Fishing for History's Top 20 Fishing Stories of 2011

2011 is almost in the books, so it's that time of the year to reflect on the events of the past year. And what I know is that 2011 was an interesting year for fishing in the news. Here are my annual Top 20 Fishing News Stories of 2011.

(1) The biggest story of the year--deep sea fishing (and fish hooks) began 42,000 years ago.



(2) Striper record officially moves away from Atlantic City.



(3) The New York Times memorializes Stan Bogdan.



(4) Chapin man invents advanced fishing reel; will it change the world?



(5) A moving account about the death of a reservoir in Texas.



(6) New Berlin, WI cops break up high school crime ring intent on stealing fish-shaped mailboxes.



(7) This professor is a tackle researcher.



(8) Scientists find 12,000 year old fishing tackle .



(9) Nine year old Florida angler much, much better fisherman than you, lands record fish.



(10) An interview with new Bagley owner Bill Cullerton.



(11) Did this angler catch and release a seventy pound musky ?

(12) The Alabama Rig is taking the bass world by storm.



(13) TV Show Pawn Stars buys fishing tackle; chaos ensues.



(14) Monster Mako misses the world record by a few pounds.



(15) 2200 anglers fish for 3 hours in ice fishing tournament…and catch no fish.

(16) John Merwin profiles a great reel made by the U.S. Reel Company (in China...sigh), sold at a great price.



(17) Fly fishing pioneer Billy Pate passes away. A neat article from the Miami Herald here.



(18) As he works to climb out of debt, noted painter Russell Chatham is working on an angling manuscript about fishing San Francisco Bay.



(19) In grossest heist ever, eight thieves armed with golf clubs make off with 100,000 maggots from local bait shop. Really.



(20) A Chinese fishing tackle museum!