I caught a post on Facebook regarding the latest status of striped bass on our planet, you can see the article HERE. I decided to chime in and give my response, one I fully believe.
"Make it a gamefish. No matter what size the slot the fish keep getting caught, overs and indeed, trying to find that slot “keeper”. There are no, or at least limited 28-35” fish around. It’s 20 inches or over 35”. And the fish aren’t spread out, pinch point fishing, the Canal, Montauk, Raritan Bay and the NY Bight. Mostly a boy fishery now. Talk to anglers that were around in the 80’s before the moratorium, very similar, especially for the non-boat angler. It needs to be shut down. It’s coming. But the ASMFC can’t pull the trigger no matter how many skewed “scientific” figures that come up with. Now the latest is recreational mortality, yeah circle hooks will fix that, haha. Look at the Chesapeake numbers the last three years. The only thing keeping this going, is the Hudson fish, which are what I think are the main strain these days. Early season slaughter in the Raritan Bay needs to cease, maybe catch and release if you have to. And forget about an East Coast balanced approach- too much money and politics and a’holes with a hand out and a say. History repeats itself if you don’t learn from it- we didn’t learn. Look at the bluefin fishery now, overfished. That’ll come around in a few years. Just my opinion"
Funny how you just notice things these days in this world of ours, how long is the title of this magazine going to hold up?