Interesting Striped Bass Article
Massachusetts
Ok, technically not an article... But interesting. I've loosely been following the challenging situation regarding striped bass numbers the past several years. Not as closely following as I should be.
But I thought this blog was a really interesting take on the current state of affairs, and that others who occasionally or often fish the salt or who have followed this "saga" may have more insight or thoughts on.
https://oneanglersvoyage.blogspot.com/2020/02/butarent-those-asmfcs-most-important.html?fbclid=IwAR1Di40BAh96lhOBbf8wf-PSEuocEwWhgHGTrtZBhxO2a0cJQHCtfFAoWPk
Hey, not much is in season hunting wise, so I figured a little fishing talk could be fun.
1 striper 28 to 35 inch anything under 28 or over 35 must be released i fish for them all summer and that reg sucks to many fish released don't survive
Do like the old days, 5 yr moratorium or anything over 36 is a keeper.
Those were the good ol days for sure Notme. There was a lot of big bass around.
Sure was the bomb for sure!!! At the very least they should shut down winter bass..this past weekend on the lower housy there was 7 boats and 30 guys in waders banging 20" fish..give them a damn chance!!!
I don't know what its like up there anymore, haven't fished the vineyard in years, but unless you're lucky enough to fish the race ,down here is absolutely brutal..a slot limit would work in theory but you're just harassing small fish..a bunker ban along with bass would definitely work but too much big money at stake and a trawler limit certainly would work but again big money..the comment at the end was interesting, ct is thinking on lowering the limit of 10 blues a day down to 3.
Martha’s Vineyard Derby is dropping Striped Bass from the derby in 2020. Been a while since this happened. (Moratorium)
https://www.ctpost.com/news/us/article/Last-of-its-kind-fishery-faces-reckoning-in-15047326.php
The way I see it there are two main problems.
Many, if not most, bait caught stripers are hooked deep and end up dying even if released. Mandatory circle hooks should help this problem quite a bit if people actually use them.
The second problem is more difficult to solve. From what I've seen most people out there fishing have no clue how to handle a fish you plan on releasing. For starters don't hold the fish up by the jaw for a picture, and definitely don't stick your fingers in it's gills. This problem is harder to fix because way too many people either don't mind remaining ignorant or in many cases just don't care.
How many times have you seen someone drag a fish up the sand and fiddle around trying to unhook it for several minutes. They finally get the hook out and then hold it up for a picture before tossing back in the water without getting close enough to get their feet wet. Often the fish is bleeding profusely by the time it finally gets back in the water. Arghh, people suck.
https://www.nj.com/news/2020/02/trophy-fish-now-off-limits-as-nj-reels-in-rules-for-striper-fishing.html
It'll be here soon.
I started reading quite a bit about the striper dilemma around this time last year after having a couple less than stellar summers in the surf. The complexities of managing stripers is enough to make your head spin. With so many parties wanting to use the resource it seems impossible to keep everyone happy and sustain the fishery. I hope, for the sake of the fishery, all parties experience some unhappiness with regulations in the coming years.
Same thing happened many years ago. When they severely limited commercial quotas fishing came back due to sportsman funding fish stocking down in the Chesapeake. Yes I am that old.
I remember when they had to be 42 inches to keep many years ago them were the good days lots of big bass around now to catch a keeper the have to catch a ton of small ones i fish of monomy island in Chatham in a boat we catch way to many small bass like doe permits way to many but that's my 2 cents 1 bass over 40 inches would be a good start no doe tags for a year or to would be a good start too
Strpers eating a lot of salmon smolt at the mouths of rivers in New Brunswick i.e. Miramichi R. We love stripers down here but they are viewed a little differently by some up there. I guess it depends which side of the problem you are on. Personally I love them both on a fly rod.
I must be the only guy that can’t stand catching stripers when you’re targeting bluefish. You go out and try to catch blue fish for shark bait and all you catch are stripers. Used to be a time that you would do well at night for stripers.....now you can catch then just about anytime and anywhere. This is off RI BTW.
I watched a guy in Salem this summer while I was at a boat show walk down the floats of the marina and fish until he caught a schoolie. He would hook it and spend all kinds of time fighting it and then land it. He would take a solid 5 minutes removing the hook and then toss the dead fish back and leave. He did this every day I was there. I told the dock master when he saw a dead bass floating at his feet after the dude left.... People do suck! Let's Go
So you go out on a boat, pay at least a Hondo and maybe get one fish seems expensive. I have heard from many that a lot of fish are being kept illegally. There are just not enough wardens to stop it. Hope they bounce back soon!!
