Last call....2018

[SAUERKRAUT]

Observations:
There was no fall striper run again this year. The 5 week long MV BASS & BLUEFISH DERBY was again a sad joke of results. Almost a non existent bait biomass in upper Cape waters this Fall. Usually, east end of Canal is alive, whether, and long after, fish have pushed through. Non existent sand eel beaches, essentially all year. My brother on the NJ Shore says the same thing re sand eels; and his inshore fishing is awful.

I only caught two bluefish this entire year (both alligator size)! What's up with that?

Having gone to college in RI a century ago, I have a working knowledge of its shore. I have started, again, ending my season commuting from the Cape to SOCO. It's tough on me to see virtually everybody on the beach with largemouth bass sized tackle, casting tiny lures, and hoping to catch a 28" "keeper" sized "big bass", instead of the available 15-20" jiggler bass. I was there yesterday: Fun to be on a beach; fun to be around several other enthusiastic pilgrims similarly engaged; etc.

We avocationals/recreationals spend a lot of money doing this. In my mind, I lay the blame of a declining and destroyed striped bass fishery entirely at the feet of the greed and avarice of the commercial fishing industry, its participants, and their bureaucratic allies in State and Federal Fisheries Mismanagement.

Make Striped Bass a Game Fish.

[JFigliuolo]

Originally Posted by SAUERKRAUT

Observations:
There was no fall striper run again this year. The 5 week long MV BASS & BLUEFISH DERBY was again a sad joke of results. Almost a non existent bait biomass in upper Cape waters this Fall. Usually, east end of Canal is alive, whether, and long after, fish have pushed through. Non existent sand eel beaches, essentially all year. My brother on the NJ Shore says the same thing re sand eels; and his inshore fishing is awful.

I only caught two bluefish this entire year (both alligator size)! What's up with that?

Having gone to college in RI a century ago, I have a working knowledge of its shore. I have started, again, ending my season commuting from the Cape to SOCO. It's tough on me to see virtually everybody on the beach with largemouth bass sized tackle, casting tiny lures, and hoping to catch a 28" "keeper" sized "big bass", instead of the available 15-20" jiggler bass. I was there yesterday: Fun to be on a beach; fun to be around several other enthusiastic pilgrims similarly engaged; etc.

We avocationals/recreationals spend a lot of money doing this. In my mind, I lay the blame of a declining and destroyed striped bass fishery entirely at the feet of the greed and avarice of the commercial fishing industry, its participants, and their bureaucratic allies in State and Federal Fisheries Mismanagement.

Make Striped Bass a Game Fish.

A very wise man once told me when you point a finger at someone... there are four others pointing right back at you.

Commercials, Rec, rec-for-hire. We all have a share of the blame. No one group is the devil and no one group is immune.

My bass season was dismal again this year in RI.
I share your feeling of disgust.

I see commercial greed. I also see the biomass hammered by rec's in the canal, out on block, and outside the EEZ down south.

If you want to stop the killing stop ALL the killing.

[Clammer]

No worries with you capt. Joey .But we did try to help ya

[fishrick]

Weather has been a bear this fall as all of you had said. Wanted to do a boat tog trip, but in a 17 footer, gotta have decent conditions. Finally got it out yesterday for a small window, and after watching a few u-tube's by Skinner, managed a nice limit of tog on jigs and light spinning gear. What a gas!! Great fights, and figured out what a hit by a tog felt like, as opposed to the bait mangling small stuff. Just put the boat in the garage...going hunting next week, so calling it. May use the fly rod for a few December outings.

[rphud]

silly stick in December, I was just thinking the same thing, since folks were "talking" about a certain place

[JFigliuolo]

Originally Posted by Clammer

No worries with you capt. Joey .But we did try to help ya

I can shut down a bite like no other...

[Clammer]

JF hope all is well & getting better …………….Its guys like you I take their picture for ><>

if you can grab a day … we can go fun fish for practice ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[bobber]

I'm done for the year- will still try some freshwater stuff, and might be tempted into some river/holdovers but that's not really my kinda thing. wouldn't mind if they closed the rivers to fishing over the winter, actually

[bart]

Originally Posted by SAUERKRAUT

We avocationals/recreationals spend a lot of money doing this. In my mind, I lay the blame of a declining and destroyed striped bass fishery entirely at the feet of the greed and avarice of the commercial fishing industry, its participants, and their bureaucratic allies in State and Federal Fisheries Mismanagement.

Make Striped Bass a Game Fish.

So you’re dismissing what recs do at the Canal and the Block all summer long? Charters, party boats hammering away at big breeder bass Every. Single. Day. And then you have spearfishermen from around the world taking their pick of 40-50# fish at the Block, again, all summer long. You’re saying that type of pressure on those two biomasses isn’t significant? Excuse me if I fail to see the logic in that.

While I don’t agree with, and downright despise certain types of commercial fishing, I’d say rod and reel is a drop in the bucket compared to rec harvest and most other comm methodologies.

I do agree that it’s been another terrible fall run for big bass, though. Tons of small fish so it’s hard for me to say the fishery is going to tank, but I’m sure we all agree to some extent that the fishing should be much better.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[zimmy]

Originally Posted by bart

So you’re dismissing what recs do... Excuse me if I fail to see the logic in that.


Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

The harvest numbers show that recs harvest substantially more bass than commercials. This was to even a greater degree when recs could catch bass from shore up and down the coast from about 2000 to 2010. One can argue that both are to blame, but it is factually incorrect that commercial harvest is solely responsible.