stripers in fed waters

[CowHunter]

It is illegal to target striped bass in federal water, includes catch and release.....
Nowhere on the Striper coast is there such total disregard of the EEZ as in Virginia / North Carolina. I dont think people have any idea the damage being done by the poaching down south. The Charter Boats down there break the law every single day and brag about it. It is a shame. The entire biomass is concentrated down there in different schools, guys are running well beyond three miles, most 2 trips a day. If you guys just see the fish that are caught illegally and come in every day...

Report from VA beach last sat:

[ edited by John R - one can easily believe that list is people actually poaching where we have no proof if it is or not - I'll add some comments later in this thread]


These were poached in one day... This is just from a handfull of boats at the VA fishing center. A small percentage that even report their catch...

Ill say it agian, more big fish down there are killed in the winter than the Northeast in a decade, easy...

Guess we keep Blaming the Mass Com Guys ;-)

[CowHunter]

I did hear that the Coast Guard nabbed 20 plus boats in one day this past week... Boys were at it the very next day. Heard they were Max Fines too.... Agian Thats second hand info, wish they would post it somewhere online. Charter Captains brag about it down there. Fished a tourney 2 weeks ago and the fish moved over the line the second day, only 8 fish were caught. Should of saw the Charter Guys loads that came in that Poached....

[179]

Originally Posted by CowHunter

It is illegal to target striped bass in federal water, includes catch and release.....
Nowhere on the Striper coast is there such total disregard of the EEZ as in Virginia / North Carolina. I dont think people have any idea the damage being done by the poaching down south. The Charter Boats down there break the law every single day and brag about it. It is a shame. The entire biomass is concentrated down there in different schools, guys are running well beyond three miles, most 2 trips a day. If you guys just see the fish that are caught illegally and come in every day. The thurs before last I heard there were well over 100 boats fishing this area, some from Va and some from NC.

Report from VA beach last sat:

57 lb Striper caught by Dean Winstead of Chester, VA
54 lb Striper caught by Jennifer Cash of Virginia Beach, VA
52 lb Striper caught by Ray Pennell of Renton, NC
52 lb Striper caught by Adam Lehnert of Glen Allen, VA
50 lb Striper caught by Randy F. Berrier of Winston-Salem, NC
50 lb Striper caught by Jeffrey Mason of Manassas, VA
47 lb Striper caught by John E. Beland of Stafford, VA
46 lb Striper caught by Ken Sigler of Stafford, VA
45 lb Striper caught by Adam Lehnert of Glen Allen, VA
42 lb Striper caught by Richard D. Rheutan Jr. of Henrico, VA
41 lb Striper caught by Hames H. Bayles III of Sutherland, VA
40 lb 1 oz Striper caught by Franlin G. Goodwyn of Richmond, VA on the Sea Witch
40 lb Striper caught by Corey of Appomattox, VA


These were poached in one day... This is just from a handfull of boats at the VA fishing center. A small percentage that even report their catch...

Ill say it agian, more big fish down there are killed in the winter than the Northeast in a decade, easy...

Guess we keep Blaming the Mass Com Guys ;-)

You are 100% correct. Word for the past two weeks has been the fish are 6-8 miles off the beach, clearly outside the 3-mile limit. Virtually every Charter boat fished this area, most of the charters here are 50-70' boat so they are very easy to spot. CG did a couple flyovers which scared off the recreational boats but the Charters remained and were bragging about it with wink wink nod nod to each other. Several fish in the high 50s and low 60s were brought to the docks. Fishing enforcement here is a joke especially if you have a commercial license or a Charter boat.

[CowHunter]

People that never fished down there have to understand how you can run the nearly 100 miles from Rudy to Oregon Inlet and the sea is completely dead within the three miles, not a speck of life.... Offshore it is totally different story with all the bodies of fish, they are easy to find by either the incredible bird activity for miles or by the bait readings. The Poaching is so bad there, I cant believe that nobody is really making a stink about it. The Cptains and Mates Brag about it, they dont think the federal line applies to them. Guess they can make a run at it, 30, 50, 60 80 + boats, they cant get em all'... They run out an 1 hour or so, make 1,2,3,4,5 passes, get their limit, and turn around and head home. Done in less than an hour fishing at times, then turn around and get round 2. This is strictly meat fishing dragging 32-40+ oz jigs with tuna gear.. I wouldnt have a problem with these fish if they were caught legally.. They are not... There are a few boards where guys started to make a stink this year. Dont get me wrong, there were a few years when those fish stayed within 3 miles, not this year, nor last. The EEZ is one of the only thing that is really protecting the Striped Bass Stock. Just plain wrong what they are doing down there...

Below: From another Board....

The message below was sent to me from a friend that fished in Virginia 2 weeks ago. This is just sickening. Coincidentally, I was supposed to go on this trip but had to bail due to work obligations. I'm not posting this to bash the entire Virginia fishing fleet, as I'm sure there are some honest captains and mates. I'm just giving everyone a heads-up to make sure when you book a trip down there, to make certain you speak with the captain before you leave the dock:

We were celebrating our catches while eating lunch, heading back to the dock with our limit before 12:00. Suddenly we found ourselves in a situation in which the mate and captain were telling us that we were way out past the 3 mile limit. They were thinking about dumping the catch because their spotters notified them that the marine police were on the way out. Moments later a marine police unit was on top of our boat. It was about to prepare to board us when one of the boats next to us began tossing their fish overboard. The cops left our boat and went directly to that boat and boarded it. Our captain steamed away and when we where about two miles away, we watched in disbelief as the mate gutted out our fish and tossed them over board.

At least 5 other boats from the Virginia Beach fishing center did the same thing. The ones that brought in fish were out there fishing where we were but they got in before the marine police arrived. We were sickened by the entire experience. The Virginia Beach Fishing Center is a fraud. A bunch of cheats. The captain told us it is just what they do, no big deal to them. Up to the point of the senseless waste of fish, we were having a great time

[CowHunter]

People have to understand that the Charter Boats down there will sail every day even if they Know the fish are well past 3 miles. Its not like the rest of the Northeast where you can still catch fish Inshore of 3 miles at any given time, maybe not the big bodies of fish. Water temp and Bait dictate where those fish go, they have stayed offshore for the majority of the winter... Is it any different than 1 or 2 guys going out and poaching 20 fish in our area? The fish are not caught legally..

Why do you think they are trying to get the EEZ open to 12 miles down there???

[MAKAI]

You will never take greed out of humanity.
It 's a survival mechanism genetically built into us.
Real shame, an honor less society.
The root of most problems for mankind.
We don't deserve what we have.
Gaia will get rid of us soon enough.


Where did I park my starship ?

[Sea Dangles]

tournaments in that area now require a gps on board and operating all day which clerly indicates they fished inside the eez.If you don't have one, they let you borrow one.

[Sea Flat]

No joke, this thread is making me sick to my stomach. For the most part, all of the fishermen that I know really respect the fishery and this even includes some charter captains that I know. When I hear about people that are so short-sighted as the charter captains down south it makes me angry and disgusted. A simple law change is all that it would take to change everything down there. Severe penalties like a loss of license or boating privileges, maybe a substantial monetary fine in the 5 figure column would make the risk not worth the reward.

[CowHunter]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

tournaments in that area now require a gps on board and operating all day which clerly indicates they fished inside the eez.If you don't have one, they let you borrow one.

That was for the midatlantic Rockfish tourney, that was the first time its ever been done. The big brawls last year between guys fishing legit and guys that werent was the cause... Got real Ugly from Day 1... Wonder why the Participation is only a third of last year this year?

[intrepid24]

Originally Posted by 179

You are 100% correct. Word for the past two weeks has been the fish are 6-8 miles off the beach, clearly outside the 3-mile limit. Virtually every Charter boat fished this area, most of the charters here are 50-70' boat so they are very easy to spot. CG did a couple flyovers which scared off the recreational boats but the Charters remained and were bragging about it with wink wink nod nod to each other. Several fish in the high 50s and low 60s were brought to the docks. Fishing enforcement here is a joke especially if you have a commercial license or a Charter boat.

yikes !!!! thanks for shedding some light on the big picture.