Quote:
Originally Posted by bobber
just burns my @ss that theres still this "historical" fishery in Mass when seemingly everywhere else on the coast measures are being taken to preserve the stock. just because they always had bass to catch doesn't mean they are somehow entitiled to keep going..... times ARE different now
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Well that just isn't the case. They are still seine netting at Oregon Inlet. They are legally keeping 16" fish in Virginia. It' the way the laws are enacted.
Listen, we went through this in the 70s, 80, 90s. It's commercial Rod and reel in MA. I remember a night in 1995 when 2 guys from my club, Thundermist Striper Club, came off the Back with 1100 pounds of bass from SHORE! The law says they can do it and the guys with the comm licenses are within their rights to do it.
I'm not saying it's right but there are other abuses taking place that make this pale in comparison. A case in point is the North Rip and SW Ledge at The Block right now. There is a huge bio-mass of very large bass staged at both locals. There are so many boats out there it's a traffic nightmare. The ProJo reported Sunday that there are large numbers of 30s, 40, and yes, 50s being taken everyday. You get a charter with 6 guys snapping wire with parachute jigs and you have 12 trophy bass dead. That times 30 charters equals 360 trophy bass dead. That's happening everyday.
The answer is not banning commercial fishing for bass. It's setting more realistic limits and better policing of the take once the limits are set.