Hey on a slow day I have taken Blues to pay for the gas!! .50 per pound adds up when your pulling them in like crazy!!

I am with the REAL Com guy and not the wannabe.

Maco actually does it/ give him a break. If you take one trip out east on the SHoals and look down on a smooth day, you cannot believe the amount of huge fish there are out there.

It makes me giggle sometimes to see statistics and hatred being the only motivators for making Bass a gamefish.
Because some people here have a hard time catching we start to believe that ther aren't any fish out there.

If this is all SO important then maybe we should completely ban fishing :laughs: :laughs: :laughs:

Damn...

beach burned my favorite fish watching spot. :af: :hihi:

Also great fun on a flats boat and big flyrods :D

Reminds me of tarpon fishing down south. :laughs:

I've noticed "Stripers Forever" is being thrown around here.I need to weigh in here.This "organizations"only motive is complete conservation without consequence.

What does that mean?If keeping no fish recreationally(never mind commercial) means more bass they're for it regardeless of how well bass are doing.They're damn close to being the PETA of striper fishing.If you believe otherwise you're fooling yourself.

And if you're counting on the RFA to help their only motivation is to increase the profit of anyone who makes money off of recreational fisherman.What does that mean........more people
fishing=more money.

The only people who'll make things right is us.Speak up and write your Reps and Senators.

Make the Striper a game fish,my A$$.I'm going fishing.

Guys, it's about SUSTAINABLE fisheries. If you can make the fishery SUSTAINABLE then it doesn't really matter WHO is catching as it is user group allocation at that point. The trick is to prevent OVERFISHING of a species. Personally, I wish the focus was on herring and especially bunker, get these fish fat again...

As long as the biomass numbers stay close to what the scientist / fishery managers hope for, we'll be OK. If they drop, there are triggers in place to rectify a down turn in the population of the striper. Toby is right about the slot limit. Taking smaller fish will add males into the pot and you could protect breeding classes longer.

Stripers Forever just wants more allocation for rec anglers - user grab (I am not comm and I have never sold fish). We, as anglers need to protect the forage first with reasonable TAC from all groups. Granted, comm bass fishing in Mass (and elsewhere) is screwed up and needs lots of work but its a small slice of what these fish are...

lets get one thing straight bluefish should be made a game fish striped bass should be made a game fish no fish is trash fish every thing in nature is interconnected that means pogies,sharks,stripers,"trashfish",cod,squid,whale s. take away pogies stripers become weak these long liners,tralwers,netters scoop every thing up in the sea to get to one species such as swordfish,flounder,cod and destroy there bottom habitat then blame the rec guys for bad harvests i dont support the comercial guys i catch all my own bait and catch my own eating fish

???
 

So the 2 main fish focused on by most anglers on our coast should be moved into gamefish Status... THATS FUNNY.


I hear the same thing involved with the hunting part of my life when people in mass talk about us guys that hunt on crop damage permits and use all our doe tags up every year those who see verry little of what they seek think ......must be a shortage. I just fish but the Idea of a guy goin out and makin a living fishing is great

what about a guide who puts guys on fish day after day and lets tthem take their limit is he a bad guy please someone answer that one for me (NOT in my eyes he's not )

Striped bass, game fish?
 

I good friend of mine, a guy I've fished with recreationally for many years, maintains his commercial license and caught over 400 lbs of stripers in a single day last week. He's got a great regular job and a beautiful house and doesn't need the money. Why kill so many fish, especially at only $1.60/pound! :af:

Meanwhile, about the same day, I released 10-12 bass, all in the 20-30lb range (didn't keep a one).

The stocks are good and we all hope to keep it that way. I think we can sustain some commercial fishing, but I'd like to see the ratio go to something like 20/80 commercial/recreational.

Just my two cents.

Rip off your buddy's commerical fishing license. So he will start fishing for recreational.

Well 11 fish all over 34" total weight 171 # X 2.00 = a check for $342 - $55 expenses = $287 for 6 hours work = $47.50 per hour doing something I love!!
I add money to the area via Gas, Jigs, Rods, Reels, line, bait, and a bunch of stuff I can't begin to list!!

Yep your all right and I am joining PETA right now and get rid of everything!! So I can sit here and complain about fish feeling pain!!

:gf: :gf: :gf: :gf: :gf:

an there ya have:D good for u mac,,,,,try clammin[steamers fa those off ilander's] 1 tide about 3hr's work...3 totes=195lbs @ a bit over $2.00 a lb =$390.00+,,gas about $7.00 trainslates into about $100.00 + a hour....then ya got the rest of the day off.....let's turn clams into a game shellfish:rolleyes:

Sandeels $7.00 a pound at the local shops!

sand eels
 

I've never had any luck with "store-bought" eels. Who knows how long they sat in those little baggies rotting away.

Rake your own! The only way to go.

Yep I am sure it is!! I am not complaing I have been sandeeling and its alot of work. So I turn my $7 into a $100 with the bass :D

Sweetwater you need to make better friends with your local tackle shop!! Mine always the best!!

sand eels
 

I've seen freshly raked sandeels outfish 24-hour old eels 5 to 1 or better. When there's a lot of bait around, the big bass won't touch an old sand eel.

For me, it's worth the time and effort. Eel rake? Never leave home without it. :D

I have a rake and when I am rec. fishing and have the time I will get them on my own. But when I am comm. fishing I don't have time for that so to the store I go.

sand eels
 

macojoe, if you've got a good connection for very fresh eels and have had good luck with them, I'm envious because it is a lot of work. But I've watched commercial rakers drive their boats in circles grinding eels to a nice pulp.

Since I only do recreational I avoid bait store eels. Plus, it's nice to wade in the tepid cape cod waters in October and have a few waves crash over your head. :D

Maybe it's time to invest in AquaSkinz? :confused:

Those are the guys to fish near!! great chum there making there!!

I am not trying to argue with you!! The best bait is the freashest bait!! and your doing right!! :happy: :happy:

how often do you fish a year comm ? 4-5 months out of the year? so what do u do in the winter? collect unemployment? instead of juicing our system for you to collect unemployment,,why dont you go out and get a real job? because if you rely on fishing for an income thats just an excuse to be lazy. people change jobs all the time. isnt it time to find a new job?

Hey Killer Do you have a brain?? Cause you are talking out your A$$ !!!

Of corse we don't fish all winter and have other jobs !! No one said that they were making Huge living at it!! I for one last year made 70% my income from fishing and had to work a job like everyone else on top of it!!

Who in this world is not working 2 jobs or more!! If your not working 2 jobs then your wife has one.

So keep your yap shut and find some place else to BIT$H

People like you who have no idea what they are talking about is the ones that give fisherman and others bad names!!

killer?
 

Who are you talking to, and what are you talking about? "collect unemployment"? "excuse to be lazy"?

You're off the mark here.

Some links that may be of further interest...

http://www.basspond.com/articles/gen...urns_sws.shtml

http://www.basspond.com/articles/gen...ies_only.shtml

Before joining any group, I suggest that you learn what you can about it beforehand to see if it truly does share your interests.

Best,
Mike Flaherty
Wareham, MA