[Pete]

Not sure. I can recall reading that most fish 18" and over are prime egglaying aged females. If that is the case then wouldn't we be killing off the "breeders" with 8@ 18"? Not trying to cause a shytestorm here, but if in fact this is what science tells us. Then why do we want to kill those fish off in greater numbers?

Naturally, we'd be killing off prospective breeders at 17.5" 16" or even 15" for that matter. But, if we continued to take those 18" survivors with a higher bag, wouldn't we then be eliminating the future juvenile stocks? Which in turn would lead to a kind of, ought oh, here we go again, greater size limits with smaller bag.

I have to assume that through all the hard work done by the SSFFF in getting the proper numbers looked at. And, the possible season bag and size limits proposed. That with any option, the fishery can bear the projected numbers and sustain in future years.

In bygone years October has been very productive with very good catches put together. Yeah you had to work for them but, there was a lot less pressure on them as others were after different species.

I mostly bay fish now so I'd like to see a 17.5" size and the diminished bag of five wouldn't overly anger me. But, I fully understand the call for the longest season with the highest bag.

No matter what is decided, one thing is for sure. There will be plenty of bitching to go around. There isn't a one size fits all option. I really wish there was.