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OK, I will grant you that there is one large body of bass, dead in the center of their mid-season migratory range. This is your proof that the coastwide fishery is in great shape. Even back in the 80s, there were 6 million bass, and they were very likely concentrated in CC Bay all summer long.
You never judge the health of any fish stocks by how plentiful they are in the midpoint of their migratory range in summer, or at the southern end of it in the pre-spawn winter. You judge it by how many resident fish there are, in mid-season, on the ends of their range. Maine to Cape May.
And those of us who have been around a long time--guys like me, stripermaniac, piemma, DZ and others---heard your fathers and uncles singing that "there are plenty of bass around, they're not in trouble" song back in the late 70s and through the moratorium years.
But I'm not going to debate the point with people who view a microcosm of the fishery and judge it healthy. Even if they don't have an agenda. I don't have one. I see "gamefish" as nothing more than a feel-good thing that will not significantly reduce mortality. Recs can be just as short-sighted as anyone.
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