Is this the begining of the end? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

JFigliuolo · 07-23-2008, 01:51 PM

Flap,

that's good news that the fish are on the cape... I'm not overly concerned that thery are not in my back yard, well hell, my back yard (and the hour and change between me and the ocean) is all forest anyway. Be kind of odd to find bass there.

I like hearing the bass are somewhere in numbers. Since I don't travel in your circles, nor do I drive out to the cape I wouldn't know.

Kind of the purpose of this thread, to get a feeling about "the big picture".

JoeP · 07-23-2008, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve

JF, I agree ! This is the 3 rd season in a row for me that has been lousy. What scares me the most is that there is not alot of small bass around.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFigliuolo

By far my worst season, after 2 poor seasons. I'm still seeing small fish, but not alot in areas that used to hold quite a few.

Sounds exactly like my 2006, 2007, and 2008 seasons! 2005 was great - since then horrible...

And I know others (not fishing the bunker schools in boats) saying the same thing.

I am definitely concerned.

Mike P · 07-23-2008, 03:42 PM

Look at it this way--as late as 2005, you had a spawn that would have been in the top 5 prior to anything before 1989. And last year was a solid, above average spawn. In the 60s it would have rated as a great spawn.

All of those fish couldn't have died in some cataclysmic tragedy without someone seeing the evidence of it, and they are still too small to have been legally harvested anywhere--even in MD with its 18" limit.

That YOY chart, also, is just for Chesapeake fish. It doesn't take Hudson and the minor river systems into account, and the Hudson has had some very good spawns of late.

RIJIMMY · 07-23-2008, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeP

Sounds exactly like my 2006, 2007, and 2008 seasons! 2005 was great - since then horrible...

And I know others (not fishing the bunker schools in boats) saying the same thing.

I am definitely concerned.

I'm confused...isnt the success of the boats using bunker indcaitive of plenty of fish? To the points made earlier, just because people are not catching fish doesnt mean there were no fish. The fish were in RI in large numbers from May through the first week of July.

Its seems that ever since the bunker showed up in RI, the surf fishing slowed down, its been the same discussion out here for over 3 years. I think that is a different discussion than the health of the striper population.

JoeP · 07-23-2008, 04:11 PM

Jim. Without typing too much here - combine all that was said above with all the large fish being killed and what Steve is saying - as well as problems here & there all over (i.e. Maine this year): and I think there is an overall over-fishing problem brewing. Just my opinion.

Many more anglers the past several years; less restrictive size regulations (i.e. 2 fish @ 28" here in RI); gradual increase in commercial quotas; etc., etc. = the concern.

steve · 07-23-2008, 04:14 PM

RIJimmy- I think the bunker in Gansett bay has alot to do with the surf fishing or lack there of along the narraganstt shoreline. Oh, and if you want some doom and gloom reports on striper fishing, talk to surf guys who fish Rhody's south shore, bass fishing stinks down there and has been for the last couple of years. It is not even a consideration for my surf trips anymore, not even in the fabulous fall. Also, I talk to a fishing writer every week so as to give a surf report for my area for a prominent weekly saltwater magazine. He tells me that most of the surf reports from Ct. to Maine have generally been poor for the past 6 weeks. He believes there is a real problem.

Rockport24 · 07-23-2008, 04:22 PM

ya know it would be nice if there were fish everywhere (both on and off shore, up and down the coast) but was it ever really like that? Even in the so called "Glory Days" (I'm not being flip at all here, I'm a relative newbie just wondering)

steve · 07-23-2008, 04:32 PM

It was much more consistent then, then it is now, believe me. Case in point- Looking and comparing logs for 1998/2008 seasons - month of april- 212 bass. 2008- so far- 143 fish.. 1998- June- 14 trips- 62 bass-- 2008- 15 trips- 13 bass. Biggest bass in June 1998- 41 pounds. Biggest bass this jUNE,'08- 18 pounds. and so on.....

Flaptail · 07-23-2008, 04:41 PM

Flap is lucky and gratefull the fish came this far this year and last.

And also very very lucky and gratefull to have four very close friends who network, keep thier mouths shut and go where no man goes and take me along with them as I take them with me. They are the best fishermen I ever knew in trems of combination of skill, determination and never quitting. Optimism is a central bonding trait.

One thing noticed also is that people stop fishing in the season too early be it the call afield to hunt or the cold I don't know but they do finish way too early in my opinion. Maybe they are just plain beat from the whole trip and had enough. Thankfully I can never have enough.

Brian L · 07-24-2008, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve

RIJimmy- I think the bunker in Gansett bay has alot to do with the surf fishing or lack there of along the narraganstt shoreline. Oh, and if you want some doom and gloom reports on striper fishing, talk to surf guys who fish Rhody's south shore, bass fishing stinks down there and has been for the last couple of years. It is not even a consideration for my surf trips anymore, not even in the fabulous fall. Also, I talk to a fishing writer every week so as to give a surf report for my area for a prominent weekly saltwater magazine. He tells me that most of the surf reports from Ct. to Maine have generally been poor for the past 6 weeks. He believes there is a real problem.

I believe boat guys on the south shore would tell you something completely different. It's been a very consistantly good season out there for us, Steve. I'd say it's been good for the last three years, too, with this year being the best of the three. I've not seen fishing like 2000 and 2001, but I think it's more because I'm not out there nearly as much as I was in those years. Fall is always tougher out there by boat(at least during the day), as the blues show up and are hard to fish through, and I can't always get out there on windy days in my 18 ft'er, so I can't comment on the fall fishing as much. I do prefer Jun-July over the fall out there by boat, but most beach guys say they like the fall there better.

I'm tending to agree that bait is more offshore, since I've seen tons of fish nearly everytime I've been out in the boat this year. It was slow early in the year, but I believe that was water temp related more than anything. Water was cool until June. Unless I've been very lucky, SoCo's been very good by boat since early June, Steve.

I agree with Backbeach and think overall that we could be getting a bit Chicken Little here. The fisheries management is different, as is the management of the spawning grounds vs. the last decline. From reading here, it just seems as if the fish are in different areas than usual.

steve · 07-23-2008, 03:39 PM

JF- Flaptail is lucky. He's one of the only surf guys that is having agood year so far. I work in a tackle shop and hear alot. Most I've spoken to have not done well in RI since May which was very good by the way. April was good also for schoolies in RI but they have disappeared. I guess they are on the Cape.