holy crap

[sokinwet]

60 posts from budding fisheries biologists who know better because....

[afterhours]

Originally Posted by sokinwet

60 posts from budding fisheries biologists who know better because....

been thru this once before...and see the writing on the wall. denial- it ain't just a river in egypt. also have been told by govt bio's that the error can be up to 40%. flip a coin and you would'nt be far off.

[big jay]

Stopping to put your boots on with a triple header of 30's going off =

Priceless.

Chatham sure has alot of bass.

[jonserfish]

Originally Posted by big jay

Stopping to put your boots on with a triple header of 30's going off =

Priceless.

Chatham sure has alot of bass.

that amazed me too. how calm they stayed. I got all crazy just watching the rods bend over. wanted to jump into my pc and set them hooks

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by big jay

Chatham sure has alot of bass.

Maybe, but what has that got to do with that video?

[piemma]

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

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.

[MAKAI]

A "F'n" men to that!
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Fishoholic]

Originally Posted by numbskull

If we protected them (via use of a slot limit) and directed both commercial and recreational pressure on smaller fish I think the overall quality of the recreational fishery would be much better over the next decade (although there are valid arguments that this might also be counter-productive).

I agree. I think a slot is the answer.





Regardless of legality, if you honestly care about striped bass and their future..that picture has to hurt to see. I went out to Chatham once with a "commercial" buddy just to see what the buzz was about. I still feel very guilty about it. Greed makes people do crazy things and the chatham circus is strong proof of that.

[Liv2Fish]

Originally Posted by Canalman

Um what?

Fishing the Canal is easy, no one needs a map... all you need is a tide chart and a pencil popper. There are articles detailing how to read the Canal chart dating back to the 1970s and there were probably many more before that.

No one person or one service made the Canal what it is...

WE DID IT... these message boards did it (They do a lot of great things too don't get me wrong ) but I know several guys in New Jersey who have Canal bikes... and I know they didn't buy a map, they read the boards, got hungry, read an article or two and went to take their piece of the pie. It's fisherman ego that ruins every spot because too many people can't quietly enjoy a good day of fishing--they have to shout it from the rooftops, puff out their chests at every tackle shop they see on the way home, post it on Facebook and, amid the flames and daggers, post it on a board like this one. It's one of the markers of our times. And when you look it, of course the Canal is a good place to fish, it's the biggest fish funnel on the east coast...

-Dave

I agree 99%. The canal is probably structurally the best location on the east coast to target bass. Anyone can fish it with basic gear and knowledge and have a great time. There is a wealth of "general" information out there, from bike building to reading the water, when the big spring and fall push usually takes place, etc. As you mention, it's all been around for years.

My reply had nothing to do with the link to the story being posted here. I have no issue with comm fishing. As may others have said, it's legal and helps offset the cost of fishing, etc. It was certainly a epic haul and something to be proud of, if that was what they set out to do.

My reply was directed at the amount of information for sale on the other site. Fishing the canal can be easy and fun, if you catch it at the right time. Producing consistent results all season requires putting in lots of time and lots of $$ worth of donated jigs learning the nuances of the place. Exactly how far ahead of the hole to stand or cast at the particular stage of the tide. Knowing how many bounces your jig will make before you have to dump line so it slides down into the hole where the fish really are. I've not come across any book or post that gives up that detail. Seems like from the infomercial I watched, that's what you get, for a fee, from the other site. Maybe not that much detail but that's what it sounded like. There was a quick glimpse of a GGE map with pole numbers and shaded areas in front of it, etc. That's what I don't agree with.

I don't believe the forums are responsible for making the canal what it is, the information posted has done the deed. Kind of like guns don't kill, people do...”Spot Burns” are definitely not cool on most sites. I don’t think anyone here would have wanted you to post where you got your recent 50 (nice fish BTW), but we would all love to know.

If everyone who fished the canal had the information to focus their efforts only on the most productive water, things would be much worse down there. Nothing is more frustrating than watching someone stand on the best spot to fish a hole and have no clue how to do it. I’ve tried to offer help and most often, get an Ahole response like “ I don’t need a guide, thank you”. 10 years ago, you could just move to another spot, but now there’s most likely another guy there doing the same thing.

This is all I was getting at. I can tell from the accolades sent from many members here on your 50, that you too have put in your time. No disrespect meant here - just frustrated that it’s all out there for sale and surprised that more people aren't. #^&#^&#^&#^& hole was a poor choice of words on my part....

Mark

[ProfessorM]

Dave paid a guide and used a sponge bob squarepants rod for that fish
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Tagger]

makes you feel like all your C&R efforts over the years to rebuild the stocks are just so others can rape it .. legal I know ,, just a crappy feeling . wonder how many of these young guys were around when there were no fish .

[J_T_R]

Anyone who is #^&#^&#^&#^&ting on the anglers is in denial themselves. For every fisherman who has a great day like this, there is another that is waiting to take his/her place. As long as the law and quota are there, you WILL NEVER change the fact that fishermen will be catching striped bass and selling them.

And, as law abiding fishermen yourselves, I find it incredibly hypocritical to call these guys name and #^&#^&#^&#^& on them for doing nothing other than following the law.

Here is an excerpt from a 2008 Mass division of marine fisheries publication.

During 2008, the commercial fishery for striped bass in Massachusetts sold about 61,076 fish weighing
1,160,122 pounds and kept approximately 4,255 fish for personal consumption. Total losses due to commercial
harvesting (including release mortality) were 71,773 fish weighing 1,268,542 pounds. The recreational
fishery harvested about 343,347 striped bass weighing over 5.5 million pounds. Total losses due to recreational
fishing (including release mortality) were 634,648 fish weighing over 7 million pounds.

The recreational fishermen releases (wastes) more dead fish, than the entire commercial fleet kills all year.

[J_T_R]

And here is another thing to mull over.

How many people will those 30 fish feed? A lot. And I'll tell you something else - the people who are paying $15-$20 per pound are not going to put it in a freezer bag and let it get freezer burnt until they finally throw it out, like some rec guys that would.

Commercial fishing allows people who don't fish to eat striped bass. Instead of "supporting your local bait shop" and spending thousands on gear, these people are supporting their local fish market and fishermen.

Saying that a rec guy shouldn't be able to go out and make money by doing something that he loves and is legal, is like saying that Americans shouldn't be allowed to decide what they want to do to make a living. That goes against every value that our country was founded on.

My point is that you shouldn't be taking it out on the fishermen that are following the rules. Take it out on those who are making the rules and those who don't follow the rules.

And just to clarify, I definitely think that these guys should have been prepared to catch that many fish and ice them properly. They had enough eels, they should have been prepared with the proper equipment to serve the people of mass fresh fish. If they were so proud to do so, they would have been prepared.

[Duke41]

does anyone know how many stripers exist as a species?

[East Tide]

Originally Posted by Liv2Fish

If you poke around the site, there is an infomercial for what you get if you join (for a fee). Detailed specific location information, marked up google maps of the canal and CC Bay! First month is $1.

So for a buck, he's willing to whore out the exact details of what some of us have spent many years and thousands of $$$ to learn.

This is the kind of crap that has made the canal such a siht hole of a place to fish.

Originally Posted by Liv2Fish

I agree 99%. The canal is probably structurally the best location on the east coast to target bass. Anyone can fish it with basic gear and knowledge and have a great time. There is a wealth of "general" information out there, from bike building to reading the water, when the big spring and fall push usually takes place, etc. As you mention, it's all been around for years.

My reply had nothing to do with the link to the story being posted here. I have no issue with comm fishing. As may others have said, it's legal and helps offset the cost of fishing, etc. It was certainly a epic haul and something to be proud of, if that was what they set out to do.

My reply was directed at the amount of information for sale on the other site. Fishing the canal can be easy and fun, if you catch it at the right time. Producing consistent results all season requires putting in lots of time and lots of $$ worth of donated jigs learning the nuances of the place. Exactly how far ahead of the hole to stand or cast at the particular stage of the tide. Knowing how many bounces your jig will make before you have to dump line so it slides down into the hole where the fish really are. I've not come across any book or post that gives up that detail. Seems like from the infomercial I watched, that's what you get, for a fee, from the other site. Maybe not that much detail but that's what it sounded like. There was a quick glimpse of a GGE map with pole numbers and shaded areas in front of it, etc. That's what I don't agree with.

I don't believe the forums are responsible for making the canal what it is, the information posted has done the deed. Kind of like guns don't kill, people do...”Spot Burns” are definitely not cool on most sites. I don’t think anyone here would have wanted you to post where you got your recent 50 (nice fish BTW), but we would all love to know.

If everyone who fished the canal had the information to focus their efforts only on the most productive water, things would be much worse down there. Nothing is more frustrating than watching someone stand on the best spot to fish a hole and have no clue how to do it. I’ve tried to offer help and most often, get an Ahole response like “ I don’t need a guide, thank you”. 10 years ago, you could just move to another spot, but now there’s most likely another guy there doing the same thing.

This is all I was getting at. I can tell from the accolades sent from many members here on your 50, that you too have put in your time. No disrespect meant here - just frustrated that it’s all out there for sale and surprised that more people aren't. #^&#^&#^&#^& hole was a poor choice of words on my part....

Mark

Let me preface this by saying I moved to St Louis in 2001 and before that I fished the canal 5-7 nights a week in season. I make it back 1-2 weeks a year and go crazy with anxiety leading up to the trips- f'in crazy. I read anything canal related to pass the time, which I have a lot of when I'm not fishing.

I found a link that said something about top 10 canal spots and how to fish them, join for $1 and get it free. I'll bite. I get on the site, which is well done and good for someone who needs to know basic canal info, which you can find anywhere else for free. When I asked him about the 10 canal spot info he replied (and I have the email) "well, I was getting $200 for it last winter, but I'll give you a deal for $150." Get f'ed buddy! Seriously, it would have been one thing to say it's not available anymore, but asking for $200 in writing!

As far as the commercial thing goes I don't fault him at all. He's doing what he's allowed to do by law. If I could live on the cape in the summers and fish 24/7 and support it by selling fish and chartering, I would.

While there was definitely information on fishing the canal prior to the dot com boom, coming from the perspective of a guy that started right in the cusp of it when I got my drivers license in 1994 (the WMI board days 1998-2001)- fished it hard up until 2001 and then stepped back and view it as an outsider once or twice a year, it has got out of control. I firmly believe that msg boards, ect, made it the way it is and it will never be the same. I would venture to say that everyone reading this has benefited, but is now paying the price with plugs over the head, 5 guys at your rock and trash all over the place.