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Why do people seem proud to catch outta bounds ??

7K views 34 replies 24 participants last post by  mtown85jb 
#1 ·
Had 3 people tell me they crushed them today. Then all 3 tell me they were at the Avalon Shoal and act like because I was inside 3 miles I don't know how to catch fish because we struck out today. Hell I could see the mega bird play well offshore and knew they (the fish) were there.

Guess I suck as a fishermen.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Saw a few boats waaaaaaaaaaay out of bounds. I stayed at the line, only going over it to make my wide u turn. Tried at the line, up north of Strathmere, down by Stone Harbor , in close 1/2 mile from beach then back out by the line at Sea Isle. Marked lots of bait balls but no big arches under or near the bait balls. Put in an honest effort and tried all different scenarios to try for fish.Lots of boats out by the line but there was a decent amount out way past it. Did see the orange bird (coast guard) up in the sky and it did hoover above the fleet. Didn't catch any fish, overall a really nice calm day despite it being super cold. I'm not one of those people who feel the need to bring something home all the time. If it were that easy, it wouldn't be called fishing, it'd be called catching.
 
#9 ·
Trolled from Harvey Cedars to the Brig hotel today on the 3 mile line. Not a touch. Haven't been that cold in a long time.

Go over the line, take your chances, get caught, and I would imagine that gets ugly fast.
 
#22 ·
It is not a silly rule. The NMFS { Feds } declared striped bass a game fish some time ago. They had been hunted to near extinction at that time. That meant that No one { commercial fishermen included } could fish for stripers in federal waters, that is 3 miles and beyond. Do you think we would have the bass like we have today if gill netters got on those fish beyond the 3 mile limit ? It's a small price to pay for the fishery we all enjoy now.
 
#16 ·
I never fish for strippers past the three mile line. I do troll for bluefin this time of year when they come in real close, Sometimes I'm over the line and sometimes I'm inside
the line. I go where I spot the bluefin. How can one assume that because someone is trolling over the line from another boat that is probably a mile away that they are targeting
strippers without actually getting close enough to check out what type of rigs they are using ? As a matter of fact, I picked up a small bf less then a mile off the beach a few years back.
 
#23 ·
How can one assume that because someone is trolling over the line from another boat that is probably a mile away that they are targeting
strippers without actually getting close enough to check out what type of rigs they are using ? As a matter of fact, I picked up a small bf less then a mile off the beach a few years back.

Pretty simple a boat that is trolling at 3.5 knots on marpa and stopping ever 5 mins is not bluefin fishing mostly long straight track lines on your AIS and easy double backs. When you see that they have out rodders and a bunch inshore gear on the boat via your stabilized binoculars instead of a metric ton of stellas and popping gear or heavy metal it becomes pretty obvious. This is the exact reason that when we go inshore BFT fishing nothing is on the deck but Talica 25 & 50s as well as Stellas and Twinpowers.

Yep this touches a bit of a nerve, poaching is for pansies. The law clearly states "targeting". The last thing that most of the ghost hunters that I know want to be doing is fishing in a fleet. By nature ghost hunters are the most nomadic of all fishermen on the planet. They would lie to their mother on her death bed before telling anyone the truth. Can't we all just get along and make the #south_Tom's great again?


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#17 ·
Play with fire you are going to get burned. Running the boat is expensive enough without getting fined. BTW, if you think getting boarded is a PIA, get fined once and see how many times you get checked down the road. Sometimes early in the season, I'll hail them over for a safety check to get my "hall pass" so they leave me alone for the rest of the year.

Don't know what it is, but for some reason the CG really likes yellow boats :D
 
#18 ·
Yesterday,12/11, was a Bluebird day for fishing. Got one inside of the GE bell and that was it for the next 6 hours. The radio was alive with 2 themes, one was call me on the cell I am slamming them( which the captain of the boat I was on got that message and the message was that they were on fire at Avalon Shoal and out to 11 miles] . The other theme was the amount of stops by the Coasties and Fish and Game both Sunday and the prior week. According to the talking heads on 68, 16 citations were given out last week for crossing and having fish past the 3 mile line . Also there were reports of being told to stop fishing if stopped over the 3 mile line. Since this is a Federal Law, the fines are substantial and there was a consensus was that it was a $1500.00 offense for starters.


The real eye opener came after I was home and my friend called with a report from his friend. They were approx. 1.5 miles over the line and had a fish on. The Coasties came up and told them to cut the line if it was a Striper. It was and they cut the line with the Mojo. Seems extreme so I decide to check the language of what can make the enforcement so Orwellian. It took about 15 minutes, but found the language in Title 16 USC, Chapter 71A, section 5154. paragraph B. Not only can you not fish for Stripers past the 3 mile line you can not attempt to fish for them. If you read further you will review that the fish can be confiscated or just dumped into the deep. Also, if you continue to further paragraphs, confiscation of your gear and boat can be a penalty along with fines.


Not worth the risk. The inshore fishery may have taken a hit with cold water close to the Beach and with the Artic Blast coming Thursday, it may be a shut down. 2FB and 5 Fathom may be on fire now , but again you are facing a Federal Agency enforcement and they can get Medieval .
 
#19 ·
Take pride in the fact that you played by the rules. Anyone that catches fish by cheating and then professes that they are good fishermen are just that. Cheaters. There is NO justification. I needed to get food for my family, I make my living taking charters, I don't fish much so I can catch my yearly limit in two or three days. Oh, ok, you convinced me. Not.

Honest men and women do the right thing when no one is watching...
 
#21 ·
I was out Sat off the GE and Sun off of AC. Both days there were a large amount of boats fishing the 4 and 5 mile line. Saturday off the GE the chopper flew over the fleet and announced 10 violations. On Sunday off AC, I finally saw them boarding boats. They need more effective ways of penalizing these poachers. A bright red violation tag on the hull next to the registration number with a serious fine for removal for one year is one option. The local towns publish names of people charged with various crimes during the week. They should publish the names of the boat owners who have been charged with poaching. Get it out in the open for everyone to see. The majority of the fleet follows the rules and I believe most of the fishermen/women are law abiding. This needs to stop.
 
#25 ·
It's one thing to go way over too catch your fish illegally but to brag about back at the dock is just wrong. If your doing something your not supposed to be doing keep it to yourself if you don't want anyone to know. But with all the social media today a lot of people still need to brag and it just makes even worse.
 
#27 ·
True, but I'll be they burn more fuel that what they make in fines. Helicopters really? To catch fisherman outside the line? Meanwhile Illegals and other idiots are taking buckets full of 6'' seabass, 10'' Tog, and short Stripers home every day and night. I'll bet its a more widespread problem and more illegal fish are taken by that group than the few guys with boats going out of bounds.
 
#28 ·
You here all these wild stories of them taking your boat and it be $500 a per fish and massive fines for both bass and illegally caught BFT. But in reality, its just not the case we are all aware if cases where the fine ends up being $300-$500 and it taking months for the coasties and fish and game to determine the actual fine and procedure to pay. I say pocket change since these same guys are running "charters" and making thousands of dollars during that period. And by no means am I talking about the massive scale poaching that you see in MD, VA where there are massive amounts of fish caught. These are all "Pirate" six packs, that are making money running poaching trips to offset their offshore expenses and brag about it "I made $20k in December in January bass fishing last year". In your mind can you justify it? Sure. People tell me "well don't you drive 80mph on the parkway like everyone else?" Sure maybe I'm a hypocrite. And yes south Jersey certainly does not see the bite that we have in northern and central jersey but them the breaks. But i would rather be known as a hypocrite than a pirate pansy ***'d poacher. And I would give 10:1 odds these are the same guys that are bringing back just about whatever they want as seasons and limits are also just a "suggestion" in the bilge and going straight from their private dock to the garage.
 
#30 ·
You here all these wild stories of them taking your boat and it be $500 a per fish and massive fines for both bass and illegally caught BFT. But in reality, its just not the case we are all aware if cases where the fine ends up being $300-$500 and it taking months for the coasties and fish and game to determine the actual fine and procedure to pay. I say pocket change since these same guys are running "charters" and making thousands of dollars during that period. And by no means am I talking about the massive scale poaching that you see in MD, VA where there are massive amounts of fish caught. These are all "Pirate" six packs, that are making money running poaching trips to offset their offshore expenses and brag about it "I made $20k in December in January bass fishing last year". In your mind can you justify it? Sure. People tell me "well don't you drive 80mph on the parkway like everyone else?" Sure maybe I'm a hypocrite. And yes south Jersey certainly does not see the bite that we have in northern and central jersey but them the breaks. But i would rather be known as a hypocrite than a pirate pansy ***'d poacher. And I would give 10:1 odds these are the same guys that are bringing back just about whatever they want as seasons and limits are also just a "suggestion" in the bilge and going straight from their private dock to the garage.
Not the same thing. Some laws count to the point they're enforced, and some are not.

No one (really, NO ONE) gets a tickets for 26mph in a 25, or 66mph in a 65. They don't bother you for 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 or 71 either. 80mph seems to be a magic number (ask me how I know!!!! :mad:), but aside from that, the speed limit is absolutely a gray area that is left completely up to officer's discretion.

Size of fish, number of fish, seasonal dates, tags and registrations are absolutely hard numbers with no room for interpretation, discretion, or gray area.

As to whether they enforce the line by who's over a foot, 100 yards, 1/4, or 3 miles, well, I think that's much more akin to speed limits.
 
#31 ·
Bragging about it tells you a lot about the people who do it :thumbsdown:
 
#32 ·
I heard a few boats got busted Sunday at the FFB. You have to be crazy to run that far for bass knowing the risks. The question isn't whether you will catch out there, but will they catch you? You could have just as easily went 10 out and legally caught tog. Some people are idiots.
 
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