Striped bass population declines | CapeCodOnline.com (http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110730/NEWS/107300332)

Bass population is down in sampled areas.

Seals are up in sampled areas, hmm

"Armstrong discounts overfishing and seals as the culprits."

Maybe not the only culprits, but how can you just dismiss these two factors. Anyone on the cape will tell you what the seals have done to the inshore fishery. And as far as overfishing goes, how can you not look at what goes on with recs like the massacre at the canal every spring, the charters keeping every fish they can multiple times a day, etc. There are many factors affecting the striped bass and to overlook these two is short sighted IMO.....

sample the ez

sample the ez

Sample the EEZ/

For fish or fishermen?

The really disturbing thing about this is how they keep blaming environmental conditions. Obviously that is an issue. But why the hell don't they acknowledge that if environmental conditions are poor and a higher percentage of eggs don't survive then you need more eggs to compensate for it and that means more fish, particularly big fish.

They say there are enough spawners. Yet the YOY index proves they are wrong. There are clearly not enough spawners for the environmental conditions that exist.

I don't get it, according to the state of MA, is there a problem or not? :wall:

"It's clear to us that the main signal is environmental," said Michael Armstrong, deputy director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.

Armstrong discounts overfishing and seals as the culprits. The total number of spawning fish today equals that of the 1990s, when large numbers juvenile fish each year rebuilt the stock to historic size. The female striped bass population, for instance, is 148 percent over the threshold of what is considered a healthy number.

But then he goes on to say:

"The problem is in the perception (of the recreational fisherman)," Armstrong said. State statistics show the numbers of keeper-size striped bass — 28 inches and over — landed by recreational fishermen has remained stable, or gone up a little. But the smaller fish that were born in the lean years after 2003 are fewer in number, and fishermen who used to catch 50 small ones before they kept the one big fish are disappointed in the lack of action.

It's a problem of perception. There's plenty of keeper size bass around. There is a problem with the environment but it's not in our environment it's theirs. It's the spring rain run off into the Chesapeake no other factors just that.

Spoken like a true fence sitting bureaucrat. :fury:

That may be a little harsh, but I wish someone in government would listen and not be so dismissive of what seems to be common knowledge. People who have been keeping logs for years say that all catches are down and not just schoolies.

Sample the EEZ/

For fish, commercials, or recs?

Fixed it for you. :hihi:

I believe it is more about the bait. Is there bait present down on the Cape? Macks still around here, with herring as well. And the bass are here. (just couldn't find much of either today....)

I believe it is more about the bait. Is there bait present down on the Cape? Macks still around here, with herring as well. And the bass are here. (just couldn't find much of either today....)

Sitting on the beach north of Scusset today, I watched full sized gulls work their tail feathers off. I jumped in a friends yak and paddled the mile or so to check it out. It was very large sand eels - like 8" or so. seems like it's gonna blow up in the next few days. Good thing I'm on vacation this week.:jump1:

In the latest Cape Cod Chronicle an expert that has a handle on seal damage.
#1 Grey seals eat 4-6% of there body weight. Aprox44-48lbs a day each seal.
#2 An underwater camera in Bony Eldredge's Fish Weir found seals entering at night an ruining57% of the catch leaving heads and half fish, Eating squid as well.
I don't think you have to be a college grad to figure out that the seals are destroying outer Cape surf fishing let alone destroying the bass population .
I,m glade that the--experts --are finally catching on. Better late than never.

But the challenge is ... that they will likely be too slow in reaction ...

... and in regards to the seals ... it is unlikely that anything will be done about the seals ... until maybe the shark population continues to grow fat off the seals ...

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BAIT

Yup. At the rate we are killing bass, bait is all we will have left to fish for. Bait is key. What size Stella works best with sabiki rigs?

I am seeing crap loads of bait everywhere I go this season.....no fish working them at all??? Which may be one reason there is so much bait....no fish eating them. I certainly am not hearing anyone complain about lack of bait?

I agree and disagree about the bait to some degree. On one hand I saw pods of mullet unmollested for a whole month last year during October. There should have been some migratory fish on them. Where were they? Offshore? last year's mullet run was crazy, but apparently not crazy enough to draw in some big fish to the RI mainland. I know NPT saw some blitzes but it seems like those were just resident fish blitzing on the bait.

On the other hand, back in '03 there were tons of peanuts(and fish) from the mouth of the narrow river down to the east wall. the first 10ft out from shore the water was black with bait. When you'd wade out to the river mouth you're plug bag would be filled with peanuts. There was so much bait and so many feeding fish all day and night...for weeks! the fish followed the p-nuts along the soco beaches down to FPR where they ambushed the bait and all out blitzed there to finish off the month. One morning in Nov at misquamicut there was a blitz of big fish. I looked in the water and saw P-nuts, adult pogies, and sea herring. The fishing was incredible then and the amount of bait was unbelievable.

So after typing this I think I'd like to see the bait situation improve. I will never forget those years in Gansett and SoCo. I just wish I had been a better fisherman at the time.

Plenty of striped bass around here for some of us. Mac's are scarce today, had to work for them. Six mac's four nice fish in two hours.

I notice that when a seal pops its head up the fishing gets non existent and you may as well move on. With an ever growing seal population especially down the cape you will have less bass hanging around.

They should regulate the seal population just like they do for other over populated species. Maybe they should go back to the old days and give you money for each seal nose that you bring in.

there were fish on top all over today no birds, 99 pct of the boaters just roared right through the heading to Cutty.

Much appreciated, morons

Bait?

What's bait?

SOCO got no bait.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Lots, if not too much bait up north ( plenty of fish too)... sand eels, mackerel, herring.. I've even noticed a resurgance in the eel population.. all the fish I have been taking are very chunky.. something I could not say a few years back.. all the bait makes these fish just a little tougher to take... it's a nice problem to have....

Lots, if not too much bait up north ( plenty of fish too)... sand eels, mackerel, herring.. I've even noticed a resurgance in the eel population.. all the fish I have been taking are very chunky.. something I could not say a few years back.. all the bait makes these fish just a little tougher to take... it's a nice problem to have....

if it's a problem Joe, I'll truck up a few thousand seals...nobody here will even know they is missing, we got tons of 'em.. they'll take care of all them problems for ya...

In the latest Cape Cod Chronicle an expert that has a handle on seal damage.
#1 Grey seals eat 4-6% of there body weight. Aprox44-48lbs a day each seal.
#2 An underwater camera in Bony Eldredge's Fish Weir found seals entering at night an ruining57% of the catch leaving heads and half fish, Eating squid as well.
I don't think you have to be a college grad to figure out that the seals are destroying outer Cape surf fishing let alone destroying the bass population .
I,m glade that the--experts --are finally catching on. Better late than never.
even if it's on film, some will call it junk science...that is the sad part., but good deal on the fish cam.

i was fishin long nook last night , ya know not the hole to the right I started at the one to the left. I would never burn a spot about the small bass there ans the cow 15lber's but last night sucked

i was fishin long nook last night , ya know not the hole to the right I started at the one to the left. I would never burn a spot about the small bass there ans the cow 15lber's but last night sucked

phhffft... you trying to draw a crowd.....Again???

you've already lead that parade..and u didn't like it... remember?

:wave:

got boat?... think pot lines and big monkeys = mucho large

comm buddy limiting, & avg 30 per each (not inches) almost every trip...

they are still around, but have to be found.... nothing new there either.


you comm'ed up this year?

50 plus hour weeks, and mid 50's (age) and company every GD weekend has eliminated any desire to do death march.. miss the nook tho.. maybe fall.. I'll find the Jeep..or the chopper...can't hide either :)