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Originally Posted by CowHunter

It is illegal to target striped bass in federal water, includes catch and release.....
Nowhere on the Striper coast is there such total disregard of the EEZ as in Virginia / North Carolina. I dont think people have any idea the damage being done by the poaching down south. The Charter Boats down there break the law every single day and brag about it. It is a shame. The entire biomass is concentrated down there in different schools, guys are running well beyond three miles, most 2 trips a day. If you guys just see the fish that are caught illegally and come in every day. The thurs before last I heard there were well over 100 boats fishing this area, some from Va and some from NC.

Report from VA beach last sat:

57 lb Striper caught by Dean Winstead of Chester, VA
54 lb Striper caught by Jennifer Cash of Virginia Beach, VA
52 lb Striper caught by Ray Pennell of Renton, NC
52 lb Striper caught by Adam Lehnert of Glen Allen, VA
50 lb Striper caught by Randy F. Berrier of Winston-Salem, NC
50 lb Striper caught by Jeffrey Mason of Manassas, VA
47 lb Striper caught by John E. Beland of Stafford, VA
46 lb Striper caught by Ken Sigler of Stafford, VA
45 lb Striper caught by Adam Lehnert of Glen Allen, VA
42 lb Striper caught by Richard D. Rheutan Jr. of Henrico, VA
41 lb Striper caught by Hames H. Bayles III of Sutherland, VA
40 lb 1 oz Striper caught by Franlin G. Goodwyn of Richmond, VA on the Sea Witch
40 lb Striper caught by Corey of Appomattox, VA


These were poached in one day... This is just from a handfull of boats at the VA fishing center. A small percentage that even report their catch...

Ill say it agian, more big fish down there are killed in the winter than the Northeast in a decade, easy...

Guess we keep Blaming the Mass Com Guys ;-)

You are 100% correct. Word for the past two weeks has been the fish are 6-8 miles off the beach, clearly outside the 3-mile limit. Virtually every Charter boat fished this area, most of the charters here are 50-70' boat so they are very easy to spot. CG did a couple flyovers which scared off the recreational boats but the Charters remained and were bragging about it with wink wink nod nod to each other. Several fish in the high 50s and low 60s were brought to the docks. Fishing enforcement here is a joke especially if you have a commercial license or a Charter boat.