At 7:30PM, Jim Belushi will have a Striper Fishing episode on cable's Outdoor Life Network, let's see if he kicks anyone of "his" beach :P

I didnt catch it tonight but I am pretty sure it is one I have seen before......and if I remember correctly is it the one where we see more cigars than striped bass? ;P Okay...maybe I am just jealous....or maybe if I watch one more fishing show curled up on the couch hugging my rod and reel .......someone will have to commit me!!!

Jenn, there were a few cigars....

OK, it was an OK show. Livelining buckies off Devils Bridge and Squibby with Buddy Vanderhoop and the Tomahawk. Good show with lots of big bass up to about 50 pounds with several in the 30s and 40s... That guy always amazes me - Buddy, not Belushi, as he is always int the mix with big fish...

Well, for someone chasing stripers for 18 years, Belushi didn't look all that comfortable or confident even with some schoolie size fish. He started to get more into the swing as the show progressed (taped over a couple days). But he did have alot of fun. Now, if he would run a show from his back yard without giving people the boot...

But watching that show got me in a BAD WAY!! Between waiting for the cows to arrive in May and maybe not making it to the Vineyard 'til September it's going to be very tough. The schoolies might not cure this cabin fever....

whats this belushi doesnt let people fish his beach . That is so un american !! John wouldnt have been like that , I think ! Belushi lives in Mass or RI ?

He has to let you fish "his" beach. From 5 feet from the tide line, no one owns that property. So if you are walking, go ahead and walk near the water. He can't say boo to you. It's some federal law I think.
That's how I get by walking on the private beaches in Fairfield to get to the Reef.

He has a beach front place on Martha's Vineyard... I'm told that it is in Chilmark but I'm not firm on that... He did have a legal issue a couple years ago when he tossed some people off "his" beach. But he has been there for a while. Here is something I dug up on the web from http://www.th-record.com/1998/08/16/belushi.htm :
Painter no guest of Jim Belushi

A judge gave Jim Belushi the go-ahead to pursue a trespassing charge against a Martha's Vineyard house painter.
Judge Brian Rowe also on Friday upheld a decision that denied the painter's complaint that he was assaulted by the actor after the two argued over who had the rights to be on a Chilmark beach.
Police said Franz Guest II was walking on Belushi's private beach June 28 when the actor asked him to leave. Guest claimed he was in a public area known as the intertidal zone.
The painter said he refused to leave and alleged that Belushi shoved and mocked him.
Belushi, a summer resident of the Vineyard, has denied any assault took place. He countered by filing a trespassing complaint.
No arraignment date for Guest was scheduled.

I like the guy as an actor as he is reasonably funny and I can also appreciate the harrasment he might receive from alot of people but I would have trouble getting tossed from the legal sections of beach....

The judge was correct in that instance--property rights in Mass extend to the mean low water mark, or to "100 rods" of the mean high water mark where the tidal range exceeds 100 rods. It's different in most other states, where property rights end at the mean high water mark. You cannot walk on the inter tidal zone. However, the public DOES have a right to walk in the intertidal zone, between high and low water, for three specific purposes--fishing, waterfowling and navigation. This has been the law in Mass since 1648 and this right of passage for these purposes has been consistently upheld by the Supreme Judicial Court, most recently in the mid 1970s in the case of Barry v Grella.

So, you can fish from Belushi's beach. You can shoot ducks from Belushi's beach, and you could probably portage your canoe or lead your skiff along it on a foggy night. But, you can't take a sunset stroll or collect shells there--unless the clams are still in the shells ;)

Some people that walk the beaches challenge that old "Blue Law" by throwing a fish hook in their pockets! They then claim the are going fishing! I'm not sure if a judge would agree on that point. What do you think about that Mike P. aka da Lawyer.

Of course, if you're suited up in full fishing gear at some spots in the vicinity of Atlantic Ave in Cohassett, you'll still get a free ride in a police cruiser... 'Uh, Sir. Can I at least play with the siren?? ' Detain first, set court date next decade :'( ...

the most important aspect of the intertidal zone is that you have to get there via public access, ie you can't cut across private property to get to it. the bad thing about that law is that not all police officers know about it...i got tossed from a nice spot on the canal, even though i was standing in the water (up to my ankles) with my fishing rod.

ive been hassled by cops and have been detained over night for accessing beaches below the mean high water which is the law in CT . I gained access through legal means a walk way designated as sound access . But the cop may have benn hit with a fishing rod or was just so lame as a kid and couldnt catch fish . I was told " you damn fishermen think you own all the beaches for your own personal use . Well you dont !"
I dont like people who wont share ! I would have let him borrow my spare rod I had with me in the truck . But nooooooo he wanted to put me up in the staven hotel ( east haven Ct lockup ). Ive been there before ( didnt like it much and the food is lousy ) so I gave in and went home havent fished that lame town since . Fishing isnt all that good there anyway .

Chris, it really is upsetting about the lack of access but do you have many problems when fishing these places at night? Most "questionable" places I've accessed at night, I haven't had problems. The biggest issue is the ability to park without being towed...

So you prefer hotels where the toilets have seats, eh??

John, dude, you gotta relax about this big bass thing! I'm just Jonesin' to get out and fish. If you aren't gonna be happy until you're slammin' 30#ers, you're gonna have a nervous breakdown!

I'm currently formulating a plan. It involves Redfish and Snook and T-t-tarpon, oh my! And it has nothing to do with global warming and everything to do with me fishing in about 3 weeks!

Karen's brother just had a baby girl... well, his wife did... and Karen wants to go see her niece. I'm like, go all the way to florida to see a baby? Then, upon reflection, I was sayin' "oh yeah, that's a good idea"

Good way to kick off the season...later.

Ive seen two of his s.hows but not off the beach, one he is with a charter at m/v. the other he is with Gary C and if you notice they never show the bait// no surprize// later

John access is a problem in some towns . I have a map with all the public access on the shore of CT and other tid bits of info (ie: parking ,toilets and such) . So I access the shore through the public access . I fish mostly at night thats when I had that hassle . Some of the cops dont want to hear about it, at night someone complains they dont want to have the hassle .They figure its easier to kick out the out of town fisherman . Its the beachfront home owning yuppies that complain . I make very lttle noise , I dont drink or leave a mess . Most people are probably unaware of my presents at night .even the state parks you need a permit for night fishing that you have to pick-up by 6pm the night you want to fish .I have only been hassled about a dozen times in the 20+ years ive been fishing. Parking is a bigger problem with little or no on street parking , it may be a tad bit easier here than in RI . I do alot of RI , the cape and the ditch during the season more than in CT . you kinda get used to it and it is getting better just at a snails pace .

i guess it comes down to the few that have ruined it for eveyone else . Plus there is too many people that see a stranger at night and automatically you must be up to no good .

Tony, I think you have to be able to show that you're legitimately fishing, a plain hook in the pocket won't cut it, in all probability.

I have been "asked" to leave many times by Bourne PD officers over the years--they all know about the law, for years a copy of it was posted on the wall of their barracks, and Liz at Red Top had an advisory letter from Marine Fisheries circulated. Their philosophy was, they have to deal with the local year round. I've never pushed it to the point where I've defied them to arrest me--they probably won't, but you know they'd sit on my vehicle until I left and there'd be something defective on it, or they'd bust my chops some other way. I never had the time to have the inclination to see one of those things thru to the end. You would have to be willing to take the initial arrest, maybe lose in the local court and then take an appeal wehere you would ultimately win. Of course, with that letter posted on the wall of the Bourne PD barracks, once you prevailed in the end you would then have a pretty good suit for false arrest if you wanted to make even more friends in the town. The bottom line is, most of the cops know they can bully or intimidate you into leaving, or get you in other ways, like citing you for a few moving or equipment violations on your way home. They probably aren't prepared to arrest you. They know better, in many cases.

I always had the Bourne guys ask me politely, and I always agreed to do the guy a favor and leave. For the time being, that was. As you well know, Tony, Huff took an entirely different approach with guys like Curley, and old Johnny Williams when he was losing his marbles at the end.

Chris, access isn't too bad in Lil Rhody but it can be a pain for some certain spots. Fortunately a few less traveled spots haven't gotten us the boot but they will stay travelled by few...
Last year, somebody suffering from optical rectumitis posted here saying he saw where #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& and a couple others were fishing and was going to burn the spot... that can too easily happen in some places. And that spot would easily get shut down. But again, there is enough access in Rhody still. Although some other spots will need to be cracked this year [img=http://www.striped-bass.com/Images/evil.gif]

Sometimes worse than the cops are the people living next to the beach that say they are going to get their gun and blow you head off - that's scary...

I have found the access in RI good just paking is tough . Man they really say that "Ill get my gun " Guess its time for a RI gun permit only kidding . ;) then again I usually fish the breachways , point judith light , and newport when ever I can get there .I dont mind getting permits for the season to ensure my vehicle is not going to get ticketed and towed .

If Im not out on the beach hooting and hollering who am I hurting .

Well thats the way it goes , just keep looking for the safe spots .

Yah Mike I had grass clippings thrown on me and yelled at but I just told them I was below the High Water mark and stuff it. Curley's wall has a beaten foot path over it now from the last few years. I still voice my opinion eherever I'm challenged on my right to hunt and fish without being "harrased" which they have laws to protect us on that issue.

It's sad that someone can claim "ownership" to the waterfront. Maybe the world would be a better place if everyone got to enjoy the ocean as much as all of us have.

I can understand where alot of waterfront homeowners are upset. We all see how many clowns trash the beaches. From teens and young adults partying on the beach to the unruly fisherman (yeh, it happens). But in those cases, the cops should give them the boot. Kids drinking on the beach, give 'em the boot. Guy fishing and swilling beers and tossing the empties - see ya. But there are alot of people, much like ourselves that are respectful of these people and often leave the places cleaner then when we got to there. Unfortunately, we pay the price for the bad manners of others.

And there are also alot of places that if you looked at the town zone maps, you will see paths for public or at least community access. Most of these access points are overgron, unavailable, or incorporated into someone's yard - that ain't cool... On the other hand, I know several areas where the owners of beachfront property allow people to access the shore through there yards. But this has been jeopardized in some cases from people abusing that access. A few people ruining it for the majority.

Fortunately, some clubs like Mass Beach Buggy http://www.mbba.net have shore access commitees that focus on maintaining and restoring shore access to fishing. NPSFA has done so in some cases as well. As a matter of fact, NPSFA is donating some shoreline land it owns (I believe originally inherited from a will) to the Town of Narragansett providing the town always keeps this parcel of lanf open to public access and to maintain trash bins and the like... Nice thing for the club to do...

as much as i may be tempted, i'm not about to debate the intertidal zone laws with the bourne pd at 3am...i'm sure that they are well aware of the laws anyway, its just easier to give me the boot then the guy that lives there.

As for what was said about the "trashing" of beaches I have to say my peace....
I cant blame some when it comes to things like that....as a matter of fact whenever I go fishing and I see trash lying on the beach from others before me......I pick it up, hoping that it will make at least a little difference......too bad it has come to that...... :(

It's funny. The only time I've seen someone litter on the beach where I fish, they were non-fishermen. I'm not saying all fishermen don't litter but I would say most of us try to keep it clean. Especially the diehards. The one time I did see a fishermen litter was when some kid dropped a rod on the reef and the current took it. oops.

Patrick, in all the years I've spent in the woods, streams, lakes, and beaches, I have seen a billion bait containers and enough fishing line to stretch to the sun and back 50 times. Who do you suppose put it there?

If I was a waterfront owner, it wouldn't take much trash or too many beer blasts for me to want everyone the hell off my land. I think everyone should ask themselves if they would want people walking through their yard at midnight, wherever you live... what's the difference? Your property is your property... Just because its on the ocean, would that mean that all of us would be OK with folks on our land. Where one's land is located has no bearing on the argument. Would you or would you not be ok with people on your property at 2am? A man's home is his castle and his land is his kingdom.

Two years ago I would have probably been on the other side of the fence, but since I bought my own home, my perspective has changed. 3 or 4 times I've had people on my property late at night. Kids, town maintenance workers... the dog starts howling, you see someone in your yard. I'm ready shoot someone. I don't know what those people are doing. Does that change if I have the ocean in my backyard?

As much as we want access, we must be able to see the other side of the argument. We have to see that we may be disruptive and intrusive no matter how good our intentions are.

I don't think that we can expect landowners to distinguish between good, clean fisherpeople like ourselves and slobs who see the world as a big garbage can.

Like others have said, it only takes a few to ruin things for everyone. But that few isn't really just a few, is it? I am often disgusted by what I see out there. Everytime I go fishing I see trash and crap everywhere. You almost become immune to it, there's so much...

Oh man, I just went off, didn't I?

Sorry, I'll step down from my soapbox now. I just don't think that we should expect more from waterfront property owners, than we would be prepared to grant on are own land.

Maybe I don't see the messes left by fishermen because I zone them out. I don't want to see any litter but especially left by fishermen. The mind is an interesting thing.

All I know is that when I hit PowerBall for 93 MILLION DOLLARS, my Narragansett house will have open access to the shores (with vicious guard dogs that attack litterbugs) but My Block Island and Squibby homes will be by invite only ;D ...

Patrick, there may not be much trash down your way but I can't believe how many times I've seen somebody put line in an open topped trash can or left on the beach instead of putting in the "Used Fishing Line" box right next to the trash can... And some of these yahoos looked like otherwise upstanding naturalist yuppie protectionists...

Greg, you feeling OK?? I think Karen stopped slipping the Ridlin into your oatmeal cookies...

You guys have line bins? Don't tell me there is pavement there too. (if there is pavement, it's not a real fishing spot :P) That's not a bad idea though. Maybe I'll talk to the town about that. My old school (where I built the boats) will build anything for the local towns as long as it helps the enviroment. They are pretty cool that way. And I'm sure the town wouldn't care because they are free and literally no cost to install them. Right now we have trash cans that snap to telephone poles. The problem is, they have grated sides for drainage and when the wind blows, it can blow paper out of the bin.

Right now, to throw away line, if theres a lot of it is to wind it up into a tight weave. If it's just a clipping, into the pocket it goes.

Patrick, if you have never seen a spent line box, it's time for you to hit the trails 'cause you've got to get yer butt outta Kansas Toto.

They are all over the place, almost every national, municipal or state designated fishing spot that I've seen has them. Most pure beaches or places you fish that are not controlled by parks, state, or town services do not have them but even some of those do.

BTW - some of the best spots in Rhody you can park within casting distance of fish twice the size you've ever seen. And some of those are paved too...

John
patrick is right Ive never seen any either , tackle shops yes but not on the beaches , now maybe I dont fish CT enough or cause I fish only at night but I never saw any . Maybe at millstone but ive only been there once to clean up the outflow area cause fisherman made a big mess and we were in danger of loosing that access . thanks to the Ct surfcasters who sponsored a clean up there last year . I havent been back since that day but I bet there is a mess again . I drove there ( 1hr 15min )with my two daughters for the clean up .
In the spring the rivers around this state look like a landfill . Thats the opening day crowd ( I fish on opening day so I m a fisherman ) . What gets me what happened to the lures you had last opening day , did they loose them ?
I was out sunday cleaning the sand bar in west haven with my kids . Man we needed a truck .

well i have to agree no one should walk through someones yard without permission . You might get shot ! But there should be access to the water . alot of people try and hide the access paths so you cant use them . The sound fund program has made access points identifiable with signs and a free map you can get from the state .

oops I guess I stumbled over that soapbox , phew I dont think ive ever talked that much before my fingers hurt .the sad thing is I could go on all night .
bye

Funny (not really) that you two both mention that you have not seen spent line bins down in CT. Faithfully reading my NE Fisherman today, the opening editorial speaks again that Connecticut spends the least of any state on it's own DEP programs. So few tax dollars allocated to those resources even though, like most other northeast states, so much money is brought in because of this sport.

Well on Penfield reef, you've got water to your left, water to your right, water in front of you and water behind you. It makes anything you want permenant really hard to keep there. LOL. Yeah DEP could really use some help. I must admit that they do their best but I'm sure with better funding they could do better.

the licencing fees go into the general fund not out to the resources . The DEP is so lame, its not the everyday worker its management and government . I fish in many of the northeast states for a variety fishes its night and day out there between the various dems and deps . Ct lacks all of the nation I bet or very near the bottom . Many clubs end up beating their heads against the wall with reguard to the dep . Maybe those that are in CT clubs can elaborate on this better than me . One day maybe they will get it straight . Hell someone cant even have a glass of wine with dinner in any state park . Im not condoning drinking but as an adult I think I should be able to down some wine as long as I dont drive . Can we all say comunism .
damn soap box there I go again tripping over it again could the last person that used the soap box please put it away when your done ............................... oops that was me never mind

John
I believe we are west of you now not south . Remember you moved to RI ;) lol . its friday

Actually, I am a bit sick and maybe a little cranky. I didn't mean to come off so... well, sounding like a jerk.

It just kinda hit me when I thought about some of the places we go and how I would feel if that was my house. And I just related it to my own house and yard and realized that it would likely piss me off.

Not so much the beach itself... more access to beach through my property. (i.e. a certain jetty that you love)

The actual shoreline is in my mind and the law's view more of a public domain. The ocean doesn't belong to anyone. Its obviously a touchy and complex subject of which I can see both sides.