Maryland YOY index

[finchaser]

http://www.onthewater.com/maryland-striped-bass-juvenile-index-is-eighth-highest-on-record/#.Vh2AlinDybM.mailto

[nitestrikes]

That means in 2022-2023 the fishing will be fantastic again. Whoopee.

[buckethead]

6-8 years for those fish to reach maturity. The other year classes have lots of gaps. The ASMFC will use that as proof that the striped bass are in great shape.

[voyager35]

That is a long time to wait for the fishery to turn around. Some charter captains could starve and go out of business during that period. There is already a herd mentality when it comes to party boat fares. Many folks are staying home until they see that the majority of boats did well. This hurts the industry. my .02

[finchaser]

That is a long time to wait for the fishery to turn around. Some charter captains could starve and go out of business during that period. There is already a herd mentality when it comes to party boat fares. Many folks are staying home until they see that the majority of boats did well. This hurts the industry. my .02

Oh well they wiped them out with greed they made there bed now they can lay in it just my.02

[DarkSkies]

I appreciate Fin finding the time to post these things up for us. I haven't had much time to read these posts or comment lately.

This is just my opinion, and experience from what I have seen....

1. The last "great" YOY year was 2011.

2. The YOY results from 2015 are very positive and encouraging. I'm happy to see that. :thumbsup:

3. However, it will take a long time for these juvenile fry to mature to where they are producing new offspring.

4. In the meantime, as has been said, the striped bass fishing that most of us are seeing, has declined steadily for the last 8-10 years, depending on who you talk to.

5. There are those who claim otherwise. I find that the more strongly they claim the health of the fishery, the more likely you will find a commercial or financial agenda, if you dig into the background of the person making the claim.

6. Even the most casual fishermen you talk to now, seem to agree the "runs" in Fall and Spring are not what they used to be.

7. The rest of us, some of whom are retired or fish almost daily during the Season..... know the population is in trouble. There are many places that do not hold fish like they used to. You can only blame sand replenishment for so much of that, and then that argument falls apart.

EX - The Earle Navy Pier - over the years...I've been fortunate to befriend some of the old timers who fish that pier, every night........
Some of them have complained to me that this year, 2015, is the worst fishing they've experienced in the last 20 years....that's a pretty strong statement to make.....these guys know how to catch fish...and when to be there.....they have earned credibility...


8. Overall, I think that most rational fishermen know that the striped bass population is in some degree of trouble. The moves made to restrict quota may fix that, or not.
My main concern is the large gaps in certain year classes of the bass population. This is evident to me every time I'm out there catching and the sizes I see represented.











**Please, if you see someone on the internet using the 2015 YOY as an excuse that the stripers are "healthier than ever"..... feel free to C&P some of the points I made here....

Or better yet...invite him...and yourself...to the next striped bass meeting...and let your voices be heard....
Thanks for reading.......:HappyWave:

[jigfreak]

7. The rest of us, some of whom are retired or fish almost daily during the Season..... know the population is in trouble. There are many places that do not hold fish like they used to. You can only blame sand replenishment for so much of that, and then that argument falls apart.

EX - The Earle Navy Pier - over the years...I've been fortunate to befriend some of the old timers who fish that pier, every night........
Some of them have complained to me that this year, 2015, is the worst fishing they've experienced in the last 20 years....that's a pretty strong statement to make.....these guys know how to catch fish...and when to be there.....they have earned credibility...


8. Overall, I think that most rational fishermen know that the striped bass population is in some degree of trouble. The moves made to restrict quota may fix that, or not.
My main concern is the large gaps in certain year classes of the bass population. This is evident to me every time I'm out there catching and the sizes I see represented.


I agree with this 1000%
Sorry to hear things have gotten that bad at earle. My wife's uncle used to pull some big stripers from there in the 90's.

[dogfish]

8. Overall, I think that most rational fishermen know that the striped bass population is in some degree of trouble. The moves made to restrict quota may fix that, or not.
My main concern is the large gaps in certain year classes of the bass population.

Gaps- Seeing that too, esp this year and last. The size I see most is the 20-30 pound class. Rarely see a 40 or 50 pound fish caught anymore. I think most of them have been wiped out.

[captnemo]

I agree with the above. I can't remember the last time I recall numbers of 50 or 60# stripers being weighed in.

[porgy75]

This might seem like a stupid question. Why cant they just agree on one size of stripers to protect and do that for the whole coast?

[rockhopper]

Speaking of gaps, this is something that you guys might be interested in. Usually for the fall here we have big stripers for a while and then the small ones come by. My buds have been nailing them, big ones at night. This morning I only got runts. I guess some others are doing better but its puzzling to me. There should be more big stripers.
This was a report from moriches
"Fished the last half of the incoming this morning constant action with fish in the 24 to 26 inch range probably threw back 20 to 25 of them. Where are all the big fish at??????? try again tomorrow!!!!"

[Monty]

Speaking of gaps, this is something that you guys might be interested in. Usually for the fall here we have big stripers for a while and then the small ones come by. My buds have been nailing them, big ones at night. This morning I only got runts. I guess some others are doing better but its puzzling to me. There should be more big stripers.
This was a report from moriches
"Fished the last half of the incoming this morning constant action with fish in the 24 to 26 inch range probably threw back 20 to 25 of them. Where are all the big fish at??????? try again tomorrow!!!!"
A friend and me released 27 this morning between 22" and 28", most of them were in the 24 and 26 cookie cutter range. One at 34 inches.
Was lots of fun, but we experienced exactly what you said.

[ledhead36]

Well here's what I have to say about that. For the last few falls the fishing has got worse. By this time in the year beginning in September I would usually have caught 50 keepers for the fall. Just my numbers. The month of october is when the big fish come into the bay to feed on all the bait before they head south. This october has sucked for us so far. We are managing just a few. September was non existent. Very few fish for the whole month of fishing.

[basshunter]

Wow that is eye opening, gents. Thanks for sharing.

[buckethead]

Remember that a captain or tackle shop owner has to exaggerate. Nowadays most folks won't come out to fish unless they hear of blitzes. I am starting to see some crowds on the nicer mornings. They are really light for what should be a prime time push of fish in the fall. Guessing because most hear the fishing is sporadic and they don't want to work for one or two fish.

[VSdreams]

Thanks for the honesty fellaz. Is there any way to get the striper population back on track? Suppose they made it a trophy striper fish all along the East Coast do you think that would turn things around?

[buckethead]

The very first thing that could be done would be for NJ to recognize the problem and get on board with the regs followed by other states. One at 28" up and down the whole east coast might be enough to save this fishery. The problem is you have folks like Tom Fote standing in the way of that.

[cowherder]

Agreed. We do seem pretty greedy if other states are only keeping one. And now the NJ bonus tags kicked back in so guys can keep 24 inch fish?