OK--you're king for a day

[Crafty Angler]

Originally Posted by Mike P

How would you manage the bass fishery, if you had the ultimate power in your hot little hands. The two threads ongoing are getting kind of cluttered.

After thinking it over, here would be what I would decree:

Coastwide recreational slot limit, two fish per day, 20" to 26".

Coastwide trophy tag system, each angler gets 5 tags annually to use on fish 40" plus. This would allow anglers to keep a fish of a lifetime, and fish a tournament or two, but you'd have to choose your trophies wisely.

The cost of printing, distributing and managing the tags would be paid out of what's inevitably going to get shoved down our throats, like it or not--a SW license.

I would leave whether to have a commercial fishery to the states. Gamefish states, however, get no extra consideration and no additional trophy tags for their anglers.

I would limit participation to people that derive at least 50% of their gross annual income from the sale of fin and shellfish. Commercial fishing will mean exactly that, not a means for recs to defray the cost of a hobby.

I'd let each state decide its own commercial size/bag limits.

Quotas would remain as currently distributed.

The EEZ ban makes no sense to me. As long as the fish count against some state's quota it seems immaterial to me where they're caught.

Ah, the man who would be king!

I dunno, counselor, but I think all around the board I'm with you

The only problem I can see with it is that it makes such good sense for the fishery that it would most certainly never be adopted

There must be an advisory board somewhere that could use one good man (hint, hint).

[Clogston29]

i agree with all mike's ideas

but seeing that the trophy tag would be so hard to enforce, i'd make it one slot fish at 20-26" and either a second at 20-26" or a second fish at over 40". that would allow you to keep a "table size" fish and still keep a large fish if you get one later.

[ThrowingTimber]

1 at 36" and get some of those Bad Ass maine cops to enforce. The kind that will sit in your driveway, board your boat, video you on rocks that would be outstanding

and draggers would be pushed 20 miles off

and I'd be able to walk on water

[WoodyCT]

[QUOTE=ThrowingTimber;607475] ...get some of those Bad Ass maine cops to enforce. The kind that will sit in your driveway, board your boat, video you on rocks... QUOTE]

... but it's not likely in CT, and maybe RI, where so little of the state's income is from natural resources. Costs outway the benefits to our legislators.

Maine, and other rural states that rely on out of state money from sportsmen, has to protect the resource to keep the dollars coming up I-95.

But it's nice to dream about a perfect world.

Woody

PS I like Mike's ideas, but would be inclined to eliminate the commercial fishery for stripers all together for they must do more for the economy as a sport fish than as a food fish.