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I agree that Good Science should be the basis of our F&G laws .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ol Pedro

I agree that Good Science should be the basis of our F&G laws .

I think witchcraft is a more accurate science then the 1 the Gov't is using

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmurr711

I think witchcraft is a more accurate science then the 1 the Gov't is using

What they have been using is Voodoo Science .

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmurr711

I think witchcraft is a more accurate science then the 1 the Gov't is using

So true.

I striper fished with Rick Caton back in 2011 and he was sounding the alarm then.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_n...es-controversy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ol Pedro

Young Snapperbluefish , I'm glad to see that your gears are turning and you are thinking of something other than how many you can keep . I wish that I thought the same when I was your age . You and other young Fishermen/Women are the future of our fisheries . This is a forum so feel free to say/ask what ever you want . On whether or not to keep any legally caught fish it should be up to the person who caught it . People listen better when you are not yelling at them . A Man who I respect immensely stated his opinion recently on this very subject . He didn't yell or call anyone names . I think that people read it and some will take it to heart as people will give thought to your question . I feel that The Bass have been passing through for quite some time and only in the past few years we have had the knowledge/conditions to catch them . Just because we may not be catching them as well on the Ocean side doesn't mean that they are in trouble . Say we harvested 100 25lb and up Bass on a good day on Jersey's coast who is to say that 10,000 passed on the wrong side of the EEZ and will never be fished ?

I have heard several capts say the bass are so thick outside 3 miles you can walk on them,

I raise the question how come the blue fish boats dropping jigs and the bottom boats dropping clams have zero striper By catch? Hmmm

The issue about if the Bay was hot then the stocks have to be strong, see the thing is in years past 10 other spots were simultaneously hot (few thousand here, few thousand there etc), them retreating to only one (few thousand)or two is the essence of total numbers being down

Snapper I am with you on Preservation and a better future and Im not making excuses for it

I think a lot of people are drawing a conclusion from one data point with that data point being the 2013 spring run which isn't over yet.

Let's look at the preceding 4 data points, 2011 spring & fall and 2012 spring and fall. 2011 both runs were strong. 2012 spring was strong. 2012 fall started strong and looked like we were headed for a great fall run then Sandy hit.

These fish live for 10 years or more. So all of a sudden we caught them all and now it is over for a decade?

Should we be a little concerned? Maybe. But, 4 strong runs in a row and then 1 weak one and we conclude the fish are all gone?

I agree that we should encourage anglers to release big cows and only take what you eat. Makes sense for all of us.

But one rough calculation that we are harvesting more than 100 fish a day in NJ so we killed them all strikes me as a big leap.

In god we trust, all others must show data. Not sure this is real data.

Did not think 2011 Fall was very good, I saw The Sea Piegeon from Brooklyn NY fishing off IBSP, I can't imagine going 45-50 miles unless its one body of fish surrounded by a lot of dead water

I did not think Spring 2012 was very good at all, curious what were your personal landings of fish over say 20lbs vs 2013

I caught a ton of fish in fall 2011. Yes, it was the "southern" bite that year. I caught 24 bass on one trip, keeping 2. Spring '12 was an early bite, caught 10 bass on a trip in march. Landed a handful of big bass last spring. This year made it out once and got skunked.

These are migratory fish, but they come home to spawn. The Hudson is a big spawning ground, but the Chesapeake is by far the the big kahuna. Nothing comes close it is striper spawning heaven.

It is estimated their are 50 million or more stripers in the ocean. But it is a very big pond. Who knows where they go, except when they spawn.

The raritan bay had a good spring. The Chesapeake had a good spring. For some reason the jersey coast sucks this year. They went somewhere else after the spawn. Who knows why. But I doubt we killed 50 million fish last year even if we caught 1000 a day. The math doesn't work and the fish showed up where they spawn in the usual numbers. Maybe sandy did something to the underwater structure, but more likely a lot of bait outside 3 miles.

In any event I am not panicking yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharkHart

I don't think that people are reporting many catches/releases outside the line . Chances are if the Bass are not being caught on jigs/clams inside the line then they probably won't be caught on them offshore . These Bass didn't get big being stupid . If the Bass are eating live Bunker why would a clam work ? The only good clam bite that I have ever had off Central Jersey was in the fall a few Seasons back behind an Offshore Clam Dredger .