[Billfish715]

Do you remember those 16 & 17 inch fluke you had to toss back last season? How about those sea bass that made their way from the inshore reefs to deeper offshore waters? Well, they have made their way back inshore to where you can now keep them. A bit sarcastic? Well, yeah, I guess I was. Here's the point. Look at the prices customers are paying for them at the counter. Those 16-17 inch fluke that the trawlers bring back to the market make perfect sized fillets for a consumer.

If you laid out $100 for a half day on the water and never caught a legal fluke to fillet, you can take that same $100 and go to the fish market and get 5 pounds of prime fluke fillets. Do you see where this is going? If you go fishing with the intention of bringing some fillets home for dinner, you could spend the same money and go to the market and buy the same fish you would have to release if you were on a boat.

It's a good thing most fishermen don't look at fishing in that way or the party and charter business would be done. There is something more rewarding when the fish you eat are the fish you caught. They might even taste better knowing that they are yours.

Here's a novel idea........one that will never fly.........a guaranteed one fish limt for every paying customer. Everyone on a party boat will be allowed to keep one of the fish they caught regardless of its size. Of course you can keep the legal-sized fish and established limits. If you are going to pay a store owner, who paid a commercial fisherman for the fish you had to throw back, why not just let part of the fare you paid to the captain, pay for at least one fish that might end up on ice in the market anyhow.?

It's thinking out of the box and would be shot down for being too extreme and perhaps for starting to let some of the water out of the swamp. That kind of thinking goes over very well with the populace but not with the establishment. The establishment sees the change as a major attack on their livelihood and gets their blood boiling. We all know the reaction to the last person who tried to drain some of bogged-down sections of the government.

We all know it's about money yet no one wants to compromise. The government agencies exist because of the money they get directly or indirectly from us. We just want a little bang for our buck. Throw us a bone. Let us deduct our fishing expenses from our taxes. Food, fuel, tackle, bait, protective gear, tolls..........yada, yada, yada all cost money and include taxes. All we want is a fish to eat.

This pandemic has told us to follow the science. The marine fisheries agencies also tell us to follow their science. How is all of that working?