Stripers in South Jersey

[bluefin45]

Can we get the Striper Limit lowered to 25" in South Jersey? Maybe South of Sandy Hook Inlet to Cape May. All of the stripers I caught this year in the back bay were 24-26 inches and fat! Them guys up in North Jersey are lucky, they get em huge. I've been craving some fresh striper.

[JAT11]

The bass for the most part, are small in the fall up here. the slot fish was nice back in the day.

[circlehook]

if you mainly the back bays of south jersey your gonna catch mainly shorts. the back bays are safe havens for the little fish to grow. if your gonna fish in the kiddie pool you have to expect to catch kids. And yes, there are legal fish in the back also, but far more shorts than big fish.

try moving around the front and fishing the beaches or inlets. fish bigger baits, bigger lures, etc. and you"ll get more legal size fish to eat.

read the striped bass article in the NJ Angler Mag this month and the most recent stock assessment. your more likely to see stricter limits before ever seeing a 25" min.

[RyanF]

I like the 28" limit but cannot stand a single person taking 2 30#+ fish a day. 28-34 slot and one over.

If the size limit was lowered we would slam the resident fish, most everyone can go out there and catch a handful of 24-26" bass any day all year long. There are plenty enough shots at decent bass in the back, inlets and outfront of SJ.

RyanF

[bluefin45]

if you mainly the back bays of south jersey your gonna catch mainly shorts. the back bays are safe havens for the little fish to grow. if your gonna fish in the kiddie pool you have to expect to catch kids. And yes, there are legal fish in the back also, but far more shorts than big fish.

try moving around the front and fishing the beaches or inlets. fish bigger baits, bigger lures, etc. and you"ll get more legal size fish to eat.

read the striped bass article in the NJ Angler Mag this month and the most recent stock assessment. your more likely to see stricter limits before ever seeing a 25" min.

Yeah, I read the article. I think that they need to raise the limit North of Sandy Hook because they catch and kill big stripers all year. I fish the big boy pond for larger pelagics, but I have never really got into it for stripers. I've only caught three keepers out front, but that was in September and there was an all out blitz going on. Do you go first thing in the morning?

[JAT11]

Yeah, I read the article. I think that they need to raise the limit North of Sandy Hook because they catch and kill big stripers all year.

Brilliant! :rolleyes: & the BFT size should be lowered below Barnegate inlet because they're killing all the big tuna. :D

[circlehook]

Yeah, I read the article. I think that they need to raise the limit North of Sandy Hook because they catch and kill big stripers all year. I fish the big boy pond for larger pelagics, but I have never really got into it for stripers. I've only caught three keepers out front, but that was in September and there was an all out blitz going on. Do you go first thing in the morning?

Dont forget about the big fish that get taken from the chessie before and after the closure period, the Del Bay & river, and the crazy number that get caught on the Va/NC border in Dec-Mar. Its not just north of Sandy Hook.

I mainly fish the LBI area and we had bunker out front w/i a few miles of the beach for a solid month before the pods drifted slowly north. Boat guys absolutely cleaned up on big fish. Some charters taking limits on both am and pm trips, consistently for multiple days per week. Kinda sad :rolleyes: . But its a job to them so who can blame them. Especially w/ tog closed, crazy fluke limits, and so on.

I mainly fish the rocks and sand and had to watch the action from a distance. Big schools of bait and actively feeding fish during the day kills any night bite. Which is when I normally fish. That said, and fishing 2 days a week from mid May thru June, I got a 31lb and change, a handfull of 20lb class fish, and two hand fulls of 36-40" (15-20lb) fish. The lack of 28-36" is kinda scary. Ive seen less and less of that size for a few years in a row now.

Best bet for keepers from the beach is May/June and Oct-Dec. Early mornings and late afternoons can be good, especially in May, Nov, & Dec. When the water is still kinda warm (June, Sept, Oct) I almost exclusively fish nights. Dont rule out mid day if its overcast or raining. Good bait is super important IMO. Live is better than fresh. Same day fresh is better than 1 day old, 1 day old better than 2, and so on. Clams will catch more fish, especially with a rough surf, but bunker chunks will produce the bigger fish. And the biggest of fish will take heads or head halves of bunker.

If standing and bait fishing isnt your cup of tea, but on a pair of korkers and walk a jetty. Toss big swimmers, pencils, big bucktails, etc or live eels. Lots of options.

[Get-Da - Nette]

I agree the size should be lowered to 25 inches down here in Cape May!!!

[RyanF]

I agree the size should be lowered to 25 inches down here in Cape May!!!

Not trying to start something, but doesnt the CM fleet have enough shots at largies to refrain from whining over the lack of keeper sized fish over the summer? These schools of fish get slammed up and down the coast every spring and fall and people are unhappy because they cant kill resident fish all summer too?

Come on guys!

RyanF

[saltflyfisherman]

While were at it, lets lower the fluke size just for me to 17. Thats all I seem to catch.

[BUCKTAIL WILLIE]

sTRIPER POPULATION is in a 5 year decline,while there have been some outstanding catches in certain areas the overall East Coast population is declining andaverage size is declining
WE NEED a slot similair to the Redfish slot 18-27" .In spite of the slot size there are numerous tournaments paying out big dollars while the redfish population is growing
We are removing too many large females who are the best and most productive spawners:mad:

[Fishenough]

sTRIPER POPULATION is in a 5 year decline,while there have been some outstanding catches in certain areas the overall East Coast population is declining andaverage size is declining
WE NEED a slot similair to the Redfish slot 18-27" .In spite of the slot size there are numerous tournaments paying out big dollars while the redfish population is growing
We are removing too many large females who are the best and most productive spawners:mad:
I
BW, it just is puzzling why the powers that be do not see the benefit of slot size regulations. Is the simple reason for notusing the slot size regs because of the Magnuson-Steven Act, and trying to reach its unrealistic goals?

[feathersnfins]

Not surehow big the commercial fishery for stripers is up and down the atlantic. If its like any of the others our catches on rod and reel dont add up to anything near what they net. Not that I advocate lowering the limit. The only keepers I usually catch on the fly come out of the susky flats during the c&r season.

[dano1801]

sTRIPER POPULATION is in a 5 year decline,while there have been some outstanding catches in certain areas the overall East Coast population is declining andaverage size is declining
WE NEED a slot similair to the Redfish slot 18-27" .In spite of the slot size there are numerous tournaments paying out big dollars while the redfish population is growing
We are removing too many large females who are the best and most productive spawners:mad:

18" - 27" is a great slot! Those would be really good eater size. A couple of them would make a great meal. Have fun catching the big ones, but then throw them back! Maybe open a "trophy" season in the fall/winter where anglers can keep 1 over the slot...

[circlehook]

Not surehow big the commercial fishery for stripers is up and down the atlantic. If its like any of the others our catches on rod and reel dont add up to anything near what they net. Not that I advocate lowering the limit. The only keepers I usually catch on the fly come out of the susky flats during the c&r season.


the striped bass fishery is unlike others in a number of ways. if this fishery collapses it will not be the comm sectors fault. see the most recent assessment for actual comm landing v. rec over time.

hook & line in the bass fishery is very significant. no one to blame but ourselves if it goes south.

Im not opposed to a slot as long as its used over the fishes range. It wont work if NJ has a slot and everyone else is still taking large. With redfish, the slot has been in effect in NJ for a while, and we see very few redfish compared to states south. and very very few big redfish. make the slot maine to south carolina and Im in. even if I think we could manage fine w/ 1 fish over 28". or different regs for boats v land.

[RyanF]

If there were 18-27" slot tourneys like with redfish I would have to guarantee that I will win. I am the master of catching 27.999 inch bass

RyanF

[NoVisibleLeader]

I like the 28" limit but cannot stand a single person taking 2 30#+ fish a day. 28-34 slot and one over.

If the size limit was lowered we would slam the resident fish, most everyone can go out there and catch a handful of 24-26" bass any day all year long. There are plenty enough shots at decent bass in the back, inlets and outfront of SJ.

RyanF

Cant agree more Ryan hopefully one day we will see regs like this.

[eelball]

The slot fish would be great. It makes to much sense. The blue print is in place from the success of the redfish. Someone needs to get there head out of there ass, and get it right.
Slot fish on any and every species, could be the way to go.

[RyanF]

The slot fish would be great. It makes to much sense. The blue print is in place from the success of the redfish. Someone needs to get there head out of there ass, and get it right.
Slot fish on any and every species, could be the way to go.

I think a slot limit would be great to limit the number of largies killed each spring and fall, what size slot are you thinking? The 24-28" slot we had before was nice because it forced people to keep only bass over 34" but then we have bass getting killed all summer too. Its bad enough the slayings that go on during each run, I dont think we need to kill the residents too.

RyanF

[circlehook]

If this is our own little dream world....and assuming the current assessment..... I"ll take better spawning ground protection including an enforced closed season on the three major grounds, one fish 28-34" and 1 over 34" from maine to the carolinas, and better enforcement of the 3mi limit.

if in two years its gotten significantly worse (declining trend) then we may need a true slot ala the redfish. 1 fish 28-34".

[eelball]

I think a slot limit would be great to limit the number of largies killed each spring and fall, what size slot are you thinking? The 24-28" slot we had before was nice because it forced people to keep only bass over 34" but then we have bass getting killed all summer too. Its bad enough the slayings that go on during each run, I dont think we need to kill the residents too.

RyanF
Ryan,
A 24"-32" or something similar. I know your worried about taking the resident fish. I think that the resident population would be more easily sustainable with the bigger fish NOT being harvested and being able to reproduce.
If your taking resident fish, and killing breeders, then you'll have problems.
The chesapeake has an 18" limit and there is no shortage of those. I know its a much bigger estuary, but its mostly sustainable due to the fact you can't keep the breeders in the spring.
There is no such thing as a perfect system, but it sure looks to me like the redfish blueprint is as close as you can get.
If you look at some of the smaller spawning areas, (Egg harbor river, mullica river) they have no spring C&R policy. I think that directly relates to the amount of juvinelle residents on a year to year basis. Take a bunch of future moms out of a small breeding area, and it will make a significant dent in the future population of an already dwindling class.
Most of our back bays are filled with young from the localized rivers, and they have no protection.

[RyanF]

Ryan,
A 24"-32" or something similar. I know your worried about taking the resident fish. I think that the resident population would be more easily sustainable with the bigger fish NOT being harvested and being able to reproduce.
If your taking resident fish, and killing breeders, then you'll have problems.
The chesapeake has an 18" limit and there is no shortage of those. I know its a much bigger estuary, but its mostly sustainable due to the fact you can't keep the breeders in the spring.
There is no such thing as a perfect system, but it sure looks to me like the redfish blueprint is as close as you can get.
If you look at some of the smaller spawning areas, (Egg harbor river, mullica river) they have no spring C&R policy. I think that directly relates to the amount of juvinelle residents on a year to year basis. Take a bunch of future moms out of a small breeding area, and it will make a significant dent in the future population of an already dwindling class.
Most of our back bays are filled with young from the localized rivers, and they have no protection.

I agree, the redfish are a perfect example of what a slot reg can do. If you think about it, minus the whole North/South migration they are basically the same fish.

I wish I knew more about the resident bass, they seem to always be around from the Hudson down to the Chesapeake year round but I am not sure that the northern and southern points of the stripers range see these fish. We know that they cant stay in the back for long and have to be joining a school going N/S or we would see a lot more 30"+ fish all summer, not to say they are not around because they are. I dont know where I am going with this, I agree that each schoolie sized bass that gets killed over a cow equates to a lot more bass in the long run.

I still think that a 24" bass is a slam dunk year round. These schoolies are about as predictable as my alarm clock going off every morning all summer long until the bait starts moving around a little bit and migratory bass start showing up in the mix.

I would give you 26" or 27" to 32".

RyanF