Kinda think bass would prefer bunker....if there were any left around.
We all know lobster sucks without a pound of melted butter to drown it in.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

LOL. He never uses that type of language when we fish. Guess I am going to have to start using some 5 and 6 letter words instead of my usual 4 letter ones when we fish. I must be boring him to tears.

Lol or hyphenate and combine the four letter ones
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

And then pulls out vituperative.......Fn way to go !
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

This diagram pretty much shows what most of us are experiencing. The rec. catch is half of what it was from the top of the mountain from about 2000-2008. It clearly isn't lower because people decided to release more fish. Half the reward for the same effort. Twice the effort doesn't even get you to what you had for those years. So now we have half of what we have yet slaughter pretty much at will. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if 2013 is at 1994 levels. Couple more years we should be back at 1992 levels. Only benefit of that is that maybe the circus will go away for a decade or so.

Just to clarify here.

MSY is measured in pounds not numbers of fish

OY absolutely includes financial data as well as stock data

Maybe. The key number is the SSB, but the YOY index does affect the estimate of the SSB. But since the YOY don't recruit into the SSB for 5-6 years old, it may not have much of an effect.

You suggested 1) making them a gamefish and 2) raising the retention limit to 1 @ 36. Both of those actions would be illegal for the ASMFC, which is the managing authority for striped bass.

Could you point out which law ASMFC would break if it decided through amendment to change the status of sb and the limit? My understanding of the law is that ASMFC is given the authority to make those amendments. I am pretty sure what you are saying is tantamount to saying that congress would break a law by changing the law. I could be wrong...

IMO- this is where the problem lies with the MSA-they're trying to manage a fishery in a fashion just so it doesn't collapse again.

theres no thought about quality, next years catch, the possibilty for errors, etc. they're treating the fish like pork bellies, or any other commodity. its not something that is worth saving- it has "worth" when you kill it

They would be violating the Magnesson-Stevens act.

Change to 1@36 would be easily legally defended based on MSA, although it might require another amendment by ASMFC. ASMFC reports that overfishing is likely to occur in the near future. They could use yoy and the trend in catch rates to defend its legality as a preventive measure in response to predicted overfishing or just reverse amendment 6.

I doubt it, but it would depend on what F factor 1 @ 36 would yield. I strongly suspect that the F factor (mortality rate) would be far less than what is required to prevent "overfishing" in the future.

If they determine that overfishing is a factor...they should all lose their jobs and I think the RFA should pursue criminal charges. Overfishing is should never occur if it is managed properly IMO.


This is OT but a little related:

What are the laws governing dragging in sounds? I am seeing more and more small draggers working in some cases with mile off the beach in both ACK and V sound! I have been taking photos of these boats, I pass them every day. How is it we allow draggins in sounds? These guys should be out of site of land. The quoata is not an excuse to deplete out sound of fish. sounds bays and estuaries should be nurseries for fish and protected from commercial fishing.

FWIW, I hear vis the rumor mill that the ASMFC intends to take some action soon to prevent overfishing in 2014.

Make it illegal to posses bass from Nauset inlet to the Nantucket sound entrance make the canal a catch and release river lol.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Those of us who fished the outer cape this year can tell you that any data that doesn't show overall catch plummeting to early 1990s levels is absolute crap. There were flat out no bass this year out there...none.

I am pretty sure canal rules state if you catch it, you kill.

Blitzseeker, post like yours really make me laugh.i fished the beaches of the outer cape,ptown and truro from early june till early sept this season and i caught quite a few bass.granted i fish 7 nights a week work in a tackle shop and have all the info needed to find fish,but even many of the shops customers who rarely fish caught fish this spring.it was actually one of the better springs in the last few years.unfortunatly very few people were on the beach when the fish were there.mid july till early sept was pretty dead,but if you put the effort in there were some fish around at night.

This post kills me. This is the same arguments that were givin before the moratorium in the 80's. The guys who fished non stop who were either pin hookers, poachers or charter captains ( anyone making money off of bass legit or not) screamed up and down that there were still some fish around.. You just had to work really hard for them. The fact is that they made money off of these fish and didn't want to loose their income.

Bob pond would be disappointed in you.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Now all we need is cow hunter to pop in here and say everything is just fine. Where has he been anyway?
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Nebe,nowhere do i say things are fine,do i profit from bass yes,i sell a few fish ,sell some plugs and work in a tackle shop.to say that there is absolutly no fish in an area that i fish in is total bs.if he said there are no fishermen i would agree.as far as Cowhunter goes he is probably busy catching all the fish that aren't there.if things are as bad as every one on this site says,maybe it is time to stop fishing altogether,you fish you kill no matter how careful you are.

So many striped bass these days you don't even need waders anymore.
You just need to know where to look, that's all.

also no need for waders when your fishing is done on the keyboard

more like this:

The guys back in the 80's didn't say things were fine either. I was there. I was on the docks in cuttyhunk then. I witnessed this first hand as a kid.

Do you think there is a problem? If not, that's fine. If you do, then look for solutions.
I haven't killed a bass in a few years. All are released.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

If you are talking about NS you would be way off.

I just don't get you guys who think the fishery is just fine.

Even if you consistently do well on the water, how can you ignore the experiences of all your surf casting peers?

The numbers of fish continue to decline year to year. It's truly sad.

If they looked at the 2012 ASMFC total catch graph, they would see the recreational catch is down 60% in 6 years. Depends on your definition of fine.

Based on my journal entries, I am seeing something different. :-(.