seems to be a consensus up and down the coast from shore folks that things are not so hot, the tendency was to suggest it was the cool weather and a late start...season to season, while there are some variations you can pretty much put the needle on the record in terms of how things progress, they've progressed this year in a similar fashion to previous except for the noticeable lack of bass... it's hard to know exactly what is happening as all of these stories are anecdotal and fishermen tend to think the sky is falling if they haven't hooked up in a few casts, particularly if they've spent a fortune on gear and "put their time in"....seems as though we've solved the bait problem, plenty of that around...I suspect the schools of fish that the boat folks are hammering are in ever more limited numbers...they have to be given the pics from the decks...I know that there are reports of acres and shoals of fish in certain areas but those are a drop in the bucket in the overall scheme of things and will become a target....we are just too efficient at talking them as they migrate up and down the coast and that trend is going to continue as their ability to replace what is taken can't keep up...I think it's like many other things...we'll need to hit rock bottom before we head in the other direction....I always figured the regulators, for the most part would err on the side of caution and the fishermen, for the most part would err on the side of maintaining what they enjoy....I think I thunk wrong
I've always felt that changing the culture through the clubs and shops and various events was the best way to improve things, and that seems to be taking place to some extent, maybe not fast enough and maybe over time..but for the reasons that many have pointed out, nothing will come from the regulators or many individuals until and if it truly reaches "crisis"