brexit,is it time for nj to exit natl marine fisheries

[Rightaway III]

Lets get something straight right away,iam a great believer in regs but they need to be logical.What we need is some hardcore fishermen on these boards.As of now the only inshore fishing available is Fluking,what sense does it make to put all the pessure on one species.Wny not give us two slot fish at 17 inches so small boaters can get their limit and head for the barn.Recently we had some discussion on the forum concernig my c and r togtrips.Blackfish for the most part are lip hooked,the worst that could happen is thier love life might be slowed down.On the other hand many fluke are hooked deep in the throat.How many cbass wind up floating away from the boat after being released.Why not give us 12 inchsize limit, that would save thousands of fish on any given day.What genius decidedto make the dogfish a protected species,probably the same guy that made the conger eel protected.I could go on and on but whats the sense,im sure some guys are going to say,this old man has finally lost it.Thats ok,i have broad shoulders.BRING IT ON CAPT.TOMMY JOSEPH

[Blackfish Doug]

I agree with you 100% Tommy but as bad as it's here it's much worse in other states. My buddy who lives up in Mass tells me about trips up there where you are throwing back as many as 20 to 30 Cod a trip a man up to 20lbs. average fish 10lb. plus. This state as bad as the regs are you got a better chance of taking home fish then our eastern states. It's obvious that the people who make up these regs are being told what to do by higher authority. They don't care what me & you think. I no longer care about the future being I feel the fishing stocks are better then whatever I seen in a very long time. The sad thing is a good majority of the fisherman I know are my age & older. 20 years from now I don't think there are going many party boats or charter boats operating. The future of the fishing industry is very bleak.

[AndyS]

Just gimme my offshore c bass back, that's all I want. All the pics of 12" c bass is enough to make me puke.

[dakota560]

In most cases logic doesn't factor into regulations. Politics and big money does. Case in point....state taxes. The average tax payer in NJ pays 3.5% on money they earn every year. Tax tables are graduated based on earnings but on average 3.5% is the effective rate the average NJ resident pays. So we pay 3.5% on money we earn, but we pay 7% sales tax to spend that same money! And since spending drives the economy, why not charge the average run of the mill Joe 7% or 2x the average effective tax rate to spend their hard earned money! Talk about lack of logic. Government is detached from reality as anyone on this planet. Regulations for our fisheries aren't made with the interest of the fisheries in mind unfortunately, they're made with money and politics in mind. Recreational anglers interests and fishery interests take a distant back seat, sad but true.

[hammer4reel]

I think the current regs have helped alot of the fisheries.
and that fisherman are their own worst enemies.
Sure the split seasons and throw backs they tally against us suck. but without them when fishing is good, guys want to keep every fish they catch and pass them around the neighborhood.

A 12" sea bass gives you a fish stick. yet when it gets to 14" its a viable meal
killing 12" fish is a waste of the resource.

striper regs have def helped not so many breeders from being taken. and while not totally effective in making it a 1 fish limit, it probably has kept the tally to about 1.25 allowing the rest to make us alot more fish.

you cant complain your throwing back other small fish, and that they may die, then in the next breath say your catch and release handling of other fish has a 100% survival rate.

look at all the crying about fluke , yet this years bay run is the best its been since the mid 90's.

I personnally like to see that many of the fish we love to catch are getting larger every season.
while I eat plenty of fish, its the hard pull at the end of the line that keeps me fishing.
I have said it for years, I hear alot more hootin and hollering while a guy is catching nice fish, than I have ever heard them do while eating it.

.

[joshpio]

Are you kidding me? What bay are you talking about? Great bay and SRI fluke might as well be extinct. Two fishing trips not even 1 short. If you are talking about Northern fishing great. What about the rest of the state? Not everyone wants to travel way the hell up there and deal with tolls and traffic. All these regs and the fishing gets worse every year. People are bragging about getting limit catches of C bass when the limit is now 10 not 25. They are destroying fishing for the hardcore fisherman and the folks that only get to go a few times a year won't even bother to go.

[hammer4reel]

Are you kidding me? What bay are you talking about? Great bay and SRI fluke might as well be extinct. Two fishing trips not even 1 short. If you are talking about Northern fishing great. What about the rest of the state? Not everyone wants to travel way the hell up there and deal with tolls and traffic. All these regs and the fishing gets worse every year. People are bragging about getting limit catches of C bass when the limit is now 10 not 25. They are destroying fishing for the hardcore fisherman and the folks that only get to go a few times a year won't even bother to go.

fluke are all over in the SR area, but with the water being cold still the bite hasnt been good,
but the few draggers working the area are doing one tow a day to meet their quota.

we need a few degrees for the bite to get better.
fishing in the raritan bay is on fire. water temps are perfect up there and the daily catches show it

[Rightaway III]

Hey hammer ,ever figure out how many cbass you killed looking for that 14 incher.A 12inch fish stick is better than a dead fish floating away from the boat.Regarding stripers,the regs did not bring the fishery back,making stripers a no sale fish did it.The day is coming when we will see magic hour sea robin fishin.CAPT.TOMMY JOSEPH

[dales529]

Tommy,
Have the utmost respect for you as a "Hardcore" fisherman, Charter Captain and as a man of values in general.
There are many "hardcore" fisherman on this site and others that spend valuable fishing time NOT Fishing and fighting the exact things you speak of.

Unfortunately most fisherman / industry suppliers / industry captains react rather than act. There have been multiple fundraisers, calls to action etc that very few participate in. SSFFF for one, RFA-NJ for 2, JCSA for 3 , United Boatman for 4 and not in any order. I could go on and on.
Without these Hardcore fisherman we would be looking at MUCH worse as far as actual data for quotas, bag / size limits , closures per species, , beach access, Pots on reefs, MPA's, Sanctuaries and catch share programs.

Going to DC even twice, donating a few bucks, an open boat trip, a PB trip ticket etc isn't enough!


I agree with Hammer4reel who has always participated rather than stay on the sidelines although we may not always agree and you personally have helped as well but until:

ALL fishermen Hardcore or NOT get in the game (and NOT the Keyboard game)we are stuck fighting with limited resources. The resources are there the fishermen are NOT

Easy for anyone to call out the issues and yet another thing to join in the resolve! Some say it wont work but I have seen it get better and with many many more fisherman involved it can be beat but without them its always going to be status quo! It is a Shell Game, Politically driven fight yet we DO have an inshore (although it sucks) offshore C bass season at end of year, Fluke seasons, Tog seasons, etc and some may not realize that this is because of the hard work of the few and not the many wherein lies the problem

I am curious however to the release practice of any fish species and floating dead fish. I fish often but not as much as some and am not in "the Business" but cant agree that C bass, stripers, tog fluke are not released harmless on most occasions by good fisherman and have never (other than commercial by catch) seen "floating dead fish" . I firmly believe these statements add to our problems rather than help and just me personally haven't seen the release carnage some speak of.

I agree with your frustration and again respect and appreciate what you have given to our fisheries