Challenge question of the week

[Pebbles]

I have read about how the striped bass are declining but yet some people refuse to believe it. What would you say are the differences of fishing for bass now and at eariler times? Could you always walk away from a day of fishing with many catches years ago? People seem to be struggling to get bass on a consistent basis in the last few years.

How in your opinion could this problem be rectified?

[jonthepain]

1. Slot limits
2. Enforcement
3. Bunker quotas
4. No fishing zones

[Monty]

Sanity, competency in the organizations that set the limits (recreational and commercial).
Enforcement as johnthepain mentioned.
Eliminate greed.
I like 1 fish 36" or larger.
I believe the striper population is in a down trend that will get much, much worse.

[surfstix1963]

Coastal wide regulations that are the same for every state that way you can protect at least one or two sizes of fish for reproduction you can't have every state have a different size limit it wipes out the breeding stock almost completely.Regulations need to be enforced,slot limits are needed and the commercials need to have their quotas and bycatch knocked down.Their are much smaller fish(as evidenced by this seasons fall run all small fish(12-20lbs.) that need to grow to breed, the bigger fish are few and far between compared to even a few years ago so if we start taking the smaller keepers the (28")fish it just depletes another breedeing stock until the party is over.Then you need to wait out 5- 10 yrs. for these stocks to rebuild bass do not grow that fast then you also need to consider the mortality rate of these smaller fish which does not help matters personally I won't fish if it is all small bass on a consistent basis I will leave or go somewhere else theres no need to stick hooks down their throats at that size.C&R works if it is done properly w/o killing the fish.

[baitstealer]

Coastal regulations is a good idea but would we really trust the feds to manage it?

[jonthepain]

5. require circle hooks for bait fishing
6. no treble hooks on plugs

[jigfreak]

Good point jonthepain. There's not much chance of releasing a fish live when you're chunking or clamming without circles. In cold water yes, but if it's a short and bleeding because you let it suck the bait down it's crab food.

Also the tournaments get to me. All clubs should make it mandatory that C&R is standard policy. Every club that has a website talks about how much they do for conservation. Well in my opinion they don't do enough. They should set the standard for others to follow. A pic of the fish with a tape measure next to it, and circumference measurements should be good enough, with a witness certifying how much iot weighed on the boga. One thing that prevents that now is some guys will cheat for the big money or the glory. Shame on them.

[surfstix1963]

I don't trust the feds to run anything except for maybe coffee:d but we can't keep knocking out different size slots up and down the coast.Regulation is one thing we need more of w/o a doubt maybe we can deputize some real fisherman out there to write the tickets open up some part time positions.

[lostatsea]

I don't trust the feds to run anything except for maybe coffee:d but we can't keep knocking out different size slots up and down the coast.

Absolutely, them allowing 18" fish as the minimum limit in the Chesapeake is the stupidest thing I ever heard of. They should find a mathematical formula to standardize it for all states.

[surferman]

Jigfreak, I agree. I think tournaments are a big killer of fish. If you want to keep one fish, or 2 or 3 with the bonus tag, fine, do it. The tournaments make everyone crazy with the ego and the desire to win. And for what? I read here and other sites that a lot of fish end up in dumpsters. What a waste. I realize they need tournaments to promote the marina, tackle shop, etc. They all need that revenue and publicity. It just seems silly to waste all that fish.
And as far as the fish size is concerned, why don't we make it 1 fish at 28" for the whole East Coast? I bet if they did that within 5 years we would have more stripers than we knew what to do with them.:drool:

[jonthepain]

I agree, a standard reg for the entire coast makes sense. But i think a simple reg of 28" and above would allow too many breeders to be killed. I read somewhere that the big fish account for the vast majority of young of the year.

The slot limit of years ago (I forget now what it was exactly - but I think it was one fish between 28" and 34") certainly helped bring the bass back. Why wouldn't it work again?

[bababooey]

1. Slot limits
2. Enforcement
3. Bunker quotas
4. No fishing zones


Three years ago I would have agreed with the first 3, and argued to the death against the last one. I see no fishing zones as MPAs and when you have that it seems to me you never get it back.

The one thing I would agree with would be a lesser variation of that - if they closed the Delaware, Chesapeake, Raritan, and Hudson River areas for the complete spawning period, the bass could definitely have a fighting chance. There are less and less small bass around, and no real numbers of resident bass in NJ.

Closing these spawning areas for the limited spawning time wouldn't have that much effect on the fishing revenue.
They would more than make up for it by having a very healthy striper population.

The fact that we have more guys fishing than ever before should be factored into this. You have to have some way to provide higher biomass growth for the increasing demand and pressure. Keeping things status quo has not worked.

[bababooey]

The slot limit of years ago (I forget now what it was exactly - but I think it was one fish between 28" and 34") certainly helped bring the bass back. Why wouldn't it work again?




I definitely agree with that jonthepain. Slot limits seem to have the best chance of working to me.

What I would like to see:
Allow 1 bass 28-34", per trip.
10 bass per year, trophy size, with a special tag. Use the same mechanisms as they are now using for the bonus tag to run this system, that way it wouldn't cost any more to the state.

[stripermania]

One bass a day, 28-34".
I'm in, tell me where to sign.

[seamonkey]

What bababooey said.
I could live with that.

[clamchucker]

We need a slot limit. As jonthepain and others said, it worked in the 80's.
Ideally, all the states should get together and work out a reasonable coastwide size limit, standardized for all. That would require some states perhaps giving up part of their quotas while other states gained some. The important thing is it would be standardized and the bass population theoretically should be easier to measure.
That will never happen though. I cannot see states like Maryland willingly giving up their 18" size limits.

This is only my opinion, but I have seen a lot. We were able to work together in the 1980's because it was a mandate for the moratorium. The political climate today is much different. There are too many folks who are not willing to compromise, or even feel that one is needed. The logical conclusion is that many talk about preserving striped bass but not much is actually done. We will only be able to see that when there is another moratorium because it will have been proven beyond doubt that the numbers do not exist like they claim. Only then will people comply because they have too. It will be too late for the hundreds and thousands of people who lose their jobs because they are in industries that depend somehow on fishing for striped bass.
We are about to repeat the sins of the past, folks, and I do not see any way out of it other than to have a closure again.

[buckethead]

Sanity, competency in the organizations that set the limits (recreational and commercial).
Enforcement as johnthepain mentioned.
Eliminate greed.
I like 1 fish 36" or larger.
I believe the striper population is in a down trend that will get much, much worse.

I agree with one at 36". Worked during the 80's and I believe it would work now

[CharlieTuna]

We need a slot limit. As jonthepain and others said, it worked in the 80's.
Ideally, all the states should get together and work out a reasonable coastwide size limit, standardized for all. That would require some states perhaps giving up part of their quotas while other states gained some. The important thing is it would be standardized and the bass population theoretically should be easier to measure.
That will never happen though. I cannot see states like Maryland willingly giving up their 18" size limits.

This is only my opinion, but I have seen a lot. We were able to work together in the 1980's because it was a mandate for the moratorium. The political climate today is much different. There are too many folks who are not willing to compromise, or even feel that one is needed. The logical conclusion is that many talk about preserving striped bass but not much is actually done.

Well-said clamchucker. I agree with the coastwide slot as well. What I read has held that up is the political interest from states that are not coastal.

[buckethead]

^^There is also a lot of unseen pressure from the commercial fishermen. Even though they are not permitted to take stripers in many states, they are still pushing to get more allocation. For example every year they try to make the case that they should have the NJ bonus tag allocation returned to them. This is part of what makes complications when decisions are made.