Bluefish - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

zacs · 08-04-2005, 09:37 AM

I think everyone will agree that right now bluefish are in abundance.

Personally I think this is great. They provide great action for youngsters, and can save a trip if you can't find stripers.

Another great thing about bluefish is recently I have seen many SBFT feeding on them frequently, very close to shore, which is also awesome.

So, I propose, now is the time to impose more strict regulations on bluefish. Why do we always have to wait for stocks to become scarce before we impose regulations???

3 fish 12-18 inches, 1 fish over 26".

I don't have kids yet, but plan to soon. I want to be able to take them out and see schools of feeding blues with birds working, and the occasional SBFT crashing through the frenzy with reckless abandon!

SAVE THE BLUEFISH

fishaholic18 · 08-04-2005, 09:56 AM

Blues..

BigFish · 08-04-2005, 10:17 AM

I love catching blues....saved my day yesterday and I had a ball!

I agree....why not set a limit now before they are gone. Not that I think they will be but what would be the harm to imposing limits?

fishsmith · 08-04-2005, 10:24 AM

I think the current regs are fine -
Bluefish
season All Year
size - none
limit - 10 fish

snappers are great live bait.
plus one decent blue make great bait for 3 of my lobster traps.

Krispy · 08-04-2005, 10:29 AM

Why would you set unnecessary limits on a healthy stock of fish? Blues are plentiful.
They are also a major source of bait for offshore fishermen as well as a large portion of the sustenance fishermans catch. And snappers are make excellent bait for bass guys too.
IMO, that sort of rec. regulatory thinking is greedy in its own right.

fishsmith · 08-04-2005, 11:00 AM

off topic, but Krispy - that mad guy at the computer is very funny and quagmire is the man. this is a little off, but I fell out my chair when he said "I love to hit em in the can" Hey that's two.....he's quagmire .....

basswipe · 08-04-2005, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krispy

Why would you set unnecessary limits on a healthy stock of fish? Blues are plentiful.
They are also a major source of bait for offshore fishermen as well as a large portion of the sustenance fishermans catch. And snappers are make excellent bait for bass guys too.
IMO, that sort of rec. regulatory thinking is greedy in its own right.

That's usually what's said right before they start disappearing.

If the swordfish,bluefin,striper etc. had been reasonbly regulated when 1st proposed way back we would've never seen major declines in stocks that we now have.

To say that there's plenty for everybody is complacent at best and foolish at worst.

Remember "Complacency Kills".

Krispy · 08-04-2005, 04:30 PM

Bluefish stocks have been largely "unregulated", meaning, who wants 10 blues to eat and little commercial value, and have been fine for 30 years. Any change in catch is most likely natural swing.
Blues are also more prolific and mature at higher rates than swordfish,bluefin and striper. And there is great consumer demand for those species.
If theres scientific data showing declines do to overfishing, then its time to regulate, not just because "I wanna". Essentially, you want everyone to take less blues to over insure your personal fun time

Theres a great big free ocean out there, I dont need every single aspect of what I do, boxed in by laws to determine what Im allowed to take.

Squibby17 · 08-04-2005, 10:21 AM

I had the pleasure of going off shore last weekend about 30 + miles out. I'll just say near chatham. Anyway the first day we caught many blue fish, although we werent trying to. All the blue fish were big like 10-15 lbs. Anyway the final day we were trolling and caught a blue fish, not one minute later on a big squid, we got a tremedous hit, 15 minutes later we had a 150 + lb Blue Fin Tuna in the cock pit. and yes (we did have a license)

I love blue fish!!! ..........for bait

CAL · 08-04-2005, 05:51 PM

Zacs, you want a slot limit on bluefish?

How often do you see or even hear about people taking their limit of blues? The only guys I know that do are using them for their lobster pots. I bet 99% throw all of them back and .5% keep one or two.

Christian · 08-04-2005, 05:55 PM

i destroy bernzy surf howdys on bluefish. its so much freekin fun. i love it. give me a shallow beach, surf howdy, random schools of like 3 bluefish cruising around, 5-10 pounders, its awsome. i love how they jump in the shallows.

CANAL RAT · 08-04-2005, 08:56 PM

most of the bluefish people catch they release beacause people dont like the tatse of there meat. if you bleed them out and get them on ice the 2-5lb bluefish are good on the grill. and theres nothing like seeing a jumbo blue crash a popper on surf or fly tackle

B-assman · 08-04-2005, 09:21 PM

I've got to say - my first reaction when I read Zacs proposal was - "no way" - people don't keep blues anyway, blues taste like crap, there are too many anyhow, etc, etc, etc. But the more I read the posts that followed and the more I've thought about it - it starts to make sense.

People are fickle. What is todays nuisance catch could easily be tomorrows gourmet / angling fad. One day Jessica Simpson (or bart simpson for that matter) says that bluefish are yummy or bluefish oil keeps my skin silky soft and BAM - demand for blues goes up, prices go up, everyone's fishing for blues. (Menhaden oil became fashionable when Omega-3 fatty acids were ID'd as heart healthy and became the dietary supplement of choice) By the time the regs can get into place - the stocks are decimated.

Besides the argument that there's no overfishing now so don't put in regs is myopic. History is a great teacher - those of you who have read "Striper Wars" have read first hand accounts of what can happen. Why not manage the issue now. The guys who were taking boat loads of stripers back in the day thought the supply was endless. They really believed it. I know that the number of blues does seem infintie - but to my knowledge nobody has ever really tried to measure the stock of blues. We could be in the middle of a freefall and not know it.

Whoooh - just re-read this post - how the heck did I end up defending the vile bluefish

??? I don't know but it just seems to make sense to start to manage the issue BEFORE it becomes a problem.

Backbeach Jake · 08-04-2005, 09:50 PM

All kidding aside, I believe all fish deserve protection in the form of rules and regulations.It's only the moral thing to do. We've all seen the results of such, and when they are correct , they are miraculous. When there are no rules, then folks tend to think that they're entitled to all they can catch. Personally, I'm tired of seeing Blues abused by those who consider them TRASH fish. Trash fish don't exist. If the species isn't to your culinary liking, then leave them the hell alone. We are the stewards of the Salt folks, it's time to realize that it's ok to use properly but not to abuse. I've seen people strand blues and dogfish just because they don't like them. I guess it gives them a God-like power rush or something. These are our fellow beings,they have been given for our needs and use. As sapient beings we should appreciate our gifts and try to improve them. Walk lightly on this Planet, it is very small.

basswipe · 08-05-2005, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAL

How often do you see or even hear about people taking their limit of blues? The only guys I know that do are using them for their lobster pots. I bet 99% throw all of them back and .5% keep one or two.

See above post.

Almost all who are targeting blues are keeping 10 fish.