Striped Bass Old School Video

[DarkSkies]

This is a video that all anglers who are interested in learning about Striped Bass history should watch. No one can force ya to watch it, but if you feel you know all there is to know, maybe ya don't...and this video can help fill in the blanks....


I thank Finchaser for taking the time to put it up, and remind the folks here and elsewhere who tune into this thread that it was guys like Finchaser, Joe Melillo, and guys like them, who cared passionately enough about the striped bass, to rally the numbers, shake the trees, and stand up and be counted, when it mattered.....

I find that less and less today, and the level of apathy and selfishness among (most) fishermen is saddening.

It's at the level where issues of striped bass conservation will most likely not be addressed, until we are hit with another set of restrictions....To me, this is a shame, because some of this could have been prevented had some ostrich-fishermen out there only opened their eyes a bit......

So please, when ya's get a chance, watch this video....

Honestly, it's a PITA, and takes some effort. It was recorded in the old video format and some may not be able to advance it to see only the parts they're interested in....and when this happens, people naturally lose interest..

I understand that, I'm that way too....
But please try if you can, the stuff he has posted here is critical to understanding how the last Moratorium came about, and gives valuable insight that many of ya's out there may not have....




********
Basic outline...I've taken the liberty of outlining the Video to make it easier...

Over-harvesting (Overfishing) caused the wipe-out of the striped bass.
ASMFC set regulations in place to bring back the biomass to healthy status.

Anglers provided some funding through sportfish restoration programs.
A decade of cooperation resulted in welcome news....

By 1995, the Atlantic Striped Bass population was declared restored.

Thomas Hughes - LBI - "For the longest time there just weren't any fish around..."


Some Key Highlights...
9 mins - YOY explanations

12 mins - NOAA calculations

15 mins - Scale samples and how they are interpreted. "The fishing community knows that protecting the striper is a worthy investment"

"Striper fishing generates approx $2 billion/Year in revenue...."
(remember this was in 2000, the current figures are probably much higher)


17:50 - Striped bass rising from the dead.... Capt Fred Ascoli- Miss Chris..."There basically was no striper fishery 10 years ago...although the striper is back, many people were involved in effecting this change...."



"Striped bass are truly...Jersey Gold"

[BassBuddah]

Well-said, dark. And a reminder that striped bass were not just Jersey Gold, they were East Coast gold. People came from all over the world to fish Montauk. Even though the fishing there has declined, they still do.

[clamchucker]

Nice documenting of the past. Great warning from clamchucker.

Thank you Charlie Tuna. These things are easy to predict if you have lived through it once before. All we have to do is be a little extra vigilant now and the striper would not be overfished. We would not need another moratorium if folks would just keep one bass per trip instead of 2. Unfortunately with the greed as it is today this will not happen without government intervention.

[voyager35]

Plugaholic, there is a saying, those who do not remember the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them. That certainly applies here. Learn from this video.

Thank you clamchucker.

[DarkSkies]

Pretty cool, some capts in there said striped bass fishing was not good for 10 years. That's tough to imagine, and it did really happen. Thanks for posting.

Hookset, back then times were different. Folks rallied together and fishermen in clubs were good at even getting people outside the clubs to get involved. In today's society folks are more self centered. I feel a comparison is unfair because of the way we live our lives now.

I think it's time to bring this to the top again.
To me, this news is part of what I know.
Conversations with old-timers on a regular basis help to fill in all the gaps.....







It seems that lately, from some of the internet threads that are out there, that guys are either:
1. Not aware of the extent to which this fishery declined.
2. The unprecedented steps that had to be taken to get it back to normal.
3. How easy it was for the stocks to be hammered and go into a decline because at that time few fishermen cared about the future, beyond the week ahead.....
4. Now, it seems that people see schools of bass, in areas and times that they don't normally show up in, and automatically assume that the biomass is healthy and expanding.

6. They fail to see that these bass may be more concentrated in one place, because they didn't make it to their winter or seasonal migration area.

7. The end result is that there appear to be more bass because some of us are seeing more than we usually do....
8. A study of migration patterns and forage migration, as outlined here, will give folks a better perspective on why some of these things happen.




Remember, those who do not remember the mistakes of the past, are condemned to repeat it.....
Please don't be a part of history repeating itself, educate yourselves....you might be surprised at what you learn....

[7deadlyplugs]

6. They fail to see that these bass may be more concentrated in one place, because they didn't make it to their winter or seasonal migration area.

7. The end result is that there appear to be more bass because some of us are seeing more than we usually do....
8. A study of migration patterns and forage migration, as outlined here, will give folks a better perspective on why some of these things happen.




Remember, those who do not remember the mistakes of the past, are condemned to repeat it.....
Please don't be a part of history repeating itself, educate yourselves....you might be surprised at what you learn....

Great points, thank you and finchaser too.
Cool video too.

[fishinmission78]

Thanks for the outline, made it a lot simpler to watch.