Elk's tournament

[Broad Bill]

Just looked up the results from last week's Elk's Tournament. Two co-winners at 6.4 lbs. To put that in perspective, from 2006 to 2021, not only would a 6.4 lb. fish not won, it wouldn't have made the board of the top seven heaviest fish weighed in over that entire 16-year period.

I know people don't want to hear it but this fishery is in deep trouble. I've posted the results for the last four years for further comparison. The super breeders of the stock have been wiped out and the spawning stock has been decimated. Regulations which target harvesting the spawning stock, primarily females, and the most productive breeders of the stock have killed this fishery. Absurd regulations and on-going wasteful and non-stop exploitation by the commercial sector year round have taken it's toll on the stock. It's unimaginable a fishery which means so much to not only this state but most Mid-Atlantic States is being managed for commerce and not the longevity and health of the stock.