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I will stand on the soap box of the Numbskull, any time. Science, and the lessons of history tell us uncomfortable lessons, that even a Numbskull can understand if you have a mind to be objective.
Here is a history: In the early 1800's, the disastrous harvest and kill "recreational" fishery (along with dam building) forever wiped out the gene pool of northern New England and Maine 10 pound squaretails (brook trout), and 25 pound landlocked salmon. Gone. No amount of subsequent great fisheries management can recover this. Would you like some 11 inch brookies, no problem says our fisheries managers. How about a "trophy" four pound Lake Winnie landlock? You might have to troll all year for that one. Are you happy? Not if you lived through "back then".
Are you happy with the present status of our "fully recovered" striped bass fishery? Not if you are as old as Daignault, or myself. Are you impressed by the shear numbers of all these baby bass running around, while your gene pool access to... or chance for... a dozen or so 40's plus beach bass per season...just sinks. Now it seems pure luck to blunder across even an occasiuonal 30.
So, IF you are so fortunate or expert to be looking into that angry eye of your trophy bass this coming season, remember that you are looking at the gene pool. It is not all gone yet. This is what the Numbskull said in words a little more docile than mine. But then again, he isn't as old as I am. He does not know that he missed.
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