This two fish per angler plea is just a ploy for shady charters.

I treat my my father, nephews, and bother inlaws every summer to
charter fishing during our summer vacation. There are six of us.
Shamefully I must admit, that during past years we would limit out
and take the fish home. Last year the fishing was slow and we took
one fish per angler.

This year we decided to only take a pair of fish. The minute the
captain heard the words we were gonna just take a two, he tried to
strong arm us into limiting out. He even gaffed a third fish. Who
gaff's striped bass? Thankfully the confrontation ended with slow
fishing, but the captain was hell bent on using our head count to
limit and most probably sell the fish to the market. This all on a
non-comercial day. It was clear that the captain was gonna do what
he wanted regardless of my arguing.

After confronting the owner of the charter business about my
experience, they informed me that they would correct things. A
buddy of mine chartered with the same outfit a couple weeks later.
He was on vacation as well and didn't take any fish home, yet the
boat limited and the captain took the fish.

I am sure this is commonplace. I have a feeling that the client is out
to catch fish. The experience is key not the meat. 1 fish per person
in a six pack is six fish.....still more than enough. The way things
are...excessive still.

As Dave Peros notes these charters are double dipping and are
selling these illegal fish. They will not loose clients if the laws
change, but they will loose significant income.

Again, if the laws are not enforced...they are not laws. Not only
should the limit change, but the sale of illegal fish should be policed.

Dave Peros- I heartily agree with your stand against charter captains being able to sell any extra fish that their clients don't want. It all boils down to greed and this greed will spell the end of stripers just as it has done with the Gulf of Maine cod. As the old quote goes the squeaky wheel gets the grease so the group that makes the most noise is going to get what it wants whether it is good for the fishery or not- just to shut them up and maybe get their vote.
If the science was followed then striper fishing would not be targeting the breeders but the males or prebreeders and the environment would be improved to aid in the recruitment of the species from the breeders which are allowed to breed. I being a recreational fisherman and under the new regulations I would only be able to possess one striper per day unless I wanted to obtain a commercial license. I prefer to fish for enjoyment not money and have the ability to take an occasional fish for the table. Why should someone not actually hooking and landing a fish be able to sell a fish which might also be thrown out by the wholesaler if it becomes too old to retail. Besides when the fishing is good the price drops so how are the commercial fishermen really gaining anything. I have seen this happen in the shellfishing industry in RI and now there isn't enough for any one to make a living off of. The same is happening to the cod fishery. If we on't learn from history then we a doomed to repeat the same mistakes. An alternative explanation of insanity.

I'm sure you know this ,but that would not make you a charter. There's a little more to it.
I'm not advocating for two fish for charters . I'm just playing devils advocate here.
I've been reading a lot of born-again one fish advocates, a lot of holier than thou flyfisherman, and a Lotta screw them they backed themselves into this corner talk .
Most of the boats that I know would only take two fish per customer if the customer requested it. None of the boats that I know commercial fish on days that they're also running a charter, that is illegal.
A lot of you one fish guys put more fish in the freezer in a year than the guy that fishes with his family once or twice a year on a charterboat.
With the new cod fish regulations and haddock regulations A lot of guys who have been in the business for many many years are being forced out . To some the new striper regulations will be the final steak in the coffin.
I'm not expecting anybody on the site to show a little compassion . But my feeling is there is enough fish to sustain the population and show compassion
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Wait until the Viking is taking two per head plus captain and mates all year next year to the tune of 2 boats three trips a day.
I always have said if someone is operating lawfully zip it and advocate for the change in law. But many have stated specifically the law needs to change and this is going to go no where because of politics and shady state managers looking to circumvent to benefit cronies.

It's like pushing rope uphill
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You or I will never convince anyone on this site to see it differently. the guys who don't want to or can't, telling the guys who can and do, that they shouldn't. The "everyone gets a trophy" mentality. They would all have themselves using only biodegradable plugs with barbless circle hooks and you wouldn't even be able to photograph the fish because it might stress them.
We're nothing more than Greedy money grabbing cronies with our heads in the sand who are only out to pad our wallets and pay for the boats we cant afford at the expense of a fishery on the brink of utter and catastrophic collapse.

Mike.
How many times I got to tell you this is Stripers-Forever.Com
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Nothing but pure jealousy and a beggar thy neighbor attitude. A 25% reduction is what was mandated, how any user group reached that required reduction is nothing but noise. Personally I advocated for a greater than 25% reduction, but that's what was mandated.

Keep in mind that what is really needed to rebuild the bass population is favorable weather, its got precious little to do with the amount of spawning females. Also, for the original poster, during the summer there are almost no females in the Chesapeake bay, most of the fish are 18 inch or small MALES

Can somebody explain why keeping 2 fish per angler is going to increase the charters' business? I would be willing to be that 99.9% of charter clients have no friggin idea what the regs are to begin with, so why is this such an issue?

Did the charter captains do some market research and determine that keeping less fish means less charter business? seriously, correct me if I'm off base here.

Well said,CaptainPeros

You would loose your money. Would you book a charter without knowing what the regs are? Before the two fish limit, there was almost no charters targeting striped bass.

Our clients for the most part are fisherman and not ignorant of the laws . Neither are we . But they lack a boat or the free time to toss plugs in the canal every night . They like to eat fish so the book a charter , feed the family fresh fish and have fun at what they enjoy .
Doesn't sound unreasonable .
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I'm old enough to remember Sabatowski, and others, where you got to take home one fish at the end of a charter. Sabby had no trouble being fully booked through the season. Granted, they sold the rest of the catch, but the point is, people still paid and showed up knowing they'd only get to keep one fish.

what the 17 foot skiff, back bay light tackle specialist telling the 6 pack charter fleet they can't have 2 fish per customer because that's not what HE wants, or caters HIS business to?

BINGO

this is a fish grab! This isnt about 'no one will book a charter with us if it goes down to one fish'... its 'we are going to get a lot more bookings if its 2 fish!!!"


FISH GRAB!!!! :smash:

How are we (I) jealous?

And how would that imply a "begger thy neighbor attitude"? I don't make $ off of fish.

I think most clients don't care how many bass they can take home and are willing to take home other fish. If they wanted to take get their monies worth in fish, they would be better off going to a fish market in most cases. Most charters are there for the experience - whether it is with the family or friends.

As I've discussed with friends, I think charter captains do a lousy job of "selling the experience" and instead focus on the meat. If I was a charter captain, I'd have a good digital camera on board and I'd either email the charter pictures of the day or have pictures developed and sent to them within the week.

I've had friends call me the night before they were going on a charter asking about the regs. bc they had no idea what they were. They were going out either with their kids or with friends.

nail hit on head.

Yup, well said on his part.

I might be reading it wrong but aren't you doing the same thing you accuse him of doing?

Fish grab for who, the charter clients or the capt ?






QUOTE=Nebe;1058579]this is a fish grab! This isnt about 'no one will book a charter with us if it goes down to one fish'... its 'we are going to get a lot more bookings if its 2 fish!!!"


FISH GRAB!!!! :smash:[/QUOTE]
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:claps::claps::claps:VERY WELL SAID Dave Peros!!! I applaud you

I don't detect any jealousy there, just truth
if you can't see it, then his point is made

EXCELLENT!!! glad to hear it

Lots of resentment, it seems, from the 6 pack guys. Do you really, genuinely believe that bookings will take a meaningful drop if the limit is 1 fish per angler? I'm no expert on the clientele of 6-packs. All I know is my college friends and I go once a year for a reunion, we keep our limit. If the limit is cut in half, it would never even cross my mind not to go.

I am sure there are SOME clients who won't go if it's 1 fish. Is it a meaningful number? And how many clients will you get if the stock collapses and you get skunked half the time? This fall, we almost didn't go because the captain ( a very honest guy) told us how lousy the bass fishing was, so we fished for sea bass most of the day.

Looks to me like everyone wants to get as much cash as they can before the well is dry.

I can't see why someone on a charter boat has a right to more fish than the recreational guy in his own boat. I just can't see how anyone justifies that.

that's fine but show me a more valid reason charters should be able to allow 2 fish per customer.

:hihi: LMAO
Mike we all don't live in Cambridge you know :)

tell us why you support a 2 fish allowance???

thank you, I did too


as far as jealousy, you're entitled to your opinion
I think most of us see the writing on the wall and spend enough time on the water on waters' edge to see history repeating itself and want to do something about it instead of squeezing every last dollar like some seem to, that's all

I haven't seen a valid reason they shouldn't . Some of you guys sound like the same people closing beaches for Piping Plovers 😊
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maybe where you live but that's not true around here

I used to make a decent enough living working hard in construction of new homes as well as remodels, then comes the mortgage crisis because of some greedy individuals and it all went to hell, guess what? you adapt, do something else or get creative, supplement your lost income, cut back on expenses. the strong survive, just like the ones on the Cape will survive supporting one fish. I am not going to feel bad for any charter biz here in Mass or in RI or anywhere else that thinks they need 2 fish per day limit, no pity from me and I am not from stripersforever, never been to their site nothing like that. Suck it up and live with it all of us!

well so what, if one fish isn't enough there is an alternative if you need more food, go to the store like everyone else

1@28" will achieve the exact same outcome as 2@33", a 25% reduction.
Given the choice, I will ask for 2@33".

Somehow that gets me labeled as a blind greedy black market fish monger hellbent on the destruction of the fishery.

one good spawning year is not enough to sustain the population in my opinion
better to err on the side of caution then risk more bad years of spawning, you never know how long it will take to recover the bass to where it should be. Like MakoMike said, weather has a lot to do with it and also I believe water quality as well so fertilizers and other polution may contribute.

How about this, we have all those freaking meetings all over again and vote again but make it 2 fish coastwide at 34" or 36" whatever will yeild the same amount of conservation? does that seem right.

I don't know why they even came up with this option, I guess they have strong lobbyists in New Jersey or something