2015 Bass regulations: GET ON THE PHONE/WRITE AN EMAIL!

[h2ogonj]

quick email I sent hope more do the same. my concern is this will go thru without him even shuffling the papers around

Mr. Christie
I understand that you are a busy man and will not be reading this, but a staff member will. Bill a4146 the new striped bass regulations are completely ridiculous, if you do a little research yourself you will understand that forcing anglers to harvest larger fish 43" or greater is the complete opposite of conservation which the bill was supposedly designed for. The larger fish are the breeding females. The changes awaiting your approval can and will prove negative for the charter and party boat industry, along with tackle shops, marinas, delis, and all the other small and large businesses along our coast who depend on revenue from anglers. Please take the time to make the decision you feel is best for New Jersey, don't just let the bill go into law by default because it wasn't signed or shot down.

Thanks for your time

[Gerry Zagorski]

So what is the concensus here? Seems like most don't like the 2nd fish to have to be 43 inches or more since that could result in taking of more breeders.

Should we be pushing for 1 fish at 28 or more and a bonus tag fish of the same size all season??

I'm thinking 2 fish at 28 or more with out a tag won't fly since projected landings would put us over our quota??

Thoughts??

[hammer4reel]

Really guys complaining about not wanting to keep a bass over 43" not being good for the fishery , when the same guys at the current regs will keep 3 cows over that 43" in the spring when that is what is available while using their bonus tags.

the new rules is going to limit most trips to just one bass, that will help the fishery, while also allowing many different age classes of fish to be taken , spreading it out.

really wonder how guys actually think things out, to me seems its all about how Many fish they can take home and nothing else conservated minded.

wanna really help the fishery, C/R is always an option if you want

[Vernon]

Originally Posted by JBird

Yes! Somebody who's not a total intenet dummy like me!

Thanks, Joe for posting the links and additional info!

Kevin:

This is what I wrote to the governor on the link: http://www.state.nj.us/governor/contact/
and then select: Licensing Board

Governor:
The law that is up for your signature is unrealistic; 1 fish over 28” and one fish over 43” will crush the industry, especially the Head boat/party boat business. I have been fishing on these boats for 50 years and in the last 5 years, there has been few and far between a striper caught 43” or above on the these type of boats, that I have been on. Those fish are special and take a unique way of catching them, which the head boats cannot support.
For the most you have to troll that head boats cannot do, or use live menhaden (Bunker), that you can’t buy, you have to cast net, which the head boats can’t do with the amount of patrons, and being so high off the water.
The only way to save the industry is to implement the Bonus Tag Program (24” – 28”) slot early, not the scheduled time of Sept 01 2015, if this is implemented now and not later would make a world of difference.
I know this might not ever get to you, but I might get luck; like catching a 43” bass of a head boat.

[hammer4reel]

REALLY Mc , a 43 " fish is about a 27 pound fish.
Head boats catch fish like that ALOT, especially eeling at night.
also many of the head boats from both Belmar and PP have been snag and dropping for some time know , and have done well catching big bass.

Heck on charter boats we catch so many 30-40 pound bass , that something has to change.
Charter boats as well as personal boats have been crushing these fish with reckless abandon for too long.

[Vernon]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

REALLY Mc , a 43 " fish is about a 27 pound fish.
Head boats catch fish like that ALOT, especially eeling at night.
also many of the head boats from both Belmar and PP have been snag and dropping for some time know , and have done well catching big bass.

Heck on charter boats we catch so many 30-40 pound bass , that something has to change.
Charter boats as well as personal boats have been crushing these fish with reckless abandon for too long.

Yes, but they are not the norm and if you count on that for patrons or money, you're going to be hurting! Also, you have very few headboats that make the night trip. One or two a port. Plus, I never mentioned charter boats!

And, the snag and dropping is great, try that with 70 people, that is fine for 15 people trips. Seriously; Belmar and PP is not the best example, where to the fish sometimes; the Raritan/NY Bay, is where you show up anyway, you always say we went "north" that means the Raritan/NY Bay! And, for the most your target fish is bluefish, why I don't know.

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by mccandrj

Yes, but they are not the norm and if you count on that for patrons or money, you're going to be hurting! Also, you have very few headboats that make the night trip. One or two a port. Plus, I never mentioned charter boats!

Charter boat as well as personal boats NEED to be taken into account.
There are 10 times the guys fishing for bass nitely as were 10 years ago.
and with the current regs are destroying the fishery that took a long time to rebuild.
doing anything to lessen the amount of fish taken is going to help this fishery stay solid, and give pleasure to the thousands of guys who love fighting these fish .

[JBird]

My personal feelings are to release all the big fish HOWEVER I am against any law that would prohibit the taking of 1 trophy. I have released every large bass I ever caught (and plenty of smaller keepers) with the exception of a tournament situation. That includes my personal best over 40 lbs and some 30's. Maybe one day I'll be able to release a 50+.

That being said I absolutely respect any angler who wishes to take a large fish home and eat it. Hunters and fishermen are the last of the hunter gatherers and I have a deeply held belief in the right of capturing of your own food. BUT when I see guys with 3 dead cows I begin to wonder, "How much is enough?" One 30+ pound bass is a lot of meat. Do you really need to take home 3?

Now, I am absolutely biased because I rely on striped bass to earn a living. But I also reside in a state WITH NO COMMERCIAL FISHERY FOR STRIPED BASS, and feel that because of that we recreational anglers should be able to keep more than 1 bass IF WE CHOOSE TO. If I had the power I would make this fish a gamefish coastwide and our issue would be resolved overnight.

The rules as they are with a second fish over 43" will actually encourage some anglers, not all, to keep that big fish.
It will hurt my industry because some people won't want to pay for the chance to only keep one fish, which is effectively what this rule is going to do.
Why in the wide wide world of sports would they actually encourage people to kill a cow? It makes no sense at all.
If I had the chance to rewrite our regs I would have 1 fish at 28" or better and 1 bonus tag fish over 28". I actually like the bonus fish being switched to a slot in the Fall too. Honestly, I wish I got a tag for every cow I released that authorized me to keep a 18"-24" bass for the table.
So there's my 2 cents.

[hammer4reel]

J Bird, were def very close to the same page.
Its a hard line we must follow to what is right for the fish as well as the business.
Charter guys are a little luckier as there are guys who will pay to C/R, not as much with the anglers fishing on the head boats that are def there to bring fish home.

I def think the slot fish size is something that has needed to be put back into the fishery and def will be good for the fall fishery.

Just knowing that those big cows will no longer be allowed to use a 2$ tag to take makes me happy as to me that fish is worth way more than that.

[Vernon]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

J Bird, were def very close to the same page.
Its a hard line we must follow to what is right for the fish as well as the business.
Charter guys are a little luckier as there are guys who will pay to C/R, not as much with the anglers fishing on the head boats that are def there to bring fish home.

I def think the slot fish size is something that has needed to be put back into the fishery and def will be good for the fall fishery.

Just knowing that those big cows will no longer be allowed to use a 2$ tag to take makes me happy as to me that fish is worth way more than that.

That's all I have been saying!