I received some intel from Staten Island fly, spin and bait fisherman, boat builder, plug maker, and rod builder Marco Parrino after yesterday's post about New York's closed striped bass season. He let me know that, yes, while the season for striped bass is closed until April 15th, there is a "clause" stating that anglers can target striped bass during the closed season if they catch and release fishes that are caught.
There is a difference between what is allowed or tolerated and what is the law. That not only protects the striped bass, or not, but it protects the angler as well. Things that are put down in writing, because they are the law, definitely help the anglers navigate between right and wrong. Regardless of what you think, or I think, about the rules and regulations, anglers playing within them, have the right to know the laws, and what will or will not be enforced. That goes from how and when they can fish to if they can harvest a fish if they so choose. Things like the use of circle hooks when using bait, live or dead, became law and are found in the individual states fishing guides.
New York clearly, well it's kind of hidden deep down in the actual regulations in 6 CRR-NY 40.1 (g) 3, states that "During the closed recreational season for striped bass, catch and release fishing by angling only
is permitted". I point that out not to call out or inform those that fish on the waters or on the beaches of New York but as kind of a kudos to New York for putting it down in writing. It makes it more transparent, enforceable, and informative for those that aren't in the know, who want to know, or are poaching striped bass out of season.
On The Water magazine is a great resource and read for anglers up and down the East Coast. Recently I saw their weekly fishing report for New Jersey. I was surprised that both the Hook House
and Grumpy's Bait and Tackle both reported on recent activities by New Jerseys Fish and Wildlife game wardens. That must mean it's not just a one and done thing but something that occurs often enough that there has to be eyes on it and enforcement needs to happen. I looked at the NJ DEC's website and social media pages but they currently reporting more about hunting violations than fishing. In the report it says, "The hottest action taking placer is the ticket writing by fish and game wardens for striped bass being caught out of season".
These days we know, or might assume, that there are more striped bass wintering over in New Jersey's back bays and rivers than before. While the warm water discharges at places like the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Plant and PSEG's Coal Generating Plant's along the Delaware and Hackensack Rivers used to be a place where striped bass could tolerate the long and cold winters they are now closed. But milder winters and warmer climates in Jersey waters have striped bass sticking it out and waiting for spring.
Many anglers keep at it through the winter. White perch, winter flounder, and I think tog, are species that have open seasons and are good tablet fare. Tiny nibbles that they use for bait also attract striped bass looking for a mid-winters snack. Undoubtedly, anglers catch those out-of-season striped bass, and when they do they have to be returned to the water. No harm and no foul. Unless you're up to nefarious fishing, and decide to poach them. Then you're looking for trouble.
From my research I found that New Jersey's back bays and rivers have been closed to striped bass fishing since 1953. This isn't like New York, there is no "clause", the season to target them is closed. Shut down. You can't. It's illegal. Period.
I'm not going to get into the ASMFC again here. But basically they "manage" the striped bass (east) coast wide. They look at the data from things like The SSB (Spawning Striped Bass Biomass), YOY recruitment results (From Hudson, Delaware, Chesapeake, and it's spawning tributaries, Albermarle/Roanoke waters, and a touch at the Kennebec River up north), and NOAA's MRIP (Marine Recreational Marine Program) surveys. They then set quotas and charge the individual states to manage themselves. Since it's Easter I'll liken it to the story of Pontius Pilot, Herod, and Jesus.
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Simply, Jesus went in front of Pontius Pilate, who balked at making a decision about what to do with Jesus's "blasphemous" declarations that He was the Son of God. P.P. sent him to King Herod who sent him back to Pilate, who, with his hands tied, asked the crowd what to do with him. And we all know what happened, the crowd yelled, "Crucify Him!", and the rest is history.
So these states manage their own waters, even though the waters are border waters between two or more neighboring states. Regulations are set to satiate the ASMFC's "numbers" when it comes to managing the fishery, in both the commercial and recreational sectors. In the end, what one state does may be markedly different from their neighbor. And that's just confusing to anglers, and probably the striped bass, and in the end, just stupid.
Recently I've touched about the border waters like in the Raritan (NY & NJ), the Delaware Bay and River (NJ & PA & De) and the Chesapeake (Md. & De & Va). Same waters, different states lines, all with different regulations. A fish on this side off the line is good, while those swimming or hunkered down on the other side of the line are fair game. But let's not talk about harvesting while angling, how about just plain old having fun catching and releasing. (with big hooks, pinch barbs, no belly hooks, barbless flies)
New Jersey's season for striped bass opens up "out back" in the bays and rivers March 1st through December 31st. That's for all waters except for the Delaware River. There, it open March 1st, but closes 31 days later on April 1.
It is then closed for two months, April 1 through May 31st. One thing that NJ, De., and Pa agree on is that spawning season for striped bass in the Delaware Bay and River is during those two months. That's
why I recently questioned about having a tournament on the river in early April. But, it's legal I guess, and we can't judge or impose our beliefs on what others do during a legal season. But forget all that.
NJ and Pa. have picked the Calhoun Street Bridge (Between Trenton and Morrisville) as the cut-off between spawning and non-spawning waters on the Delaware River and have each set their own regulations accordingly. Above is from the NJ Fishing Digest and below is from Pennsylvania's. Same water, different rules. Just a few hundred feet apart.
While, at this point, the NJ and Pa. Digest's are out in publication the Delaware Digest, at least on-line, encourages anglers to check, well "refer" to the electronic versions as the regulations are updated and TBD (To Be Determined), due to the ebb and flow of the changing laws.
There are only a few states that mention "Catch & Release" fishing for striped bass. New York does (above at the top), Delaware does, kinda, and so does Maryland. Let's hit Maryland first. Now let me say this for those anglers fishing in and around the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries...good luck! That's a big body of water with a ton of regulations that you have to be in the know about, or else.
Just a peek above shows that Chesapeake Bay waters are open for "Catch and Release Only" from Jan.1 through Feb. 29. If you want to fish the Susky Flats or Lower River or the Northeast River you'll have to find and check those regulations to be in compliance and legal.
Now back to Delaware, above. In their fish digest, under Striped Bass Spawning Season, they clearly state, "Catch and release only during this season, no harvest is allowed". I went deep into the Delaware regulations, not the fishing digest, and couldn't find the statute, or law, that lays that out. I don't mean
it doesn't exist, I just couldn't find it. And that's part of the problem. If a warden writes you a ticket he doesn't refer to page 17 of the state's fishing digest, he pulls out things like say, 7 DEC C. s936 (b) (2).
I dug into the NJ Fish and Wildlife Statutes looking for Delaware River specific violations. If there is a closed season for striped bass from April 1st through May 31st, with no mention of permitted catch and release, surely it must be there somewhere in writing. Above is what I found. Now, they may be able to cite you a general fishing out of season statute if they so choose, but that's something you won't know until the law is standing there with you near the water looking like you just ate the last cookie.
I've talked with anglers who have fished the Delaware River for years, for like decades, and other's who've fished waters in New Jersey that are "closed" and I get different takes. "It's not closed, you just can't take them". "I'm friends with the wardens and they don't care as long as you put them back". That's not the way it should be. I have contacted folks from the NJ F & W looking for that clarification and the responses are spotty at best, and that's not good. Basically, according to the regulations, New Jersey is closed from April 1st - May 31st on the Jersey side of the Delaware River from Trenton down to the Salem River. On any given nice day along that stretch you'll find 10's if not a 100 anglers soaking, throwing, or tossing bait, plugs and flies for striped bass all under the watchful eye of NJ's game wardens, who, really, are looking for anglers who are illegally taking striped bass. If they were there to enforce the closed season their paddy wagons would be full of anglers clutching their gear. But anglers shouldn't feel like they are "fishing dirty" if they are catching and releasing, which, according to the regulations, is breaking the law, at least on the Jersey side, while Pa and De. is wide open.
So why don't I just shut up already, right? I think the big picture here is this. The ASMFC has to manage striped bass on a coast-wide basis, some way and some how. Border waters should have the same regulations. In some cases you have a closed season on one side of a river and a 21-24" slot on the other, which is about 150 feet away, at the same time. If we are going to protect spawning striped bass then either, shut it down altogether, or clearly and concisely, and visibly make anglers know that this is how it is. You can enjoy fishing, you have to practice catch and release, and if you don't there are consequences, like ones that hurt. Don't let it be up to the discretion of the game warden who's working this day and the "soft" closed season law that's been around forever. He might just run into the angler who's just throwing a rod for whatever bites. If he doesn't have dad fish on a stringer he could always say he's targeting bluefish.
And lastly, let's look at Connecticut. A state with no spawning strain of striped bass and no natal rivers, at least historically. Maybe they have it right? It's a statewide open season all year long with one fish within the ASMFC's emergency action slot of 28 - 31 inches. It's right there in print. Easy peasy. Done deal. Simple.
One thing I think is is that some people love chaos. Some people don't really like things to be easy. Things that are easy can be measured and handled. I think a large part of fisheries management likes things difficult and not easy. There are so many moving parts and the chaos helps it difficult to manage and be held accountable. Some say the science and data is flawed. Others blame the other side (comm vs rec). Rarely do we look within ourselves and admit that changes need to be made on a personal level. We all have to get together on this to do better. The border states can help by maybe coming together to manage those border waters better, even if that means that there has to be sacrifices in seasonal lengths, closures, or a quotas shift in other areas of the states waters that they manage.