Rec fishermen are the same as gun owners; complacent until the state starts attacking them, then they ***** at each other about how much compromise is acceptable, or they conflate so many other issues into their arguments that any valid point they might have is lost in the static.
Striper fishing was ok for me last year, but other species were really good. I was catching Spot, White Perch and Croaker out back past Halloween.
I can't complain when I can walk outside with an ultralite combo and cast the same small spoon around the pier and almost always find some fish.
I even joined the "Lazy Man Catfish Club" and sat out in the evenings to take a few Blue Cats and Channel Cats out of the bay. It's nowhere near as sexy as being on a nice boat out in the bay pulling in pretty Rockfish, Blues (and Spanish Mac a' plenty last year) but it satisfies the itch.
I didn't see a single Skate last year. Never caught any here at the house but I usually see a few frolicking about. No Horseshoe Crabs last year either whereas they were all over the bottom previously.
I'm only an hour away from the prime Snakehead spots so maybe I'll haul my kayak down there more this year. I went out on the Transquaken River once last summer in August and didn't get a single bite on a dozen different lures. Not. One. Bite. No pan fish, no bass, no cats, no snakeheads......So I turned on some music on my phone, drank a few beers, anchored the yak' and slept until I felt like paddling back to the ramp. No fish, but still a good day.
I've said it before; you guys take the brunt of the regulation changes. You've invested a lot in catching fish on the bay, you've provided tons of money to the state in taxes and fees. And you get screwed a lot more than me. I'd LOVE to be out on the bay all the time but, I make the best out of what I can.
Would love to see nice Reds move into Eastern Bay this year.
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