pogies

[nklinesider]

this is the first year that ive ever had the pleasure of snagging and fishing with pogies. ive done pretty well so far, getting a new personal best at 18lbs...... cant wait to break the 20# mark not to mention some of the slobs you guys are pulling over the rails and onto the sand. i was out kayaking this morning around cove and i had the pleasure of witnessing one of the menhaden draggers.... not sure if it was a dragger as they seemed to be corraling the fish into a sein net of some sort. there was a barge looking boat that had the nets and then a bigger dragger working together. the smaller boat would herd the pogies and net them and then put them onto the bigger boat for holding i guess. they did 4 net fulls while i was there and who knows how many before that. the boat was from mass. couldnt read which town, but to see the incredible amount of bait taken per set was amazing. there must have been more than 1000 in each scoop. the guy driving the bigger boat was talking on a loud speaker saying they wouldnt be able to go out for a couple of days because they had their quota and then some..... didnt know if anyone else has seen anything like this but it was a big bummer..... all i could think of was the moratorium on the herring....

[Adam_777]

Congrats on the snagging and PB.It does suck when the pogy boat comes in and cleans out your spot.Wish they'd stay out of the bay.

[jkjnp]

Originally Posted by nklinesider

i had the pleasure of witnessing one of the menhaden draggers....

I agree it's amazing to watch the first time you see it--but next time you head out there might not be any pogies left!

The pogy boats have been a heated topic over the past couple of years...do a little research and you can find lots of info. People get very emotional about it, understandably.

The voice you heard on the loud speaker might have been from the plane above the boats that was spotting the schools of fish for the netting boat. The plane tells them where and when to set (I was there too yesterday, I couldn't watch...it makes me sick)

[robbiestriper]

Any tips on how I can get these guys. I fish from bridges and shore and boats. ID signs? Ideas? Tackle?

Thanks.

[nklinesider]

yeah i didnt mean amazing in a good way. they were coming real close to us going full boar on their motor. i was tempted to throw a few snagging hooks their way. i couldnt watch either we turned and headed for jamestown to try some fluking.