MEAT MEN of New Jersey

[hookset]

more. pool was 26 lbs isnt that enough fillets from one fish why do you need 3 to 26lbs for one person?

[hookset]

fri and saturdays meat (no one said they were getting any for the poor this time, lol)










may 3 tagged fish 5 man limit with 5 bonus tags

[Johnny Bucktails]

to Hookset- usually i dont reply to clowns. You are making a lot of statements that im sure you can't prove, and if you can, do so. You are accusing me of selling fish to restaurants Prove it, or keep your mouth shut. We only keep the limit that the law allows and nothing more. You can come by our dock every time we come in to see us give fish to those who didn't catch any. Last but not least, the boat i bought for my son and I wasn't 50,000, it was 150,000 for your information. Dont count other people money, worry about your own because it only makes you look stupid. - John Sr. life is too short to worry about what everyone else is doing

[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.

[Monty]

John Sr. life is too short to worry about what everyone else is doing

Welcome to the site JB.
Looks like you guys kill a lot of bass, you guys are real Meat Men, congratulations....not
Lots of pics with lots of dead Bass. Lots of Meat, lots of lost dead breeders.
Why do you feel the need to kill so many keepers just to give them away? You don't think about the pressure on the Striped Bass population?
You just have this need to give away meat? While it may be legal, it does not mean its right.
And that stupid statement "life is too short to worry about what everyone else is doing", well not being pissed off about someone killing so many keeper bass is short sighted and irresponsible. I applaud Hookset for this thread, there should be threads like this on all fishing sites, its the right thing to do. To bring to the sport fisherman the names of those killing so many Striped Bass.

[bababooey]

Dont count other people money, worry about your own because it only makes you look stupid.

Hookset, I would 2nd the comment that how much someone spent on a boat shouldn't affect how many fish it should be appropriate for them to catch. Just saying.

[clamchucker]

. life is too short to worry about what everyone else is doing

Welcome to stripers and anglers johnny bucktails. I would have to very strongly disagree with your statement.

I do not mean to disenfranchise a new member here but thought I would share my perspective.
I have been fishing for over 50 years. I remember when weakfish were so abundant in the Delaware bay you could catch a hundred a day. We used to launch out of fortescue and it was easy to fill a garbage bucket or large tote with weakfish because they were that plentiful.

We thought nothing of doing this and brought weakfish home for family and friends. We always had more than enough because we did not think of it as a resource. We viewed it as a never ending supply. We didn't think about breeding or the catch rates because no one paid attention to that back then.
Then all of a sudden they were gone. We would go and instead of a 100, we would catch 5 or 10. We saw the decline happen but there was no one to raise the alarm back then.

I am sorry to admit I was part of that so if any members want to take shots at me for doing it I probably deserve it. Only after we couldn't catch them any more would we see that we were part of the problem. Not the commercial fishermen but the recreational ones. There were many times when weakfish went to waste, or were fertilizer for the tomato plants. Although we should have known better we did not.

It is the same thing for the striped bass. I fished before and after the moratorium. I still fish now. At one time because I am retired I could fish 5 or 6 days a week. I fish less now because of health reasons. I can usually catch my limit every time. After 50 years of fishing it becomes quite easy. If I were to keep my limit every time I would not feel right because of all the opportunities I have to go out fishing. Because of how we decimated the weakfish, I am careful to catch and release now. I try to teach my children and grandchildren the principles of conservation.
Don't get me wrong, we still eat fish, but are more thoughtful about when and where. I love eating bass and it is very healthy for you except for the belly part which is laden with PCBs.

As bucket said you as a father are some one who your son looks up to. If you have lived through lean times when there were no bass, surely you would want to pass that knowledge on down to your son and teach him that harvesting just what you can eat today as a family, is a good way to keep the bass around for tomorrow.
I say this not to get into an argument with you but perhaps thinking you have not been fishing for that long and do not realize how bad things were for bass fishermen in the 1980s.

A lot of folks want to blame the commercial fishermen. Those videos are all over the internet and I believe I have seen some of them here, the bass laying all over after being discarded from netters.
What most folks don't realize is that even with the abuses, the recreational sector kille more striped bass than the commercial sector today. This happens all up and down the coast at every stage of the migration.

I am sure that you realze that the reason you folks are doing so well on them up there now in the raritan bay is because they are staging to go up the Hudson. If they were not doing that you would hardly be catching any at all. The southern waters have not had much consistent action for my Capt friends who have been looking for them. The Chesapeake and Delaware migrations are done and the beaches all along the coast should be filled with stripers now but they are not.

The reason for this is many have been over harvested, and many by folks who say "life is too short to worry about what everyone else is doing."

By not teaching your son a little about conservation and a little about the past you are part of the crowd that is condemning us to repeat the sins of the past. I say this not to provoke argument with you but to perhaps hope that you were not aware of how bad things were, and in reality how limited the numbers of stripers are now.

I hope these words have not tuned you off. If you are not aware of what has been going on, I was hoping to enlighten you and the others here by sharing my personal experiences. I look forward to your contributions here.
I am more looking forward to the possibility that you as a father, will teach your son something about conservation before it is too late and we find ourselves in another moratorium.

Best of luck this year on the water, Captain.

[basshunter]

^^ wow clamchucker, couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for sharing that!
Johnny bucktails welcome to the site. There are a lot of good guys here who know fishing. Maybe you will stick around. I know I have learned a lot here. Don't mean to dictate who can and can't keep fish, but like clamchucker said if you fish a lot and catch a lot maybe you should think a little more responsible, No hard feelings either, just my .02.

[Monty]

^^ wow clamchucker, couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for sharing that!

Agree, great post, possibly the best post I have ever read on any fishing site with putting things in perspective.

[rip316]

Funny how I kept a couple of fish and have been called a meat man. I kept 6 fish in 3 weeks but I am a meat man. Un ****** real.oh a d by the way, I have a family of 6 that love to eat fish and I fed them and me and the wife had a great time looking up different recipes and tried themand they were delicious. Yes I am pist off as I was targeted in this thread by someone that I thought was a dear friend. Also I did not beat on my chest because I caught fish. I posted on a fishing website that I belong to like you're supposed to do when u have a great day fish

[dogfish]

I was targeted in this thread

Waah waah. I didn't read every post so excuse me if I didn't see it. Do you have to wear a tin foil hat at night so the aliens don't come and take you away? Do you have secret agents following you during the day as well? Would you like some cheese with your whine? who is this guy?

[dogfish]

A lot of folks want to blame the commercial fishermen. Those videos are all over the internet and I believe I have seen some of them here, the bass laying all over after being discarded from netters.
What most folks don't realize is that even with the abuses, the recreational sector kille more striped bass than the commercial sector today. This happens all up and down the coast at every stage of the migration.

Well said clamchucker. My catches are about the same but the sizes are down. Every year at the Canal some 50s would be a given. Last year we had a few good weeks, If you werent there at that time you missed it. I bring fish home for my family too but would not bring a big breeder back. They taste like ****. I like to eat fish when they're 28-32". Still trying for a 50. When I get her i'll kiss and release her. May never see one with all the greedy chest thumpers out there.

[J Barbosa]

JC,

Welcome

Let me start by saying it's great to see a father and son fishing together.

As a young angler myself I'm saddened to see the amount of big bass that you and your son are killing. I wouldn't be so upset if these were fish that you were keeping to feed the family but it seems that this is not the case.

I released a 35lb bass on Monday night that was about the same age as your son. That fish is still out there swimming for all of us to try and catch again. That fish will still make it up the Hudson to drop off a few million eggs this spring.

Best of all that 35lb fish is on its way to quickly becoming a real trophy sized fish.

Let me put it into perspective, that fish took 15 years to grow to 35lbs. It's passed the hardest points in its lifetime and it now has the large mouth to easily inhale a few bunker/sea robins/shad/herring/flounder/blackfish/porgies/sea bass per day without expanding a lot of energy. That fish can pack on the pounds and weigh over 50lbs in just another 5 years.

I think it would be great to see the both of you releasing these fish over 20lbs and catching that on film. It's certainly more impressive than having six dead breeders laying on a dock.

[SharkHart]

That little Justin Bieber of bass fishing thinks he has it all figured out but he doesn't know know what he doesn't know he managed in allienate him self from nearly all veterran avid fisherman and he thinks THEY are all the wrong and the crazy ones

[hookset]

to Hookset- usually i dont reply to clowns. You are making a lot of statements that im sure you can't prove, and if you can, do so. You are accusing me of selling fish to restaurants Prove it, or keep your mouth shut. We only keep the limit that the law allows and nothing more. You can come by our dock every time we come in to see us give fish to those who didn't catch any. Last but not least, the boat i bought for my son and I wasn't 50,000, it was 150,000 for your information. Dont count other people money, worry about your own because it only makes you look stupid. - John Sr. life is too short to worry about what everyone else is doing

I'm a clown you say. Glad you think I am here for your amusement.
How long have you been fishing have you fished during the moratorium
*(Edit)

Does any of this stuff that has been said in this post make any sense to you or are you going to tow the party line and say "Well as long as its legal you can't tell me what to do I deserve to take my 3 fish if you dont like it change the law"
Changing the law is not that simple bud, especially when there are meatmen like you and your son that kill every bass they are legally allowed to.

Now that you admit you spent 150k on a toy for your kid that proves my point even more. Its guys with money and selfish attitudes who will kill this fishery. Guys like you sit there and are outraged at the netters throwing back fluke or dead bass well you all are no better than them.

The striped bass are a shared resource. We all have to take from the dish of meat at the table. In my opinion every year the total amount of meat gets less because of arrogant elite guys like you. If you're buying a $150k boat for your kid you are not part of the working class or the middle class. No one I know has given their kid a $150k birthday present. Cars, computers, even paying for college, yes, but to go out and spend that much money on your kid, and then say it is no ones business - is total bs.
In my opinion you are no more a representative of the middle class, than Obama is a representative of black people. Elitist, arrogant attitude.

No response to any of the comments I made about the moratorium? Not one at all. This says you either haven't been fishing for that long, or you really are a meat man who doesn't care. There is definitely ego and chest beating involved as I have seen your sons posts on several web sites out there.

For your comment about giving fish away how about giving all of your catch away.
There are so many poor people in this world, they are all starving. Poverty will make you sad if you look for it because you don't have to look too hard. Go to any big city and see the soup lines. If you were so magnanimous as you claim why not give your whole catch away every time to the poor? Do you really care about the poor or is it just a lame excuse to take get rid of the excess fish that you cant fit in your freezer and beat your chest about it at the same time.

[storminsteve]

I'm a clown you say. Glad you think I am here for your amusement.
How long have you been fishing have you fished during the moratorium or did you just start 5 years ago like so many goombas?

Sorry hookset I couldn't help myself thought this thread needed some lightening up lol. You are funny some times. Not funny like a clown though. Please don't shoot me.

[finchaser]

Theres nothing here that hasn't been said about the kid on 2 other sites by people who don't want to see the bass wiped out by people who keep every fish following poorly run fishery services laws. Then again the country is going in the ****_er due to more government BS by the Obama/Pew government

[captnemo]

JC,

Welcome

Let me start by saying it's great to see a father and son fishing together.

As a young angler myself I'm saddened to see the amount of big bass that you and your son are killing. I wouldn't be so upset if these were fish that you were keeping to feed the family but it seems that this is not the case.

I released a 35lb bass on Monday night that was about the same age as your son. That fish is still out there swimming for all of us to try and catch again. That fish will still make it up the Hudson to drop off a few million eggs this spring.

Best of all that 35lb fish is on its way to quickly becoming a real trophy sized fish.

Let me put it into perspective, that fish took 15 years to grow to 35lbs. It's passed the hardest points in its lifetime and it now has the large mouth to easily inhale a few bunker/sea robins/shad/herring/flounder/blackfish/porgies/sea bass per day without expanding a lot of energy. That fish can pack on the pounds and weigh over 50lbs in just another 5 years.

I think it would be great to see the both of you releasing these fish over 20lbs and catching that on film. It's certainly more impressive than having six dead breeders laying on a dock.

I second what jbarbosa said. Welcome Jcontello and look forward to your posts.
We had a good trip trolling bunker spoons outside sandy hook this weekend. The action was incredible. I can certainly appreciate you fishing with your son and the good times you are having together. Enjoy them while they last as the young ones grow up fast. The thing I have seen in this thread that is most remarkable is that you are not being crucified for eating fish.

I have been a member here for years and no one has ever questioned the fish I take.

I think it is the manner in which you folks deal with the bonus tags. We had great action and caught over 11 bass. We could have each kept 3 fish if we had bonus tags. My question to you, if you don't mind me asking, is why the need for bonus tags? I am perfectly happy to take what I can eat each time. Some of our bass were over 20lbs. If we were to take 3 each that is a lot of meat for the freezer. Filling the freezer on a trip you make only a few times a season is a good goal and I applaud the folks who do so. Some live several hours from the water and cannot get out that often.

This is the way I look at things. When I and my fishing partner can get out, we generally can fish 1-2 times a week. If we were to take our limits with bonus tags every time we would soon run out of space to store the fillets.
There is only so much you can give away. At some point when you keep takng big bass each time just because you can - there will inevitably be wasted bass or bass that has freezer burn. I have no knowledge of your time on the water, Caot, so please excuse my lack of knowledge here. Nor did I read this whole thread so I am at a disadvantage as to the whole dynamics.

I will say that you as a father have a great opportunity to teach your son about thinking about others and how limited the striped bass stocks are. I would think you want the fishing to last for not only your children but grandchildren as well. The folks who fish more often than others and concentrate on filling their limits with bonus tags have a greater degree of responsibility as shepherds of this declining resource.

Those are my thoughts, Welcome aboard and would love to hear your thoughts Capt.

[hookset]

^^^^ Very well said capt.

[hookset]

Theres nothing here that hasn't been said about the kid on 2 other sites by people who don't want to see the bass wiped out by people who keep every fish following poorly run fishery services laws. Then again the country is going in the ****_er due to more government BS by the Obama/Pew government

Agree with you 100% finchaser