I voted for 8 fish @ 18 inches May 5 – Oct 21. Longer season, highest bag limit, good for the captains. I like the later start because the boats will still get plenty of business in April from stripers.
As for people believing the best way to fill the freezer is 17 and 17.5 inch fish, you are right that it would be easier. However, the 18 inch-plus fish are there; the sharpies in the bow almost always catch the majority of them on any party boat. Maybe no one wants to admit that catching a keeper fluke is more challenging than just robotically dropping squid/spearing to the bottom?
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Now the sun is just starting to climb up over the treetops,
And it's gonna be a beautiful day, that's plain to see.
But I won't be around at all, so don't even bother to call,
Cause on a day like today there's one place I gotta be:
GONE FISHIN'
Fishing with LardAlmighty on YouTube
