Did some research and found this from 1983.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Oh, I remember it so well.
You young guys have no idea. You could fish for 3 weeks every night and never touch a striper. Bluefish were all you caught.

Oh, I remember it so well.
You young guys have no idea. You could fish for 3 weeks every night and never touch a striper. Bluefish were all you caught.

spoiled..aint we... I do remember... we were lucky on PI... we had a lot of fish ... I remember thinking that everyone was crazy with all this talk about a decline.. we were bailing big numbers of big fish every night.. and not just me.. everyone fishing the area.. I've still got the articles from the Boston globe and herald with the news of the outstanding fishing in the area in the weekly reports..in '86 ..I had 3 fish over 50..including a 61... .... then almost overnight it all 'went a stinker"... then I was too young to realize I had witnessed what could have been the last buffalo hunt... I didn't realize there were not enough small fish to replace the big ones. And not enough big ones to make little ones.... in '88 I went 21 straight nights( yes I fished EVERY night) with out a big fish...it took time to sink in... I'm hoping not to see a repeat..

The more things change the more they stay the same.

*2

The first 4 Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby's I fished, no striper category, and we weren't seeing any caught. Bluefish were winning the boats.

You couldn't keep any size bass; the charters and headboats fished blues, tog, scup, flounder and they seemed to hold steady.
I fished mostly the CT shore line and all anyone was catching was blues.

I worry this may be it; I don't see the forage base I used to.

The first 4 Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby's I fished, no striper category, and we weren't seeing any caught. Bluefish were winning the boats.

You couldn't keep any size bass; the charters and headboats fished blues, tog, scup, flounder and they seemed to hold steady.
I fished mostly the CT shore line and all anyone was catching was blues.

I worry this may be it; I don't see the forage base I used to.


And when I do find bunker - there is no bass on 'em.... sad.

history may very well repeat itself... we as a whole are such effin' idiots.

history may very well repeat itself... we as a whole are such effin' idiots.

You are right- man tends not to learn from history so he keeps making the same mistakes and wonders why he gets the same results. Ron

Oh, I remember it so well.
You young guys have no idea. You could fish for 3 weeks every night and never touch a striper. Bluefish were all you caught.

Yup. That's what it was like in '90; never even bothered to try fishing for stripers then; only caught 'em as a by catch. Sure used to catch plenty of blues back then. Wouldn't mind picking up a few more now, actually; they've been down the last few years too.

In the last 3 seasons of surfcasting, a total of 225+ nights,
I have caught a grand total of 9 bluefish while targeting bass.

10 years ago, it was in the hundreds. I fish rigged eels with such
confidence that they wont get bitten in half by a blue these days, I only pack 1 for the night.

history may very well repeat itself... we as a whole are such effin' idiots.

Don't be so hard on yourself.
There are a lot of other factors to take into account such as seals ,water conditions, migration changes and disease.
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Don't be so hard on yourself.
There are a lot of other factors to take into account such as seals ,water conditions, migration changes and disease.
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You forgot CHARTER BOATS:1poke:

In the last 3 seasons of surfcasting, a total of 225+ nights,
I have caught a grand total of 9 bluefish while targeting bass.

10 years ago, it was in the hundreds. I fish rigged eels with such
confidence that they wont get bitten in half by a blue these days, I only pack 1 for the night.

This is so true. Where the hell did they go? Certainly plenty of bait last year...

Back in those days Dennis, I took up golf instead of surfcasting. Long Island Sound near coastal waters were devoid of bass for a few years at least. I am actually still amazed at the comeback that the striped bass made, I figured it was over.
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In the last 3 seasons of surfcasting, a total of 225+ nights,
I have caught a grand total of 9 bluefish while targeting bass.

10 years ago, it was in the hundreds. I fish rigged eels with such
confidence that they wont get bitten in half by a blue these days, I only pack 1 for the night.

Try to find them for tuna bait and they become even more scarce
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Don't be so hard on yourself.
There are a lot of other factors to take into account such as seals ,water conditions, migration changes and disease.
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Very good :kewl: That is why the vast majority here think 1@28 is such a fairly pathetic step. 1@28 for some and a bs amalgam of 2 fish for the pro boats is contemptible. You, et al., keep beating the horse about guys here only caring about the charter boats. That is a red herring. The whole management effort is fatally flawed and the special intere$t exemption is a kick in the junk.

The greedy will always be greedy. Greedy has much more power than fairness.That's why the fish come last.SAD

I didn't live through the moratorium. I started striper fishing around 92 ish i think. I remember not catching fish, because i sucked at it,and maybe becasue there weren't many fish around. When i got my first keeper i was so damn happy and didn't think about needing another fish to take home. Imagining what fishing would be like without bass in our waters is scary stuff. I have been luck the past couple years to have found decent schools of big fish on occasion. On occasion though, many strike outs sprinkled with a few memorable nights. The disturbing thing is that they are not in places where i use to catch them. The places in RI where i use to be able to check my logs and go catch fish now are deserts. The only saving grace i am seeing in RI is that there appear to be a lot of small fish. We better do something to protect these fish as they grow. Take greed off the table. If people can't agree on 1 @ 28 across the board i think shutting it down like they did in the article would be a good idea.

I remember it well , I know we are doomed to repeat it . Different people saying the same thing . "There are plenty of fish" Then when it collapses they'll skirt the blame and say "Pollution caused it".

I remember it well , I know we are doomed to repeat it . Different people saying the same thing . "There are plenty of fish" Then when it collapses they'll skirt the blame and say "Pollution caused it".

Or the bait is the problem or the weather or some other cockamamie reason.
The fisheries managers have their heads so far up their a$$ they can see what they had for breakfast.

Occam's Razor.
In the absence of certainty, the fewer assumptions that are made the better.
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Or the bait is the problem or the weather or some other cockamamie reason.
The fisheries managers have their heads so far up their a$$ they can see what they had for breakfast.

It has been scientifically proven that the weather is the problem. Bass need a rainy, cool weather pattern in the late winter/early spring for the YOY to survive and thrive.

At lot more at play than just the weather.
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At lot more at play than just the weather.
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Nothing else matters if the fry don't survive.

Hypoxia, pollution, predation,easier to find and exploit by tech etc.etc.
I surprised they are still here....for now.
There is only one thing we can directly control in the myriad of things that effect the fish from fry to adult.

I'm sorry I have to admit that I keep two stripers a year

I'm sorry I have to admit I keep at least two stripers a year

Oh, I remember it so well.
You young guys have no idea. You could fish for 3 weeks every night and never touch a striper. Bluefish were all you caught.

And "If" you caught a bass it was 18-20".

Paul, unfortunately the kids will get to see it soon! :(

For the naysayers...

Why the hell risk it???
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Ea$y $imple an$wer.
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Have you ever seen an oblivious moron driving while loudly dragging a hanging muffler, or driving full speed on a obviously flat tire? Some people continue to ignore a major problem and just drive instead of pulling over to see whats wrong. As long as the car can move forward, they push it ... Until it totally dies and they cant drive it another inch .

The only difference here is , we all partially own the car the moron is driving.
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On the drive home from Surfday yesterday with 2 kids from the shop (well they are in their mid 20's) the subject came up about the last 2 seasons. To my surprise one said it's time for a moratorium, 0 fish, C&R only for at least 3 years. He fishes hard and sees what is happening, not like one of the guys I fished next to all the lean years in the early 80"s and is the one who is responsible for the status quo of 2 fish in Jersey! Some of us may be old and wise but some old and stupid!

Have you ever seen an oblivious moron driving while loudly dragging a hanging muffler, or driving full speed on a obviously flat tire? Some people continue to ignore a major problem and just drive instead of pulling over to see whats wrong. As long as the car can move forward, they push it ... Until it totally dies and they cant drive it another inch .

The only difference here is , we all partially own the car the moron is driving.
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So who are the morons by your definition ?
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ANYONE who refuses to admit that the striped bass population is in decline ( in major part) due to overfishing, and wants to continue keeping fish at the same rate.
Thats my answer to your question, but i told you in another thread im done going back and forth with you. I am set that theres a problem , youre set that there isnt. Done.
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ANYONE who refuses to admit that the striped bass population is in decline ( in major part) due to overfishing, and wants to continue keeping fish at the same rate.
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Everyone on this board agrees on a 25% reduction.:deadhorse:

On the drive home from Surfday yesterday with 2 kids from the shop (well they are in their mid 20's) the subject came up about the last 2 seasons. To my surprise one said it's time for a moratorium, 0 fish, C&R only for at least 3 years. He fishes hard and sees what is happening, not like one of the guys I fished next to all the lean years in the early 80"s and is the one who is responsible for the status quo of 2 fish in Jersey! Some of us may be old and wise but some old and stupid!

It most definitely is time for a moratorium. I don't understand why this hasnt been pushed more. Or its time for the striper to become a "gamefish". Stop the commercial and rec, (and charters...), from killing any fish. My generation is getting screwed because of the greed. I am willing to bet that a group of anglers in their 20's, would all say they would prefer conservation over consumption.

Yeah, and everyone but a couple agree that two fish at 32 for charters will be essentially NO change in the number of fish taken from that group, just business as usual.
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ANYONE who refuses to admit that the striped bass population is in decline ( in major part) due to overfishing, and wants to continue keeping fish at the same rate.
Thats my answer to your question, but i told you in another thread im done going back and forth with you. I am set that theres a problem , youre set that there isnt. Done.
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I considerate one somebody who forms opinions about other categories that fish for stripe bass without ever being in their shoes it feels to keep an open mind because they think they know better than everybody else.
FYI every category is making adjustments.
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Ea$y $imple an$wer.
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I really believe the answer is GAME FISH STATUS!

No kill for the next 3 years, no commercial ever again and make the fish a game fish with NO commercial sale or commercial (restaurant or market) consumption. This would also solve the "black market" as if you can't buy it in an eating establishment, the black market would almost disappear.

Florida did it with Snook and Tarpon and no have a world class fishery.

I really believe the answer is GAME FISH STATUS!

No kill for the next 3 years, no commercial ever again and make the fish a game fish with NO commercial sale or commercial (restaurant or market) consumption. This would also solve the "black market" as if you can't buy it in an eating establishment, the black market would almost disappear.

Florida did it with Snook and Tarpon and no have a world class fishery.

Want to buy a beautiful downeast charter boat ? You'll do well selling the experience;)
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Buckman... buddy... read the first word of my response.

ANYONE... be it rec, charter, my father, WHOEVER.

Geez this is worse than talking politics at thanksgiving dinner with my aunt

they think they know better than everybody else.

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Not everybody else. Just a tiny, but very influential faction and the regulators they manipulate.

The reason I posted this old column was to give historical perspective on how various states approached the issue and just how contentious it was. I remember going to this meeting and many, many, others. I spoke often with Dawson and Othote about the issue. Trap fisherman George Mendonsa was unapproachable, and at one point he and other commercial striped bass representatives on the council ran afoul of state “conflict of interest” laws but were later cleared. One of the major differences between then and now was that the entire rec community united for more conservative regs. For the record I don’t believe current striped bass fishing to be as bad as it was back then – yet. But I’m convinced that if fishermen back then had the benefit of today’s fish finding electronics technology and social media, then the bass would have taken even longer to recover or may not have recovered at all.

For the record I don’t believe current striped bass fishing to be as bad as it was back then – yet.

It isn't as bad, yet. That is why we need major action now. I was a kid during the moratorium days. I spent summers on the upper Chesapeake. My dad talked about how they used to catch stripers on the bay in the 50, 60's, and 70's. That was as foreign to me as the concept of elk being common in the east 250 years ago. The first stripers we saw on the bay post collapse was around 1987 and all of the adults were elated.

My uncle is still on the bay from May-Nov and he reports that the past fall was good. This is always pretty much exclusively a schoolie fishery and the 2011 class is strong. There is a chance to prevent a collapse and that is the point. Reactive management is almost universally ineffective. If that 2011 class gets hammered in a couple of years and the big fish continue to be picked off by the boats, it is over.

I just read the article and the name lou othote slapped me in the face as he is a dear friend and we fish often together, even commercially and immediately called him as he doesnt use computers and got his perspective on the then vs now similarities/ differences.
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I just read the article and the name lou othote slapped me in the face as he is a dear friend and we fish often together, even commercially and immediately called him as he doesnt use computers and got his perspective on the then vs now similarities/ differences.
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Wow - please give him my regards red.

I just read the article and the name lou othote slapped me in the face as he is a dear friend and we fish often together, even commercially and immediately called him as he doesnt use computers and got his perspective on the then vs now similarities/ differences.
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Next time you talk to Lou, mention my name. Lou and I were duck hunting partners in the 70s. Old, dear friend.

Dz and paul will do.
He is a good man.
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check out this old thread from the past

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=2270