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

[hammer4reel]

The striped bass issue is DEFINETLY a recreational issue , as WE are theo ones killing the bass, since their isnt a commercial interest in most states.
the amount of fish killed in excess in Virginia, NC and NJ alone has put a severe blow to the stocks.
The amount of roe laden fish that had been being taken each winter in VA was insane.

and I def disagree that recs didnt put a hurting on the winter flounder fishery.
when there were no limits on them the fish were way over fished.

Problem was we always want to blame it on someone else.
Whole reason I stopped running charters was I couldnt stand being part of the problem when it came to stripers.

Got tired of the greed of it becoming more about a dock shot than fishing and having a great day on the water.

and to be honest if you compare the amount of Bonus tag harvests to the amount draggers took I would bet even that portion is over fished.
guys buy a 2$ tag and dont fill it out unless it looks like they are going to get checked.
im sure some are used more than a few times over .
I wouldnt let anyone put a fish in the cooler until that tag was filled out in pen.

I will say there also has to be more limits imposed on ALL the types of fishing, both RECS and Commercial, so that both industries can sustain.


Just ten years ago there used to be about a dozen boats fishing for bass during the week oceanside. now its not uncommon to see 200 boats or more, and three times that on a weekend.
more fisherman means more fish getting pressure,
its in that the numbers go way up on the fish being taken daily

[JBird]

I never said anything about striped bass not being a recreational issue. I'm saying that hook and line recreational fishing alone has never put a species, stripers included, on the endangered species list. I don't want to talk about flounder anymore. This thread is about bass.
Indeed the recreational landings now exceed the commercial ones, by a lot. Here is where I think we need to shift priorities in managing the resource. The 7 million pounds of bass landed by the commercial sector on an average year coastwide, NONE OF WHICH COMES FROM NEW JERSEY, could be allocated to the recreational sector. Or it could be left alone if alll the other Atlantic states followed New Jersey's lead and made bass a gamefish.
The economic value of the stock to the recreational sector far outweighs the value to the commercial one. It's not even close.
I agree that there are greedy people who want personal glory more than a sustainable fishery. But if we had a 7 million pound cushion we could all have a sustainable 2 fish recreational limit.

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

The striped bass issue is DEFINETLY a recreational issue , as WE are theo ones killing the bass, since their isnt a commercial interest in most states.
the amount of fish killed in excess in Virginia, NC and NJ alone has put a severe blow to the stocks.
The amount of roe laden fish that had been being taken each winter in VA was insane.

and I def disagree that recs didnt put a hurting on the winter flounder fishery.
when there were no limits on them the fish were way over fished.

Problem was we always want to blame it on someone else.
Whole reason I stopped running charters was I couldnt stand being part of the problem when it came to stripers.

Got tired of the greed of it becoming more about a dock shot than fishing and having a great day on the water.

and to be honest if you compare the amount of Bonus tag harvests to the amount draggers took I would bet even that portion is over fished.
guys buy a 2$ tag and dont fill it out unless it looks like they are going to get checked.
im sure some are used more than a few times over .
I wouldnt let anyone put a fish in the cooler until that tag was filled out in pen.

I will say there also has to be more limits imposed on ALL the types of fishing, both RECS and Commercial, so that both industries can sustain.


Just ten years ago there used to be about a dozen boats fishing for bass during the week oceanside. now its not uncommon to see 200 boats or more, and three times that on a weekend.
more fisherman means more fish getting pressure,
its in that the numbers go way up on the fish being taken daily

[hammer4reel]

take that 7 million pounds
divide it by 20 pounds ( since at current regs there are prop more 25+ pound fish taken than the 10 pounders , and all the fish bigger than that 30+
you get to catch 350,000 bass
divide that by 10000 boats ( which is way low when you add the coastal states)
that means each boat can catch just 35 bass for the season.

I catch that on 1 good night, what about the other 3 months of fishing I do for bass.

while big numbers look like alot of fish , it really isnt when you have the pressure these fish recieve

[Vernon]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

take that 7 million pounds
divide it by 20 pounds ( since at current regs there are prop more 25+ pound fish taken than the 10 pounders , and all the fish bigger than that 30+
you get to catch 350,000 bass
divide that by 10000 boats ( which is way low when you add the coastal states)
that means each boat can catch just 35 bass for the season.

I catch that on 1 good night, what about the other 3 months of fishing I do for bass.

while big numbers look like alot of fish , it really isnt when you have the pressure these fish recieve

Where did you get your stats? Plus, your discussion is leaned towards a charter boat, and ignoring the head boat industry that doesn't harvest the big fish. They are totally different, neither will benefit from the law, but the charter industry will suffer less. So, now we know how you stand.

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by mccandrj

Where did you get your stats? Plus, your discussion is leaned towards a charter boat, and ignoring the head boat industry that doesn't harvest the big fish. They are totally different, neither will benefit from the law, but the charter industry will suffer less. So, now we know how you stand.

I will make it easier to understand how I stand, since you def have no clue about the fishery.

including the mere thought that Head boats dont catch big fish.
The bass are getting hammered 11 months out the year in many different states.
If changes are not made soon NO ONE will be catching fish .
I left the charter industry because I didnt want to be part of the problem. in that I was busting my butt to put guys on fish just to see them slaughtered.
I still take MANY guys out who are catch and release, and would rather be broke than see this great fishery destroyed because guys want to take a hundred pounds of fillets home from one trip.

Maybe if you even had a clue about how many fish are actually caught Daily up and down our coast you could actually make a reasonable choice of what actual changes need to be done.
but through your posts I can see you dont even know how many fish are caught on Party boats when the fishing is good let alone the whole rest of the fleet.

I have got to see how much pleasure guys get catching BIG bass, many their Personal best.
saw just as much pleasure those same guys releasing there biggest fish to fight another day.

I have yet to see 1/10 that pleasure from anyone eating one of those fish.
And yes striped bass are a good eating fish, But there is no reason to need to feed the whole neighborhood them after a single trip
.

[JBird]

Well, I figured sooner or later this would turn into a pissing contest and sadly it has.

I won't wade completely into the piss pool but I can tell you the numbers I got were from the ASMFC website, so the same numbers used to make these rule changes.
This is the same ASMFC that says, and I quote "OVERFISHING IS NOT OCCURING".
Their concern is that reproductive productivity is declining. I've yet to find any info on why they think this is happening but I sure would like to know.

It seems like some guys here are kind of missing the point I'm trying to make.
It's in my best interest and my industries best interest to have a healthy bass stock.
I get that. Everybody in my business gets that. No fish, no work, no money. Got it. Understood. Fully comprehended. Roger. 10-4 good buddy. Yo comprendo. Capice.
The scientists tell us overfishing is not occurring (their words not mine) but to be safe a reduction is needed. Even if they are right, all I'm saying is why does NJ have to take such a huge hit when we have no commercial fishery? For all intents and purposes the way the rules are now we went from 3 fish to 1. No bonus tag until the Fall and the 2nd fish has to be 28 to 30 pounds or bigger. So, except on rare occasions, most anglers are going to MAYBE take home 1 fish instead of MAYBE taking home 3. That is a 66% reduction in potential harvest to achieve a 25% overall reduction. (until Sept. 1st) That's some kick in the teeth to a state that has recognized the value of eliminating the commercial catch.

[AndyS]

I think most of the states up and down the East coast went to 1 fish, no bonus tag.
I'm fine with one fish, JUST GIVE ME BACK MY WINTER OFFSHORE SEA BASS.

[fishguy]

You catch 35 bass that are 20-30+ pounds in one night???
I'll pay you $5000 for a night charter. Are you free next weekend?

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

take that 7 million pounds
divide it by 20 pounds ( since at current regs there are prop more 25+ pound fish taken than the 10 pounders , and all the fish bigger than that 30+
you get to catch 350,000 bass
divide that by 10000 boats ( which is way low when you add the coastal states)
that means each boat can catch just 35 bass for the season.

I catch that on 1 good night, what about the other 3 months of fishing I do for bass.

while big numbers look like alot of fish , it really isnt when you have the pressure these fish recieve

[hooks40]

NJ has always been greedy when it comes to regulations. Getting their "fair share" seems more important than anything else. I would support a 1 fish limit of 28+ until the stocks rebound. (I would support a moratorium). The bonus fish is a joke. Pay $2 and every angler gets to kill an extra fish every day?? huh?? I don't accept those who say they want a good fishery yet they support the current or past regs and bonus program...

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by hooks40

NJ has always been greedy when it comes to regulations. Getting their "fair share" seems more important than anything else. I would support a 1 fish limit of 28+ until the stocks rebound. (I would support a moratorium). The bonus fish is a joke. Pay $2 and every angler gets to kill an extra fish every day?? huh?? I don't accept those who say they want a good fishery yet they support the current or past regs and bonus program...

The reason NJ recreational fishermen are allowed more Striped Bass then other states like NY is becuase NJ does not allow commercial fishing for them. So the quota we get in NJ does not have to be split between commercial and recreational, it all goes to recreational.