I hope this happens soon
 

Same here

Tomorrow would be perfect timing.

makes sense to me. ''Lets save the stripedbass from the commies,so the recreational INDUSTRY can kill them all''

makes sense to me. ''Lets save the stripedbass from the commies,so the recreational INDUSTRY can kill them all''

:confused:

Meanwhile, I'm for anything that will get the bass population to flourish. No matter how extreme.

I was watching a video of a couple guys fishing off the cape this summer with eels. They were doubled up for the whole video, the deck was loaded with 20-30 lb bass, it made me sick.

It is obvious there is a problem with the stocks right now. Eliminate the commercial sector. If these guys were not doing it 6-8 years ago like the video states its not like they are going to starve if they have to give it up again.

Make it a game fish with a 1 fish limit and see what happens. Something needs to give and it makes sense to eliminate the commercial sector and make them a game fish. It helps a fish that is WAY more important recreationally then commercially.

Eben - Good post - the pleasure of pursuing and catching a bass far exceeds that of eating one.
Rob - I remember that video as well. The guys were proud to post it even thjough it represented all that was wrong (albeit legal)with the commercial fishery of stripers.

???

I didn't see or hear anything in the video about upping the recreational kill.

Clearly the striper-based INDUSTRY that benefits coastal communities most is recreational fishing, not commercial fishing, and there would be no future in killing off the bass, so why assume so?

Far from a silver bullet as far as saving the striper, but a step in the right direction.

Where do I sign?
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Striped bass are too important to only be caught once.
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Why is it that when the powers that be talk about groundfish stocks at low levels and set the catch limits accordingly, people go along in belief. But when the same authority claims a healthy sustainable bass fishery and sets the limits accordingly, no one believes them.
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LOL Yup here we are again. well when the commercials don't catch enough to afford to run those expensive holes in the water I'll still be walkin the shore an castin gettin a few stripers an releasin them. They'll be cryin as they can't make their boat payments. If your nice I may even let one of you borrow my kayak LOL.

Never listen to kayakers and fly fisherman when coming up with striped bass regs. Bass don't like warm water! Still plenty of em you people just don't know where to find them! Stick to trout if want a gamefish.

LOL obviosly you live a very sheltered life. Many of us old farts do it all. Thats why we've landed some of the moby bass we have.We've also seen what greed will do.Thats why many of us have had the privledge to hook ,land an release fish over 50. But having lived through 1 moratorium due to so many not wanting to listen we don't want to hve to do it again.Some places do have fish but everyplace used to have fish warm water or not.But like I said when you fish them out I'll still be finding a few here n there.

While I tend to feel gamefish is the ultimate end game
For bass I don't think Stripers Forever wins many fans with their hard line on it. There are too many ways for people to poke holes in their logic. Number one their is no way to re allocate commercial fish to conservation per current management regulations. Sounds good but it just doesn't work that way.

Second I feel they should first advocate for recreational mortality reduction with no increase to commercial quotas. If recreational fishermen (which I am) are to tell others how to manage their fishing they need to look in the mirror first. Stop the talk of slot limits and managing the fishery in a bubble. If x happens then y and z will be perfect. We have a litmus test for what worked in the past to boost stocks why re invent the wheel. Recs need to go back to one a day. It is unfortunate for those that fish once a year on a charter but when they realize that a boat with10 people or more on it goes out twice a day two bass a piece times 100 trips a year that adds up to a lot of fish. The heads have little invested in the fishery and more than likely will not miss the fish when they are potentially gone.

Maybe I am wrong but I feel this issue needs to be looked at on so many levels other than Rec vs. comm.
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All one needs to do to understand this works is to read a little bit about the redfish in florida. That's the model to follow.
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mark,i totally agree with you.in no way am i against conservation,if it is needed.working in a tackle shop,building plugs and holding a Mass bass license,all require bass for me to continue my way of life. i still have to laugh when i hear ''old timers'' talk of how great things were. the reality is that just like now there were good times as well as bad times.never were there times of only great fishing for months on ends as some would like ous to believe.

Yup. And without the moratorium in the 80's you would have NOTHING.
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Your right there were good an bad times but if you knew what you were doing you could find some bass everywheres. Good or small numbers an goin fishless as what happens to so many now wasn't as often as it is now.Guys like me will always be able to find fish.But when we saw these warning signs in the past we had to be forced into a moratorium even when friends like Bob Pond were calling for action. You younger guys have a chance to slow it down an back off before it happens again. All us old guys you just don't want to hear from us.Your choice. We've already made ours.That's why you hear us preaching to slow it down.Remeber old doesn't mean stupid. we made our mistakes an are trying to prevent the same happening again.Ron

Agreed Ron that's why I never take fish ever. Plenty of guys take mine home. Like I said I feel the ultimate end game for SB is gamefish but Rec's need to slow down before we can ask commercial guys to make wholesale changes on how they live their lives.

One thing I will say for SF is they were willing to compromise in the last round of hearings. They were willing to change their proposed legislation to include verbiage to allow commercial fisherman who gain a pct, if their overall income to Maintain a commercial license.

I cut my chops during the end of the moratorium. I don't go back to the "glory days" I look to other people I trust who have been out there longer than I, like yourself and John to provide me with a balanced look on where we were where we are and where we are headed. I can't trust an organization like the ASMFC to provide me with accurate reporting. When one yoy is applauded as a great triumph and the next is dismissed due to weather or who knows what?

I have been around enough to know we are on a decline. Even the ASMFC's numbers dictate that.

For people to say that all the bass are outside the three mile limit is bush IMHO I feel they were there before. I can't say that for a fact? But I would venture a guess that they were in and offshore in previous years.
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Same bunch of guys standing in the parking lot at Walmart wondering where all the deer went, because they refuse to go in the woods.
Head, meet sand.
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There is evidence the fish were in shore in previous years? Is there evidence showing they were not offshore prior to the EEZ ban? I am not trying to be a smart Alec just have always asked this question and never got a real answer
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Back in the late 60's I was a mate on a cod charter boat out of Pine Point. In july an august we went 20 to 30 miles off shore to find colder water for the cod. From time to time we would run into stripers as deep as 200 ft on the humps an ledges.they were feeding on whiting as we would open one from time to time to see what was inside.as a kid i had no clue as to what it meant. so one day helping Bob at a show I asked him about it. his reply was basic. the fish don't always eat the same food and will follow what they're eating.He also said that netters would come in with a boat load of stripers from time to time back in the 50's netted way offshore. So between that an what we ran into cod fishing there have probably always been stripers out there. i even remeber some of the tuna guys talkin about it way back as a kid down at Galalee during the tuna tournaments.

Why would they want to come inshore?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y25...73055D1621.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y25...9D8DF12E67.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y25...9DA7BB40EF.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y25...9DAEE7F6B1.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y25...9DB3E51377.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y25...9DB8685EA7.jpg
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I ask because that is often an argument put out there by many "the fish have all moved offshore" I always figured they were in both places but wanted an opinion other than my own.
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Hard part for some of us Mark is that some of us old farts were part of the problem back then.We don't want to see the same mistake happen again.For us well some won't be around to see the fix happen. Kinda scary you know what I mean.

Those pics say a sad story for the Cape.I used to walk out there an fish every spring.

A good friend of mine guided those flats and put himself through school there. We used to have 60 fish days easy with out exiting stage harbor. The cut opening and the seals changed all that.
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Nobody thinks that warmer water temps, lack of bait, and increased predation (seal and human) has anything to do with where bass stay??? Why would a fish forge on crabs and small scup when all they have to do is follow plentiful offshore bait in deep water with a comfortable temp??? Less effort for more food maybe? Pogies are no longer a reliable inshore food source. Would you bet your life on a food source that may not be around. Or maybe because you "old farts" are not doing as well as years ago the species must be decimated. Perhaps the bass are adapting to what best suits them and not shore fisherman? Don't let pride cloud your judgement.

If you want to rally around a cause save the tautog their population sux compared to years ago. It is a direct result of greed and poaching. I hope that issue is sexy enough for you!!!?????

Well way back when they netted stripers everywhere they could from shore. we still had some fish.Now there's so much bait in places you can walk on it but no fish. MMMMM still don't see many kids outfishin most of us old farts but there are a few like us hard cores.LOL. Loads of us don't need a boat an have them sittin in the yard to take company out. But just teasin you. It's good to ask those questions. Do some research and check the answers out. It will boggle the mind.We learned the hard way. You don't need to but go for it if you like. it takes a long time for any species to come back an some get replaced completely. Look at the Iceland cod stocks.Ron

On the Cape the bass appear to have no choice.

The seals likely don't leave enough inshore bait for the bass, so they go where the food is- offshore.

Adapt or perish.
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I believe that if bass are unable to forge in an area for consecutive years due to lack of bait that they will begin to give up their yearly search in the said area and concentrate on a sure bet. Therefore I believe that when the bait returns to your fishing area your bass are sticking to their newfound habits and eating their meals elsewhere. I have experienced this firsthand in some of the areas that I first learned to fish that are now void of predatory life even with bait around. Skilled boat anglers will always have the upper hand especially now and that is unfortunate because of the rich surf fishing history of NE. Forgive my sharp tone I wish all of you a happy healthy new year and a great fishing season. Gamefish status can kiss my A $ $ though.

Also, my lilly white Irish skin is still peeling from the permanent sunburn of last season so don't call me sheltered. HAHA

Same old farts on here complaining about the fishery for years... Every year it's the end, the collapse, another moratorium, blah, blah, blah. To lazy and pigheaded to change with the times. Stuck in the same 10 yards of beach waiting for the fish to come to them, blaming others for their lack of success....
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My concern with stripersforever is related to this quote:
"The fishing public, even restrained by very modest bag limits and moderately high minimum sizes, could easily harvest all that a well managed wild striper population can provide without any help from commercial fishermen. Making the striped bass a gamefish will simply mean that those who wish to catch their own will be given priority over those who want to buy their own at market. This is the way a free society should work."

By itself it won't reduce harvest enough. It shouldn't be rec vs commercial issue, it should be about sustainability. That said, I won't mind seeing some of the chest beating clowns go out of business though when the crap hits the fan.

They will also be the first ones with their hands out looking for federal assistance. Woe is me
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Knock everyone way back

:rotf2:

Striped Bass Stocks 2012 - YouTube

I guess these guys who fish far away from the bloated seal populations of CC have no clue either?

Regardless of what happens in the future present etc. steps need to be taken. MA could start by issuing licenses only to guys who report catches. Otherwise why buy the license?
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I rarely boat fish, but over the last 6 years or so I have fished the early western LIS run with a friend in his boat. He has been fishing it his whole life and knows what he is doing. Over the last 6 years it has gotten worse and worse. The sound is filled with bait in May, much of it adult bunker. There are nights using chunks and live bait where we will hit reefs from Norwalk to Hempstead and sometimes not land one bass. The idea that the fish are all of a sudden offshore is ridiculous. There used to be fish everywhere. If there is a need to "change with the times" it is because there fewer fish to go around. The spawning stock biomass estimates peaked around 2003. A decade later and the commercial and recreational pressure is even higher, the yoy indices have been typically low. The only reasons to not reduce the harvest for everyone are greed and short term money interests.