DNR striped bass proposed regs for 2020

[J.A. Veil]

This afternoon, DNR released a set of proposed regulations for striped bass fishing in 2020. I read through it twice, but have not done a detailed analysis. There are several things that will affect my annual fishing patterns. I encourage all Snaggedline members who fish for stripers to read the new proposal. If you disagree with any parts of the proposal, submit comments to DNR. Please remember that these are not final regs -- this is a proposal. A public hearing will be held January 9, 2020 at 6 p.m. at Calvary United Methodist Church, 301 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis, MD 21401. Interested persons are invited to attend and express their views. Final rules will be decided later after public comment.

Proposed regs for 2020:
1) Change the start of the spring trophy season from 3rd Sat in April to May

2) Prohibiting catch and release or targeting striped bass from March 1 through April 30. > This would be in effect for all areas in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries.
> Trolling would be prohibited during this time period. (this one in particular will affect me, since I like to troll for stripers in the Severn and on the Susquehanna flats during March and April on a catch-and-release basis -- under the proposal I could not do that).
> This would affect charter boats too -- they are likely to oppose the banning of pre-season catch and release trips.

3) Hook requirements apply to fishing for all species, not just striped bass.
> Circle hooks required when chumming or live-lining (I like to fish for pickerel in tidal waters using live minnows on a small jighead [DNR considers this live lining]. Under the proposal, that would be prohibited. I would need to fish minnows on circle hooks only.)
> J hooks (no size restriction) or circle hooks are required when using fish, crabs, or worms as bait, or processed bait.
> Restrictions apply May 16 through December 15.

[Big Mike]

I like what I see here. I’m sure the charters won’t like it but it beats a moratorium which can’t be too far away if we don’t do something.

[Mark]

I like the idea of delaying the trophy season to protect more of those very important spawning cows. Short of stopping the trophy season completely, which would be my choice, I think the state should determine the actual dates seasonally to take into account the weather patterns during the spring. In other words, rather than designating specific dates many months in advance, wait to see if our spring is wet, cold, warm, etc. and specify the trophy season dates after assessing that the vast majority of migratory stripers have completed the task that they came here to do.

But the hook requirements for "all species" is indeed mystifying. I suspect they are to preserve stripers caught unintentionally.

[Big Mike]

I’ve fished for pelagic fish in Costa Rica over many years. They exclusively use circle hooks for almost all species whether live lining or trolling ballyhoo. It’s more a matter of overcoming fishermen resistance to “I’ve always done it this way” than it is performance of the hook.

[DanMarino]

1. I vote for protecting adult spawners and banning trophy season altogether.
2. I vote for having a slot length for keeping Stripers in the summer and fall.
3. Looks like I should start up a jig making business using Circle Hooks.

[J.A. Veil]

1. I vote for protecting adult spawners and banning trophy season altogether.
2. I vote for having a slot length for keeping Stripers in the summer and fall.
3. Looks like I should start up a jig making business using Circle Hooks.

Regarding #3, a few years ago I ordered some jigheads from Mission Fishin. Most of the ones I bought had standard J hooks molded into the lead head. I also bought a few packs of jigheads made with circle hooks. I wanted to experiment with them. After using them intermittently throughout a summer, I was disappointed. They did not have the same percentage of hookups as the standard jighead. When I did catch a fish, I found them harder to remove from the fish's mouths. The extra curve on the hook tended to tear the mouths more.

I concluded that in theory, circle hook jigheads were a good idea, but in practice they did not work well.

The jighead on the bottom used a circle hook.

004_9.jpg

[Mark]

Another hook issue in the proposed regulation is that recreational anglers in tidal waters would be prohibited from using stinger hooks from 1 March to 30 April. That gave me pause because I tie many of my fly rod poppers with stinger hooks. And I target pickerel with poppers in the spring. With their return to tidal waters, I would be inclined to toss poppers for them in the Severn, the upper Magothy and the Bodkin next year. Stinger hooks have a wide gap with a point directed toward the shank. It's vaguely similar to a circle hook but the upturn of the point is not as pronounced.

Here's a photo of a typical stinger hook used for fly rod poppers:

stinger .jpg

It's a Gamakatsu B105 Stinger. Other fly hook makers use the term "stinger" also.

The wide gap is definitely helpful in surface hookups. Hence, their popularity with popper fly tiers.

However, after thinking about it, I strongly suspect that the stinger hook referred in the proposed regulation is a second hook tied on a short piece of mono or fluorocarbon that trails another hook on a lure or bait rig. That's a common setup here in the Chesapeake. That has to be what the DNR means. But they really should clarify that. The draft as it now reads simply says "stinger" hooks cannot be use in that timeframe.

I don't envy the folks writing these regulations. It's very difficult clearly cover every situation, contingency and nuance.

[ronaultmtd]

So true, Mark...the regs would be in volumes like encyclopedias...like what I am hearing...delaying the start of Striper season to eliminate spawning fish is a step in the right direction, but still allowing the taking of big cow breeders is short sighted...they are not a great fish on the table- too strong fishy taste, and they have accumulated heavy metals in their flesh...I am all for slots for keepers- say no fish over 36 inches may be taken and must be released like they do for big red drum (Channel Bass)... the cold water catch and release has a very low mortality, so that just doesn’t seem to do anything but punish charter boats. If the DNR is concerned about mortality they might consider a ban on removing the fish from the water like Florida does for bigger tarpon. But all in all, it beats a moratorium.

[bignose]

in April to May

3) Hook requirements apply to fishing for all species, not just striped bass.
> Circle hooks required when chumming or live-lining (I like to fish for pickerel in tidal waters using live minnows on a small jighead [DNR considers this live lining]. Under the proposal, that would be prohibited. I would need to fish minnows on circle hooks only.)
> J hooks (no size restriction) or circle hooks are required when using fish, crabs, or worms as bait, or processed bait.
> Restrictions apply May 16 through December 15.

A couple of things here are confusing:

What is the difference between chumming, live lining, and "using fish" ?
DNR personnel were not able to give me a consistent answer on this. I've asked this question a couple of times when the charter boat got inspected on the water by the DNR.

A J hook for soft crabbing? A striper will swallow a hunk of crab, bloodworms, etc. just deeply as it will a piece of chum.....we should be required to use circle hooks for all "natural" or "flavored / scented baits like fishbites (non artificial lures) baits to eliminate the confusion.
Gulp types of lures would be a problem, but since they are flavored / scented you'd be required to use a circle hook. Simply crimp a piece of split shot ahead of the circle hook and you should be good to go.
Circle hooks are only effective when the bait / lure is swallowed, and then slowly tightened up to set the hook. Unless you use Gulp, a circle hook jig with a unflavored tail is kinda useless.

Artificial lures such as plugs, and jigs could retain their J hooks since they are not usually deeply ingested.

A size limit on lures is a possibility. Up on the Susquehanna, below the dam, anglers are required to use a lure no longer than 2 -3/4" until June 1 to eliminate "accidentally catching stripers" while fishing for walleyes, catfish, shad etc. It is obviously easier to enforce this with shore bound anglers.

We should totally eliminate the "trophy" season. Striper season should start: May 1, or the second Saturday in May.
Yes, this will be a hardship for the charter fleet, but they have already had some concessions thrown their way by allowing those with a charter permit to keep 2 fish per angler.

A slot limit like 19"-32" until June 1 would cut down on breeding stock mortality. After that date you may keep a larger fish.

Drifting the Flats or the Severn from a kayak, is this trolling or not?
What if the craft is "not under power?" This needs clarification.

Mark,

In so far as 'stinger" hooks are concerned: we used to add a large J hook attached to the primary jig hook when trolling 9-12" plastic shad on our trolling rigs.

Prohibiting trolling during "catch and release" (as preseason will no longer exist), should eliminate the need for this practice.

The use of stinger hooks has been illegal during "catch and release and trophy season" for a couple of years now. After the regular season opens the trollers can use this rig if desired.

They may have clarify the terminology to: "trailing adjacent hook."

Limiting lure length should also make this a moot point.
The same sort of issue exists with multiple sets of treble hooks on plug style lures. I know a lot of guys here replace the treble with larger solo hook, I used to bend two of the three points towards the hook shank for the same net effect.

[Yak Fish]

Just so you guys know, this is progressive disclosure. None of what they are actually proposing is going to come close to the 18% reduction they need to take (we'll probably need to take 20% because they're avoiding commercial anglers taking a cut, so we'll have to bear that as well). The major cuts will come from summer closures, which wasn't part of their latest info.

I've talked at length about fisheries management on Facebook on my fishing page. I've followed this very closely, gone to the meetings, met with DNR, read the reports, pulled the numbers, etc, etc. The recommendation from ASMFC is to go to a 1 fish limit at 18" minimum. That is all we need to do and everything else is the same. Instead, MD will try to match that recommendation with their own set of recommendations, which is called Conservation Equivalency....and that's bad. Fisheries are managed by bag and size limits. Anything other than that is trying to monkey with the math to make it look a certain way on paper.

Instead of 1 fish at 18", I've included in the graphic below what they've said they'll propose at a recent meeting. I could talk your ears off on this subject. The bottom line is that you'll need a lawyer to go fishing if they get their way. If you're fishing for largemouth or catfish and catch a striper...good luck proving it. There is no way to police most of this, and worse yet, much of it isn't a meaningful reduction....like closing fishing in March/April when is scientifically the safest time of year to fish for them, and closing it doesn't even move the needle. Management is about politics, not science, which is why we've squandered an opportunity coming out of the moratorium to enable a robust fishery.

Here's a couple of info graphics I put together to summarize quickly.
preseason c and r.jpg
would you rather.jpg

[Mark]

It’s well known that lower water temperatures decrease C&R mortality. Closing a fishery when water temperatures are low may indeed be a false economy proposed by the MD DNR-- more hype than benefit. But I look at that proposed closure and say if it’s good to reduce spawning striper discards then, even a relative few for a couple of months, why not close it through the entire spawning period to save them all from C&R deaths?

I am not a hunter. But what little I know about it is that hunting seasons are closed when the animals in question are actively giving birth. Yet we treat fish different. In MD we target our state fish at the very height of its reproductive process as they mate and spawn. We remove both genders from the population simultaneously. I simply do not understand the logic of doing that to a resource we supposedly value.

I do understand the economics of it. Catching those spawning fish, even catching and releasing them, is a significant moneymaking venture for many. It’s also a cultural thing here in MD, just as it is catching those big cows in other states up and down the Atlantic coast during their annual migrations to and from our waters.

But we’re also fortunate that stripers stay in our local waters for given periods during their life cycle. We can fish for them more months of the year than just the spring. We can leave them alone in the spring and still enjoy our hobby.

I’ve read that stripers may stay in the Chesapeake for up to 8 years before migrating. Also, fisheries scientists think there are strains of stripers more prone to migration than others and that some may live their entire lives in the Chesapeake. The fact is that aspects of the striper life cycle remain an enigma despite all the study devoted to them. As we’ve seen, getting an accurate handle on their true numbers is a challenge. We seem to figure out there are fewer of them only when they get more difficult to catch.

But this is certain. The vast majority of spawning stripers on the Atlantic Coast do so in Chesapeake Bay and they do so every spring. So, I believe MD and VA are special custodians of these fish and they need to act accordingly. In my mind, the only absolute way to ensure sustaining spawns is to leave them alone while they are doing it. That means closing the season entirely. I know that will never happen.

[Jman]

It’s well known that lower water temperatures decrease C&R mortality. Closing a fishery when water temperatures are low may indeed be a false economy proposed by the MD DNR-- more hype than benefit. But I look at that proposed closure and say if it’s good to reduce spawning striper discards then, even a relative few for a couple of months, why not close it through the entire spawning period to save them all from C&R deaths?

Mark, it was my impression that the lower water temperatures were associated with a lower probability of C&R mortality too. I know it's not cited in the proposed regulations, but does the state release referenced information papers or studies that they base these regulations on? I hope that their decisions are based on methodologically sound research/surveillance and that they could disseminate more information about how/why these decisions are made, so the average person can understand without consulting a lawyer/expert.

[Mark]

J,

This excerpt:

"Mortality studies of striped bass by department scientists show that fish larger than 24 inches are at the considerable risk when caught and released in warm, low-salinity waters. They may swim away when released, but the research shows that many do not recover and die hours later out of sight.

Catch and release mortality in mature striped bass increases depending on the temperature and salinity of the water."

Is from this MD DNR webpage:

https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/p...d-release.aspx

[Jman]

Thanks Mark! That baffles me that they would cut early C&R and barely delay the trophy harvest. Seems contrary to the information linked on their own page if they want to decrease dead discards/breeding fish harvest.

[Yak Fish]

Thanks Mark! That baffles me that they would cut early C&R and barely delay the trophy harvest. Seems contrary to the information linked on their own page if they want to decrease dead discards/breeding fish harvest.

Bingo! History is repeating itself. C&R was demonized just before the last moratorium. See Chesapeake Stripers by Keith Walters. It's eerie how similar everything is from then to now. Why would they demonize C&R you may ask? It's because they can try and take a reduction there, but harvest elsewhere. For Maryland it's all about harvesting. Here's another info graphic to show how much harvesting actually goes on in the bay.

chesapeake harvest.jpg