28" min..the "harvest" has begun. CAN ANY OF THIS BE GOOD?

[BobG]

the bass have really been here a bit over a week, and i've already seen more bass killed than any time in recent memory. surely, this is a direct result of the new 28" minimum length.
a friend stopped my this morning to show me his most recent "trophy."
it was a 29" "bruser", which incidently, was the 8th bass he's kept so far this season!
i asked him what he's doing with all the fish? he told me that lots of people like bass. plus, if they weren't plenty of them out there, they would never have lowered the limit.....right?
in this guys mind, what he's doing is OK.
but this represents a growing number of guys who have the time, and ability to keep loads of bass. they are being kept for no other reason other than being over 28".
i knew of several rec fishermen last season who kept well over 50-60 bass. hell, at this rate, my friend will have that many by july!
BUT DOES ANY OF THIS MAKE SENSE?
simply because it's "legal", is it justifiable for some guy to feed 1/2 of worcester with bass, only because he has the time, and the ability to catch them?

i'm very concerned the div of marine fisheries has sent out a conflicting message in lowering the limit. in talking to some guys, they seem to feel that the bass must almost be overpopulating, hence the reduction in the minimum length.

[jettyjockey]

when i look at a 28" fish, my brain screams "schoolie".

[sandy]

I am a strong believer of "catch and release". However, it is hard to convince other people to throw back their legal fish when they are trying to put food on the table. Some of us fish because we love to catch fish. Others fish because they love to catch fish and it's tonight's supper.

[BarryW]

No offense, Bob, but you need new friends. The constant playing with the minimum length is creating mayhem with people's understanding of the state of this fishery. Irrespective of the minimum length, why would anyone keep a bass just because it's over the length limit? I don't see too many starving americans out there. I would kindly ask this gentlemen what types of outdoor activities he liked to do in 1985 because that's where we're going to end up if he continues he's line of reasoning.

[sandy]

In 1985 I was catching 40" blues out of Boston Harbor. Those are gone. I see a trend. Something definitely needs to be done about this and I think more enforcement on the limit is a good place to start. There are already too many posts of people seeing illegal fish taken.

[kamikaze1228]

We need to raise the limits for all types of fish. Not just Bass. If a fish is taken home it will surely die. If you practice catch & release there is a chance, even if it has a hook in it's throat, that it will live to be caught another day. This makes sense all around, for fisherman, the environment, etc. We need a stong policy & strong enforcement. There should be some room for putting food on the table, but taking a fish for bragging rights is terrible.

Check out this link re length versus age:
http://www.stripersurf.com/ageweight.html

I'd feel guilty killing something as magnificent as a striper w/out a good reason. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

[riptide]

If their putting food on the table with a 28" bass it must be one SMALL table. I say back o the days of 36". When you said you caught a keeper people knew you had caught some fairly good size fish. I agree with above 28" is a schoolie.

Riptide

[David Churbuck]

A keeper, if I kept one (which I don't) will always be 36" in my book.

[Bob Parsons]

A fish in the 30" range tastes better than the larger fish.

I bet if you did a survey of people you see along the canal or along various beaches fishing the surf, most are looking for a fish to keep. I suspect that most of the people that access the 3 local flyfishing boards have a higher degree of concern for the fishery.

[rhodehawg]

Bob--no offense, but I find that to be not the case. I've found that most of the people who claim that small fish "eat better" really have no basis for comparison. Not saying it's the case with you. Bigger fish have a higher fat content, for one thing. Their diets are often more varied. Sometimes, the taste of a bass--or a blue for that matter--can vary with their diet. You take a 30# fish that's been eating lobster, maybe it's all in the head, but I swear you can taste the hint of lobster flavor in their meat. I'll eat one or two a season, and I've eaten 34" and 34# bass, and to me, they taste the same. Nothing "gamey" tough or oily about a big bass' meat.

The limit was lowered because all the yahoos were beefing about "how hard it was to catch a keeper". Just like those who complain that tax cuts favor the rich, the guys who can catch a 36" fish regularly were accused of wanting to hog the bass all for themselves. You want to know who the biggest proponents of the 28" limit were, and still are? Tackle shops and charter/head boats. "Everyman" won't fish--and thus won't spend $100 on sinkers, hooks, line and frozen mackerel in Red Top--if he doesn't think he'll be able to take a bass home to show off to the neighbors and the guys at work he's been telling about what a hot-shot fisherman he is.

[RLD944]

During the season I go fishing about once a week. When I target stripers I'm trying to get a keeper to take home and eat. Once I get that keeper, I head for home. I don't know how many others out there feel the same but I have an aversion to catching fish for the sport of it. I ratioanlize my fishing as a "top of the foodchain" thing.

Did anyone see the Dilbert cartoon a month or two ago that related to this? The boss says, "I'm a nature lover. When I fish, I only do catch-and-release." The employee says, "In other words, you torture fish for fun." Then he says to himself, "I wonder why everything I do sounds bad when it's put in other words."

I wonder what the real mortality rate is for caught and released fish? Why do you all think they exist just for your entertainment? How do you guys feel about bull fights?

[mermaid]

Very well put RLD944!

[kamikaze1228]

Personally, I have nothing against bull fights, maybe a little boring for American culture, but then again a lot of people could say that about fishing.

It's my right to fish and I don't want any do gooder, liberal trying to take that away from me. Protecting resources FROM everyone so they can have it ALL FOR THEMSELVES.

RLD, I'm glad you've found a way to justify your behavior while critizing ours. You've done that based purely on intent. You intend to catch a keeper to eat, therefore your behavior is justified. If I catch any fish for sport, my intent is to release it, therefore I'm bad. I must be deriving some sick pleasure from toturing animals. But YOU are guilty of the same behavior. Can't you see the HYPOCRACY in your "RATIONAL"???

How many schoolies do you catch before you get a keeper? How do you justify the pain you put them through? Or are your fishing skills so superior to mine that you ONLY catch keepers?

I bet you want to outlaw SUV's for everyone except yourself because you would use it "for the children".

I'm all for responsible fishing, as you can see from previous posts. I don't want these resources depleted. There are studies on BOTH sides that point to the successes or failures of catch and release, measured by mortality rate. Basically any political interest these days can a study to say whatever they want. As fisherman, we've seen the rebound ourselves. We don't need a study because we've observed that catch and release, while not perfect, DOES WORK.

I don't mean to beat up on you, RLD, but this attitude of singling out groups and then targeting them with taxes or bad press pervades our American society today. The sad part is most people can't see it. First, it was the smokers, now we've taxed the hell out of them and made it virtually impossible to smoke anywhere. (I'm not a smoker & I don't own an SUV by the way). The hypocracy is that the left likes SMOKING, they just don't want you to smoke tobacco. They want you to smoke what they consider acceptable in their little circle of friends, i.e. marijuana.

That's they problem with all these leftist ideals, they're ripe with hypocracy. Well enough rambling for now, I'm going fishing...and I'm not going to feel guilty about it.

[riptide]

RDL,

I'm not against keeping a fish or 2 each season. But if you buy the gear, travel to a location and then catch one fish (a keeper) right away then leave that doesn't make you a fisherman IMHO. Most of the people I fish with (customers included) fish because they enjoy the experience, not just the catching and keeping. I would think if you just wanted to eat one 28" fish the time, effort and money would be better served hitting the market for a farm raised bass. If you fish for a few hours without a keeper was it a bad time? I find your statements kind of peculiar, by your method if they lowered the limit to 12" would you leave after catching 1 micro?

Riptide

[DAWNPATROL]

I have to agree with all of the rational discusion defending the rights of fisherman and the practices of catch and release. If you really want to argue the merits and/or philosophy behind catch and release both as a management tool and a voluntary practice we should compare striper C&R to trout C&R. They are very similar with respect to all "WILD" species of fish. All of the valid arguments have already been debated many times over by organizations like T.U.,and B.A.S.S.,just to name a couple. My personal opinion in relation to all "WILD" species is based on the premise that any and all fish mature enough to spawn should not be kept period. The sport that we all love is jeoperdised by every fish removed from the gene pool. Can you imagin how much more stable our fishery could be if the gene pool was an untapped resource? I realise that this view point is highly unrealistic and could never fly in todays society but if all fisherman practiced there C&R and "Take" in a more responsible manner we as sportsman would ultimately benefit from our own behaviour. I hope that most of us can agree in principle that this viewpoint can work as stated. Thanks for listening, MURF

[jhurd]

The only fish you should be keeping, if any, are the little scrappers mentioned here. Stripers do not breed until they have reached about that length, and produce far more eggs when they get really big. That's why many states now have slot limits!!! I don't think the old boy network of tough guys showing off their big bruisers in New England will allow this to happen. I know such folks as well, and they can't understand why someone like me would chuck a 15 pounder right back in.

Here's an analogy to the big keeper/little keeper thing. We know how much power a nuclear submarine wields vs. an F-16 jet. Maybe there are 50,000 F-16s and only about 100 nuclear submarines, but the submanines can do thousands of times as much damage as a the jets.

Taking a 10 pounder is about the same as killing a fighter jet whereas taking that prized 40 pounder is like taking a nuclear submarine.

Nevertheless, your friend is obviously making check marks on the walls to show how many fish he's taken. And he puts a hell of a lot of faith in government.

[kalamaiofly]

I wuold say 1° don't kill, but you know how are kids. So I suggest a 32" limit for bass, 28" limit for blues, one fish limit whatever it is. We need a really new music about killing those fish.

[kamikaze1228]

Can you say that again in English???

[RJ]

A. There have never been 100 Nuke subs.
B. There never will be 50,000 F-15 and 16's put together.
C. Bull Fights! I love 'em! And when it's over the critter tastes good too!
D. Are the New England Group of the Old Boys Network
related to that Great Right Wing Conspiracy Hillary is always whining about?

RDL - Remember, "It's a Wonderful Life!" Enjoy it and "quityerbitchin"

I don't catch many 36" fish of the Bass or Blue varities.
But when I do, I take there picture and release them.

If I catch too many 28" fish, I keep one now and again and support the wine industry in Portugal by buying a nice Vinho Verde to wash that fine tasting fish down. Here in the Hudson River 18" fish are leagal and have been for years. It hasn't depleted their numbers by even a little bit! The local biologist are concerned for the shad and herring here because of so many class one predators crowding in to this river to spawn. Before and after stipers spawn they feed with a vengence.

Gentlemen,

The large Striped Bass are about 3/4's of the way through their spawning cycle her in the Hudson Valley and they all will be headed for New England by June 1. Hang on, I have seen (not caught by me) 4 fish over 49 inches in the past two weeks. I've caught some hold over schoolies in the 19" to 23" range of Char/Wht. Clouser 12 & 12's, and a lady bass who was 31" and on her first trip home to make babies. Love them circle hooksand a chunk of herring for the ladies!

The average spawning female releases over 1.5 million eggs per spawn year. If one egg reaches maturity per spawning female we have had a record "Class year".

See ya all in NE soon, RJ

[RLD944]

Geeze... I'm not a tree hugger or a leftist liberal. I have a 4X4 and go over sand at Nauset and Race Point. I enjoy fishing and I live-line herring and eels. And I do catch schoolies and release them as carefully as possible. BUT I do think it is hypocritical for you guys to criticze people who actually catch fish to eat. I catch fish to eat and torture a few fish in the process, but I quit after I have what I need. You guys torture fish for fun and get ****ed at us who eat a few because it's a few less fish available for you to maim. I'm not more or less moral than the rest of you. But don't give us crap because we like to eat the fish we catch.

BTW, "rationale" has an "e" at the end...

[jhurd]

The good old boys are the muscle flexers that can't feel like men if they release a large fish. Who knows if they have any link to Hilary.

Who knows if there are that many subs, but an analogy was needed to make the point. Don't get nit picky, this is supposed to be just a discussion.

The point is that the big bruisers should be released and the smaller 28" fish kept, if you really have the need to show off or would like a nice striper meal.

We should have slot limits that protect the finest breeding stock. The current RI laws encourage us only to kill breeding fish. Does this make sense?

[rockfisherman]

Absolutely. The larger fish are the breeding females, and the current RI laws encourage killing off the breeding stock. RI should adopt a slot limit like CT and ME to allow fisherman to take some smaller male fish home for the table, and save the valuable brood stock until it is true trophy size. When I was a kid, we talked about bass in terms of pounds (I caught a 30), now it means we caught a 30 incher.