Are the chickens comming home to roost? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

piemma · 06-19-2014, 01:36 AM

From Dave Pickering's blog

Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Tough Going from Shore
When a veteran of the Cape Cod Canal tells you that this is the worst fishing he has seen in over 60 years you know the fishery is in trouble. It's not only the Canal, but fishing for keeper bass in general is poor from shore regardless of where you are fishing.
I got back to the Canal yesterday and my son Matt fished there on Saturday. Matt hit a bit of luck as he landed a fish of about 20 lbs. when a pod of large fish started breaking right in front of him. I went there on Monday and did not fare as well. I landed 2 small schoolies, and those were the only fish I saw landed as my father and I fished an entire tide with poor results. We didn't see a single fish break water.
From what my friends are saying RI is not fishing much better. The exception is if you can find a school of menhaden close to shore and then you have a chance to find a large fish under them. At this point I know many real good fishermen who have not landed a keeper this year.
I am beginning to see many similarities to the 1980's when things got so bad that a moratorium was imposed. Back then keeper bass were disappearing so quickly that the fishery was closed to protect the fish we had. Let's hope we don't get to that point.
Posted by David Pickering at 7:15 PM

scottw · 06-19-2014, 05:22 AM

seems to be a consensus up and down the coast from shore folks that things are not so hot, the tendency was to suggest it was the cool weather and a late start...season to season, while there are some variations you can pretty much put the needle on the record in terms of how things progress, they've progressed this year in a similar fashion to previous except for the noticeable lack of bass... it's hard to know exactly what is happening as all of these stories are anecdotal and fishermen tend to think the sky is falling if they haven't hooked up in a few casts, particularly if they've spent a fortune on gear and "put their time in"....seems as though we've solved the bait problem, plenty of that around...I suspect the schools of fish that the boat folks are hammering are in ever more limited numbers...they have to be given the pics from the decks...I know that there are reports of acres and shoals of fish in certain areas but those are a drop in the bucket in the overall scheme of things and will become a target....we are just too efficient at talking them as they migrate up and down the coast and that trend is going to continue as their ability to replace what is taken can't keep up...I think it's like many other things...we'll need to hit rock bottom before we head in the other direction....I always figured the regulators, for the most part would err on the side of caution and the fishermen, for the most part would err on the side of maintaining what they enjoy....I think I thunk wrong

I've always felt that changing the culture through the clubs and shops and various events was the best way to improve things, and that seems to be taking place to some extent, maybe not fast enough and maybe over time..but for the reasons that many have pointed out, nothing will come from the regulators or many individuals until and if it truly reaches "crisis"

RIROCKHOUND · 06-19-2014, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottw

I think I thunk wrong

Not the first time, although on this post I agree.

In science we often say the plural of anecdote is NOT data, but the weight of evidence seems to agree with what a lot of us observe.

Talking to Paul and others who fished through the moratorium, it sure sounds like the past. Big, localized schools of fish, with barren spots elsewhere... A few people saying things are great, a lot of others concerned.

I grew up during the 'upswing' and remember clearly in the late 80's when bass were a big rarity for the surfcaster, and the slow re-emergence while we were targeting bluefish and the 'occasional' striper would be caught..

The drop in stock brought on the popularity of saltwater fly fishing... maybe the SWE will go back in that direction... If I was a custom plug builder, I might start tying flies...