Many years ago, Bob Pond, owner of Atom Tackle, organized Stripers Unlimited with his own money. He did this because he saw the writing on the wall. It was the beginning of the out of control Menhaden purse seining. He noticed the Bass were getting skinny and were seeking less nutritious forage. Sand eels take more effort for less gain, and were becoming the targeted food source of Bass and Blues along the North East coastal waters. Bass were also addapting to eating any and all available food sources that also take more effort but little gain. Cunner, Sea Robbins, and other rough fish were turning up in the stomachs of Bass on a more than usual occurance. To equate this to human standards, eating a bowl of saw dust will make you feel full, but little or no nutrition is gained.
I remember when Bob would arrive on a beach or the canal, and the attitude was, "Here comes Chicken Little." This was during the 70's and the research he funded was scoffed and belittled. Just a few short years later, all he tried to warn about came to fruition.
The situation now is not any differant from my eyes. We hear the warnings and ***** about lousy catch rates but wait and watch for what someone else is going to do.
The Bunker are not here. The reasons for some areas of the coast to see them, while others have none, are really almost too simple to undestand. New Jersey and New York put in regulatory controls on how and when the Bunker fleet can operate. They could not legally shut them down, so they made it hard for them to operate. North of those 2 states the Bunker are no where near the numbers we once saw. The Bass that locked up on Block this past year were on Scup, AKA Porgie. Scup do not contain the oils and fats that bunker provide for Bass to sustain good health, but in the absence of proper food they are better than nothing.
Call me chicken little if you want, in fact being grouped with Bob Pond would be a badge of honor to me. The crash is coming again, the only thing I wonder, is if we will catch it in time this time.