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I have to agree that spearfishing is far less damaging to the overall stock of fish than recreational rod and reel fishermen are. i do some free diving, and only see a handful of bass per dive. none of them so far have been anything to brag about. to say that the spearfishermen target the large breeders, while rod and reel guys don't, is ignorant. how many people do you know that go out and actually target small fish? most are out for the trophy fish to make their season/career complete. from talking to a lot of guys this year, it has suprised me how many have said once they get that 50, they are going to cut back the fishing effort. very few recreational anglers would even consider letting a fifty swim free. i only know a couple, personally, that have done so. spearfishing is not as easy as it may seem. i had visions of diving may favorite fishing spots and seeing schools of big fish swimming all over. it just didn't happen. the pages of magazines such as The Fishermen and On the Water are covered with the dead bass of so called conservation mided rec fishermen. how many striped bass spearfishing mags have you seen?
this argument f spearfishermen are bad sounds very similar to the argument blindly spewed blaming commercial fishing for the lack of bass.
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