Stripers Forever

[Mr. Sandman]

Where is the Black market numbers in this? You know, the undersized and illegal bass that are cleaned and sold to restaurants who don't hold buying permits? Oh, that does not exist I guess. Lets not be naive, this really exists and is being ignored. Also, when I see draggers working the shoals off Muskeget channel in late August and September I guess they don't catch any Striped bass at all huh? They don't seem to report any, that much I know and boats all around seem to be catching them.A few years ago draggers from Montauk and Point Judith were pounding the waters off of squibnocket, close to the beach < one mile at times. A beach goer/fishermen saw them several days in a row. He called the EPO. He looked into it. They claimed they were squid fishing. He went out there with the help of the USCG on a helicopter and got the numbers off the boat(s). He tracked one down in Point Jude when they got back. Guess what he had on-board? Hint: It was not squid. The problem is the penalty is not severe enough to make people stop...chances of being caught are slim, while the payoff can be good. Just make it a game fish and take the $ off the fishes head and 98% of this will stop.

The rec kill #'s make some assumptions that every fisherman is keeping his limit. Do you know how many Striped Bass I kept this year????? ZERO, NONE, NADA...Please adjust your numbers accordingly. Oh and I put over 400 hours on my boat this season. Nearly all of that was spent fishing. So I put some serious money into the economy and took mostly memories out of it.

The Banner statement below has the necessary "science" and "management" needed to make SB a healthy, stable as well as an economically and socially beneficial activity for all.
Your welcome in advance.

[Fly Rod]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman

Where is the Black market numbers in this? You know, the undersized and illegal bass that are cleaned and sold to restaurants who don't hold buying permits? Oh, that does not exist I guess. Lets not be naive, this really exists and is being ignored. Also, when I see draggers working the shoals off Muskeget channel in late August and September I guess they don't catch any Striped bass at all huh? They don't seem to report any, that much I know and boats all around seem to be catching them.A few years ago draggers from Montauk and Point Judith were pounding the waters off of squibnocket, close to the beach < one mile at times. A beach goer/fishermen saw them several days in a row. He called the EPO. He looked into it. They claimed they were squid fishing. He went out there with the help of the USCG on a helicopter and got the numbers off the boat(s). He tracked one down in Point Jude when they got back. Guess what he had on-board? Hint: It was not squid. The problem is the penalty is not severe enough to make people stop...chances of being caught are slim, while the payoff can be good. Just make it a game fish and take the $ off the fishes head and 98% of this will stop.
Your welcome in advance.

Lets not go overboard on this and add the draggers to this, they are illegally fishing for stripers any way. If you want to add them into the equasion lets add the recreational and illegals that take under size fish home. Maybe we need homeland security in on this.

[toaster816]

Fly Rod what species are you going to target to pay for your gas oil and dock fees when you can't find a striper anymore? Do you not agree that the striper fishery isn't sustainable at the current rate that both the rec's and comm's are pressuring it at? It is a valuable fish to both of us it seems, wouldn't you want to do what you can today to save it for future generations?

[OLD GOAT]

The last time I drove down Old Commers rd. in Chatham during the commercial season there where as many out of state # plates as in state plates and they where parking for the (big kill) commercial bass season.
When I see $150,000 or more parked along the road it sounds like STORY TIME fishing.
New boat,new trailer,new boat.150,000---catch---maybe5,000 -10,000???
do the math

[Fly Rod]

Originally Posted by toaster816

Fly Rod what species are you going to target to pay for your gas oil and dock fees when you can't find a striper anymore? Do you not agree that the striper fishery isn't sustainable at the current rate that both the rec's and comm's are pressuring it at? It is a valuable fish to both of us it seems, wouldn't you want to do what you can today to save it for future generations?

The fishery will out last me. There are plenty of stripers around. Your just not fishing where they are. Shore fishermen will not catch the fish that you would from a boat. On most any given day when I recreational fish I can catch 24-30 stripers in the three to four hours that I am out there, I get tired of reeling them in and most are under 28"and they all get thrown back, I do not eat striper and once in a while I will give one away, a keeper that is.

When I go commercially very, very few of the fish I catch are under 38", virtually no discard, maybe a half dozen during the commercial season may be under 34", it averages less then one fish per day.


How many do you throw back to get one keeper???

There is nothing more relaxing then to be on the water in the summer relaxing at a sport that one enjoys, hauling in a dozen or so fish worth three bucks a pound and making about seventy bucks per fish, then taking out the wife to have a nice steak dinner on the deck of a lounge and watch a boat or two go by.

I'm more worried about not fishing for cod commercially.

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by Fly Rod

I'm more worried about not fishing for cod commercially.

Why? The same guys have been counting both populations.

[toaster816]

Originally Posted by Fly Rod

The fishery will out last me. There are plenty of stripers around. Your just not fishing where they are. Shore fishermen will not catch the fish that you would from a boat. On most any given day when I recreational fish I can catch 24-30 stripers in the three to four hours that I am out there, I get tired of reeling them in and most are under 28"and they all get thrown back, I do not eat striper and once in a while I will give one away, a keeper that is.

When I go commercially very, very few of the fish I catch are under 38", virtually no discard, maybe a half dozen during the commercial season may be under 34", it averages less then one fish per day.


How many do you throw back to get one keeper???

There is nothing more relaxing then to be on the water in the summer relaxing at a sport that one enjoys, hauling in a dozen or so fish worth three bucks a pound and making about seventy bucks per fish, then taking out the wife to have a nice steak dinner on the deck of a lounge and watch a boat or two go by.

I'm more worried about not fishing for cod commercially.

That's the difference between you and I my friend. I see more value in a 23 pound striped bass than seventy bucks. Enjoy the steak dinners with your wife while you can.

[piemma]

[QUOTE=Mr. Sandman;905160]Where is the Black market numbers in this?

AH HA!!

now you hit the real issue. If the Striper became a game fish then there would be no Black Market. You can't sell them in the Black market if they don't sell them legally. No restaurant owner would buy a fish that cannot be sold anywhere. Problem solved.

Make it a damn gamefish and stop the nonsense of arguing whose to blame. It don't matter who's to blame. Just stop the killing, make it C&R and the problem is solved. And all the comms, who I have no problem with making money on fish, should then go and kill scup.