Not a good sign from down south

[BluesHarp]

Just ANOTHER bad sign from the VA Beach area regarding the health of the Striped Bass fishery. Link below:

In tournament with no bites, one fish nets $176k prize | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

If you read the comments it's the same as we see on this board.

Are we headed for another collapse?

Seems to be a common practice down south to blame it on the EEZ restriction.

[FishNH]

That's fishing within the 3 mile limit. offshore 20 miles or so there are many, many Stripers being caught by guys going after Bluefin tuna.

[Jackbass]

The funny thing is if you look at the reports on the VA Beach fleet page I almost guaranty they have monster fish on the docks? Where did those fish come from?
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[Jackbass]

Originally Posted by FishNH

That's fishing within the 3 mile limit. offshore 20 miles or so there are many, many Stripers being caught by guys going after Bluefin tuna.

But we're the fish outside the EEZ before? Or is this a new thing?
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[Clammer]

Denis from this site was just down there for Christmas .He said he walked around the marina,s /that all have filet stations & he couldn,t believe the number & size of the reacks in the water >>>>

[FishNH]

Originally Posted by Jackbass

But we're the fish outside the EEZ before? Or is this a new thing?
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From reports I've seen or heard of it's been a few years that they have been catching out there.

[buckman]

They follow the bait
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[PRBuzz]

Alex may be friends of several of you on FB, here's what he posted mid-Dec

[FishNH]

my mistake not 20 miles but 8 to 12 miles

And plenty of bait out there

[bobber]

EEz is off limits to recreational and commercial bass fishing, right?? isn't anybody paying attention down there? or only just during the tournament??

[Jackbass]

Originally Posted by FishNH

From reports I've seen or heard of it's been a few years that they have been catching out there.

So the fish were not off shore before? Or was it not noticed due to them being available inshore?
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[striperman36]

Nobody pays attention to that crap all the way down to SC

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by striperman36

Nobody pays attention to that crap all the way down to SC

Except to get on the horn and sound the alarm when the Coasties are heading out.

[FishNH]

Guys were targeting tuna not stripers. I wasn't there so I do not know if any were kept illegally or not.

[FishNH]

Originally Posted by Jackbass

So the fish were not off shore before? Or was it not noticed due to them being available inshore?
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Don't know for sure but I think just the past few years following the bait.

[BluesHarp]

I'm a Surfcaster and don't boat fish, so telling me there are plenty of fish off-shore 8+ miles is like recommending I go to a convent or nunnery to find a date. Not going to happen.

Those big girls need to breed (Stripers not Nuns) and spend time inshore being anadromous. Even if they are following the bait off shore, I still feel the lack of fish and BAIT in-shore is troubling.

I know the Virginia Beach area having been stationed there while in the Navy in the 80s. Great fishing area, Surf fished the beaches and the Bay bridge pier. Caught the most bluefish I have ever caught on a beach south of Damn Neck Naval Base where I was stationed. Not many Stripers around back then either, of course maybe they were all of shore back then too.

[Jackbass]

That fleet is notorious for "Blue Fish" charters past the EEZ and coming home with large bass. Fishery law seems to be an after thought
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[tlapinski]

If I am not mistaken, in order to fish this tournament you need to pick up a GPS from the organizers and keep it onboard for the day so they can track where you fish. This is the only way the organizers can combat fishing in the EEZ and therefore, no fish are being caught. The results of this tournament have nothing to do with a lack of fish, only a rule which was put into effect to stop cheating/illegal fishing for SB. While fishing for SB in the EEZ in New England is bad, it is pretty much a way of life down there.

[ivanputski]

its funny how when finally forced to follow the rules and laws (due to the introduction of gps in this tourny) no one catches fish...

Just think how many fish would be left alone if EEZ fishing was enforced...

[thefishingfreak]

Originally Posted by BluesHarp

I'm a Surfcaster and don't boat fish, so telling me there are plenty of fish off-shore 8+ miles is like recommending I go to a convent or nunnery to find a date. Not going to happen.

Those big girls need to breed (Stripers not Nuns) and spend time inshore being anadromous. Even if they are following the bait off shore, I still feel the lack of fish and BAIT in-shore is troubling.

I know the Virginia Beach area having been stationed there while in the Navy in the 80s. Great fishing area, Surf fished the beaches and the Bay bridge pier. Caught the most bluefish I have ever caught on a beach south of Damn Neck Naval Base where I was stationed. Not many Stripers around back then either, of course maybe they were all of shore back then too.

I relate this to standing in the parking lot at Walmart deer hunting and then claiming a total collapse of the deer population, because you haven't shot one.
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[FishNH]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

I relate this to standing in the parking lot at Walmart deer hunting and then claiming a total collapse of the deer population, because you haven't shot one.
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Exactly

[tlapinski]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

I relate this to standing in the parking lot at Walmart deer hunting and then claiming a total collapse of the deer population, because you haven't shot one.
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Wait, is the largemouth bass population doing ok because I didn't land a single one in the surf last year?

[Piscator]

I think the Bass are going where the bait is, offshore. It may also have to do with warmer temp waters. Bass are seeking cooler, deeper water offshore.

[BluesHarp]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

I relate this to standing in the parking lot at Walmart deer hunting and then claiming a total collapse of the deer population, because you haven't shot one.
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Good one, too funny.

Link to the Tournament rules:
RULES |

5.) Fishing Hours & Boundaries : Lines in at 8:00am and lines out at 2:00pm. The Northern boundary is Wachapreague sea buoy and the Southern boundary is the sea buoy at Oregon Inlet. Only fish caught between 8:00am and 2:00pm will be eligible for weigh-in. You may not be in illegal waters after the tournament begins. If you get a late start, or decide to go in early and are running in or out of the bay, you must contact the tournament director at 757.319.5194

I think you missed my point. To only find one fish in three days to qualify in such a large tournament area has to make you think something is going on. Maybe not a full collapse but something. Toby probably hit one key issue "GPS" tracking in the tournament. But why would the fish all be so far off-shore? In my mind you shouldn't have to go 8 miles out to find a keeper. Hell you can find holdover bass in the dead of winter on the Cape, Providence and Thames River CT.

Freak I'm sure you know that a chart is, take a look at the area covered. The Northern boundary is Wachapreague sea buoy and the Southern boundary is the sea buoy at Oregon Inlet. Including the mouth of that Striper haven the Chesapeake. That's no Walmart parking lot.

Fair winds and following seas.
Jim

[bart]

i will tell you this much. Wounded deer hunting has been phenomenal this season...

[FishNH]

Maybe the fish are changing their normal routes/patterns that we have been accustomed too.

I see it happening with the codfish up here in the GOM. deeper waters than the past.
Cod fishing better off Block Island and the south shore of LI than up here the past few years.

[WoodyCT]

Bass have long overwintered off the mid-Atlantic, but nobody knew it. Once they were discovered the slaughter commenced, both inshore and in the EEZ.

These tend to be tightly packed schools and once found with sonar it's shooting fish in a barrel.

All the marinas down there post pics of the trophies on a weekly basis. I will look for a link to post.

Virginia Beach Fishing, Virginia Beach Deep Sea Fishing, Virginia Sport Fishing

2 guys, and 4 limits....

Captain's plus mate's makes 4!
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[flyvice11787]

Wasn't there a story a couple of months back about a bunch of charter guys in Va. getting busted for illegal fishing?
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[flyvice11787]

Cut and pasted from another site.

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThursday, November 8, 2012Virginia Charter Fishing Boat Captains Indicted for Lacey Act Violations and Other Crimes

WASHINGTON – Five charter fishing boat captains operating out of Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, Va. – Jeffery S. Adams, Raymond Carroll Webb, David Dwayne Scott, William W. “Duby” Lowery, IV and Nolan L. Agner – were indicted today for violating the Lacey Act by selling illegally harvested Striped Bass, the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia announced. The captains also face charges of making false statements to law enforcement officers and destroying property to prevent its seizure by law enforcement.


In 1984, Congress passed the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act, recognizing that “Atlantic striped bass are of historic commercial and recreational importance and economic benefit to Atlantic coastal States and to the Nation,” and that it “is in the national interest to implement effective procedures and measures to provide for effective inter-jurisdictional conservation and management of this species.” Since 1990, the Secretary of Commerce has imposed a moratorium on fishing for Striped Bass within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the zone where the U.S. and other coastal nations have jurisdiction over economic and resource management. The moratorium makes it unlawful to fish for or harvest Striped Bass in the EEZ. The moratorium also makes it unlawful to retain any Striped Bass that were taken in or from the EEZ.


The Lacey Act makes it unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire or purchase any fish and wildlife taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of any law or regulation of the United States, or to attempt to do so. Such conduct constitutes a felony crime if the defendant knowingly engaged in conduct involving the sale, offer to sell or intent to sell fish with a market value in excess of $350, knowing that the fish were taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of, or in a manner unlawful under, a law or regulation of the United States. Under the Lacey Act, it is a “sale” of fish or wildlife for any person, for money or other consideration, to offer or provide guiding, outfitting, or other services.


Each of the five charter fishing boat captains face charges that they sold charter fishing trips and harvested Striped Bass from the EEZ.


Jeffrey Adams, captain of the F/V Providence II, and his corporation Adams Fishing Adventures, are charged with conspiracy, trafficking in illegally harvested Striped Bass in violation of the Lacey Act and making false statements to law enforcement officers. The indictment alleges that, between March 4, 2009, and Feb. 9, 2011, the defendants sold charter fishing trips to harvest Striped Bass illegally from the EEZ. The indictment also alleges that, as part of the conspiracy, Adams and others would puncture the air bladder of Striped Bass and, if contacted by law enforcement, would throw illegally-harvested Striped Bass into the sea in hopes of avoiding detection. Adams is also charged with making a false statement to law enforcement officers regarding the location where his charter fishing clients harvested Striped Bass.


Raymond Carroll Webb, captain of the F/V Spider Webb, and his corporation Peake Enterprisees, Ltd., were charged with trafficking in illegally harvested Striped Bass and Destruction of Evidence for actions taken during a Striped Bass charter fishing trip on Feb. 12, 2011.


David Dwayne Scott, captain of the Stoney’s Kingfisher, was charged with trafficking in illegally harvested Striped Bass and destruction of evidence for actions taken during a Striped Bass charter fishing trip on Feb. 7, 2009.


William W. “Duby” Lowery, captain of the Anna Lynn, was charged with trafficking in illegally harvested Striped Bass and destruction of evidence for actions taken during a Striped Bass charter fishing trip on Jan. 15, 2010.


Nolan L. Agner, captain of the Flat Line, and his corporation, Agner, Inc., were charged with trafficking in illegally harvested Striped Bass for actions taken during a Striped Bass charter fishing trip on Jan. 16, 2011.


If convicted, the individual defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine per count, as well as forfeiture of the fishing vessels used during the commission of the crimes. If convicted, the corporate defendants face a maximum penalty of a $500,000 fine per count, as well as forfeiture of the fishing vessels used during the commission of the crimes.


The case was investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries, Office for Law Enforcement, and the Virginia Marine Police with assistance from the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau, Norfolk Office. The case is being prosecuted by Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.


An indictment is a formal accusation and is not proof of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless they are found guilty.
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[FishNH]

Good!!!! anyone getting busted for poaching should pay a big fine.