over the country and for fun near home in Alabama’s Black Belt. One particular fishing/camping trip near his home in Selma paid off with some big smiles and a win in the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association Best Black Belt Fish Photo Contest. Knight and his wife, Carol, […]

Tucked in the foothills of the Appalachians in north Alabama was a sight to behold: More than 80 youngsters were gathered in one of the many fields carved into the rolling hills, and not a single eye was glued to a smartphone. Other activities occupied their minds as the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural […]

The Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division’s Hunter Education Program wants to teach old hunters new safety tricks. Actually, these are not new safety tricks, but experienced hunters seem to be failing to follow them, according to last year’s hunting accident reports. During the 2018-2019 hunting seasons, 15 treestand accidents were reported, and more […]

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) has announced that it will open an additional three-day private angler recreational season for red snapper in October. The additional season will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, October 4, and run until midnight on Sunday, October 6. The possession limit will be two fish per […]

The Auburn University bass fishing team recently won the first-ever Major League Fishing College Redcrest National Championship, marking another impressive milestone for the most dominant collegiate angling program in the country. The event was held on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin, last month. In a release from the university in recent days, Logan […]

Now that the 2019-2020 hunting licenses are on sale, many hunters are pondering whether to take advantage of a new opportunity or maintain the status quo. That opportunity is the inaugural bait privilege license that allows hunting for white-tailed deer and feral pigs with the aid of bait. Chuck Sykes, Director of the Alabama Wildlife […]

Registration for Alabama’s first sandhill crane hunting season in more than 100 years will open on Wednesday, September 4, and run until September 25. Only 400 sandhill crane hunting permits will be issued statewide. The Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) will conduct a computer-controlled random draw on October 2 to pick the […]

Want a beautiful piece of wildlife or nature art that you can carry with you wherever you go? Plus, you get a heck of a deal. You can get that piece of art for just $5 when you take advantage of Alabama’s new hard-card licenses that went on sale this week for the 2019-2020 hunting […]

As deer season approaches, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) remind hunters that it is illegal to import whole carcasses and certain body parts of any species of deer into either state. The import ban on deer in Alabama and Tennessee is part of a […]

The 127-pound, 12-ounce amberjack that reigned atop the Alabama state records for 38 years was landed before Brian Andrews was born. Marcus Kennedy of Mobile, who caught the big amberjack on June 19, 1981, saw the last of his state records fall on Friday, August 23, when Andrews’ 132-pound, 12.8-ounce fish takes its place after […]

As a teenager and young adult, one TV show I did not miss was “The American Sportsman” with host Curt Gowdy. The highlights were the bird-hunting trips with Phil Harris, Bing Crosby and the legendary Bear Bryant. Gowdy’s show was one of the longest-running TV shows that featured hunting on a regular basis. However, at […]

The Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) provides several youth dove hunt opportunities throughout the state each fall. A simple hunting setup combined with a fun, family-friendly atmosphere makes WFF’s youth dove hunts an ideal way to introduce young people to the outdoors. Registration for this year’s hunts will open at 8 a.m. […]

After completing a review of the 2019 private angler red snapper season through August 5, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has determined two additional days can be added to the private angler recreational season. The additional days will begin 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 31, 2019, and run until midnight on Sunday, […]

Alabama’s Grayson Morris and Tucker Smith completed a wire-to-wire win this past weekend to secure victory in the Mossy Oak Bassmaster High School National Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, earning a $4,500 scholarship towards their college education. A statement from the prestigious tournament added that this win made for back-to-back titles for the […]

Two boys from Southwest Alabama on Sunday triumphantly returned to the Yellowhammer State after winning the Bassmaster Junior Championship. According to Fox 10, Citronelle’s Triton Graham and Huntley Dees were given a champion’s welcome back in town.

Alabama hunters will have their first opportunity in 103 years to hunt a migratory bird that has been making a steady comeback for the past few decades. The Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division will conduct a draw hunt of 400 permits to hunt sandhill cranes, becoming the third state east of the Mississippi […]

One of the top officials from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently received a grand tour of the Alabama Gulf Coast during one of the busiest weekends of the summer. Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, who holds a doctorate in oceanography and currently serves as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for […]