Live Pogie Fishing - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

Nebe · 07-10-2008, 02:16 PM

So if we can all take a view into the crystal ball and see what the bass stocks are like in say 10 years if the menhaden cycle stays like it has the past 2 years, where do all of you see the bass stocks??

This is the way I see it- JohnR, I hope you own the rights to www.blue-fish.com

zacs · 07-10-2008, 02:27 PM

i don't get it.....

first the problem is that we don't have enough bait.... fishery is in trouble....

now we have too much bait and the fishery is in trouble.?..?.

JFigliuolo · 07-10-2008, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebe

So if we can all take a view into the crystal ball and see what the bass stocks are like in say 10 years if the menhaden cycle stays like it has the past 2 years, where do all of you see the bass stocks??

This is the way I see it- JohnR, I hope you own the rights to www.blue-fish.com

Just my uninformed opinion... right now, the bunker are in the worst possible position. There are enough of them so the bass are feeding on them and geting fat and healthy. BUT, the schools of bunker are not vast enough to spread out and spread the bass out. Therefore, they make it as easy as shooting fish in a barrel to kill ALLOT of big bass. For the basses sake, more (or less) bunker is in their long term interest. Due only to man's greed and foolishness.

RIJIMMY · 07-10-2008, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFigliuolo

Just my uninformed opinion... right now, the bunker are in the worst possible position. There are enough of them so the bass are feeding on them and geting fat and healthy. BUT, the schools of bunker are not vast enough to spread out and spread the bass out. Therefore, they make it as easy as shooting fish in a barrel to kill ALLOT of big bass. For the basses sake, more (or less) bunker is in their long term interest. Due only to man's greed and foolishness.

I think the situation is exaggerated. For a few weeks, people were getting a lot of bass in the 20s in one very, very small area, in a very, very small state. Is that really an indication of the entire bass population? This year it was Providence, last year it was somewhere else, the year before somewhere else. JF - the bass populations IS spread out. I have been doing very well this year and fishing NOWHERE near the bunker schools. I get bait and go a few miles away to fish, no bunker around at all except in my livewell.
People used to slay bass on Herring in the canal for years, did that cause a major issue in the fishery?

I truly dont know, but I think opinions are being formed on a small sampling of a large population and geographic area.

striperman36 · 07-10-2008, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

I think the situation is exaggerated. For a few weeks, people were getting a lot of bass in the 20s in one very, very small area, in a very, very small state. Is that really an indication of the entire bass population? This year it was Providence, last year it was somewhere else, the year before somewhere else. JF - the bass populations IS spread out. I have been doing very well this year and fishing NOWHERE near the bunker schools. I get bait and go a few miles away to fish, no bunker around at all except in my livewell.
People used to slay bass on Herring in the canal for years, did that cause a major issue in the fishery?

I truly dont know, but I think opinions are being formed on a small sampling of a large population and geographic area.

The only reason you are catching fish is because you bought a boat, and boat fishing is easy

RIJIMMY · 07-10-2008, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by striperman36

The only reason you are catching fish is because you bought a boat, and boat fishing is easy

when I go out at 3:30am, my marina is full, when I come in, my marina is mostly full. The reason I am catching fish is because I am trying. There are lots of boat guys not catching squat.

dar3 · 07-10-2008, 06:39 PM

RIJIMMY I agree with you all the way and boat fishing is not as easy as everybody thinks. I am not going to start a controversie on that but I will say the same get the bait and go snag for two hours get bait keep alive in tank find fish control boat look out for others not crashing into you etc. That is alot of the reason I fish at night. Live pogies rule. I am glad they are back anad yes they are breaking up also not all the bunker were in the big city all year it just appeared that way.

Peace
DR3

striperman36 · 07-11-2008, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

when I go out at 3:30am, my marina is full, when I come in, my marina is mostly full. The reason I am catching fish is because I am trying. There are lots of boat guys not catching squat.

Maybe they catch fish while you are gone and come back before you?

piemma · 07-11-2008, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFigliuolo

Just my uninformed opinion... right now, the bunker are in the worst possible position. There are enough of them so the bass are feeding on them and geting fat and healthy. BUT, the schools of bunker are not vast enough to spread out and spread the bass out. Therefore, they make it as easy as shooting fish in a barrel to kill ALLOT of big bass. For the basses sake, more (or less) bunker is in their long term interest. Due only to man's greed and foolishness.

JF:
I agree with you that it was that way a month ago. It's no longer easy to find bass. The water is over 70 degrees in the Bay and the bass have headed for deep water. You can still get good fish but it's no longer a sure thing.
I am glad the bass spread out. I was fed up with them jamokes snagging and dropping. Now you need to get your pogies and then figure out when the big girls are hiding.
....and another thing. I am sick and tired of hearing all this whining about live lining is cheating. If it is (and IT ISN'T) then live eels are cheating and chunking mackeral is cheating and Tube and worm is cheating and clam bellies are cheating. Come on give it a break. It's all fishing. If you don't like it, don't do it.

nightfighter · 07-11-2008, 08:16 AM

My original comment was a sarcastic joke, that it was ALMOST like cheating, due to the thrill this particular type of fishing gives me..... bunker goes down, then realizes he is on bottom of food chain, surfaces like a submarine in an emergency, chase, swirls, pops, jumps, then drag screams like it's hooked to a freight train! Just my take on it. And the hunt for the bunker are just as important and satisfying. All this before work!

Might be coming to a quick end up here though. Two more pogie boats in th harbor today, both from Gloucester, trawling or seining as much in aone set as the local guy was doing in a month...... sux.

Fun while it lasted, but it will be time to change gears within a couple of days. Back to fooling them with plugs and rubber!

piemma · 07-11-2008, 09:13 AM

Ross:
My commets were not directed at you. I know you well enough to be able to read "tongue in cheek".
Sounds like you are having a great year. Us also. You get to little RI, ping me. You know you are welcome on my boat anytime.

vanstaal · 07-10-2008, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebe

So if we can all take a view into the crystal ball and see what the bass stocks are like in say 10 years if the menhaden cycle stays like it has the past 2 years, where do all of you see the bass stocks??

This is the way I see it- JohnR, I hope you own the rights to www.blue-fish.com

the way I see it we should be able to take a number of small ones and leave the large one there to lay more eggs!
from the shore is the only way to go with artificial's now I consider that
fishing in the true sense of the word.
now don't you all go crazy on me thats the way I see it ! my .02

likwid · 07-10-2008, 02:31 PM

slot slot slot slot slot slot slot

Rockport24 · 07-10-2008, 02:54 PM

I think the big bass slaying is only going on in certain spots and pretty much only a boat game. From what I've read about the years leading up to the moratorium, a lot more people were into big bass from shore and boat. Plus, there were less comm regulations and such too right? And wasn't a keeper 16 inches for like a lot of years before that too?
I just find it hard to believe we are headed down the same path as those days.

nightfighter · 07-10-2008, 03:38 PM

And then there are days like today. Very different than yesterday.... NW wind was up early, no bunker finning = no bunker snagged = no bass caught with bunker, even fresh dead bunker. Did hit on a school of small fish that were feeding on bait identical to the 2 oz. crippled herring lure. So I'm seeing healthy representation in all sizes of the stock here.

If the bunker are there, the fish will be there. I'm snagging the bunker to get them, as are 90% of the recs I see. And IMO the majority of the recs with live bunker immediately head out, away from where they got the bunker, and away from the fish.... (I do laugh when I see those boats steam out of the harbor, because they seem to get maybe one fish for every five bunker they fish.) And snagging them is not an efficient way of gathering bait. But it is part of my 'quest' in the early hours before the rest of the world gets up.

Comm season gets going on the 13th. (I do not hold a comm license BTW) Then it's a different game out there. But I'm not seeing any slaughter being done by the other recs. I like to think I've just been lucky so far.