small fish

[plugcrazy]

They are putting lots of restrictions on what we can catch and the size we can keep. In the last year would you say you caught more schoolies or cows?

Are these restrictions helping to increase the population or will it take years to show?

[Monty]

For every Ten shorts I got one keeper size bass this year for me. There seemed to be more fish around the 26"-28" mark than years passed.

[gjb1969]

well this is what i think with regs the way they are we take the big fish that can produce vast amounts of eggs so i think it will show at one point or another so if u8 keep removing the cows all u are left with is mid size fish to rats so with regs going bigger is better it will come back and bite us in the a$$ the way they manage is all messed up to say the least i only got a few bass last year and yes they were a little smaller but not by much and i did not fish that much

[fishinmission78]

Didn't see the small runts in numbers until the fall.

[vpass]

Last year most of my fish were in the 24/25 inch to 27 inch rang. I caught 3 keepers last year.

This year it about the same, but a lot more 27 to 28 inch fish. I believe I caught more then 8 keeper this year I wasn't always measuring, but many real close to keeper size. I kept 4 this year, and that the most I ever kept.

For the last 2 years there were almost no fish below 22 inches. In years past there were consistent catches of fish from 20 to 24 inches, but it could be that I'm fishing different place that may have larger fish.

[surfwalker]

The bulk of my Bass catch this past year was made up of mainly 13" to 26", with quite a few in the 27" range. I did get more keeper size and above (all released) this year than in the past few years.
Are the restrictions helping the population? I guess to a certain point, but there are an awful lot of people keeping Bass. I think the restrictions could be changed a little better to benefit the Bass, than to pacify the fisher.

[finchaser]

My ratio this past year was about 4 shorts to 1 keeper based on the number I caught and released. The size and quantity was a little up from 2008. I had very few fish under 20-22 inches which is not a good sign for years to come.:( Last time this happen was do to year of the young index's on a downward trend caused by eliminations of the breeding stock. Fish 16 to 19 inches(which should be around in large masses in the fall) are 2 to 4 years old,which is about when the spring slaughters of big fish really took off.


IMO to answer Plugcrazy there are not enough restrictions to save these magnifent fish. The governoment will sit back and watch it happen until it's too late,as people turn to bass since other fisheries are closed. You can bet NOAA will state how we destroyed the greatest success story they ever had on a rebuilt speicies of fish. NOAA will close it down again if people don't get off there ego trip and wise up.

[hookset]

IMO to answer Plugcrazy there are not enough restrictions to save these magnifent fish. The governoment will sit back and watch it happen until it's too late,as people turn to bass since other fisheries are closed. You can bet NOAA will state how we destroyed the greatest success story they ever had on a rebuilt speicies of fish. NOAA will close it down again if people don't get off there ego trip and wise up.

Absolutely, waiting until it is too late seems to be all the rage in all kinds of issues that involve the government.

[Monty]

IMO to answer Plugcrazy there are not enough restrictions to save these magnifent fish. The governoment will sit back and watch it happen until it's too late,as people turn to bass since other fisheries are closed. You can bet NOAA will state how we destroyed the greatest success story they ever had on a rebuilt speicies of fish. NOAA will close it down again if people don't get off there ego trip and wise up.

Agree 100%

[DarkSkies]

Plugrazy, I caught more schoolies than cows this year. I think the variety of answers is difficult to figure a pattern from. We all may fish more or less than the previous year. It's still a good question, though.

I feel the same as Finchaser does. The regulations we have now are too little, too late. :(

There were an extraordinary number of larger bass, 40# and up, harvested this year from a few key areas...Delaware and Chesapeake in the Spring, IBSP and Ocean to Monmouth county NJ in the later spring.

Then, in the summer, we had an incredible number harvested off Block Island by boats from NJ, Mass, Rhode Island, for a period of almost 2 months.


But...there was a noticable lack of big fish in all the other famous areas that had consistently produced big fish. The Montauk surf fishery recoreded one of the poorest seasons in recent years. How is that possible that Montauk surf guys got less big fish when only 10 miles to the E, off Block Island, they were getting monster bass daily? :huh:

Right now, there are more big girls being harvested off the coast of Va and the CBBT. Anyone fishing there will tell you how great that fishery is. :fishing:


As for small fish, I still maintain I caught less small fish this year than in any of the last 10 years. The fall was good this year in comparison than last fall, which was terrible for surf guys due to sustained storms and a lot of fish feasting on sandeels offshore.

However, the density of schoolies is something I have seen decline during this time. When there are less small fish around, this greatly concerns me. These small ones are our future.

I remember maybe 10 years ago hitting Sandy Hook, the jetties, or the inlets any time of the season other than the coldest winter or hottest summer months, and there were always an abundance of small bass. I'm not talking about a run where fish are moving down the Coast as part of the migration. I'm talking about being able to go out and score a few almost any night. Or you could hit the beach for an hour before work and score a few, and then zoom out and make it to work on time.

I haven't seen consistent action like that for years. That really concerns me. :don't know why:

Sorry to be such a downer on this thread, but that's my perspective. I know other guys may feel different. To them I would say: Yes the fish have been there, but the consistency isn't. The great time you have catching fish during a spring or fall run is something to be happy about, yes.

However a lot of people don't have the memory that these runs used to last for days rather than hours. The excitement and enjoyment didn't only last for an hour or 2 in the morning. It would last for an afternoon, or a weekend. That's the difference I notice. And I don't really accept that reality. That's why I try to bring the experiences of the old-time anglers to you guys.