The new fluke regs are going to do even more damage. 2 slot fish and one over is going to create a lot of dying throwback fish.
Fishing 2023
- Thread starter Tomeal
- Start date
The new fluke regs are going to do even more damage. 2 slot fish and one over is going to create a lot of dying throwback fish.
New Fluke regs?!? All I heard about was the emergency Striper regs. The feds are demanding a new slot- 28" to 31". I really hate seeing so-called catch-and-release where dying bloody fish are set free only to die. Way back when they imposed the total Striper shut-down the end result was a bumper crop recovery of Stripers. Why not just do that again instead of putzing around?
Even bait fish have bag limits in NJ.
On the rare occasions I fish (have all around sportsman permit) I target trash fish like channel cats and feed them to the dog. Sometimes I'll target blues near Seaside (been years). I love weakfish; haven't caught one in a decade.
I like hunting more now because I'm not on the sea no more. Crab twice a summer in Barnegat or Fortescue... If I don't get at least 6 in 90 minutes I quit.
The thing I don't understand is how would a moratorium on stripers, specifically, be accomplished? It's not like using a size 1 non-offset barbless circle hook (did I get the reg right?) with a blood worm or clam summons striped bass specifically.... bloodworms and clams and squid on the bottom works for half a dozen types from flounder, white perch, catfish, spot, etc.
The regs for individual citizens are bullsh1t - they need to ban most commercial fishing. All the fish that sits on ice at the market for 5 days while the eyes sink in are finally thrown in the trash - not even fed to cats. Every fish market would rather let it spoil than sell it for $2.50/lb to get rid of it. Classic example of 'the tragedy of the commons.' Fish is the only game we sell in supermarkets... If you want to sell fish at a restaurant or supermarket in 2023 don't take it from in the post apocalyptically depleted waters of the Mid-Atlantic - get it from a fish farm somewhere else. Make fish and chips with tilapia
The regs for individual citizens are bullsh1t - they need to ban most commercial fishing. All the fish that sits on ice at the market for 5 days while the eyes sink in are finally thrown in the trash - not even fed to cats. Every fish market would rather let it spoil than sell it for $2.50/lb to get rid of it. Classic example of 'the tragedy of the commons.' Fish is the only game we sell in supermarkets... If you want to sell fish at a restaurant or supermarket in 2023 don't take it from in the post apocalyptically depleted waters of the Mid-Atlantic - get it from a fish farm somewhere else. Make fish and chips with tilapia
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Can only keep 5 bluefish now. Apparently stripers are going to be 28-31 soon, except for the Chesapeake. Of course they slaughter them down there over the winter.
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On my way to the Hotel for Block C at CN Campus, my Wife sent these to me. Figures at least 5 pounds for big Walleye.
What they did in the 80's was close it down altogether. That means all the head boats, charter boats, and guides that specifically targeted Stripers had to stop. Then there are all the surf casters that target Stripers. [I had dug up the bay for sand worms for Flounder bait and as the tide came in the Bass fed. I caught a big Bass on a Flounder rig! I put it back.] They bitched, they moaned, but it worked. In no time, with the pressure off, they came back in spades and they lifted the ban, but kept a 36" minimum. Then they lowered that to 28". Now they are in trouble again so I have no problem with a total ban. But I agree they need to crack down on the commercials that kill tons of by-catch. Why are commercials allowed to keep 14" Fluke when we have to catch 19" Fluke? There is no meat on a 14" fish anyway.
I was out for Fluke [Summer Flounder] yesterday. I kept getting throwbacks. I was seeing birds working but nothing massive or long lived. Then all of a sudden they started up right in front of me. I was right up against the shore in two feet of water and I could see the fish heads popping out of the water. I had a rod rigged with a 1oz diamond jig and I tossed it right in front of my boat. BANG! A Bluefish grabbed it and ran me all over the place. I eventually got him close enough to swing aboard. He was only 20" but if you have never caught a Bluefish, think run-away train that wants to bite your fingers off. 
