Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - View Single Post

Hooper · 01-13-2004, 10:04 PM

Regarding the EEZ, here's my take on this issue... and up front, I will admit that my knowledge of the subject is limited in comparison to those who have written already, but I fish quite a bit and feel that my opinions are valid also....

I grew up working as a mate on a charter boat on the south side of Cape Cod, fishing in the Nantucket area. We fished many of the great rips of the Nantucket shoals back in the mid to late 1980's when there were not a lot of stripers running around. If we took a keeper it was a great day, usually it was monster bluefish we pulled from these rips. But often, we fished all day and did not see another boat. We had a rip or two to ourselves and we caught plenty of fish and we threw back tons of fish. Most of our customers just wanted to bend the rods. Even then, we released lots of bass. Some of thes rips were little more than a few miles outside of the three mile limit, "federal waters". But it wasn't an issue at the time, I don't know honestly if the issue was on the books then or if it was overlooked on the enforcement end of things. Back then, as a kid, I just fished without regard to the bigger things at work!

Well, after high school, I went into the Army and when I came back home, guys I fished with around Nantucket had been bagged by the Coasties for fishing out of bounds.... Out of bounds? What's that I asked them. Fishing in federal waters they replied. Oh, really? Where are you going these days I asked? Oh you know, the same spots.....

And so things had changed I learned. Suddenly, fishing these spots in my own boat made me a law breaker, a criminal. These were the same rips that were OK to fish just a few years earlier. I continued to fish them anyways because they are great spots, but man,.... I was some f*%*#@*g nervous about being busted. But guys.... a great bass spot is a great bass spot.

So, today, I fish mostly where everyone else does, in the mess of boats, chasing birds or fishing the one good rip that is "in bounds" whatever that means!

I truly miss being able to go over the horizon to find my own spot to fish in peace and solitude without another boat in sight. There is something really special when you find a pile of fish and have it truly to yourself.

I keep a few fish a year, and yes I hold a commercial bass permit, but would it tear my sould from me if it were closed someday......?????? No, it would not.

But what I do not want and I wish we could change is the freedom to fish these fertile waters without fear of being written up. There are so many great spots to catch striped bass, thousands of them! around Nantucket and for this fisherman, I find a lot of enjoyment in discovering a new spot that I can catch fish in solitude.

So, for me, the larger issue is access. Access to the open ocean. I don't see this as an issue similar to the groundfish issue as the striped bass doesn't come to the New England waters to spawn, therefore, closure of the EEZ doesn't "protect" the future of these fish. the fish I catch at noon 4 miles east of Monomoy may be the same fish caught in the surf at Nauset Beach at sunset. I see it as strictly a penalty to fisherman....

Anyhow, that's my two cents. If I am "off base" according to some of you, so be it. I just want to fish where I want without fear of being busted.

01-13-2004, 10:04 PM	#18
Hooper Southsider iTrader: (0) Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Bass River, Mass. Posts: 1,226	fishing the EEZ Regarding the EEZ, here's my take on this issue... and up front, I will admit that my knowledge of the subject is limited in comparison to those who have written already, but I fish quite a bit and feel that my opinions are valid also.... I grew up working as a mate on a charter boat on the south side of Cape Cod, fishing in the Nantucket area. We fished many of the great rips of the Nantucket shoals back in the mid to late 1980's when there were not a lot of stripers running around. If we took a keeper it was a great day, usually it was monster bluefish we pulled from these rips. But often, we fished all day and did not see another boat. We had a rip or two to ourselves and we caught plenty of fish and we threw back tons of fish. Most of our customers just wanted to bend the rods. Even then, we released lots of bass. Some of thes rips were little more than a few miles outside of the three mile limit, "federal waters". But it wasn't an issue at the time, I don't know honestly if the issue was on the books then or if it was overlooked on the enforcement end of things. Back then, as a kid, I just fished without regard to the bigger things at work! Well, after high school, I went into the Army and when I came back home, guys I fished with around Nantucket had been bagged by the Coasties for fishing out of bounds.... Out of bounds? What's that I asked them. Fishing in federal waters they replied. Oh, really? Where are you going these days I asked? Oh you know, the same spots..... And so things had changed I learned. Suddenly, fishing these spots in my own boat made me a law breaker, a criminal. These were the same rips that were OK to fish just a few years earlier. I continued to fish them anyways because they are great spots, but man,.... I was some f%#@*g nervous about being busted. But guys.... a great bass spot is a great bass spot. So, today, I fish mostly where everyone else does, in the mess of boats, chasing birds or fishing the one good rip that is "in bounds" whatever that means! I truly miss being able to go over the horizon to find my own spot to fish in peace and solitude without another boat in sight. There is something really special when you find a pile of fish and have it truly to yourself. I keep a few fish a year, and yes I hold a commercial bass permit, but would it tear my sould from me if it were closed someday......?????? No, it would not. But what I do not want and I wish we could change is the freedom to fish these fertile waters without fear of being written up. There are so many great spots to catch striped bass, thousands of them! around Nantucket and for this fisherman, I find a lot of enjoyment in discovering a new spot that I can catch fish in solitude. So, for me, the larger issue is access. Access to the open ocean. I don't see this as an issue similar to the groundfish issue as the striped bass doesn't come to the New England waters to spawn, therefore, closure of the EEZ doesn't "protect" the future of these fish. the fish I catch at noon 4 miles east of Monomoy may be the same fish caught in the surf at Nauset Beach at sunset. I see it as strictly a penalty to fisherman.... Anyhow, that's my two cents. If I am "off base" according to some of you, so be it. I just want to fish where I want without fear of being busted.