There have been some obstacles to reaching folks over the years......I do a lot of thinking and talking with older anglers about this, and we seem to be in agreeement in the following areas.....

1. Many more people are fishing for striped bass than a decade ago.

2. More from the surf, more from boats, and also commercial charters and head boats.

3. There are a lot of anglers who have only recently started fishing saltwater, like in the last 5 years.....
When we talk about something that happened 2 or 3 decades ago, how can they be expected to relate to that?
........after much thinking, I realized they cannot be expected to know what happened 30, 20, or even 10 years ago......it may too much to expect from a guy who only goes fishing once a week, or once a month, or only a few times a season...

4. Many new anglers out there, just don't have this depth of perspective...and that's not their fault, it's how it is......

5. Realizing this, there are several discussions popping up every winter on internet saltwater forums.....many good opinions and seasoned perspectives....

6. Unfortunately, some of us are so passionate about our beliefs...that these discussions sometimes promote judging of others and finger pointing....If one side had no understanding, they are called "meat men"......and the other side is called "PETA freaks"

7. The sad thing is that we are all fishermen, we all need to learn to fish together and share in this precious resource that we love to fish for....our striped bass....and yes I say "Our" because they do belong to all of us......they are a shared resource where regulations coast-wide are not consistent....naturally that will cause hard feelings between people who live in different states....

8. To top it all off, as has been mentioned here many times before...the other fish that fishermen fish for....sea bass, blackfish, fluke, flounder, redfish, etc, have all had their seasons restricted or size limits raised, and catch limits lowered, over the past 5 years....putting tremendous pressure on the striped bass fishery....
Coupled with the fact there are some Capts and fishermen who continue to target them when the season is closed..or fish in restricted areas beyond the 3 mile limit.....is it any wonder many seasoned anglers are grumbling that they are catching less striped bass overall?