JUST TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW THAT THURSDAY NIGHT WE WERE TOLD THAT MASS STRIPED BASS LIMIT FOR 2001 WILL BE 28" AGAIN. SO MUCH FOR ALL THE HARD WORK ALL THE FISHING CLUBS AND SPORTSMAN HAVE DONE.THIS STATE MUST BE LIKE FLORIDIANS "THEY CANT MAKE UP THEIR MINDS"

That's too bad, I was hoping they would raise it to 32" again. I for one will probally only be keeping 1 or 2 fish next year, maybe none if I don't get a thirty pounder. I have a friend I go out on the boat with and he never keeps a fish , He says return them to the sea. I revived a 40" fish for him this year,his biggest yet.

As long as there are good numbers of stripers around and the tackle business is flourishing it will be hard to get the limits raised. IMO

Greetings, Bubba. Good to see you here. We left MV a day early, after I saw you at the Gut. Anything happen that last night out there?

This isn't the news I wanted to hear, I wanted at least32" and was hoping for a uniform 34" for rec and comm. But, I guess the Florida analogy is a good one. They want every idiot's vote to count no matter how badly they screw up their ballot, and they want everybody to have a shot at a keeper no matter how little they work for one.

If it's any consolation, things are worse in New Jersey. One fish 24"-28", one fish 28" and up, and with a so-called "trophy" tag, you can keep a third fish in either category.

Hello Bubba, what's up? I agree and feel an east coast limit of 36" and 1 fish per day would do a lot to bring back the supply of bigger fish. Love to see some concensus among the states, so the fishery improves and we aren't left re-building it again down the road.

Tight lines.

I won't shoot the messenger as he is an excellent angler and a helluva decent guy. But that news downright REEKS!! I know many felt they could live with the status quo of 30" but many clubs, including the MSBA were hoping for a 34" minimum. I know I wouldn't mind seeing a 36" minimum (I release 99.5% of my fish) from the entire COASTLINE or at minimum, a very protective slot limit. I would also like to see the Maryland /Virginia /Potomac fisheries increase their minimums by a few inches as well.

I am sorta suprised (but maybe I shouldn't be) that the Game Fish state of New Jersey has loosened up that much on the fish. NJ has sometimes been a leader in doing what is more often that not, better for the fish than the angler. I would have hoped that they could keep that going.

One thing I will say is that at several recent public meetings to discuss regs for this coming year, barely NO RECREATIONAL FISHERMAN, including myself, went to these meetings. I think Baitcaster wen to the ammendment 6 last year (it may have been someone else from the club) and ONLY 5-6 people showed up to represent the general public. I'm pi$$ed at myself for not going...

Did you have to mention the election Bubba ??
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Just a sad, sad day. I was hoping they would have RAISED it to 34" We'll see what this season holds.......

Remember, after that blurb last year when they decided that the mortality of age 8+ bass might not have been as high as they thought the year before, that maybe the fishery was not in as bad shape as what they thought. OK let's open up the floodgates again... What a crock.

Take all of your current limits, rec and comm - and cut 'em by 40%. Give a little extra for the fish this time. Instead, they drop the minimums again!!! I fear that Optical-Rectumitis (one's ability to see through their anal orifice) is running rampant through some of these management types!!!