I agree Larry. While it wasn't a total disaster, it was a far cry from what was. :)
What I see is the pickin's getting progressively less and less each year.

Had the March of the
 

dinks last evening on Duxbury Beach all by myself and the three seals that went by that could have been pushing the little ones through.

Fished SoCo RI and SoShore Ma and Mashpee this season and it was a bit goofy.
No peanuts last year. Just a few this year. Lot's of adult menhaden (relative to past years) and no fish with them.

I always think Nov. is the best RI fishing, but it closed down early last season and may do the same this season.

My best move was stocking up on AH swimmers and needles! Get to use them again next year :)

Thanks Eddy but it was a combination of three spots actually, Mr. Striper, BiteMe, Numby, Sauerkraut and Labrador1 will attest. they all were witness on different occasions as was BigFish for 2 nights at least.

Agreed :uhuh:. I believe the tough fishing has a lot to do with the wacky weather. Fall fishing isn't what it should be on Long Island. I'm just hoping for a very late run, and that I can tough out the cold weather to fish it.

On MV it has been a very poor fall run... the winner for shore bass in the derby was just 34#, the smallest winning bass in a while, i think that explains things over here:smash:

Question .. do you belive the fishery is as strong as its ever been ?
or do you believe its as strong as its ever been just becoming an off shore fishery as some have stated.. or just an I'm good ,,you suck at fishing,, kind of thing ..

I have not seen any big schools of fish this fall like the past years. I think they all stayed off shore with the amount of bait that was reported.

This Year was Worse
 

[QUOTE=Slingah;719450]I did not fish enough to form a negative opinion. I did not work hard enough to be let down.

Well, I did fish hard enough (and I still am) to form a negative opinion of the striper year, 2009. And I did fish hard enough to be let down by the fishery which I believe is over harvested and ever more stressed.

Also Bluefish: I do not target them, but I do not believe I caught more than a dozen the entire season.

Brother Don on the New Jersey shore tells me the Spring run down there was quite awful compared to years before. I wouldn't hold my breath about the on site experience he will report after his month of November passes.

I did OK this year, especially considering I didnt fish all that much :huh:

SAME AS THE LAST CRASH ::

A FEW of us have been saying it the last 6 years .its getting worse & worse .......................personally my worse fall I can ever remember .

& those that manage the fisheries are talking about the stock of fluke , seabass, scup & tautog / while they are stating stripers are @ a Ok level & are they f #$%^&*() nuts ......within 5 years .............. when they wake up ........ ya best look at you photos because it won,t be a swimming bass .
yet they closed the scup , seabass & fluke / short because of over harvest & to protect the fishery .

In MY whole life I have never even seen a season come close to the number & sizes of seabass & scup that were & are still around .......... 10/25/2009 & we are catching scup & seabass of all sizes on green crabs ;;

It should be called fisheries mis.management ;;

Commercial hurting the bass population .

try 9 million rec taking 2 bass a day with @ least RI & MA a 365 day season /...F #$%^&*() nitwits :wall::smash:

I was not thrilled with the fishing this year but think it was because the moon phase in relation to the time and tides and location were not favorable. To put it another way the tides I like for daybreak occured on days when the moon was in a phase that I have never found productive for the areas I like to fish.

I agree with Clammer. Us old guys have been saying this for years now. Got to stop the 2, 28" fish. Put in a slot or make it 1, 36" or even 34" fish a day.

Remember it's not the guys on here that I am talking about. The jamokes that take 28" fish are the ones I address. I know it's legal. I here all the BS about "they (28") are the best eatin'. Pretty soon you will not be eating *&&%^ for bass because they won't be any.
We have got to put a stop to this insanity because the fisheries management guys are idiots and are driven by stupidity.

I tell stories about the old days all the time that are good. So let me leave you with one that's bad.

It's 88 or 89 and the moritorium is on which means you cannot keep ANY bass no matter what size. You could go 10 nights in a row throwing eels at the best spots on the coast and all you would get would be bluefish. One morning Eddy St.Onge and I fish Deep Hole and between the 2 of us we got 5 micro bass the biggest being 16 or 17". We are elated, high fiving and going crazy because we hadn't seen a bass in 2 or 3 weeks. We left and stopped at a bait shop that is now closed called Top of the Dock and told the owner that we got 5 bass. He threw us out of his shop for being BSers and spreading rumors. He said flat out "There are no more Stripers".

Hard to believe? We lived through it. You can believe it will happen again unless some kind of sanity sets in. I watch guys doing snag and drop in the Upper Bay this Sring. Catching 28" bass and keeping them by the boat load. 4 guys on a boat and absolute "stupid" fishing and they keep 8, 28" fish. WHAT THE *&&^&^% a!!!

You guys may think I am full of s*&^%# and I hope I am wrong but I have seen it and this is starting to look just like the collapse in the 80s.

like the old guys said- just like the 80's. when will the #$%^$%^% clowns wake up?................soon i hope.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

there are a lot of boats out there keeping 8 30lbers at a time and that is alot worse for the fishery

I had a GREAT summer from the Yak... In ONE area. That's the point some people are missing. Guys that had a great season got lucky/fortunate enough to find one of the small pods of decent fish. Those pods are getting few and far between. Is it fish moving offshore? Damned if I know. I do know it's the fringes that will suffer the most first in a collapse, and that appears to be happening now. Echoing Ake's post, Maine has absolutely SUCKED the past 2 years. I used to be VERY good... with little shore pressure compared to what we have down here. I used to look forward to fishing up there on vacation since it was easy and NEVER had trouble catching fish into the teens, not cows but nice solid fish for a relaxing night. Past 2 years I've worked my @$$ off up there for little to nothing. So bad in fact I question even bothering bringing up my gear next year.

1 @ 36.. it worked before, it should work again. Why not just keep it there.

What Paul said...:agree:

And Clammer...and Sauerkraut...and Larry and just about everyone else...:hs:

More effort for fewer fish...there's a lot of talent here and I can't believe the "I stink" reasoning from good surfmen...it's not conincidence...:confused:

Yeah, Paul, I remember the '80's, plugging up a 15" bass at 2nd Beach and I couldn't have been more surprised if I'd just caught a bonefish

If it wasn't for massive schools of bluefish by the acre there would have been NO fish at all - nada, none

It reminds me more than anything of the crash in the late 1800's that caused all the great bass to clubs to close which was caused by industrial pollution and overfishing - written club records from that period that I've seen show a similar pattern of a crash over a period of time and IMHO it's looking familiar

Look at the opinions of all the guys on S-B and their accumulated experience covering a large portion of the New England coastline

This time you have to point to overfishing, the reduction fishery on pogies ( and no, I don't mean Ark Bait) and runoff from lawn chemicals and all the other crap being used on waterfront properties that ends up in the Bay

I can't see 2 at 28"...:no2:...it's #*&$# absurd, 1 at 36" seems prudent at this point

Rant over - I'm going out for blackfish

At least the buggers aren't pretty enough to be paraded around for photo ops...:smokin:

Unfounded gloom and doom
 

Like I said earlier in this post, it was an average year, IMO. I don't buy into "The sky is falling" opinions.

Is it possible we have fewer fish available than, say, 5-10 years ago? Its possible, but how do you measue this stuff in any meaningful way? Certainly not by what a few surf fisherman experience.

Last year(2008) I had the single greatest season ever in my lifetime from the canal ( so did many,many,many others) as the quality fishing lasted nearly 4 1/2 months. I easily caught over 150 fish over the 20# mark. This year(2009) I caught maybe 1/5th that number (25-30 or so) and I didn't do much differently. I put in an equal number of nights/days. Why fewer big fish? They were set up somewhere else, IMO.

I don't feel the numbers above have anything to do with a population crash, but simply the distribution of fish. There were good piles of fish in many areas this year, just not in the same spots/same time as previous years.

Keep in mind these are wild animals and their numbers can fluctuate for a number of reasons. Its possible we could be in a shallow trough right now, but the coastwide landings don't suggest it.

I had a good season and I fished less than the past 2 years due to family issues. I got a new PB and had nights where I boated a dozen fish, most over 20lbs. Alsmot all on eels at night and in different areas. Best time was end of June through first week of August. Spring was fantastic for small bass on lures, great daytime fishing.
Im a little puzzled by the "blind casting" comments. Even in a boat, I never blind cast, I'm always fishing "something", a rip, bar, rock, etc. Sometimes I get one cast in before I have to move back to the area I am targeting. I reposition my boat constantly. I think about each cast and where I need to place my eel or plug. Maybe I over think it. All and all a good year for me. I never do well in the fall so I cant say this year is any different.

Bass are in trouble if you ask me.I caught fish, some of which were quality, but the bass are in trouble.Look at how long comm season lasted,look at the numbers from the Derby.I have eyes from M to CC bay and nobody I know could stay on the fish with any consistancy.Sure,Team Striper won the Cup again but the majority of our anglers have the same sentiments as most of us.This could be a fluke or a strange year for bait patterns but I am of the opinion that the rec angler is destroying the sb fishery. 1 fish over 36" along the coast would be a good start in helping sustain or stabilize the fishery.Like others have noted,some had good years, or found fish in the fall but the BIG picture looks grim.

I told all of you so 3 years ago. Remember? Most of you thought I was delusional.
There are way less fish around than 5 or 8 years ago... Way less. Until everyone wakes up and embraces catch and release, the trend will continue on a downward spiral.

I don't mean to sound doom and gloomy, but 80% of people fishing now didn't live the moratorium years..
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I would concur with you if we had only one size of fish(all real large) present, which we clearly don't. The 70's crash should have been easy to spot as there were all jumbo fish and no smalls. Given the size distribution of fish present right now, I can't envision a crash coming soon under any scenario. Harvest rates may be higher than replacement rates right now for all anyone knows, but there's still plenty of breeder sized fish out there.
The recs keeping 2 fish per day is very wasteful though. I'm not sure anyone can eat that many fish. Those who keep 2 a day in many cases do it simply because they can...therein lies the problem... its a "tragedy of the commons."

I believe that the fishing is hurting inshore. Reports of all kinds of bass in the EEZ and on Stellwagen make me think that the stocks might not be as endangered as others think but something drastic is definetly taking place inshore to alter thier historic seasonal habitations. Seals? :confused:Water quality? :confused:Bait availablity?:confused: I think all may be contributing but not being a research scientist it's purely speculative on my part.:wall:

One thing is for sure they are defintely as litoral as they always had been. Something is going on.:uhuh: What I do not know.

How many fish should there be?
 

Can anyone answer this?

How many stripers do we need to have in order to keep everyone happy? 50 pounders every other cast? 60 pounders every third cast? On what do you base your opinion of the fishery?

I think there's a lot of ego involved too. You have a less than stellar year and suddenly the fishing stinks.

I never thought I would say this given my romantic reminisscence of the 70's and early 80's and the dropping ooff of a lot of bass at Old Harbor fish market but:

#1, bring back the 36 inch one fish a day limit.

#2, stop the commercial sale of Striped Bass along the entire coast, you want to eat one then catch it yourslef or go hungry.

#3 In other words, it's time to realize the greater importance of this fish and it's economic impact and make it a gamefish.

#4 The menhaden fishery needs to be stopped. No harvet for commercial nees and no harvest for supply to bait shops either.

There I said it, I have come out of the Gamefish for Striped Bass closet.

Let the persecution begin.

Burn him... BUUUUUUUUUUUUURN HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!!!!!!!

I'm with Flap.

Terrible weather, terrible fishing (bass), far too quick a season for my taste; was the season that wasn't.

Flap:
We were all guilty of selling in the 70s. We also learned what that massive abuse led to. The management of the entire fishing ecosystem is out of whack. It's not only the Bass, as you pointed out, it's the bait. They are so GD intent on making fertilizer and fish oil capsules that they are completely ignoring the bigger picture.

[QUOTE=Flaptail;



#2, stop the commercial sale of Striped Bass along the entire coast, you want to eat one then catch it yourslef or go hungry.

#3 In other words, it's time to realize the greater importance of this fish and it's economic impact and make it a gamefish.

.

There I said it, I have come out of the Gamefish for Striped Bass closet.

Um, maybe I'm a bit misinformed by "Gamefish Status", but doesn't that mean that you can't keep them at all, even for personal gratification or consumption???

On another note, second best year I have ever had in my life. Again, just like last year, the fish were just in different spots. Had to figure them out, but once I did, it was consistently great for nice fish. The weather was a major, major factor in this (as well as real life things). BAsed upon my slips, I fished half as many nights this year and caught half as many fish, but the avaerage poundage was still the same as last year.
I quit after Columbus day last year, and the reports last year were pretty bleak. I am giving it a half hearted effort once in a while this year, but I haven't caught a fish since columbus day weekend. The reports from my network of guys that are still pounding it hard are doin little more than poundin' their pud.
I have been saying it for years that the rules of the commercial fishery here in Mass have destroyed the inshore stocks of bass. Yes, I have helped contribute my small effort to it, but a very small part. Do I feel "guilty" or bad about it? Not really. Would I miss it if they did away with the commercial fishery? Not really. everyone fishes for different reasons. Normally I don't even keep fish as I don't eat it.
Good luck to everyone that is still givin it hell, all it takes is one cast for that fish of a lifetime, and it could be on the next cast, so keep at it.
Good luck cause it ain't over yet.....the fat lady is only on the first verse of the song..........

i am having the best seson i have ever had. 4 times as many keeper bass than any year prior and my personal best. Not a lot of big fish but an overall good year for me.

game fish status prohibits the sale of said fish, it allows public consumption. i'm in favor of gamefish status for stripers with a limit of 1 fish at 36". i'm glad some of you guys have had great years :claps:but the writings on the wall and some of us have seen/lived it before.

To say you contribute to the decline of in-shore stocks and that you don't feel too bad about it is pretty telling. I'm not making a personal attack, just saying...

Yeah, i know that I sell crack... and it's probably ruining some lives, but I really don't feel bad about it at all. If I couldn't sell crack I'd be fine.

Crack is illegal, selling bass w/ a license is not.

Big difference.

Just my and AH's point. 4 times as many keepers but if the size limit were 36" how many then?
I am glad some are having a great year. I had a super Spring myself. That's not the point. You guys are missing the point entirely. The point is: The MAJORITY of the guys are not having a great year and the consensus seems to be that there are less fish and less quality fish and fewer periods when there are good fish. It's not about one or two or three guys having a good year. Read the posts. I'm betting that the number will be like 80% having a &%*^% year.

Second question? Why not a lot of big fish. Could it be because there are a high percentage of guys and gals fishing that are killing 28" fish?

When we went to 34", then 36" then the moritorium you couldn't buy a 30# fish. I won 2nd place in 90 with a 32# fish in the Thundermist Club. Thundermist guys fished almost exclusively on "The Back" and the likes of Lanny Grazini, Chuck H, and a bunch of "high hooks" that were some of the best that ever threw a conventional were in that club. A 32 takes second place and a 38# fish won it. Tony Chiroppo was one of Lanny's partners.

I pray to God that it doesn't come to pass but there are 5 times more guys fishing now than there were 20 years ago. if we don't do something quickly, there will be no bass agan.

I don't have any issues with him selling. That wasn't my point and I know the crack analogy was stretching.

My point is that he is doing something he knows/suspects is hurting the fishery and really could care less about it.

The "if I don't do it someone else will" argument. If you think it's hurting something, but do it anyway for $$$ it just shows what is important to him.

I don't know redlite, I'm sure he's a great guy, but I doubt he needs to fish to put food($$$) on the table.

I wasn't alive for the moratorium but I bet it sucked. Lets not have another.

Grew up fishing in the 90s and boy was it fun. I'd like something done to help protect the bass but I don't know how practical making it a gamefish is. I don't fish commercially, but a lot of guys do and the last thing that this government is going to do now is put more people out of work.

I vote for gamefish status, slot limit, 36" / 1 fish, or anything that will help.

just my 2 cents.

I've had a good fall run. numerous 20# fish with the highest being 35# and some in between but mostly stuck in the 20's. ALTHOUGH, I fished EVERY SINGLE night since sometime in september where I didn't make it out for a few days. a lot of hours. I'm sure my odds aren't too good but that's ok.

The majority of my fish did not come from my usual spots. After countless dead nights at each one of my usual's I moved and occasionally checked back.

Sometimes your old haunts are just that.


On the not so good end, the fleet at the islands just keeps getting bigger and most of their fish just meets comm size. multiple times this year I asked the local markets that a lot of the fleet use what largest of the day was and usually it was a high 30's fish. not good.

On the OK (still not good end), but a little relief since I've wondered all year. I've seen more schoolies (massive amount of 15 inch fish) in the last week then I've seen in a couple of seasons put together. The lack of schoolies was something I've been thinking about all year.

this is just what my season and what I've noticed, not disagreeing with anyone, not fact, just opinion.

really good sensible post. Kudos!!

I am encouraged to hear that you are seeing schoolies.

How many??? Next question.
50's or 60's??? What are you smoking?
My opinion is based on the reports of my friends who fish. Both the comm's and rec's who, in most cases, had subpar years.
Ego? Yeah it sucked for me but my observations are not based solely on my experiences.
I hope I am wrong but I don't think I am.