I was not referring to you Nebe. Just pointing out the hypocrisy as a whole. FWIW I have not killed a striped bass this year,but I plan on taking what I am entitled to when the time comes without apology.
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Same here.
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For the record I have all but abandoned catch and release fishing because of exactly what you have said. If I do want a bass for the table I will use the methods necessary to avoid small fish and will kill the first fish I land and stop fishing.

But that's just me.
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That is exactly what I said in my post Eben!:eyes:

I don,t think ya gonna have to worry ><><

That is exactly what I said in my post Eben!:eyes:[/QUOTE]

A pat on the back to you too.

It is a FACT that there are people out there who kill big fish for the photo op and the tackleshop show and tell trips who end up tossing a beautiful breeder in a dumpster our in the woods. You and I both know one or more of them. That is my beef.
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A pat on the back to you too.

It is a FACT that there are people out there who kill big fish for the photo op and the tackleshop show and tell trips who end up tossing a beautiful breeder in a dumpster our in the woods. You and I both know one or more of them. That is my beef.
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It is just a phase
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It is just a phase
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Indeed we do Chris.

It is stupid to kill a large (say #25 and over) to eat unless you plan to only eat one meal from it and give away the rest.

It is stupid for a lot of reasons that many people do not care about but there is ONE reason that even the most selfish of us should care about..

Toxin levels in older (i.e., large) fish are often significantly higher than in younger fish.......and can be VERY high in 10-20% of the larger fish in that subset (just go look at the sample data on which the recommendations are made....I have). Yeah I know you want to blow this off but before doing so consider what it means. If you eat multiple meals from one of those larger fish that is in the high toxin range you get multiple repeated exposures to the high toxin level. Maybe you're OK with that but you are a flat out idiot if you assume your wife and children should also be OK with that and you are an even bigger idiot for not protecting them from it.

The recommended levels of striped bass consumption are based on average, not peak toxin levels. This works to protect you ONLY if you buy fish in a restaurant or a fish market since over the course of the season you get exposed to fish with both high and low toxin levels which average out (no one gets poisoned by eating a single meal from any striped bass). It DOES NOT WORK if you catch and keep your own LARGE fish then eat multiple meals from that fish and that certainly can expose you to toxin levels far above what the guidelines assume. Doing so, therefore, is just flat out stupid and a disservice to those who love and trust you (particularly if they are growing children).

It is what it is. Better to kill and eat multiple fish closer to 28" than a single big fish......unless, as stated above, you plan to only make a single meal from the big fish.

And one further note. Do not buy into the bullsht posted on line about toxin levels all being in the organs, skin, or red meat of a fish (the "they grind the whole thing up to test it" fallacy....fishery biologists might do this but Health Departments do not). As an MD, I spoke directly with the State Health Dept several years ago and they where very clear that their testing was done only on samples from fillets.

One other thought. When the moratorium kicked in in 88 or 89, we couldn't keep any bass. Then it went to one at 36". I remember how the beaches were literally empty of surf fishermen. I wonder how many of our younger peers will fish when a moratorium kicks in (which I am willing to bet it will) since they will not be allowed to keep any.
I still have an old lami surf rod with a wrap at 36" and another added when we went down to 34" in 92.
I may be misquoting but I think it goes "history is destined to repeat itself".

There will not be a moratorium. The 2011 year class took care of that. The real issue will be the lack of quality fish in decent numbers until those 2011 fish mature (not that they'll likely get the chance) since there is not much in the pipeline ahead of them based on the Chesapeake YOY estimates and population sampling (although I think we also see a lot of Hudson fish in our fishery which might provide some relief).

Paul- the quote is "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it"
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George, I can only speak for myself but between chips, ice cream,Monsanto veggies,chicken and beef on roids,I have to wonder if a meal from a 28# bass will hold a candle when it comes to ingesting something "unhealthy ". Most restaurants are looking for the big ones because of superior yield. I honestly have no idea what could be on the label for most supermarket products but I have raised three kids on fruit roll ups(they have no fruit,just coloring and crap)! That said, I am a gardening fanatic and go to great means to grow organically.
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Breaking tides at the Ditch this week. I'm betting it's an absolute zoo.

Absolutely!!! My buddy just shot me text, some guy caught a keeper at pole # 72.....it was 29 1/2 inches.......he killed it. :crying:

For the "sportsman" /recreational fisherman, I believe the sanctions set in place for the protection of most local species are sufficient to sustain or at least maintain a healthy stock level. So even for those who cannot police themselves, the laws are there.

IMO, the recreational sector is not the problem...it's the poor management of the commercial sector that's hurting stock levels.
When Mr. Cashuss Coin comes into the equation, that's when things get dicey.....Bottom Trawling, Mid-water Trawling, Dredging, Gill-netting, Long-lining, Purse Seining, Shore-worked Seine netting, Pots, Traps, Charter Boats, whatever else I missed, and let's not forget BY-CATCH!
I don't like bringing up problems without possible solutions, but I honestly don't believe there's a viable solution for this. Why? Because I also believe that they have the right to make a living (legally).

What's wrong is when people try to compare the two....you simply can not. Not on the scale of intake nor the scale of damage done. How many recreational fishermen would it take, to equate the damage done by one haul of a bottom trawler? Incomparable.
What would you compare the bycatch of any large fishing vessel to... when applying it to the recreational sector? Gut-hooked fish? Improperly released C&R fish? It's ridiculously impossible to compare the two...

Then there are the independent Comm. guys....no officer on board to keep watch, no one back at the dock to inspect their catch....they don't go to market, they have their back-pocket mom&pop fish-markets ready and willing to save a buck by disregarding the laws....again, it's when money gets involved that things go amok.

Before I start making Comm. enemies, ....let me just add that I'm sure there are more honest comm. guys then dishonest....and yes, there are plenty of dishonest Rec. fishermen as well....but the scale is still incomparable. I still consider a non-commercially-Licensed fisherman selling to a back-door shop, a comm. guy....if you're profiting financially from fish, your a comm. guy...regardless of license or not....so a true dishonest Rec. guy is basically a guy keeping shorts or more than the bag-limit allows, again incomparable...IMO

So when you tree-huggin', farm-raised fish eating fishermen belittle the guy who keeps his legal limit each time out or whenever he chooses, you're not doing any of us any good. We'll never be on the same team if we continue to fight withiin our own kitchens. Our voices will never be truly united if we don't understand each other. I think those of us who keep and eat local fish understand the C&R guys....the only bad thing I think you're doing is picking on us because you think if we keep our legal limit, we're killing the stocks...:hs:

I know I'm an Ahole, but I respect our fishery...I practice C&R, I don't cull fish, I cut lines when/if I feel I can't remove my hooks in a timely manner or in such a way that would further hurt the fish, I don't field-goal-kick my C&R's back in, I always take whatever care and time it takes to do my best in setting them free...I've missed plenty of blitzing fish because of this...but I'm ok with that...and NO, I don't need to explain myself to any of you, but before you guys start with your "Fish-Kill" bull#^&#^&#^&#^&, think before you start typing...stop being a bully behind a keyboard trying to make us feel like we're doing something wrong....instead, come out into the real arena and tell me I shouldn't take a fish home to eat, see where that gets you.

:doh:...Now let's toss in medicine/health as a way to sway people on why we shouldn't keep fish...really?
So I should release a hard fought 30# bass, which may not make it...in hopes of catching an easily caught 30" bass because it's less harmful for me? What should I be more concerned for at that point? The health of the 30# bass or my own? Or should we take a poll to see what the consensus is? :smash:

I comfortably fish with the understanding that I'm going to hurt fish, I'm going to kill fish, I'm going to eat fish. It's all part of WHY I fish.

**Apologies to Toby as I know this isn't the direction that he had hoped for in starting this thread...

Great post!!!
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G I L L Y ><><<><><:lm:

Please don't put words into my mouth.

I didn't say you shouldn't keep fish. I've got nothing against keeping fish to eat, nor am I trying to take some sort of sanctimonious high ground. I eat my share and certainly kill far more with C&R.

I simply said you shouldn't feed your family MULTIPLE meals from any single large fish (or more accurately, that you are "stupid" if you do so) and I spelled out why.

There is a reason why pregnant women and children under 12 are advised to not eat ANY striped bass and other people are told to limit their consumption to just 8 oz/month (or 8oz 4x/year in some states). Indeed, RI advises against ANYONE eating any amount of striped bass.

So, bloocrab and fishbones, if the "safe" level of consumption for adults is either zero or just 8 oz/month (or less) why in God's name would you want to make multiple meals from a #30 fish, particularly when there is strong reason to expect that large fish has more toxins than the "average" fish on which the state recommendations are based?

[QUOTE=numbskull;1124290

So, bloocrab and fishbones, if the "safe" level of consumption for adults is either zero or just 8 oz/month (or less) why in God's name would you want to make multiple meals from a #30 fish, particularly when there is strong reason to expect that large fish has more toxins than the "average" fish on which the state recommendations are based?[/QUOTE]

George, please don't put words in my mouth. I never said anything about the health effects of eating stripers. I don't eat it myself, and the couple of fish I keep per year go to my mom and my mother in law. I release 99% of the bass I catch and I do my best to make sure they survive. Saying that bloocrabs post was excellent doesn't mean I agree with the entire thing.
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Whoa, you guys need to find some fish and get laid...
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Me .I,d rather find some woman :& get laid ><><>:bshake::humpty:

numbskull, I'll leave the original post as is...but toss my edit here...
"...let's toss in medicine/health as a way to sway people on why we shouldn't keep (big) fish (or rather fish over 30#s)..."
Perhaps I should have worded it that way? Not that I was trying to be offensive, but perhaps you would have found that less of a conviction?

Look, if my intent on a particular outing is to bring a fish home for whatever reason, the first fish caught is getting hung, that completes the first task, leaving the second task to enjoy whatever else happens during that outing...would I prefer a 30" fish over a 30# fish for consumption? Absolutely!...but again, if my intent was to bring a fish home that night/day,... first come - first go....w/a bit of sarcasm, Perhaps I'm not as talented as others that I can single out the size fish I'd like to have attack my offering (It's very rare that I'm not in big fish mode, perhaps that's an issue I have as well?)...or perhaps I'm not as patient as someone else... that I'd release the 30#er and wait for the 30"er? Do the health pros and cons come to mind at that point, honestly...no, and for good reason, at least to me...

When a large fish comes home, it gets filleted, bagged and dated. I keep some, I give some...I lay my pieces carefully so that when frozen, they are easily detached allowing me to take a single piece when desired. I'm not poisoning anyone but myself at this point, wife nor son enjoy eating striper. I'm not going to eat Striper 3 days in a row...(not for health reasons, I just don't care to anymore.)
However, there's a specific casserole that I make with striper (for gatherings) in which a lot of fish is used. Should I feel like I'm endangering my family & friends when I share it with them? I sure the hell don't and won't....I'm a God fearing man numbskull.....being that you capitalized His name in your reply, I'll be risque and assume you have some Faith as well. If God's divine plan has me die-ing or falling ill due to toxins from a piece of fish that I catch, then so be it. I'll accept that as the striper getting retribution...lol

I'd be lie-ing if I said that on every outing, I didn't want to catch the largest sized fish of whatever species I was targeting. I'm not sure what the term for that is right now, but I'm guilty of it. It's in my particular gene-pool...some don't have it I guess, or they lie about not having it, but I do? That doesn't mean that I want to take that fish home, it's more of an inner accomplishment for me....the out-doing of self. I wouldn't call it an ego thing, only because I don't go posting/or putting up selfies or what have you, but then maybe it's an inner-ego thing?? whatever//...But like I said earlier, and perhaps I should be more specific in species...if I plan on taking a Striper home for the table, first come ...first go.

To better address your remark of... "why would you want to make multiple meals from a 30# fish"....if the 30# fish got caught first that day, it's going to happen...I didn't "want" it, per say? It's how the cards fell....sorry, but that's how I look at it.

I think the bigger point being missed is the peer pressure being placed on the insecure or inexperienced fishermen out there...the ones who curdle when someone thought to be slightly respected in this sport make a comment. Some guys can't think for themselves...therefore they rely on the so-called "experts" to help guide their decision making. I'm sure there are people who used to enjoy eating/keeping striper who may keep less now due to what others say...yes, some people are just that weak. Sure, some feel they've become more responsible with the resource, more conservative, better educated, call it what you want....Kudos to them, to each their own.

I'm a greenhorn, strong-minded, strong-willed.....and even "stupid" to some....and that's OK too.

Mike, getting laid is what got me into all my troubles!!!! :cens:
She wants another house.....I want another boat.
She told me to go smoke another one..........she got the house :huh:

All kidding aside, I enjoy a good debate (I try to keep it respectful)...my post wasn't a personal attack on anyone, apologies if it was read that way. I meant to generalize all those who discourage those of us who enjoy keeping their allotted limit.

Perhaps I should go back deeper into hibernation, and die quietly of Striper Intoxication...

Pot meet kettle?

Not exactly, my dear Watson...
I don't recall bullying anyone about practicing C&R or doing anything they want (within the law) with what they catch.
Simply trying to get the "Anti-Fish-Killer" attitude down a few degrees....

Fish are Food not Friends.

As for the level of toxins in fillets, I think you greatly reduce the level if you remove the lateral line. That darker softer section is where I believe fish store most metals, like iron or mercury. By storing the heavier minerals along the lateral line it assists them in migration like a built in compass. I think nature designed it to store iron, but a bycatch is mercury and other toxins.

I'm not sure if it reduces that much, but I always remove the dark meat along the lateral line from my fillets.

:claps::claps:....Me too, every last bit of it, and there's quite a LOT of it unfortunately.

And with all due respect to our Medic-friend, in regards to..."I spoke directly with the State Health Dept several years ago and they where very clear that their testing was done only on samples from fillets. "

When filleting a Striper, that "red-meat" IS part of the fillet. Was it removed? Who knows at this point....I do know that when I buy a fillet from the store, the "red-meat" or that area in general is NOT removed.