Saw this and I had to laugh. It reminded me of what guys do with fluke that were over the then slot limit. Some would take a pair of scissors and trim the tails down to fit within the slot. Now with the striped bass having a slot limit anglers can use the Slot-Fit which uses Striper Compressor technology to get it to fit. Of course this is a joke but it does raise a point.
There's a lot of striped bass around. And interestingly the beaches, or Out Front, waters seem to be active early with striped bass. There's a ton of bunker around and I suspect those early Chesapeake and Delaware fish are making their way north for the summer. It used to be June and into early July where the beaches and jetties would be the place. Early mornings and late afternoons would see the crowds build watching and waiting for the bass to push the bunker up onto the beaches. It was a plug guys happy time, but frustrating for the fly rodders as usually they were out of range.
While the push of big fish this spring has been solid it has lead to more of a catch and release fishery due to the slot. That's a good thing because I've always said less fish harvested means more fish in the water, outside of catch and release mortality. But those slot fish, 28-31 inches, are being caught and harvested in numbers that I question as far as sustainability. Taking those fish now will no doubt affect those years class fish in seasons to come.
Eventually those big fish, the breeding classes, will die off and what will happen if there's a smaller bio-mass of fish making their spring and fall runs? Only time, and speculation, will tell. I don't what this years spawning success will be in the Delaware River. Drought like conditions aren't good for a spawn. The river bumped up a bit and is now running just under 10,000 cfs.
Thankfully to the cold snap we had the temps are down in more tolerable numbers around 58 degrees overnight. I'm not sure I'll see those big water successful days like I had last year and I haven't heard of herring actually being spotted yet. No doubt each year things change, and the bass adapt and change with the changes as well. I hope to get out this weekend between running around and touching up things around the house. We are exactly a month from my listing deadline and I hope we're on target.
With the blossom season that came and dropped it was time this week for Theresa and I to start the dreaded task of cleaning out beds and spreading black mulch. I made sure I wore gloves vebacqse once that dye gets into your pores it stays there for a while. While I thought I was good several of the nurses pointed out how horrid my hands were after we handled a Code Blue on the floor yesterday. Next time I'll have to make sure I have gloves on at the bedside. Between my nails basically sanded off and the black stain that colored my nails I get why my hands don't look like I am ready for surgery. It reminded me that I'm done with home maintenance and and I'm ready for my HOA fees to cover landscaping. Mowing the acre of grass is now an every-other-day chore and with this weekend's rain the grass and weeds will grow even faster.
We've just about cleared out the Facebook Marketplace inventory but the train collection remains. It's taking up a large space in the family room and is impeding progress in that room. The above pic is just a tiny view of the room full of trains. I'll have to come up with a plan B if they don't move, and the last thing I want is to lug them down to South Carolina. Downsizing is a bitch, and my advice is to start now, regardless if you're moving or not.