Giant rockfish helps Queenstown man earn stripes

[seamonkey]

Nice fish!






Giant rockfish helps Queenstown man earn stripes

Candus Thomson | On the Outdoors December 7, 2008

Bill White's 57-pound striper was redemption after he lost a big catch years ago. (Photo courtesy of Bill White / December 5, 2008)



If you still have Thanksgiving leftovers in the fridge, you know that the end of a good thing has its ugly side.

Not so with the striped bass season, which seems to just keep on giving even as it approaches the Dec. 31 closing date.

On Nov. 28, Luke Kushner caught a 52.5-pound, 45.5-inch striped bass in the Severn River off Bay Ridge in Annapolis.

Five days later, while fishing at the Bay Bridge, Bill White upped the ante with a 57-pound, 53-inch striper - the size of the average third-grade boy.






For White, a Queenstown resident, the catch was a form of redemption after losing a monster fish several years ago when a swivel failed as he reeled his catch to the side of the boat.

White and George Robinson, his business partner and fishing buddy from Havre de Grace, decided to take advantage of a late fall day with little wind - a rarity this year - and do a little multitasking. So as they held a conference call with potential customers midmorning, White steered his boat to a spot near the Bay Bridge and set up eight rods.

Robinson was still on his BlackBerry at 1p.m., when the rod shook.

"It took out a lot of line in less than a minute. It was clear it was a big fish," said White, who has been fishing for 40 of his 48 years. "After about 10minutes, it surfaced about 200 feet back and you could see the whole thing and there was no doubt."

Remembering the big one that got away, White said he turned to Robinson and suggested that they do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition from water to deck, stowing gear and clearing a wide area on the stern.

After a 30-minute fight, White reeled the fish alongside and with it a pile of bad memories.

"I got to the leader and said, 'Oh, my gosh, I can't go 0-for-2.' Luckily, the fish cooperated," he said.

With a lot of the striper spilling out of the net, the men managed to wrestle it into the boat. They motored back to shore and took the fish to Angler Sport Center in Annapolis - where he bought his lucky crippled alewife lure just days earlier - for weighing and measuring.

(Kushner caught his striper in 24 feet of water on an 8-ounce tandem rig attached to wire line with 6-ounce, in-line sinker. It, too, was checked in at Anglers.)

"After losing that fish seven or eight years ago, I was bummed. [I was told,] 'That was a beast. You'll never see one like that again in your lifetime,'" White said. "But I rearranged my gear and upgraded, and I was rewarded."

The Chesapeake Bay record, set in 1995, is 67pounds, 8 ounces. The Atlantic Ocean state record, set two years ago, is 57 pounds, 2ounces.

"There's definitely a lot of big fish out there right now. I think the Maryland record is going to fall in the next couple of years. The rockfishing is as good as it's ever been," White said.

And what of the fish?

"I gave it to the chef at the Gibson Island Club. I didn't eat any of it. I had a burger," he said, laughing. "It had been a long day."

[fishincrazy]

I can't help it what a a$$ Read this especially the end!He kept this beautiful fish then gave it to a resturant?????Then said he didn't even eat any of it????This attitude that this resource is never ending has got to end!!!!What don't guy's like this remember the 70's and early 80's when the fish where gone????Kill a monster fine at least use it,eat it,mount it???Something???? Bill White said"I gave it to the chef at the Gibson Island Club. I didn't eat any of it. I had a burger," he said, laughing. "It had been a long day." Noe did the resturant sell this catch???God this makes me MAD!!!

FC
Sorry for the rant this kinda stuff has got to stop if we want our grandkids to be able to pursue these beauties!!!

[hookedonbass]

And what of the fish?

"I gave it to the chef at the Gibson Island Club. I didn't eat any of it. I had a burger," he said, laughing. "It had been a long day."

Whether it's a long day or not, I eat all the fish I keep, or make sure anyone getting one won't waste it.

But isn't it his right to do what he wants with it? I agree with what you said fishincrazy, we should all be more careful. I'm not old enough to remember how it was, my uncles told me tho. It was pretty bad for a couple of years, maybe like in the 80's or 90's?, I'm not sure.

What about the spring runs in NJ? In May I talked to a guy who got 2 36lb bass in the morning, and went back out in the afternoon looking to score 2 more. I mean, how much bass can you eat?

[nitestrikes]

I can't help it what a a$$ Read this especially the end!He kept this beautiful fish then gave it to a resturant?????Then said he didn't even eat any of it????This attitude that this resource is never ending has got to end!!!!What don't guy's like this remember the 70's and early 80's when the fish where gone????

FC
Sorry for the rant this kinda stuff has got to stop if we want our grandkids to be able to pursue these beauties!!!

FC, it doesn't sound like a rant to me, it sounds like you care. There's a fine line here. No one likes to be told what they should or not do with a fish. I grew up hearing stories of guys going fishing and coming back with trash bags filled with fish. They would have way more than they could eat. Give half the fish away to the neighbors on the block, the rest end up in the garden as fertilizer. The problem with that thinking is it still exists within groups of people. When they catch big fish regularly, to them we have a never ending supply. There's also a big thing about ego. Some guys fish simply for the right to say they beat everyone else in a contest. It's good to have guys like you worried about the resource. IMO it's more effective to educate people as to the total numbers of fish, and show them what they believe is not always accurate. That's a better way to preserve the resource we have. When more people are as worried as you about the future, that would help us all.

[fishincrazy]

Whether it's a long day or not, I eat all the fish I keep, or make sure anyone getting one won't waste it.

But isn't it his right to do what he wants with it? I agree with what you said fishincrazy, we should all be more careful. I'm not old enough to remember how it was, my uncles told me tho. It was pretty bad for a couple of years, maybe like in the 80's or 90's?, I'm not sure.

What about the spring runs in NJ? In May I talked to a guy who got 2 36lb bass in the morning, and went back out in the afternoon looking to score 2 more. I mean, how much bass can you eat?

FC, it doesn't sound like a rant to me, it sounds like you care. There's a fine line here. No one likes to be told what they should or not do with a fish. I grew up hearing stories of guys going fishing and coming back with trash bags filled with fish. They would have way more than they could eat. Give half the fish away to the neighbors on the block, the rest end up in the garden as fertilizer. The problem with that thinking is it still exists within groups of people. When they catch big fish regularly, to them we have a never ending supply. There's also a big thing about ego. Some guys fish simply for the right to say they beat everyone else in a contest. It's good to have guys like you worried about the resource. IMO it's more effective to educate people as to the total numbers of fish, and show them what they believe is not always accurate. That's a better way to preserve the resource we have. When more people are as worried as you about the future, that would help us all.

I have seen and been told by guy's I trust about over harvest where I fish in NJ.Especially last spring like hookedonbass said.Saw guys in tourney's catchin 30lb and up fish leavin em on the beach dead and only takin the biggest two for their tourney weight.Almost got hauled away that day due to my attidude towards the guys I saw doin this!!!!I kinda got out of my mind with them!!I'm not opposed to keepin fish to eat I keep fish for the table.Wasting this resource will bite us in the *** eventually.Should we let the actions of a few affect what we all love and cherish???I've also had a problem with this group of guy's who fish the Manasquan Inlet Brielle side they keep everything they catchTheir Russian and always say no understand when you tell them they can't keep small bass or more than 2 and so on.So I started callin the commish everytime I saw em doin it finally last Fall the fish commish was there and busted em for over harvest and keepin small fish.He took their equipment and fined em.They where back the next weekend,didn't notice they kept shorts but I'm sure they where still keep more than 2 fish just couldn't prove itIt's hard when there's 6 of them and only one of me!
If we don't come together and police our ranks for these infractions we will suffer in the end.

FC