I just read a recent article detailing the lack of stiped bass inside the EEZ down in Virginia and into NC. This is no surprise given the slaughter that has gone on in the past. Mention was also made about the fact 1 fish has hit the scales in the MidAtlantic Rockfish Tournament the last two years combined...I read this crap and cringe when I see On The Water has decided to host yet another kill tournament this year in the name of the almighty dollar. What a bummer!

I am not overly wild on the OTW tourneys these days - especially in lieu of recent fishing states.

We all need to roll back on the pressure - rec / comm. Or we are doomed as striped bass anglers. yes, some will be caught but...

SD I was told of exactly the same two issues you mention . by someone the really follows the goings on up & down the coast .....

he said something about they have a tournament / that is similiar to a bass Maters Classic except for stripers . he said it was the big leagues / with big money / prizes & fishing machines .. I think it said it was a 3 day even t & that no qualifying fish were caught & that the prizes that were given out were done by raffle ;

just keep pounding those nails it >>>>> that why for the 1st time since the last crash that I am getting a F/W license this year ........... :fishin:

I read this crap and cringe when I see On The Water has decided to host yet another kill tournament this year in the name of the almighty dollar. What a bummer!

For the first time since the OTW tournament started, I will not be joining. I joined last year but never entered a fish although I could have entered many.
The idea of a "kill" tournament is so far out of wack with reality that it's absurd they would keep this up for another year.

It took a while but maybe the tide has turned on the OTW Striper Cup tourney. OTW is a good company/magazine overall but I always thought they were misguided and made a huge mistake when they started this tournament. Hopefully they'll take the high road.
DZ

From what I have been reading there are plenty of fish down there, but they are all in the EEZ where no one is supposed to fish for them, and the CG has notified everyone that they intend to strictly enforce the ban of striper fishing in the EEZ.

Funny how most years you see the VA beach fleet bringing in plenty of big fish. As soon as the tourney starts no one finds fish?
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From what I have been reading there are plenty of fish down there, but they are all in the EEZ where no one is supposed to fish for them, and the CG has notified everyone that they intend to strictly enforce the ban of striper fishing in the EEZ.

This argument gets so old, and so phony.

There are "plenty" of rhinos in the game reserves of Kenya. That doesn't mean the population is healthy and those animals should be killed.

The isolated presence of fish in protected areas serves only to emphasize the dire lack of a healthy population and the need for more widespread protection elsewhere. Unless one's motivation is financial, of course, in which case one makes up a myth about the lack of bait inshore, pretends the fish have to be offshore (even though such a situation never existed in the past), and uses it to rationalize that we should have access to them.

This argument gets so old, and so phony.

There are "plenty" of rhinos in the game reserves of Kenya. That doesn't mean the population is healthy and those animals should be killed.

The isolated presence of fish in protected areas serves only to emphasize the dire lack of a healthy population and the need for more widespread protection elsewhere. Unless one's motivation is financial, of course, in which case one makes up a myth about the lack of bait inshore, pretends the fish have to be offshore (even though such a situation never existed in the past), and uses it to rationalize that we should have access to them.

Don't read what I didn't write. :smash: I didn't draw any conclusions, or make any recommendations.

Where has Kenny the cow hunter gone to?? I'd love to hear his defense of how great the fishery is.. Or has he retired from the sport?
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Five years ago they were filling dumpsters at the marinas with racks on a daily basis.I think the regs were a little less stringent than what is being enforced lately. In a case of better late than never it would be nice to see this site take a stand against any tournament for bass that is a kill format. Perhaps a letter to the publisher from the Bossman explaining why would go a long way. I know there are still bass around and I can enjoy the fishery for a while longer if this species is just given a break and some genuine management is implemented. I don't know MakoMike but I have seen him take the party line to the extent that he seems to believe things are currently sustainable. I would say it is time to look in the mirror and stop pretending.
Over at OTW I know Chris Meaghan is a decent man who loves to fish.The problem is his lust for dollars has muddied his sportsmanship to the point where he is biting off his nose despite his face.I understand he has a family to support But I refuse to destroy a fishery to enable that mindset.It is hard to support a magazine that is knowingly destroying a species for cash considerations.
Once a week I do a google search on striped bass and crap like this pops up about there being no fish around. Ask the Chesapeake guys how their season is shaping up....terrible!That's right folks,they are all in Chatham and 40 miles off Va Beach.

someone wants to see dead fish :smash: old pic I found

I haven't looked in a while so I'm not sure when they changed the format but you used to be able to view the entire seasons results of the striper cup weigh ins, now they only list 40 lbs and up. And there's now a tab pointing out how important conservation is to the fishery. :biglaugh:

I have a spread sheet somewhere that contains the entire landings report exported to Excel that I intended to set up for some data mining. There were several useful discernible patterns but I was shocked and pissed at the amount of fish under 30lbs that were allowed to be weighed in.

someone wants to see dead fish :smash: old pic I found

That sure is a lot of cat food......
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I don't know MakoMike but I have seen him take the party line to the extent that he seems to believe things are currently sustainable. I would say it is time to look in the mirror and stop pretending.


I do not think that things are sustainable under the current regs. I wish the ASMFC would so something for this year and not wait until 2015 to put in new regs. But I do think that the "sky is falling" attitude exhibited by some is way off the mark. I fished during th 70s and 80s and today's situation is nowhere near as bad as it was back then.

I do not think that things are sustainable under the current regs. I wish the ASMFC would so something for this year and not wait until 2015 to put in new regs. But I do think that the "sky is falling" attitude exhibited by some is way off the mark. I fished during th 70s and 80s and today's situation is nowhere near as bad as it was back then.

the difference now is that there are ten times more people fishing for them now than back then :wall:

[QUOTE=MakoMike;1029897 fished during th 70s and 80s and today's situation is nowhere near as bad as it was back then.[/QUOTE]

maybe not yet, but it's on the horizon.

maybe not yet, but it's on the horizon.

Not even close.

Here lies the problem;" not even close" so let's wait a bit....."sky is not falling" so why act now?...Sooo, none of these observations by fishermen who have thousands of hours a year on the water for decades mean squat. Listen to the science and keep your fingers crossed?Why try to prevent it when we can attempt to cure it at a later,desperate date.Obviously you really don't care or you would have stopped regurgitating the company line a while ago. I appreciate that you have made an attempt to help the fishery to an extent, but it seems you have joined the darkside and the force is no longer with you.In the article a charter captain in the Rudee Inlet describes,with his voice cracking, how the fishery has changed to the point where he now has trouble supporting his family,he now is in favor of some conservation efforts that probably seemed foolish to him years ago.Do you think this could be you some day Mike?

Isn't the point that we don't ever want it to get that bad again? I think you are right that it can't be as bad as it was back then or it would just be undeniable and I don't think that is what most on this board are saying, I think most are saying that if we don't do something now, it could very well get that bad again and THAT is just not acceptable to us.

So..... if you are diagnosed with a curable disease, doesn't it make sense to be pro-active while its early or wait until you are in the ambulance.
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Here lies the problem;" not even close" so let's wait a bit....."sky is not falling" so why act now?...Sooo, none of these observations by fishermen who have thousands of hours a year on the water for decades mean squat. Listen to the science and keep your fingers crossed?Why try to prevent it when we can attempt to cure it at a later,desperate date.Obviously you really don't care or you would have stopped regurgitating the company line a while ago. I appreciate that you have made an attempt to help the fishery to an extent, but it seems you have joined the darkside and the force is no longer with you.In the article a charter captain in the Rudee Inlet describes,with his voice cracking, how the fishery has changed to the point where he now has trouble supporting his family,he now is in favor of some conservation efforts that probably seemed foolish to him years ago.Do you think this could be you some day Mike?

Another one who reads what I didn't write.:wall: Did I not say that I think they should do something about it this year instead of waiting? If I didn't care I wouldn't be so thoroughly engaged with fishery management issues. :wall: The answer to the last question d definitely not, since I'm in favor of doing something right now!