Weakfish, bass- I've seen this before, its happening again

[DarkSkies]

So this post is actually about bass, flashback to 2008, "whoa that bass is over 25lbs" A 30lb now is the old 20, Well they are getting bigger but it's the 20s benchmark that survived since 2008. again they are being caught on special water with structure, just not seeing any open water blitzes, however they have been in water they should have left 2 weeks ago so there is a small shot. Either the pattern is repeating or the guys I been fishing around are some lucky bastards. If anyone sees John from Berkeley thank him for reversing the Tournament to C&R, watching some of those fish go back first hand is really witnessing change.

I think a lot of folks are not able to see this, because they don't have the perspective you have, Shark.

Either...
1. They have only been fishing a few years, less than 10, and remember the sand eel blitzes at Island Beach as "good fishing". When you break that bite down by months, the fishing was very poor that year for Sept, Oct, and most of Nov until it turned on....They don't have the perspective of when the fishing used to be great from Sept onward..
Some think of Thanksgiving weekend as the start of their fall fishing season...when the reality is...it used to be so much more robust, and longer lasting.

2. They don't see some of the things you, I, and others are seeing.....
The central theme I have heard from anglers in my travels this Spring, is "What happened to all the smaller fish we used to get in the rivers or along the shorelines? Fishing with bait, you will see more of these smaller fish.....but that doesn't mean that more of them are around...only that you will likely find every stray fish in an area.....when tossing bait.....

3. There are gaps in many year classes, that people either don't see, or refuse to recognize......

4. The internet heroes out there who are shouting:
"Yep we got em to 40 lbs yesterday, it was EPIC"...
"Bass fishing is as healthy as it ever was"
The folks who keep repeating this, not only are ignorant, but do the rest of us a disservice, by implying a false sense of security....

5. Anyone I have come across who keeps repeating the mantra about how healthy the striped bass are...
is usually a Capt who has a commercial agenda, or someone who is worried about losing income if the regs are changed.....












You and several others here have drawn extensive parallels to conditions before the moratorium, and conditions now.....
I believe the parallels to be true..........
And great indicators of the poor health of this fishery........

I also see it for myself the more I fish.....
And fish water that should be teeming with bass, at least a few small ones....and has no bass at all.....
This is just not part of normalcy....
And those that think it is....either have a hidden agenda.....or just aren't seasoned enough to recognize it for what it is.....

[buckethead]

Big fish ....great right??? or is it?

We were fishing super spots where the sole survivors had retreated to, there were no mid size fish to grab the lures and provide some sort of shelter. . If anyone sees John from Berkeley thank him for reversing the Tournament to C&R, watching some of those fish go back first hand is really witnessing change.

3. There are gaps in many year classes, that people either don't see, or refuse to recognize......

4. The internet heroes out there who are shouting:
"Yep we got em to 40 lbs yesterday, it was EPIC"...
"Bass fishing is as healthy as it ever was"
The folks who keep repeating this, not only are ignorant, but do the rest of us a disservice, by implying a false sense of security....

.....

I agree with both of you. There should be more fish around of all sizes but there are not. Sometimes I fish the jetties. Sometimes I fish just outside of the inlets. There should always be small fish there during the season. Unfortunately there are not. It is feast or famine. I remember these same conditions right before the moratorium. And lots of big fish were being caught as well. Then the stocks collapsed.

[finchaser]

Yep we have to kill them before they are all gone plus it will save the bunker

[hookedonbass]

Its ashame it had to be that way.

[seamonkey]

sharkhart what do you think of the charter captains. They advertize all the time about bonus limits and show docks full of dead bass. I have heard a lot of theories who is more responsible. Do you think they should take some of the blame when they are killing all these bass day after day? and it is not good enough to advertize limits they advertize bonus limits. This charter named fisher price does it all the time. Damn I bet he killed 500 bass alone on his boats this year. Multiply that by the dozens of charter boats. The stripers can only take so much!

[hookset]

Do you think they should take some of the blame when they are killing all these bass day after day? and it is not good enough to advertize limits they advertize bonus limits. This charter named fisher price does it all the time. Damn I bet he killed 500 bass alone on his boats this year. Multiply that by the dozens of charter boats. The stripers can only take so much!

Try 500 a month. Sure they don't always catch. Even a conservative estimate if they are using the bonus limits is 500 per month.
he usually advertises ++ limits as well. With am and pm trips using bonus limits these charter boats can bring home 30 bass a day each, easily. Do the math, thats about 500 a month if they are fully booked and accounting for bad days.

[storminsteve]

^^^^^ Think about that number all up and down the coast. The Va boats in the winter. The montauk boats in the summer. Those long island boats in the fall and the nj ones too. Its no wonder the stripers can't have a stable population. They get attacked at any place where they might be for more than a few days. I just read on here that some boats were fishing in the EEZ this weekend. So they are slaughtered there too. Its a wonder there are any left to spawn each year.