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I suspect many of you are either members of, or commonly frequent TidalFish and perhaps saw this post by Shawn Kimbro below (I often read up on reports here to get a sense of the overall fishing throughout the bay):
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/show...-Mon-Dec-13-17
For those that didn't, it is worth a careful read and some thought. I admit to the more experienced in this region that I am a very novice member to this fishery but consider myself a fairly experienced fisherman (the demands of military moves I suppose). From that perspective I must offer a VERY limited perspective and don't have many years to reflect back on for data--though I know several on this forum DO have that time-in-grade and can perhaps speak with a bit more wisdom.
I for one have always been and always will be a catch-and-release fisherman--I enjoy the sport of the hunt for fish, the fight, and then ultimately returning them for someone else to enjoy. There is certainly nothing criminal about keeping fish, but I have started to wonder about the sustainability of the striped bass fishery here given the ever-growing recreational base and already highly-prized commercial industry. If you read the various posts on TF you will see many pointing to the water quality, the weather patterns or overall warmer water, etc. To me, these are all valid causal factors that should be carefully considered, but I suspect what is really happening is due in the LARGEST part to us (be it commercial or rec)...
What I ask myself is what can be done in the most immediate sense and at the least cost to have the greatest future impact? How do we bring back the striped bass numbers to where they were (an era I wasn't able to ever see or enjoy)? And, furthermore and ultimately, the natural human inclination is to try to litigate and assess blame to SOMEONE, right? Certainly in the kayak fishing community we represent a very small and mostly harmless segment of the larger recreational body of fishermen, but to that group we still belong, and by their regulations we still must abide. Again, I don't know the answer to this complicated and polarizing problem. I have loved exploring the bay this year and plan to continue until I leave this area next winter--my point in the end is that I have loved fishing for striped bass here and will certainly make it a point to return for many years to come. I hope it rebounds back to the glory days of old!
There have been discussions on this forum about working towards bunker sustainability--that's a great start, and I appreciate your efforts!
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/show...-Mon-Dec-13-17
For those that didn't, it is worth a careful read and some thought. I admit to the more experienced in this region that I am a very novice member to this fishery but consider myself a fairly experienced fisherman (the demands of military moves I suppose). From that perspective I must offer a VERY limited perspective and don't have many years to reflect back on for data--though I know several on this forum DO have that time-in-grade and can perhaps speak with a bit more wisdom.
I for one have always been and always will be a catch-and-release fisherman--I enjoy the sport of the hunt for fish, the fight, and then ultimately returning them for someone else to enjoy. There is certainly nothing criminal about keeping fish, but I have started to wonder about the sustainability of the striped bass fishery here given the ever-growing recreational base and already highly-prized commercial industry. If you read the various posts on TF you will see many pointing to the water quality, the weather patterns or overall warmer water, etc. To me, these are all valid causal factors that should be carefully considered, but I suspect what is really happening is due in the LARGEST part to us (be it commercial or rec)...
What I ask myself is what can be done in the most immediate sense and at the least cost to have the greatest future impact? How do we bring back the striped bass numbers to where they were (an era I wasn't able to ever see or enjoy)? And, furthermore and ultimately, the natural human inclination is to try to litigate and assess blame to SOMEONE, right? Certainly in the kayak fishing community we represent a very small and mostly harmless segment of the larger recreational body of fishermen, but to that group we still belong, and by their regulations we still must abide. Again, I don't know the answer to this complicated and polarizing problem. I have loved exploring the bay this year and plan to continue until I leave this area next winter--my point in the end is that I have loved fishing for striped bass here and will certainly make it a point to return for many years to come. I hope it rebounds back to the glory days of old!
There have been discussions on this forum about working towards bunker sustainability--that's a great start, and I appreciate your efforts!