Dark Skies Conservation Corner

[jigfreak]

Dark what do you think of this. Sharkhart posted in another thread. Capt Sal Cursi of the Cathy Sea charters. Says the bass stocks are healthy because of all the rats around right now.

"
We have been invaded by small stripers!The talk early in the year was "Wonder were all the small schoolies are''?Seems like they don't show up as much on the clam beds like they did a few years ago.It is a great sign to see them in mass quantity as the future looks good.It is a changing fishery with multiple year class stripers at different times of the year.I would much rather eat a 28" bass then a fat 43" spawner.In fact I wish we had the slot fish and could keep one 26" for dinner.No matter what with the hughe mass of small stripers in our waters is a good thing.All the fish we have been jigging are released with out being harmed.Great sport and and an occasional keeper for dinner!Looks good for my grandchildren.
__________________


I can't believe hes a captain. Where did he get his captains license a box of cracker jacks? All the talk about the bass numbers being around and this chump is talking about numbers of small bass as being a sign from Allah that all is well. These small rats show up every year how could a professional capt not be aware of that? He has no credibility. Absolute fool.

[DarkSkies]

Dark what do you think of this. Sharkhart posted in another thread.

I'm putting a response together....will post when I get a chance....the best I can say right now is the original claim tying this in to the health of the fishery, is misleading.

This is something that happens every year toward the end of the run as the last stragglers will be the smaller fish schooling up to make the Winter trek up the Hudson. There are thousands of small fish in Ambrose and other channels of the NY Bight right now.....

You can launch inside NY harbor and easily catch 50 or more baby bass/man/per day by bucktailing under the barges when the tide is running...my brother and I did it years ago from a boat...and this same pattern has existed for decades, (after 1985) where we see these small fish, give or take a few weeks, at the end of the season......










**It has no reflection on the health of the fishery...it is a migrational pattern.....most who fish regularly know that and would not mis-interpret that information.......

SharkHart contacted me via text and showed me where he tried to point that out, on another internet forum, and his response was ignored....

I'll come back with a more detailed response when I get time to compose it...thanks for reading.....

[dogfish]

I can't believe hes a captain. Where did he get his captains license a box of cracker jacks? All the talk about the bass numbers being around and this chump is talking about numbers of small bass as being a sign from Allah that all is well. These small rats show up every year how could a professional capt not be aware of that? He has no credibility. Absolute fool.

By us it is usually the folks with a comm license who keep on saying how healthy the bass are no matter what the numbers really are. Some of the part-time capts who come here for the limited MA comm season can make up to 40k in a few short weeks. Do you really think they are motivated to tell the truth? The only motivation is the almighty dollar. That and buying the wifey a new SUV or the kids the fancy electronics they want for xmas. My .02

[robmedina]

Dark, do you think trout anglers have a decent blueprint for how to save a fishery?

[finchaser]

Dark, do you think trout anglers have a decent blueprint for how to save a fishery?

No because they have to stock every year to keep it viable

[DarkSkies]

Rob, Fin has a valid point there...so before I give you one of my standard 500 word replies....what aspect of trout fishing are we talking about here?

1. Stocking program? (Fin answered that point correctly)
2. Licensing with special stamp for trophy fish?
3. No kill areas like they have on some river sections?
4. Promoting conservation by education and raising awareness?

If you could be more specific, I'll try to answer your question in a few paragraphs or less. Thanks for thinking out of the box.

[robmedina]

I guess I was saying with reverence. Trout are almost sacred. Some purist wont even touch the trout with their hands. They land them in nets, the take the barbless hook out with forceps and release back into the current. They organize , they lobby, they protect. It just seems that trout get so much respect from those that fish for them that they move mountains.

[DarkSkies]

I guess I was saying with reverence. Trout are almost sacred. Some purist wont even touch the trout with their hands. They land them in nets, the take the barbless hook out with forceps and release back into the current. They organize , they lobby, they protect. It just seems that trout get so much respect from those that fish for them that they move mountains.

Rob, that's an admirable way to treat fish, if you are releasing them.
I don't want you to think I am criticizing trout fishermen here, or downplaying your ideas....it's all good....



What I see out there, is a disconnect between many fishermen, and those who C&R.......
There are fishermen out there who have never released a legal fish in their lives.....they have trouble understanding those who do....I still get that from some family members when I tell them of a good day/night out there...and they ask me why I am throwing so many keepers back.......

This has allowed me to see, that many folks out there just don't understand.
As I illustrated above, by always fishing in the middle of the action, and seeking the highest areas of activity, they have trouble comprehending that bass are in trouble. The attitude is, well the bass are there, you just have to burn more gas to get to them.....

(As in the case of the Golden Eagle this early fall, who was at one point burning lots of fuel to travel up to 50 miles each way to the Captree LI area bite......)


Many don't see the absurdity of that....when there were lots of fish, widely distributed, as in the past, boats haven't had to travel up to 50 miles one way to get to them......

[robmedina]

so I guess #4.

[DarkSkies]

Even Stripers Forever, a conservation group that was chartered to help ALL saltwater fishermen, has been blasted by some critics, as an elitist group of fly flshermen.
I say this not to be critical, but to paint the framework of the politics and uninformed opinions that we have to deal with, daily.......

This is just my opinion...but I feel that
1. Raising Awareness
2. Educational posts and threads
are effective........

When it becomes too zealous, like the folks are preaching, or the audience feels like it it being preached at......the audience will be lost........
This is why I feel, although many things are obvious to me.....that others may need more education, documentation, and stats, before they become aware....





** Unfortunately before that happens on a large scale basis, it may be too late.....
(That doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying to raise Education and Awareness, though...never give up, Rob.....passion for a cause has often been the catalyst to get others interested....)

Expecting folks to treat striped bass with reverence, when they just don't have that reverence to begin with.....may be a bit unrealistic....We may need some kind of legislation, like an expanded Striped Bass Gamefish Act, to finally save these bass, other than a moratorium...

Hope that answered your question.....thanks as always for trying to come up with different perspectives......