Bluefish
 

Just got this email

New recreational bluefish limits effective in 2020.
The Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission has approved DMF recommendations to adjust the recreational possession limit for bluefish. Effective May 1, 2020:

Recreational anglers fishing from shore or a private vessel are limited to harvesting and possessing 3 bluefish per day.
Recreational anglers fishing from a for-hire vessel during a for-hire trip are limited to harvesting and possessing 5 bluefish per day.


Not that I keep any unless i need Shark Bait , their stock must be getting hammered by someone ?? and I doubt its recreational... unless snapper blues getting all the attention

Three? Haven't caught more than one in years (although could have scored some last September at Barrington if I hadn't wasted a lot of time that afternoon twiddling with tangled line over near Westport):wall: Still, they clearly needed to do something. The catch has been
declining for years. I know, I know, flubies aren't that popular on this board. But I miss the days of Barrington beach combat fishing about 15 years ago (which may be returning,BTW). You could hammer 'em from shore back then on September afternoons. And it was exciting. You'd have 15 to 20 guys out there with 5 to 6 lbers thrashing away in the water while everyone had a hard fighting fish on.You'd chuck yours on the beach, and cast out for more. I know they're not as good as eating as stripers, but they sure put up a fight. Maybe they'll come back like they were and we can slam 'em again.

Ah the Barrington beach days, all the blues your arms could handle! Used to take breaks from work and go on down. We had this guy named Jerome who would take a bunch of blues home and smoke them and then come back in a day or so with a platter full of smoked blue- it was better than a blue had a right to be :).

Yeah, there was a guy in a blue and white van who used to cruise all the bluefish spots (Barrington, Colt State Park, some places further south). He was in a newspaper article on the subject. Funny how it all ended back then; years of great fishing, and then sort of disappeared around 2008. Never came back with any consistency after that. Last year, there were multiple days when they ran, so could be the start of a new bluefish wave.

When I was living in Mass 99-2003, I would run down after work in Worcester whenever there was an evening high tide. Those were some of my favorite fishing experiences. I knew I missed it when I would get to Barrington and the peanuts looking the shore were long dead. Between that and jigging the canal in the fall those were the good old days for me.
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Quota went from 10 to 3... too much too late?

If over fishing caused this my guess is gill nets .... I hate em

I've caught one in about the last 10 years up here on the South Shore.
Have caught a few late season in South County RI.
Certainly not like "the old days" anymore...

They sort of had to do something. Not sure how much difference it will make; don’t know if people were keeping that many of them. The limit wouldn’t affect me any; never took more than 3 even in the plentiful years.
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If they don't enforce this hard at the snapper spots this will be meaningless. I maybe grab them once a summer for fluke bait. Not a huge loss to drop the limit. The early 2000's was bountiful in the bay for blues. Jigging at the bridge and surface for the schools.... Not lately.....
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Chark bait, nothing more.
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That too but two guys @3 each is doable for bait if you can find them
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Ha, still have some blues and albies in my cabana freezer for this season. Wife is not amused. Looking for a garage type of chest freezer this season as i plan on making chum with pogies and Mack’s.
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Live mac! LOL