The runs on the south shore were pretty barren this past spring Mike....Weymouth was horrible, Middleboro was also bad and they are usually so thick in Middleboro you can walk across them for weeks! The Bournedale herring run was terrible.......something has to give Mike and its gotta start somewhere! Seems like you are only thinking of yourself Mike....(don't take that the wrong way)....but in order to improve things all around, everyone has got to co-operate and maybe even suffer a little. My opinion however Mike is that its not the use of the herring by recreational sector that has depleted the stocks.....it is all the damage done by the commercial sector.....like it or not....my opinion is that the commercial sector does most of the damage to any fish stock due to overfishing, pure negligence, gluttony, greed and downright stupidity! So they penalize all for the acts of many! I do not fish live herring...never have so I don't really care one way or the other! Learn to fish those plugs you are making Mike....or build some that are good herring imitators.
