If Ling go down???

[bulletbob]

and are regulated like everything else... I wonder??
Would the party boats be able to weather it?..
I feel bad for those guys. Winter Flounder?.. nope..
Whiting??.. Nope, all gone
Weaks in summer?.. nope, gone as well.
Mackerel?.. nope didn't show....
Ling have become a mainstay.. They help these captains fill coolers for their fares..
I have seen some pretty dismal reports this fall and winter on ling fishing.
I hope it gets a LOT better come around April or so..
If the ling fishery collapses, and the NMFS " steps in to fix the problem", I fear for the guys that depend on them for their customers.. They are on eggshells already at times..

The mainstay fisheries that have kept these guys in business decade after decade are dwindling due to regulation... If ling stocks are going south
[ I hope NOT], I really wonder how it will play for the NY NJ party boat captains... Not looking for fights or arguments, just making conversation, and I hope my concern is overly exaggerated, and is nonsense.
Its just that I didn't see a lot of good ling fishing reported the past several months, and last head boat trip I went on in Dec, not even one was caught.
It WAS a tog trip, but several of us tried for ling without a touch, using Clams and Smelt { at Scotland}..
Kept an eye out since then, and it looks like most of the past 2 months was a pretty slow pick on them.

I truly hope they swarm inshore in great hordes in March/April for the sake of we that like to fish for them, and the captains that need to find them and put us over them... bob

[frugalfisherman]

The dogfish are devestating them. If you want to save the ling don't send a single dogfish back down alive. Knife straight down between the eyes.

[blkbear]

Its true I have caught dog fish with small ling still in there mouths

[Jay]

the dogfish are devestating them. If you want to save the ling don't send a single dogfish back down alive. Knife straight down between the eyes.

amen!

[NJ Dave]

We cant kill dogfish, they are endangered. :eek:

[jmurr711]

The dogfish are devestating them. If you want to save the ling don't send a single dogfish back down alive. Knife straight down between the eyes.

i have seen them swim up afer hooked ling it is silly i dunno why everyone just doesnt gut em & eat em

[Jay]

We cant kill dogfish, they are endangered. :eek:


Exactly, there going to be in danger! LOL! :D

[RussA]

Here is the deal, most of those stocks of fish are healthy with the exception of the winter flounder.

You see the problem is Whiting that we used to catch in our waters are the Hudson Canyon Stock. Now with all the commercial fleets offshore they don't allow the whiting stock to overflow back into our waters during winter months same with the mackerel.

They were loading up on Mackerel about a week and a half ago by the Hudson Canyon.

I don't mind local commercial boats that bring fish to our local economy, what i don't like are the Mid-Water boats that are owned by corporations that have giant lobbies working in their favor.

I want to cut the fleet in half and cut their quota by half, then you will see those two fisheries come back to our waters within 2 years it will be crazy.

But good luck going up against them.

[Jay]

Here is the deal, most of those stocks of fish are healthy with the exception of the winter flounder.

I recall catching some nice size flounders thoughout the summer last year and the previous years in the mudhole.

[Fish Tank]

Hi bob,dont know how old u r friend but years ago the commercial would shovel thousands ofling off the deck in search off a few boxes of whitting. Rememer days when dead ling could be seen floating as far as thenaked eye could see.cant treat a fishery like that and expect itto survive.stay well capt.tommy joseph

[bulletbob]

Hi bob,dont know how old u r friend but years ago the commercial would shovel thousands ofling off the deck in search off a few boxes of whitting. Rememer days when dead ling could be seen floating as far as thenaked eye could see.cant treat a fishery like that and expect itto survive.stay well capt.tommy joseph

I am 59 capt..
Yes , i am aware of the "bycatch", and it sickens me..

Its funny, up here in NY state squirrel hake are sometimes sold labeled as whiting .
I can't understand the consumer.. The squirrel/red hake is a better eating fish than a silver hake any day of the week, better than fluke as well yet the ling is a "bycatch" to be wasted....... bob

[RussA]

I recall catching some nice size flounders thoughout the summer last year and the previous years in the mudhole.

Ocean winter flounder can be down right stupid fishing, that I have witnessed in the last few years but it's hit or miss.

I am 37 and back when I was 15 in Jamaica bay we just slammed flounder of the biggest kind, the limit was 15 at the time and they were all 2-4lb flounder amazing.

Then it happened, the stock collapsed from both the commercial guys and JFK and all of it's run off that has really put a hurting on this flounder, fluke, tog, bluefish, striper, scup nursery.

Now with the boom of the DEP's waste management plants along the waterways, that is also causing ill effects to our fisheries.

There are many things that affect our fish from over fishing to pollution, but the biggest problems are corporate commercial boats and the Regulators, those two need to be cut in half, one needs to be eliminated and the other really is a necessary evil.

[Flukemeister1]

Anyone who has fished the Mud Hole for any period of time has come across slicks of thousands of dead ling floating on the surface. "Bycatch" of commercial fishing. One of the problems with the ling stocks being decimated is the increased pressure on scallops. Juvinile ling spend their early life living inside the safety of scallops shells and unfortunately are killed when the scallops are dragged to the surface in the dredges. When I was younger the stocks of ling and whiting were healthy and you could catch what you wanted to feed your family. There was excellant fishing at night from any pier or jetty that stuck out into the ocean. The fish were incredibly abundant. Now you see reports "ling fishing was great we had 10 per man". Pitiful what we consider to be great. The question is what do we do to improve the stocks back to where they should be? Gerry said it before good luck going up against the big money lobbies, but something has to be done. Suggestions would be great!

[Solemate]

Saw that many times up in the Raritan Bay near the co-op and old fish factory.

[stevelikes2fish]

The dogfish are devestating them. If you want to save the ling don't send a single dogfish back down alive. Knife straight down between the eyes.

The doggies I catch always seem to swim in circles after I release them.........

[tautog]

Ling don't like doggies or ultra cold water. Every year in Oct the linging goes to crap when the doggies show up. If the water is still pretty warm when the doggies start to leave we get a good bite for a while. If it is ice cold when they leave, you have to wait until the first week in May for a good bite. Lots of 14"ers in Sept will be 16"-17" by May.

[SaltLife1980]

"All doggies go to heaven":D:D

[kcritch]

"All doggies go to heaven":D:D

That's funny.

Hope you are doing well buddy. Looking forward to fishing with you and your Dad on Papa's Angles in the spring...Stripers and Blues...and not 10 degrees outside!

The Blue Moons are on me next time! :D

Tell dad I said hello.