What Kind of Fisherman are You?

[DarkSkies]

This thread is kind of s supplement to the Future of Beach Access thread in the surf fishing forum.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8670-Sandy-Aftermath-Future-of-Beach-Access



The reason I came up with this thread, is that going forward, as construction and assessment of the worst areas is going on, I know that more folks will look to fish. There is nothing wrong with that.

I have repeatedly urged people to volunteer.
If you have free time, helping those less fortunate, and especially those who lost their homes or who were under-insured, can be a positive and rewarding experience.

More volunteers are needed every day, and if you are physically able to fish, you should really consider helping in some way, either volunteering, sending money, contributing supplies, or being part of something or group that helps these folks.

It's not up to me to decide who volunteers or where and why.
I'm simply trying to raise awareness of the overhwhelming need for help in many areas, to help these folks begin to put their lives back together.

Sorry if I sound like a broken record here.
Many have been generous, but many others don't really have a concept of the total devastation. So I try to educate and inform as best as I can.

[DarkSkies]

It goes without saying that some fishermen are very generous, giving, and compassionate.
These are the ones who have stood up to help others.







However, we continue to be plagued, as a group, by bad apples who are selfish and inconsiderate of others......

*The ones who go to the beach, fishing bait, and leave their containers there instead of bringing them home or walking the extra 300' to a trash can.

* The ones who go fishing and drink while they do, leaving empty bottles piled up near the trash cans
Note, when I did research for the Brookhaven/Shoreham historic test case, (post #13)
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?3415-A-tale-of-2-towns-Brookhaven-vs-Riverhead/page2&highlight=shoreham+beach+pics

I found out that mostly the people who did this were the local teens, who don't fish but come down to the beaches to hang out, so please understand my comments in this context



* The ones who feel it is their right, as protected by the Public Trust Doctrine, to fish any beach they please.

* The ones who feel it is their right to cross "No trespassing" Zones that are clearly marked.
(Note - I realize there is some ambiguity with these areas now that Sandy has hit... there are many areas that have barriers, but no clear signs........

* The ones who feel it is OK to urinate on private property......

* Or take a dump on beach club property....
(Note, this happened again at the Allenhurst Beach Club Cabanas...shortly after the hurricane....the only people down at those beaches at that early time were homeowners and fishermen)

* The ones who feel it is OK to tresspass into Private property, use the Priests' bathroom, and then argue with the priest when caught
(Note, this happened to St Alphonse Retreat sometime around 2009, and fishermen have been banned from their parking lot since then)

* The ones who feel it is ok to dump their coffee cups, or soda/energy drink cans, on the rocks when they are fishing because they don't feel like carrying them to the trash can.

* And the ones who leave jetties littered with braid, terminal tackle, and other fishermen garbage instead of putting it in their pockets and taking it home with them. :beatin:

[DarkSkies]

I know the "bad apples" are in the minority, but unfortunately they make it bad for all of us.....

Because their behavior is what we are all judged by...:learn:
And all of the above, have been committed by fishermen in NJ, when fishing near private property.



And yes, the Public Trust Doctrine does protect fishermen and beach goers, to some extent.
(do a search here on Public Trust to find scores of threads and case histories)

But there are all sorts of ways around that.....

*Parking restictions...
no parking, no night parking, restricted hours parking, parking by town permit only, seasonal parking restrictions

*Night fishing permits.

* No fishing signs

* No trespassing on jetties or inlets at night signs

[DarkSkies]

To add to the list....are you the kind of fisherman who would.....


* Clean a fish at the beach and leave the racks out in the garbage can of a private landowner?

* Clean a fish at a beach club and bury the rack in the sand near where people pay $10k/yr in cabana fees?

* Leave rotting clams or bunker on the beach "for other fishermen to use" ?

There are many more examples, I'll try to post and add to this thread when I get a chance......

[DarkSkies]

I don't think it pays to attack any one fisherman in particular by naming that person.

However, going forward, if you have examples of fishermen who are doing these types of things, feel free to post them without identifying the fisherman.........

These are all types of behaviors that will hurt us in the future.

Some of us have probably been guilty of them, and not seen the harm.....

the intent of this thread is to raise awareness of what some are doing, and possibly help to change the behavior of a few.

[DarkSkies]

** Remember in reality, the biggest offenders are not likely to read threads like this.
However, lots of folks blame this on specific ethnic or racial groups.......

And this is just not the case......
I've come upon, and been made aware of....groups of "Van Stall and Abercrombie & Fitch" surf guys, all wearing the latest in top clothing, thousands invested in their gear, who can't be bothered to throw a freaking coffee cup in the garbage......:don't know why:


These are the guys who are likely to be on the internet...
And instead of blaming the immigrants, it is they who should take the blame, and pick up after themselves.......

And it is we, the rest of the fishermen, who should be on their cases, chastizing them into doing so.
Not speaking up, runs the risk of ruining it for us all.......Now more than ever....


Any other opinions or stories, feel free.....:thumbsup:

[albiealert]

Many times when I am out fishing I bring a bag of trash home with me. Here in Ct it is bad. There are a few places where a lot of the fishermen go to. As a result there are overflowing garbage cans all the time. So it doesn't pay to put the garbage in the can because there is no room! I have a few other spots near a river but they are in dicey residential areas and I don't go there on weekends because of the characters that are out and about drinking and partying.

[storminsteve]

It goes without saying that some fishermen are very generous, giving, and compassionate.
These are the ones who have stood up to help others.







However, we continue to be plagued, as a group, by bad apples who are selfish and inconsiderate of others......

*The ones who go to the beach, fishing bait, and leave their containers there instead of bringing them home or walking the extra 300' to a trash can.



It is already back to the way it used to be dark. Found this on a jetty the other week. People are pigs. Some of them happen to be fishermen.

16041

[stormchaser]

This is our reality storminsteve. Same thing out East. Although I see that kind of trash more on the piers. for some reason fishermen seem to be more respectful of jetties on the South Shore. I have fished the Jersey jetties as well and feel that people are lazier in some of the Jersey areas. We do have a problem in congested areas like Point Lookout and in back of Jones inlet, and Jamaica Bay is just disgusting with the trash.
I think if they really wanted to fund fish and game with a good revenue stream they should make littering penalties a minimum $250 fine for each offense. Immigrants and nationals alike. After a year of writing $250 tickets the word would get out and some of these areas would be a lot cleaner. Just my opinion