hipkvw
02-06-2004, 11:25 PM
New striped bass rules may unwittingly increase harvest
Published in the Asbury Park Press 2/06/04
Concerns about New Jersey's striped bass landings actually being higher under new regulations than they were last year with a slot limit become more acute when one considers the Cape May fishery.
Bill Donovan, publisher of the New Jersey Angler, said he is uneasy about the landings when he thinks back to last season.
"I caught 130 stripers last year and only two were undersize (under 28 inches)," he said. "It was the same way with almost everyone else."
Donovan releases most of the stripers he catches, but a lot of anglers do not.
"The fish down here are not the same as the ones along the coast," he said. "They showed up here around Oct. 12 while they were still catching them in New England.
"We fish a lot in Delaware Bay and it's a completely different situation than you have up north," he pointed out. "We had no small fish last fall. You didn't see fish under 28 inches the way you did along the coast.
"In Delaware Bay, we're chunking bunkers or fishing clams and most of the bass are between 34 and 50 inches -- typically they average 37 to 38 inches."
Donovan has a hunch that these Delaware Bay bass are distinct from the fish that might be found in Raritan Bay or along the northern coastline.
He reminded that so many of the stripers caught in the surf in the fall in Monmouth and Ocean counties were smaller than 28 inches or a few inches over that mark.
One of the beliefs that North Jersey anglers have is that Cape May and Delaware Bay pressure is minimal. Donovan said that is not so.
"Remember the pressure that was on the weakfish back in the '70s and '80s -- all those boats catching tons of fish?" he asked. "It's the same thing down here with the stripers now.
"It looks like a mini city now with almost every boat limited out every day they fish," he said.
Donovan fears that if the slot is eliminated and a two-fish limit substituted, the harvest could be substantial.
"It scares me," he said. "I don't want to see two fish over 28 inches. I think the slot limit was a great situation."
Donovan agrees with so many other fishermen in central and northern New Jersey that the state's striper rules have provided a nice balance in recent years.
The slot limit, which allows anglers to take a fish between 24 and less than 28 inches, provides a good table fish while an allowance of one fish over 28 inches gives the trophy hunters a chance. The bonus program of a second fish over 28 inches broadens the opportunities.
Opportunity is what the striper fishery has been all about in recent years with the coastal fishery open 12 months a year.
"We caught bass right up until the water got down to 42 degrees in December down here," Donovan said. "One thing we don't want is a closed season."
Published in the Asbury Park Press 2/06/04
Concerns about New Jersey's striped bass landings actually being higher under new regulations than they were last year with a slot limit become more acute when one considers the Cape May fishery.
Bill Donovan, publisher of the New Jersey Angler, said he is uneasy about the landings when he thinks back to last season.
"I caught 130 stripers last year and only two were undersize (under 28 inches)," he said. "It was the same way with almost everyone else."
Donovan releases most of the stripers he catches, but a lot of anglers do not.
"The fish down here are not the same as the ones along the coast," he said. "They showed up here around Oct. 12 while they were still catching them in New England.
"We fish a lot in Delaware Bay and it's a completely different situation than you have up north," he pointed out. "We had no small fish last fall. You didn't see fish under 28 inches the way you did along the coast.
"In Delaware Bay, we're chunking bunkers or fishing clams and most of the bass are between 34 and 50 inches -- typically they average 37 to 38 inches."
Donovan has a hunch that these Delaware Bay bass are distinct from the fish that might be found in Raritan Bay or along the northern coastline.
He reminded that so many of the stripers caught in the surf in the fall in Monmouth and Ocean counties were smaller than 28 inches or a few inches over that mark.
One of the beliefs that North Jersey anglers have is that Cape May and Delaware Bay pressure is minimal. Donovan said that is not so.
"Remember the pressure that was on the weakfish back in the '70s and '80s -- all those boats catching tons of fish?" he asked. "It's the same thing down here with the stripers now.
"It looks like a mini city now with almost every boat limited out every day they fish," he said.
Donovan fears that if the slot is eliminated and a two-fish limit substituted, the harvest could be substantial.
"It scares me," he said. "I don't want to see two fish over 28 inches. I think the slot limit was a great situation."
Donovan agrees with so many other fishermen in central and northern New Jersey that the state's striper rules have provided a nice balance in recent years.
The slot limit, which allows anglers to take a fish between 24 and less than 28 inches, provides a good table fish while an allowance of one fish over 28 inches gives the trophy hunters a chance. The bonus program of a second fish over 28 inches broadens the opportunities.
Opportunity is what the striper fishery has been all about in recent years with the coastal fishery open 12 months a year.
"We caught bass right up until the water got down to 42 degrees in December down here," Donovan said. "One thing we don't want is a closed season."