2013 Striper run?

[HydraSportsPT]

Spring clam bite was what I put into it....moving on.
Fall Run: Jig bite was great early am, when the pressure of the morning increased the troll was spectacular, every 200 yards take down. Plenty of keepers and 16 lb blues to keep it interesting
The night eel bite was good, 2-3 week span between the channels, wind kept it from being spectacular but thats the fall fishing
IBSP - disappointing

[Angler Paul]

I agree with Capt. Sal except about the 3 mile rule. You have to realize that the rule applys to the entire east coast and to commercial and recreational fishermen alike. The stock would be absoultely devastated if the commercial guys were able to net them while they are wintering over offshore of the Virginia and North Carolina coasts.

[tombanjo]

This guy captures the emotional state of striper fishermen.

http://www.angelfire.com/md2/fishing...s/bassrec.html

[Michael82929]

Agree with most of Sal's assessment... my sentiments exactly.

You didnt mention one thing which I wont - loose lips sink ships...

But overall was a very good 2013 season.. wish I got out more..

[Reel Class]

3 mile EEZ "law" is ridiculous - agreed. It's been in place for several years (I really don't know how many years but for a LONG time) and up until recently, it wasn't really enforced with the vigor that we see in current times.

The enforcement of possession bass in the EEZ is a $$$ maker for our federal government, as it's a federal offense so the money they make from fines goes to the fed - hence the reason for the "initiative" by the CG to enforce it and why so much effort is going into enforcing it.

Choppers, cutters, little black inflatables, planes, etc. all go into enforcing this. Up until maybe 3 or 4 years ago, there was no enforcement and anglers didn't really worry about going past 3 with bass - but now, since the latest initiative in pushing the enforcement of the EEZ, I, as well as many other guys, are afraid to go off 2.9 or even 2.8 to look for bass!!!

It would be nice to see the coast GUARD do it's real job, and that's protect law abiding citizens of this country, not enforce draconian laws on law abiding citizens that are reminiscent of the 1700's British rule LOL

In regards to the bass run, the spring bunker run sucked, the clam bite up off the hook was good when we could run up there, and the fall was ehhhh as about 75% of our fish were taken on the troll - jig bite was off and the fish were VERY picky!

[Legacy]

We had a great spring run in Raritan Bay averaging 12-15 fish in the 15-20 pound class on our home made bunker spoons during April,May and June never having to hit the ocean. Best spring fish was a 37 pound female released to spawn.

The fall was a different story with a wild November run averaging 30-40 fish a trip on tube rigs between the channels. Switching to spoons often put the larger 20 plus pound fish on the deck this fall. Had our best fall day on the Reach with 5 fish over 30 pounds when the large bunker made a brief appearance and the spoons matched the hatch.

Fishing weekdays and being one of the first boats out on the bait made all the difference in the world this fall. Weekends were certainly a circus towards the end of the run. Seeing so many short fish this fall bodes well for 2014 and beyond assuming the NC netters don't demolish the biomass. A great year with many of my friends' kids catching bass fever with us this season.

[sternline]

Originally Posted by Reel Class

3 mile EEZ "law" is ridiculous - agreed. It's been in place for several years (I really don't know how many years but for a LONG time) and up until recently, it wasn't really enforced with the vigor that we see in current times.

The enforcement of possession bass in the EEZ is a $$$ maker for our federal government, as it's a federal offense so the money they make from fines goes to the fed - hence the reason for the "initiative" by the CG to enforce it and why so much effort is going into enforcing it.


It would be nice to see the coast GUARD do it's real job, and that's protect law abiding citizens of this country, not enforce draconian laws on law abiding citizens that are reminiscent of the 1700's British rule LOL

!

So you think the big bad government set up the EEZ ban on stripers to make money? It was we recreational anglers and other conservationists who fought for this to save striped bass from virtual extinction. Read Dick Russell's great book STRIPER WARS to learn the true history of this great victory for recreational anglers and for the marine environment. Every time I catch a striper, I'm grateful for this victory that allows the bass to thrive in the EEZ. And I'm grateful to all of us in New Jersey who fought for the ban on commercial fishing for stripers in our waters.
Learn this history and don't forget it. Otherwise you may end up wondering what ever happened to all those stripers we were catching back in the first decades of the 21st century.

[Capt Sal]

If there was a nation wide ban on commercial landings of striped bass we would not need the EEZ restriction!NJ does not allow commercial landing of striped bass so we have to worry about the out of state boats.Maryland and Virginia are main offenders.I am sure we will read about another greedy netter taking tons of illegal bass in Chesapeak Bay.

[Reel Class]

Originally Posted by sternline

So you think the big bad government set up the EEZ ban on stripers to make money? It was we recreational anglers and other conservationists who fought for this to save striped bass from virtual extinction. Read Dick Russell's great book STRIPER WARS to learn the true history of this great victory for recreational anglers and for the marine environment. Every time I catch a striper, I'm grateful for this victory that allows the bass to thrive in the EEZ. And I'm grateful to all of us in New Jersey who fought for the ban on commercial fishing for stripers in our waters.
Learn this history and don't forget it. Otherwise you may end up wondering what ever happened to all those stripers we were catching back in the first decades of the 21st century.

Just an FYI - I'm fully aware of the conservation efforts that were undertaken 20+ years ago to save OUR striped bass and I'm also fully aware of why the regulations within the EEZ were implemented. I was born in the mid 70's and didn't see a striper until the early 90's - I DO KNOW WHAT WAS DONE TO SAVE STRIPED BASS from extinction --- Please don't insult my intelligence

If you re-read my post, I have no problem with conservation efforts to save these fish and I applaud the "victory" conservationists have created for all saltwater anglers who target striped bass. That has NOTHING to do with the EEZ.

I am also not complaining about regulations per se, my complaint is with enforcement of a ridiculous law that is still in place and should be lifted. This law was NOT enforced for over 20 years of it's implementation, now suddenly the USCG has decided to actively pursue any vagrant past the 3 mile line that MAY have a striper on board. Come on man. This is over-regulation and if this "law" was so vital to the survival of striped bass, why didn't the USCG and F&W enforce it in the early 90's till say, 2010? The EEZ was created to protect bass from COMMERCIAL fishermen(as YOU said in your thread above), and the intent was to ALLOW recreational anglers to catch stripers and keep their 2 fish.

Prior to the moratorium, yes these fish were virtually extinct, and yes, it took a great deal of effort to restore the stocks to where they have been, but let's not make my comments into something they are not.

And FYI #2 - Dick Russell is a great author, and Striper Wars is a great book and really does touch on some of the bigger issues that have surrounded conservation of striped bass in the last 30 years -- I've read it three times, cover to cover Feel free to continue to "educate" folks like me bud

[Capt Sal]

Originally Posted by Michael82929

Agree with most of Sal's assessment... my sentiments exactly.

You didnt mention one thing which I wont - loose lips sink ships...

But overall was a very good 2013 season.. wish I got out more..

Not too many secrets about Raritan Bay.It is a large body of water with an average depth of 20 feet.You can catch bass in many places some spots produce every year.Great place for first timers,women and youngsters.The bay fishing has nothing to do with the ocean fishing.When the ocean reports are bad people assume the same for the bay.This not the case.We have resident bass as well as migratory bass.We also have hard fighting monster blues that can save the day.On another note we mainly chunk bunker.This has been a norm forever.Clams work but we prefer bunker and so do the bigger bass.April can't come soon enough.I don't burn spots either lol