Pay up and it wont be an issue
 

You, and that is a very general plural you, keep complaining the commercial license is such an effective way to increase the odds of landing and weighing in big fish, PAY UP and go get your license! Nothing says you have to use it if you do not want. But, on that night, be it tues., wed, thur, or sunday, you land your 35, 37, 45, (arbitrary numbers refering to a previous thread) , pounds not inches, totaling 117#, go sell 'em make $ 200 change smile and say thank you massachusetts. Be happy knowing your numbers count for the shortening up of the commercial season in mass. Art

No Thanx I'm good

Art,

I fish for team S-B and I couldn't agree with you more. Most people in general who fish for bass don't have a good understanding of how (commercial) it works or what it really takes. As I said in another post, the skill level amongst commercial license holders varies greatly. Simply possessing a commercial license means squat if you don't know how to fish. Lots of arbitrary data and accusations get thrown around, but its all fallacy and no fact. No need to get fired up, this stuff has been getting thrown around forever.

The way I look at it someone is going to catch those fish towards the quota allowed so I figure why not. The quota is going to be met whether I add to it or not. If they made it a sport fish that would be ok with me too. But since they allow it I will keep participating. Personally I don't feel people should have disdain towards the fisherman who participate, but to the people that make the rules that allow it.

I have no problem with commercial involvement in the tournament, if anything I like it because it gives the tournament alittle more clout. sure, there is an advantage to having a larger number of fish to cull from, but its not that big of an advantage, maybe a couple of pounds on the teams total. The big advantage, and the reason that you see alot of the same guys at the top of the leader board as on the commercial list, is that they are good and fish hard everyday. The number of occurances where a non-com released a fish that would have made the top ten for their team because they already had two smaller fish that they kept because they hoped that they would make the top ten are probably few (and this is coming from someone who was in that situation last season, so we could have one by one or two more pounds, :hihi:). The whole "if I could cull from 95 fish a week, i'd weigh fish like that" argument just doesn't hold water to me. With good planning on a recreation angler's part (i.e., not keeping the 37 because its only a marginal upgrade over a 35 and if you caught both on a given night, there's a good chance that there are more to come - and if not, it only cost you 2 pounds) it really should not be much of an issue.

this site is enigmatic. there are bits of funny commentary, bits of interesting insight and commentary, bits of total nonsense and outright ignorance. i appreciate that there are like minded individuals participating on this site and thats why i keep coming back. art

Welcome to the internet!

don't think thats the site, just human interaction in general

Personally I don't have a problem with the commercial guys fishing the tournament. I've said it before that OTW sets the rules and you agree to abide by those rules when you join the Tourney. So no complaining, you knew when you went in what was involved.

Do the commercial guys have an advantage, yes. I'm not saying its huge but it is there and I mentioned a scenario where it could come into play. Granted it probably doesn't happen often but it can happen and it is an advantage. And, again, personally I don't care, I know its there and when I sign up I'm saying I'm OK with it.

as far as only losing a couple of pounds because its only a slight upgrade, I gotta respectfully disagree with that....the 2006 Cup winners won the tourney by 2.24 lbs....so yeah every pound, as a matter of fact every ounce, matters.

I think its a tricky question with two valid sides to the argument..

On the one hand , if you win the tournament , you want to feel like you beat everyone , even the best of the commercials. On the other hand , if you are really a commercial fisherman , I would think you would take yourself out of tournaments do to the unfair edge you have over the recreational guys.

The heavyweight boxing champ can't go to the local boy's club and enter a boxing tournament. People would think that a pro boxer entering an amatuer tournament would be wrong and perhaps simple greed on the part of the heavyweight champ. In a way , i view a guy who makes money off fishing as the heavyweight champ. he doesn't belong in a tournament with ammatuers.

So there's tow sides to the story. Personally , I don't care who enters tournaments or who wins. Its not why I participate.

how much is the commercial lisence exactly?

Salt - that makes it all the better... just throw on Rocky and think of the commercial guys as Apollo Creed.

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watchin' us all in the eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye!!!!

Of the tiger...

InTherapy are you from Steep Brook, the Flint?

My comments were directed toward commercial striper fishing. Did not know it was about commercial license holders fishing in tournaments. I never have fished in a tournament, usually too many rules and regulations for me. Is it a advantage? Maybe yes because the comm. guy may stick it out longer and put more hours in because he has an added incentive of making a few bucks. IMO in the end though it still boils down to being able to find fish and catch them and that is not a guarantee. Just look at how many license holders don't sell a single fish. The fact that the comm. fisherman can cull from a much larger body of work is an advantage, seeing that the rec. guy must make the decision to either keep or release for a larger fish after one in the boat. That is a big decision to make if you are looking to win some contest. Again if the rules allow it, like I stated in my first post , I don't see the controversy. If you don't agree with the rules push to have them changed.

$160 for an out of stater license with the Striped bass endorsement

Plus, you're guaranteed multiple 40-60# fish every trip simply by purchasing one. Surf or boat, plugs or eels, it doesn’t matter.Its all guaranteed:angel:

Boy, isn't Massachusetts wonderful!

I'm curious, why does MA allow out of state commercial fisherman to fish in state waters and use up commercial allocation share? Do they have to because of federal law? I don't have a commercial permit and the qouta will be the same either way, so I have no stake in this, but it does seem like the MA commercial guys would want the neighboring state guys kept away.

Wow, that sounds great. I'd enjoy multiple 40 - 60#ers each trip. If I had only known it was this easy years ago, I would have picked up the comm license. I could have spent so much less time working hard at finding and catching fish. Maybe with the license, they'll just jump right in the boat without even having to leave the mooring.:jester:

As far as I know it's the same in all states. Out of staters pay a premium but they can get a permit.

Plenty of MA or CT guys have RI license.
Surprised me when I found out...

Should be residents only!

snob :jump1:

how do they track the quota then? If it's by sales, what's stopping a guy from catching in RI and selling in MA to extend his RI quota?

Nothing really, just honesty :hihi: and the risk of getting caught with too many fish in RI, where I think the commercial limit is lower

Many people just buy the license so they get higher bag limits. All the fish goes home into their own freezer and never gets counted towards a quota.

happens all the time...:deadhorse:

Art imitates life.... a triple :cheers:

well hey, I guess if you buy licenses in both states, you're entitled to selling your quota in both states as well.

The rhody quota is very small and has a 5 fish per day bag. The quota typically fills in one or two weeks. Hook and line licenses in rhody are practically impossible to acquire and you need to be a resident of RI. Mass is a free for all. The seasons typically don't run concurrently as rhody is usually filled in early June before Mass opens. Rhody sometimes opens for an additional week in september if there is any unused quota to be filled.
Mass should be resident only IMO. That's the biggest issue I have with the way its handled.
As far as catching in one state and selling in another, you'd be foolish to risk it if its your livlihood, although I'm sure it happens.

Together we can :jester: