I've been getting phone calls from long-time striped bass surf fishermen lately. A lot of them are tired of ranting and don't feel anyone would be willing to listen to them anymore, so I get to hear it.

I'm not complaining, I welcome those calls. This helps to give me a unique perspective as to what the fishing used to be like 30 years ago. When guys like Finchaser, Clamchucker, Surfwalker, Stripercoast1, the OFFC, or others who have been fishing 40 solid or more years say the fishing is good, that's credible.

When they talk about how fishing numbers are way down compared to what they used to be, those comments should have equal credibility. If you believe these guys are competent, then you should also be willing to believe what they're saying about the fishing today vs 20-30 years ago, and why we should be at least a little concerned.