Just getting in from what amounted to yet another good day of fishing in my neck of the woods. Without a doubt, this has been a good year so far and today was no exception. But to get back to the marina, I had to run the solemn course though the excessive crowd of boats. One would think that the high price of fuel would keep a good number of folks off the water these days, but right now there are a ton of boats using live menhaden (aka bunker) to catch large fecund striped bass just a mile or so off the beach. I won’t even acknowledge all those idiots that are poaching fish (and unfortunately there are quite a few), but the great majority of folks are releasing those fish they’ve caught above their “limit.”
Anyone who has ever done any live bait fishing knows that stripers, especially the big ones, inhale the bait. Thus, if you are using a J-hook, just about every fish gets it in the belly. That’s fine if you are planning on keeping your two fish and going home. Menhaden are big baits and rarely does a short eat one. But if you keep fishing after that, as most anglers do, THEN USE A DARN CIRCLEHOOK FOR GOD’S SAKE!
I’m not going to explain how circlehooks work as I believe most know already, and if you don’t you can find many a detailed explanation by Googleing it. In my experience, as well as just about everyone I know who uses them, they result in a perfect lip hooked fish 90% of the time. And it’s not just anecdotal. There is a ton of science out there that shows that circlehooks in bait fisheries dramatically reduce release mortality.
Yet despite all this, the overwhelming majority of anglers continue to use J-hooks! I went on a charter for a bachelor party two years ago and this dumbass Captain was using treble hooks to live-line bunker! I couldn’t believe it! Talk about lack of foresight.
Thus, this is the time of the year that I usually see a good number of dead bass floating on the surface on my way back to the marina each morning. And these are the ones that don’t skink. I’m sure there are a lot more. And when you multiply my small area by all those areas that have vibrant live and dead bait fisheries for striped bass, it really adds up. And it’s not just my dumb-ass saying it. It’s a fact. According to the most recent striped bass stock assessment, recreational discards account for 34% of the total catch! To put that into perspective, that’s double what the total commercial landing are! Kinda hard to justify gamefish with those numbers don’t ya think? Yet still, folks foolishly resist new hook technology that could dramatically reduce this number.
I’ve got to say, the fact that circlehooks aren’t required in those fisheries that are prone to excessive release mortality (fish that die as a result of angling related trauma) isn’t required by now angers me. Why the H wouldn’t we require them!? That’s a question I asked during the last ASMFC Striped Bass Advisory Panel meeting. All the panel had the nerve to muster up was to recommend increased “education” on circle hooks. Like that’s gonna do anything? There was the usual talk about agencies being unable to enforce such a regulation, yet if it was a law, for sure most folks would follow it. Then there was the knucklehead who said that his charter clients wouldn’t be able to figure out how to use the. Uhm, what!? All you do is come tight on the fish. What could be easier than that?
We really need circle hook regulations. It’s absurd not to have them. Until we reduce that release mortality percentage, we just don’t have any credibility.