The season is into its 2nd week and only 97,000 lbs have been Taken, Last year it took a Little more than 4 weeks to fill the quota with a take of about 250.000 lbs a week................ With a quota of Over a Million Pounds this year I'd say the Catch is a Little behind. With more boats out there fishing ,Where are the BASS ............Lets here your Thoughts

From what I heard of the prices paid for last years commercial harvest....I think the price the comm fishermen recieved last year for their hard work and effort may not have been enough and many of them figure why bother! Thus the modest 97,000 pounds to date. Just my .02 cents.

The season is into its 2nd week and only 97,000 lbs have been Taken, Last year it took a Little more than 4 weeks to fill the quota with a take of about 250.000 lbs a week................ With a quota of Over a Million Pounds this year I'd say the Catch is a Little behind. With more boats out there fishing ,Where are the BASS ............Lets here your Thoughts

I think,
With the price of gas @ $4.00, there are a LOT less boats fishing this year!

I think the price of gas is keeping a lot of the part-timers away. No big concentration of fish in CC Bay, longer runs to find fish, most probably feel it isn't worth it. And real commercials can make more money off fluke than bass. I do know of a couple of full-timers who are limiting out with 600+ pounds on 30 fish days.

I haven't commercial fished 1 day so far, and most likely won't bother !
:shocked:

I have a friend that has gotten his limit in all 5 days ;;;


What about RI, commercial season ...;;


a One month season that closed in exactly two weeks because they met their quota :::: & the price was good :wall:

bigfish hit it spot on. I've talked to a few guys I know who are commercial and they said the same thing.

I think there are a couple of factors. First, the gas prices are definately limiting effort - that's a no-brainer.
Second, I think the formula for fishing days (5 fish sun, 30 T,W,TR) is limiting the catch - but that is a good thing. - this was intended to spread out landings, thus keeping the price higher, and get more fishing days. Under the old system, the market would flood with everyone dumping 40 fish on the market (b/c they were fishing all weekend) and the price would go to poop. Now guys can't "ice fish" as easy, and the people putting up 30 fish on a day are the real deal.
Third, last year a huge body of fish moved into CC-Bay on basically the first day of commercial season and it was a freaking free-for all. This year there are alot of big fish offshore, but they haven't moved in where guys can get at them easily. There are good fish in the bay, but you really have to work for them - its not a matter of the doghouse boats just tube and worming all day for a limit.
My .02, take it for what its worth.

:think: that Striped Bass are under utilized as a stocked fish (nationwide) and that there should be hatcheries in New England for both fresh and saltwater species..........
because the natural hatchery of Chesapeak Bay is under attack by
disease bigtime..... Growing stripers is much more profitable than hogs or friggan cranberries. Tuna should be farmed too...

until we start farming the Ocean ...at.... times... larger than land agriculture... we are blowing it... just robbing the resource...
(compared to what we could do with new technologies)
i think fishing could be 5 times better than what it is today
or even in the 70's.

those are my thoughts.:uhuh:

gas...big winds every day=sloppy seas..pee soup fog...I'd say gas is the biggest reason...always see the horde's of boats on trailers all summer long,big boats....seen maybe 13 small boats all year on the road..tackle shops are complaining about no business..roads are clear for the most part...people are staying home.

They guy I fish with sometimes is getting his limit or almost everyday. Did 29 fish by himself one day last week and he is 67 yrs. old. including seven fish in the thirties. One day he smacked a 49#er.

One comm. guy I know, who can put #'s in his boat, well, BF is correct.. the comm guy I know is sharp as a tack.. he said he'd hafta get $4 a pound to even consider putting the boat in, right now... and he can limit out every day.
Even the Charter boat guys are hurting on the fuel, not going as far for fish, and settling for what they can put folks on near port.
Go to Rock Harbor almost anyday this summer.. lots of them Charters not even leaving the docks, this year.. some priced themselves outta sight, but, they'd rather sit, than work for nothing, or lose dough.

The weather has been an issue and from what I hear, but most of the guys are getting their limits of 30 or close to it but are having to put in alot more time to do it. A few 40's but mostly fish in the 20's.

I would love to see them not get to the quota just to send a message to the DMF "experts"

Fishing the Bay has been very slow for me and the guys I know. Same as last year. First week was ok but last week I was the only boat out where usually there are many. Really got to hunt for them and thus more gas is used. I have been going east in the bay the last few times and there are many boats but I haven't seen many caught. I have not marked a pod of fish yet only individual fish and they don't seem hungry. Night fishing guys are doing ok but I work nites. Thats fishing. Thank god I don't have to depend on it for a living. I sux. P.

Up to nearly 250,000. The number reported is definetly behind, well behind actual landings/sales. I think MA is probably a week behind in inputting data. At the time of 93,000 I knew 4 guys who totalled more than 10,000. I do not think they accounted for 10% of the catch!

Up to nearly 250,000. The number reported is definetly behind, well behind actual landings/sales. I think MA is probably a week behind in inputting data. At the time of 93,000 I knew 4 guys who totalled more than 10,000. I do not think they accounted for 10% of the catch!

you would be close...its actually 232, 584. i just called the DMF hotline to check because i know their website is a week behind. if you check that page there is even a note on the bottom saying that there is a problem with the dealer reporting system they use via. the internet.

if you want the number to check for the future..1-978-282-0308.

Sandman, i doubt they will ever close the season, even if it takes through September to fill the quota. only 5 or 6 years ago guys were fishing until September, but that was because there were only around 2500 -3000 permits, pretty much all full timers. now there are close to 7000 permits out, thus, the quicker season. all's its gonna take is a big school to move in off chatham or gloucester and the quota will jump. it happens every year. i know gloucester took in over 12,000 pounds last thursday alone. the guys were surprised at how slow the season had been, and then all those fish.

I know that Clam Man said he usually gets 4000lbs to kick it off, and only got about 500 on the first day this year. He stated that the guys fishing the vineyard only were coming in with a couple fish. I listen to the buyer, b/c that is his business, he isn't a tackle shop or somebody trying to sell something that dosen't exist.

Clambelly, we haven't had a commercial fishery into september since the early 90's. Maybe one year we did. I don't have the data to back it up, just memory.Definitely not in the last 5-7 years though.

well, a fleet of boats, along with myself, fished off Scorton Ledge the week after labor day, and i want to say it was 00 or 99. pretty sure it was 2000. a school of big fish moved in and that was the last week of the season.

still think they should divide the number of permits into the total number of lbs allowed..everyone gets X number of lbs.and your done for the season....drop the the total to 10 fish per day....I get tired of hearing "if they do that, how can we make a living"..guess what,,,comm. bass fishing is only a short term job..there's no such thing as a full time comm. bass fisherman...it's only a supplement to one's over all earning's.spread out the landing's,,keep the price up and make the season last longer.....yes! I was a comm. basser.

figures updated today
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dmf/commercialfishing/quota_index.htm#frame

most of the beaches are closed so people are staying home, because they have no wher to stay.And the bloody gas prices.

Quotas-
Only 3.6 million pounds of dogfish to go..

Why is the Blue fish Quota so low?

well, a fleet of boats, along with myself, fished off Scorton Ledge the week after labor day, and i want to say it was 00 or 99. pretty sure it was 2000. a school of big fish moved in and that was the last week of the season.


Was that the red tube slaughter? If so, I remember that one.

How much does it cost for a commercial license in MA, and what do you have to get one? Are there just so many a year or is anyone able to buy one? Not looking for one, just curious.

How much does it cost for a commercial license in MA, and what do you have to get one? Are there just so many a year or is anyone able to buy one? Not looking for one, just curious.

Depends. A basic rod and reel license is $35, which allows you to commercial fish from shore. For boaters, the license cost varies with the size of the boat. Additionally, certain species require an endorsement on your license, which requires an extra fee per species. For stripers, it's $30.

To get one, you send a completed application to DMF with a check for the license and any species endorsement. There are currently no restrictions or grandfathering affecting obtaining one. To renew one, you must submit a completed catch report by October 31.

i was curious about that too.
not for now but maybe when i retire in 30 years. :)

Depends. A basic rod and reel license is $35, which allows you to commercial fish from shore. For boaters, the license cost varies with the size of the boat. Additionally, certain species require an endorsement on your license, which requires an extra fee per species. For stripers, it's $30.

To get one, you send a completed application to DMF with a check for the license and any species endorsement. There are currently no restrictions or grandfathering affecting obtaining one. To renew one, you must submit a completed catch report by October 31.

a boat permit will cost you $130 for any boat under 59 feet. a striper endorsement will cost you $30. in fact, all the endorsements cost $30. its pretty simple. the only factor today is they make you sign a sheet saying that the state reserves the right to take your license b/c you purchased after the state initiated a control date, which i think was sometime in 2004. so if you buy a license now, and the state decides to cut down the number of permits, you can lose it. also, if you don't send in your catch reports they are pulling permits. they are having a real problem with the numbers and i almost lost all my permits last year b/c i didn't send in a catch report for eels that i never even received from the state! they were holding all my other permits which i need to make a living until they got that peice of paper.

that was the one BB. the red tube did the job.

well, a fleet of boats, along with myself, fished off Scorton Ledge the week after labor day, and i want to say it was 00 or 99. pretty sure it was 2000. a school of big fish moved in and that was the last week of the season.

August 15th 2000. Full Moon, rain and NE wind blew for a few days prior and went into a NW wind after. Lasted a good week but the first few days were the best. I did not make the best of it but know a few who did. Never seen so many boats in such a small area. Anything from canoes to sportfishers. The guys that were there the first few days did 40 fish no problem, some caught all they could before they sunk their boat, went in for more bait and to sell and went out again, then it turned into a free for all. P.

this may be a dumb question... but i am very unfamiliar with commerc fishing. once caught, who do you sell to? or do you have to have that all lined up before you even head out.

you may sell to any dealer that is licensed with the state of massachusetts to buy striped bass. most wholesale fish markets hold permits to buy all species of fish landed in the state, but some have federal permits that allow them to buy from boats with federal multi-species permits.

August 15th 2000. Full Moon, rain and NE wind blew for a few days prior and went into a NW wind after. Lasted a good week but the first few days were the best. I did not make the best of it but know a few who did. Never seen so many boats in such a small area. Anything from canoes to sportfishers. The guys that were there the first few days did 40 fish no problem, some caught all they could before they sunk their boat, went in for more bait and to sell and went out again, then it turned into a free for all. P.

That's the one I'm thinking of. Free for all is a good description.

Just a correction on the permit requirements. An individual permit does not restrict you to shore. You can either have a boat permit that allows all on board to fish or all each individual on board must have their own permit. Only 1 limit per boat regardless of the # of permit holders on board.

I think a memo goes out to all fish after their numbers get decimated the 1st week. Season always opens with a gang buster, then fizzles There are fish, just not in the normal spots that poeple have always been accoustomed to them being in.
As far as licensces go, get a little burned that where we were the past week, majority of boats are from RI. Why is it that RI and CT residents are allowed to come and fish and take my regulated fishery where as I can't go and commercially take theirs?

Gas prices are definately having a BIG impact on pretty much everybodies budget and gameplan. Not only that but so many guys out there having fuel/ engine problems from the "improved" more expensive gas.

From what I gather being primarily a surf guy and from talking with tuna and cod guys, the fish are just staying off shore in the EEZ zones (Stellwagon) until they get the memo that it is safe to return to near shore waters because the seals have all been disposed of.

I am junk.

I think a memo goes out to all fish after their numbers get decimated the 1st week. Season always opens with a gang buster, then fizzles There are fish, just not in the normal spots that poeple have always been accoustomed to them being in.
As far as licensces go, get a little burned that where we were the past week, majority of boats are from RI. Why is it that RI and CT residents are allowed to come and fish and take my regulated fishery where as I can't go and commercially take theirs?

Gas prices are definately having a BIG impact on pretty much everybodies budget and gameplan. Not only that but so many guys out there having fuel/ engine problems from the "improved" more expensive gas.

From what I gather being primarily a surf guy and from talking with tuna and cod guys, the fish are just staying off shore in the EEZ zones (Stellwagon) until they get the memo that it is safe to return to near shore waters because the seals have all been disposed of.

I am junk.


:cheers: Huu Yah :buds:

$1.75 a pound for bass might have something to do with the lack of comm. guys out there

$1.75 a pound for bass might have something to do with the lack of comm. guys out there


Would you say this might be because the market is flooded??...I know now that the hoger's are farming their bed's and dragger's are bring in 1000's of lb's of hog's a day,,they went from $.25 each to $.13 each.....keep the catch at a much lower daily amount an that will keep the price up.......folks can only eat just so much seafood in a given time frame.........seen it happen to tuna....monday the buyer's were paying say 50.00 a lb. ..come friday it was down to 3.00...fisherman flooded the market.

Saw a fish slip the other day @2.50 a pound......market varies, I guess...prolly like everything else, gotta shop it around.

Would you say this might be because the market is flooded??...I know now that the hoger's are farming their bed's and dragger's are bring in 1000's of lb's of hog's a day,,they went from $.25 each to $.13 each.....keep the catch at a much lower daily amount an that will keep the price up.......folks can only eat just so much seafood in a given time frame.........seen it happen to tuna....monday the buyer's were paying say 50.00 a lb. ..come friday it was down to 3.00...fisherman flooded the market.

necks were going for .25 each???
please tell me your lying.

don't get me started on the quahog market.

WAS..market hit bottom...a glut has made them worth almost nothing now because the boats and farm's have brought in so many,,the market has no where to go with them......I just came from a fish market..bass $13.99 lb....bluefish $6.99..steamers $4.00...One thing fisherman will never do is get together and put a min. on what they bring in to controll price's...the price drops down,,they bring in more to keep their earning's the same as when they were getting good prices with less product.

Up to nearly 250,000. The number reported is definetly behind, well behind actual landings/sales. I think MA is probably a week behind in inputting data. At the time of 93,000 I knew 4 guys who totalled more than 10,000. I do not think they accounted for 10% of the catch!

As of July 26, the reported landings were up to 358,053 lbs. About 31% of the quota.

FYI...

As of today, August 2

571,791lbs.
50.1 % of the quota harvested.

That would be behind Last Years, I'd say the pounds are Down.

571,791 lbs so far
that is halfway there.

I bet the updates are slow and behind.

maybe they landings are behind last years, but lots of stuff factors in as to why.
I hope we are all not killing too many of the larger breeding bass.


I was at that free for all in August of 2000, great fishing that day among the 200 boats on that ledge. We got our 2 fish and got the heck out of there not long afterwards.

slip, that number is updated as of today.
and with the 34" size, big breeders are pretty much all they get.

It's been tough going for the Wareham/Mattapoiset/Fairhaven guys this week. Best I've heard so far was one guy with 15 fish yesterday.

Another guy ran all over CC Bay today and only marked a few fish that he couldn't get to hit. Said no evidence of bait in the places he tried.

talked to a naba this mornin...he said he's been everywhere offshore[chatham] in the rips..water temp.67 way to warm...said some guys are spending 12 hours for two fish....even he's giving up and he's one of the better comm. guy's.

talked to a naba this mornin...he said he's been everywhere offshore[chatham] in the rips..water temp.67 way to warm...said some guys are spending 12 hours for two fish....even he's giving up and he's one of the better comm. guy's.
He shoulda gone this AM.. saw a cooler fulla fish this AM that was on a boat that went out in the (trap line) slop this AM.. 7 over 48 inches, plus a few others... on the way to mkt. now...
a weather Front can make allll the difference :)

he was way out where he always does well...there at 4 this morin...so he must have splashed at 3am....refuses to fish inshore.:huh:

He shoulda gone this AM.. saw a cooler fulla fish this AM that was on a boat that went out in the (trap line) slop this AM.. 7 over 48 inches, plus a few others... on the way to mkt. now...
a weather Front can make allll the difference :)

nice haul, but i don't think he's selling them today.

nice haul, but i don't think he's selling them today.

Or tomorrow. Sunday he can sell 5. If I were him, I'd just eat the other two, because they'll be crap by Tuesday.

Must be the black market Karl. Fri. is a non sell day.

well! he didn't which market...could be one of them places all those people go to eat dinner...back door market.

he didn't say where they was going, just that they was spoke for..
one of my typical carpenter/fishermen/painter/plumber/electrician/landscaper make a buck anyolway custumers... we do have two chinese joints in town too....

we do have two chinese joints in town too....[/QUOTE]

I wonder if they'll buy a seal or two:think:

Man,
What the ----? Why would anybody take 10,000lbs in a year. I guess the reasoning is that it is legal. I just can't understand depleteing a resource that has shown time and again that if you limit the catch the fishing improves.
I know science is behind the quota, well guess what the scientists work for the government of MASSACHUSETS!!!! the same state that gave you the big dig and Ted *^%)#dy oops no politics.
I am the farthest thing from a tree hugger(or kelp hugger in this case) but darn the commercial harvest hurts us guys who fish for the love of it.
I remember a post from last year where a lot of the names I see in this post were ranting about a bunch of asians taking shorts...well the commercial fisheries hurts the stock a whole lot worse.
For the record I am not asian and do keep 1-5 fish per season. So do each of my buddies and that allows me to eat striper most of the season.
O.K. now I'll take the flaming.

Tight line for the rec. guys:cheers:

The Mass quota is 1.1 million pounds. With a 34" minimum limit. All of those fish have spawned at least once. Unlike the 22" slot fish some folks are allowed to keep. The entire coast-wide quota for commercials is about 6 million pounds. Recreational mortality is estimated at 28 million pounds. That's a 4.5:1 ratio of dead fish in favor of recs. You could also focus some of your anger at the recs in the Proud to be a Gamefish State of New Jersey who killed more 30#plus fish in a 6 week stretch from June until mid July than will hit the markets in Mass all commercial season. You don't hear the Mass and RI guys complaining about not getting a chance to catch those fish that never made it past NJ, do you?

The biomass of striped bass in the North Atlantic is estimated at 40-50 million fish. Maybe 50,000 to 60,000 fish are killed commercially in Mass before the quota is met. Plus, the season in Mass doesn't open until the week after JUly 4th. Those fish off the Elizabeths, the Vineyard and Nantucket, and off the backside, aren't making the trek to Maine after that date. They're resident fish, not migratory by that point. So, the Mass commercial season has little, if any, effect on your fishing.

Man,
What the ----? Why would anybody take 10,000lbs in a year. I guess the reasoning is that it is legal. I just can't understand depleteing a resource that has shown time and again that if you limit the catch the fishing improves.
I know science is behind the quota, well guess what the scientists work for the government of MASSACHUSETS!!!! the same state that gave you the big dig and Ted *^%)#dy oops no politics.
I am the farthest thing from a tree hugger(or kelp hugger in this case) but darn the commercial harvest hurts us guys who fish for the love of it.
I remember a post from last year where a lot of the names I see in this post were ranting about a bunch of asians taking shorts...well the commercial fisheries hurts the stock a whole lot worse.
For the record I am not asian and do keep 1-5 fish per season. So do each of my buddies and that allows me to eat striper most of the season.
O.K. now I'll take the flaming.

Tight line for the rec. guys:cheers:

Go hump a black bear. :jester:

The Mass quota is 1.1 million pounds. With a 34" minimum limit. All of those fish have spawned at least once. Unlike the 22" slot fish some folks are allowed to keep. The entire coast-wide quota for commercials is about 6 million pounds. Recreational mortality is estimated at 28 million pounds. That's a 4.5:1 ratio of dead fish in favor of recs. You could also focus some of your anger at the recs in the Proud to be a Gamefish State of New Jersey who killed more 30#plus fish in a 6 week stretch from June until mid July than will hit the markets in Mass all commercial season. You don't hear the Mass and RI guys complaining about not getting a chance to catch those fish that never made it past NJ, do you?

The biomass of striped bass in the North Atlantic is estimated at 40-50 million fish. Maybe 50,000 to 60,000 fish are killed commercially in Mass before the quota is met. Plus, the season in Mass doesn't open until the week after JUly 4th. Those fish off the Elizabeths, the Vineyard and Nantucket, and off the backside, aren't making the trek to Maine after that date. They're resident fish, not migratory by that point. So, the Mass commercial season has little, if any, effect on your fishing.
Gotta say I may stand corrected on this one. Thanks for not going over the top with your response. I had just seen catch rates improve in years past after tight regulations have been put in place. I guess that my thinking on the comm. fishery may be flawed. :claps:

Landings Data Reported as of August 9, 2006
Striped Bass
716,058(2006 MA Landings*)
1,140,807(2006 Quota)
MA 62.8 %

I still may have a chance.

Last year Quota was filled in a little over 4 weeks , Its been more than that now, Seems to be off this year.

$3.25 today:shocked:

Price of gas and poor fishing reports probably have a lot of the part-timers sitting this one out, too. Which is good for the full time comms.

a lot of guys are really struggling. i know of 4 guys that fished on tuesday and wednesday in the same general area. between the 4 boats, 2 fish in 2 days. these guys are good fisherman, which makes things pretty depressing.

a lot of the part-timers are finding out that its not always easy trying to be a commercial fisherman.

As of August 16, 2006...

847,175lbs.

74% of quota caught.

at this rate your probably looking at 2 more weeks, unless there is a glut of fish that shows up off chatham or gloucester.

Jeez, the guys I know are doing great. Limits, good prices,.... they say it sure beats not catchin' tuna.....

DMF passed the word down today...

season set to close :soon: thursday august 24.

get'em whilest you can.:gorez:

From what I heard of the prices paid for last years commercial harvest....I think the price the comm fishermen recieved last year for their hard work and effort may not have been enough and many of them figure why bother! Thus the modest 97,000 pounds to date. Just my .02 cents.

One comm. guy I know, who can put #'s in his boat, well, BF is correct.. the comm guy I know is sharp as a tack.. he said he'd hafta get $4 a pound to even consider putting the boat in, right now... and he can limit out every day.
.

Price finally Hits 3.75-3.85, up from the 1.75 and under earlier in the season... quota gets filled zip boom bang.. now it's over..
hmmmm....

Rumour has it a charter boat out of the Harwich area was bagged yesterday by the EPO's, and the feds in the eez. Guess they followed him as he tried to run and chuck the fish over. They just netted all the bass and finally got him near Monomoy. The feds vow to make an example of him. Not good, not good at all. This is gonna cost him many many thousands of dollars when they get done skewering him.
Stoopid bastard. :doh:

Rumour has it a charter boat out of the Harwich area was bagged yesterday by the EPO's, and the feds in the eez. Guess they followed him as he tried to run and chuck the fish over. They just netted all the bass and finally got him near Monomoy. The feds vow to make an example of him. Not good, not good at all. This is gonna cost him many many thousands of dollars when they get done skewering him.
Stoopid bastard. :doh:


Any more on this?

It sucks that these guys who earn most of their yearly pay taking customers out to catch striped bass are restricted to some of the least productive waters during the summer months. Bearse's is a desert most days in the summer and when you throw in 40 boats on the same rip..... But a few miles SE are some great bass rips, but fishing them makes you a criminal. Why? Because a fish swam over an imaginary line on a chart....

I know a guy who is honest as the day is long, got skunked on an 8 hour trip because he refused to fish in the EEZ, even though he knew there were loads of fish there.

Ok, now you can light me up about the rules concerning the EEZ :rocketem:

looks like all that b@#$hing and moaning about not catching fish didn't end up like everyone thought...

here are the final numbers...

1,109,195
97% of the quota filled.

How long did it take. Last year was a little over 4 weeks ,It took longer to fill this years quota, I wonder Why............

Took a week longer this year, probly because there were a few less out there do to gas prices and stuff.

Opened July 12, closed Aug 24. Total of 25 days doing the arithmetic in my head. Bear in mind that I've been up since 4:30 and have had several :gu:

How long did it take. Last year was a little over 4 weeks ,It took longer to fill this years quota, I wonder Why............

30 fish per day and 5 on sunday this year
was it that last year?

30 fish per day and 5 on sunday this year
was it that last year?


Yes