MEAT MEN of New Jersey

[LongshotChris]

Took me a while to get on here but....

Hookset. I just want to let you know that you are barking up the wrong tree. First off, have you ever fished aboard my vessel??? I know you have not, so you have no right to judge myself or anyone else. Second of all, If you are so tough why haven't you come down to our marina and said something to us rather than running your mouth on the internet.

Here is how it goes on the LONGSHOT. WE DO NOT ALLOW BONUS TAGS, BUT WE DO ALLOW CAPTAIN AND CREW( 2 fish less than 6 bonus tags). WE educate our customers on the history of the striped bass population. For example I explain how when I was a kid my grandfather wouldn't take me bass fishing because it "wasn't worth it" From there WE explain how if they choose to take a big bass they are not only killing one fish but thousands.

The state says my customers are allowed to harvest 2 fish per man at 28" + and a bonus fish if they choose to "PURCHASE" that 3rd fish. What are we supposed to do??? Tell our customers they cant keep what the are allowed by law?? There have been many trips this year where we on the LONGSHOT have come home with LESS THAN A LIMIT because we released big fish early.


Heres a video of LONGSHOT W/ a revival of a nice bass..... THIS IS THE WAY WE OPERATE fast fwd to 3:30 .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8fC1dSsGDA

[buckethead]

Why do you need 3? If the stripers are over 12 lbs, you catch 3 at 36lbs that is a lot of meat. What if there were bonus tags for tog. Tog are a slow growing fish. How long do people think it would take for the tog to be wiped out if everyone bought an extra one home?

The NOAA figures show a decline in stripers caught for the past 3 years. Somewhere on this site dark and finchaser put up a thread that talks about how the 2012 YOY chesapeake figures are the lowest ever. There are a lot of the young crowd in tune with this and starting to release bass. Personally I C&R unless family comes into town and then I keep a few.

What is wrong with society where a 17 or 18 year old kid justifies killing every single bass he gets his hands on?
What is wrong with his Dad that he condones this?

Every winter we ***** and moan about all the bass caught off carolina and virginia. We are horrified at all the slaughter.
What about what all the charters and private boats catch in NJ? I am not talking about the boats that take out patrons for their once a year striped bass, there is no reason to criticize those folks, they fish so little they SHOULD take some bass home.

If you or your boat are responsible for harvesting 10-20 big bass a day, shouldn't your conscience bother you just a little bit?

To Johnny Bucktails, welcome to the site.

Perhaps you can tell us your side of the story and why you feel it is ok to keep your limit of fish with bonus tags every time. Or to teach your son that that is ok no matter how many times a week you fish. Sons look up to their fathers and try to follow in their footsteps.
You say you are Johnny Sr. Please forgive the assumption but wouldn't that put you at somewhere between 50 and 55 years old? I was curious if you fished during the moratorium and if you remember what it was like to not catch bass. Or only by accident when targeting other species because there were so few of them around.

There is a decline in the numbers which I quoted hookset's post above. The birth statistics for YOY striped bass is terrible.
Were you aware of any of that and did you fish during the moratorium? Would like to hear you share your bass experience during those lean years, if you don't mind. Thank you kindly.

Also, do you fish for blackfish? Knowing how slow-growing they are, what would you say in response to basshunters question of how many would be left if everyone bought an extra one home. Thank you.

[fishinmission78]

The averageangler blog posted this today. I agree with him

"One fish 28 to 43 inches and a second fish over 43 inches. That my friends is a travesty. You can do all the math you want and can even try and figure that a second fish over 43 inches isn't an easy fish to catch.......but it really isn't......at least for the boat angler.

What they have done is now started, or just ended, a war between the boat and beach angler. It used to be that the recreational and commercial fisherman we pointing fingers at each other. That was easy. They would use the argument that recreational anglers took 27 million pounds of striped bass each year to the commercials 9 million. And those numbers aren't factual. I always said that charter boats, from six packs to party, numbers should be put into the commercial category. They are vessels for hire. They are commercial operations. Even though the fares are fishing for and taking "meat" home for their own recreational pleasure.

But what this new regulation does is pin surf fishermen against boat fisherman, well there was always a divide, but now it will get ugly. In this age of social media, from blogs to fishing forums to fishing report pages, readers are able to see, almost in real time, who is catching when and where and how.

What it came down to was pressure from charter boat captains who feared that reducing a paying customers haul to one fish would hurt an already hurting industry. Duh, yes it will. But that already hurting industry is happening because of the reduced number of fish available to catch and kill. You want to save a fishery......its simple......reduce mortality.

So the early spring clam and bunker bite massacre that happens in Raritan Bay to pre-spawn Hudson fish will continue. Then the bunker snag and drop massacre will continue into the early summer. Then in the fall it will pick up again.

We will continue to see charter boats decks and docks loaded with dead bass. We will now see anglers "catch and releasing" those second fish that don't make the 43 inch mark. So, if your fellow angler next to you doesn't want your second 38 inch fish, and the captain doesn't want it for the boat.....guess what? That means that 10/0 treble snagging hook stuck deep into the striped bass' esophagus will be ripped out and that fish released, if you can call it that, so the angler can catch a "legal" greater than 43" fish. "








I keep a lot of fish but I don't always catch my limit or keep it. 1 nice fish is usually enough for me. I don't need to feed the widows and orphans with striped bass lol. This is just going to make the divide between surf and boat fishermen worse.

[Monty]

The averageangler blog posted this today.

But what this new regulation does is pin surf fishermen against boat fisherman, well there was always a divide, but now it will get ugly. In this age of social media, from blogs to fishing forums to fishing report pages, readers are able to see, almost in real time, who is catching when and where and how.

Charter boats and Party boats should be considered commercial fisherman.
I think these new regulations fall solidly short of what is needed. Hopefully get rid of that bonus tag.



"The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) recently mandated a 25% or better reduction by all coastal states on striped bass harvest beginning in 2015, with ASMFC technical committee members approving New Jersey's proposal of one striper at less than 43 and one striper at 43 or greater as meeting that 25% reduction goal"

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has no balls.

[clamchucker]

I agree. The charter boats will be the death of this fishery. The ones who are most disrespectful seem to be the ones in the raritan bay. I don't like to name names because I am not from that area. These Captains do a disservice to others out there by claiming the health of the striped bass. It is just not true.
Back in the 80's when striped bass came back most folks had stopped fishing for them regularly. Even at Island beach there wasn't much activity outside of the spring and fall migration. The fish weren't there and most stopped fishing for them. Instead we targeted flounder, fluke, blackfish, and bluefish to keep it interesting. It was very difficult to catch a striped bass during that time. You could go for weeks without catching one. The interest started up again when it was heralded that they were recovered. The outdoor writers started publicizing it. Some bait shops were struggling and it was seen as a way to increase business. It worked and folks started to show up at the beaches regularly again. This was a good thing. The thing that some fail to see is that we need to manage these fish better. The folks at the agencies need to listen more closely to actual fishermen across a broad spectrum. If this does not happen the population will crash again. I have lived through it and seen it. The watered down regulations just voted on are not enough.

[fishinmission78]

I agree. The charter boats will be the death of this fishery. The ones who are most disrespectful seem to be the ones in the raritan bay. I don't like to name names because I am not from that area. These Captains do a disservice to others out there by claiming the health of the striped bass. It is just not true.

X2. Also keep up the pressure on the meatmen thread. I keep fish to but those guys in that thread are just greedy pigs. No other way to describe them. Most of them are charter capts. I forgot who started it but thank you Sir. Also thanks for keeping it open, dark. I hope you never bow to pressure to close it. There has to be something under the freedom of speech act that protects that. I sure hope so. Keep up the good work guys.

[Blazin420]

I'm sure he has been John...Youth these days so eager to post a video and be a "hot shot" well guess what hot shot you just shot yourself in the foot...moron...why in the world would someone put that online for the world to see..He is a special kind of stupid that's for sure...I've always thought he was a entitled spoiled little prick who thinks his poop don't stink....Screw him!! I hope they throw the book at him...Serves him right for being that stupid!!!!

[Monty]

Hey Al Ristori, why you fishing with such a scum bag?
Should post a list of guys who fish with this entitled little ****.

[J Barbosa]

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/inde...er_mobile_home

[Monty]

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/inde...er_mobile_home

Johnny shitforbrains may be in a bit of trouble....hopefully.

[finchaser]

Hey Al Ristori, why you fishing with such a scum bag?
Should post a list of guys who fish with this entitled little ****.

Cause its free

[Blazin420]

I hope soo to Monty something tells me he is the type of kid that gets away with crap like this...I'm sure daddy will bail him out some how..Same way daddy bought the boat..

[SharkHart]

Accurate Fishing
18 mins ?
To all our Accurate supporters, friends, and family. We are no longer associated with John Contello. Once we saw the video this morning we unfortunately had to dissolve our relationship. Accurate is based on true ethical treatment of gamefish and unfortunately the video we saw is in direct conflict of those beliefs. We want all our supporters to know we do not support such practices and will not be associated with anyone that does. Thanks for your feedback. We appreciate the support.

[finchaser]

the piece of sh_ts father will rise to the occasion once again. I hope they ban him from chartering he is also part of the Down Deep charters

[jigfreak]

One of the biggest ********* want to be fishermen of all time.
take one look at his face, and you know he can't get laid. he looks like a scarecrow That's why he spends all his time fishing.
Total unsportsmanlike conduct.

[hookset]

Let's not forget he's part of that whole crew down deep. Capt Mario one of the most notorious meat men out there. Captain Mario couldn't catch a fish without a bunker at the end of a line.
These are part of a bunch of pics he posted 2 days ago