Striper meeting rant.

[dannyplug1]

I went to the RI bass meeting at URI last night. I came home tired, frustrated and angry. I need to vent I have three main issues. First I am tired of fishermen who complain of this years bad fishing (in my case I have seen the fishing getting worse every year for the last four years with this being abysmal) and don't do any thing about it. Yet they will bitch about it on the internet or to their buddy's or other people who cant effect any changes. Second am very disappointed at by RISSA leadership who supported the some of the charter guys in advocating a two fish bag limit as opposed to a reduction to one fish. What a sell out the majority of your members are Rec guys not charter guys. Guess the rec guys don't purchase adds in your new letters. Third I am disappointed with some of the charter guys who complain that a reduction in bag limits will stop customers from supporting their businesses if they cant take enough fish flesh. What an incredibly short sided view: fish for bass when there in short supply and when they're gone fish for something else. Oh that worked well for cod. Yeah right the old cod guys fish for bass because the cod are for the most part gone. What will you guys do when bass fishery is closed because there are no bass? Fish for choggies, and spider crabs? In summing up my rant. All of us have to bite the conservation bullet. If we don't we could become like the English. They have magazines like our NEF that have cover shots of happy anglers holding up big skates for the camera. The also have clubs for conger eel and tope (sand shark). If we don't act now and decisively for the bass this could be our future. GOD I HOPE NOT!