Sea Bass Tag Return

[Billfish715]

I always get a kick out of receiving a goldfish patch in the mail whenever someone returns a yellow Littoral Society tag from a fish that I tagged. Recently, I received a patch when a fisherman caught a 16.5" seabass. That fish was one I tagged and that had been swimming around and growing for three years. After the tragic death of the former tagging director, the Society is still catching up on processing the paperwork.

The seabass had grown 5.5 inches in those three years. I'm sure its girth was substantial as well. It was also caught, almost to the day, from the same bottom piece off Sandy Hook from which I first caught it. The information will be shared with biologists but to the average fisherman, it is of interest. I get some idea of where a seabass is likely to return and how much its apparent growth rate is. It also gives some insight into how old some of the really big offshore seabass are.

Despite the pressure on them over the last few years, it appears that there are still survivors if the undersized fish are released appropriately. When their air bladders expand and they appear to be coughing up their guts, use an appropriate venting needle to release the trapped air and get the fish back into the water. Quick releases of undersized seabass usually has a high rate of success especially if they can get water running through their gills. Sometimes they have to be pushed underwater to get things going. Other times a quick, hard toss gets them headed in the right direction effectively.

The seabass fishing has been a valuable resource over the last several years, especially when the fluke regulations prevented so many anglers from bringing home a meal. They do survive, and they do grow.......with our help. Good luck on the opener and during the season. Maybe the new fluke regs will take more pressure off the seabass and more of them will grow into big knobheads.