Count the Ways that we will be regulated in the future

[george]

Now that the door is open, and circle hooks are a coastwide requirement look for this to expand and continue as the gov't takes more and more control over how we're allowed to catch a fish. How many bass are gut-hooked on trolled sandworms or a diamond jig with a bait teaser? I'm going to say very very few. I have never gut hooked any fish on a diamond jig.

I honestly believe these regs will increase every year. You're using too light line and stressing the fish so no more light tackle fishing? Imagine the stress put on a big bass on a fly rod? They will come after us for all of it. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. This reg passed with ZERO data to back it up. I get that it only makes sense that it will save fish, but so does not fishing them in warm waters, or on lures with 9 barbed hooks. Now that they got away with this coastwide regulation without having to give us anything in return, look for changes like this in the future.

These are some I can think of just off the top of my head if you can think of any please add them

No treble hooks
All barbs crushed
Minimum Line Strength
You must have a de hooker on board
No More Lead Products
No Summer Fishing for bass Due To Warm Waters
What if they determine that fish are being gut hooked on Gulp? Will they stop us from using it?

If they can force you to use a circle hook on a diamond jig because you have a piece of squid on there, they can do anything in the name of saving fish.

 

[Avenger]

Seems I remember reading that catch and release is illegal in some European countries because it's considered torturing animals for sport.

There's no aspect of your life that some do-gooder isn't comfortable meddling with.

 

[chunkster]

There's a certain type of approach to the sport and it's not mandatory.
Especially when it comes to fishing for food. What needs to be understood
is that a hand line catches fish. Am I a good fisherman or do I fish where
the fishings good?
Fly fishing in the stream for trout with a 2 weight rod is a great introductory
to the sport. Fish handling, rigging or learning how to scale and gut.
From here your stepping stone begins. A bigger outfit and possibly
moving to spinning and conventional type equipment. If that's what
you're looking to do.
Motor boating and fishing go hand and hand. When pleasure boating
I'm not always looking to go whale watching, water skiing or on a
booze cruise.
Then comes the debate on what constitutes light tackle fishing? If
you have an ultra light and stay within the ratings, you're fine. You're
playing by the rules. If you fish it with a braid that has the same diameter
mono. You're reel longevity is going to extremely decrease. YOU'RE ALOUD!
A Van Staal with 8 pound mono and a shock leader in my opinion
would be a little excessive. A 2 ounce tin on the retrieve will not break the
8 pound mono, the cast will. Hence the shock leader. IGFA RULES!

80 pound braid and a 42 inch, 25 pound fish on the beach in under 5 minutes.
I can to this repeatedly. I choose not to. I jig tuna with a 65 pound braid.

Two or three treble hooks on a plug in my opinion is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Roccus7]

Now that the door is open, and circle hooks are a coastwide requirement look for this to expand and continue as the gov't takes more and more control over how we're allowed to catch a fish. How many bass are gut-hooked on trolled sandworms or a diamond jig with a bait teaser? I'm going to say very very few. I have never gut hooked any fish on a diamond jig.

I honestly believe these regs will increase every year. You're using too light line and stressing the fish so no more light tackle fishing? Imagine the stress put on a big bass on a fly rod? They will come after us for all of it. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. This reg passed with ZERO data to back it up. I get that it only makes sense that it will save fish, but so does not fishing them in warm waters, or on lures with 9 barbed hooks. Now that they got away with this coastwide regulation without having to give us anything in return, look for changes like this in the future.

These are some I can think of just off the top of my head if you can think of any please add them

No treble hooks
All barbs crushed
Minimum Line Strength
You must have a de hooker on board
No More Lead Products
No Summer Fishing for bass Due To Warm Waters
What if they determine that fish are being gut hooked on Gulp? Will they stop us from using it?

If they can force you to use a circle hook on a diamond jig because you have a piece of squid on there, they can do anything in the name of saving fish.

Yes, it can get crazy, but as it goes haywire, the regs become unenforceable, which makes breaking the law meaningless.

I dare say few of us never exceed the speed limit. Why, because we know you won’t be cited for driving 5 MPH over. Unenforceable regs will just revert things to the Wild West.

 

[george]

Yes, it can get crazy, but as it goes haywire, the regs become unenforceable, which makes breaking the law meaningless.

I dare say few of us never exceed the speed limit. Why, because we know you won’t be cited for driving 5 MPH over. Unenforceable regs will just revert things to the Wild West.

In NY with over an estimated 500k anglers and only 40 encon officers, all regs are basically unenforceable. Yet the vast majority of anglers abide by them. Even the rules I know are doing nothing to help the fish.

 

[chunkster]

As for example:

This could be judged as tacking on a number of errors.
The short fish that was poached was caught on a J hook
while out of season and sold to a random person that's
ignorant to the regulations.

 

[chunkster]

Limerick Jig hooks. Frank and beans. Just give me 2 or 3 dollars for the fish.
I just want to buy hooks and sinkers with the money.

 

[pequa1]

This is so similar to the various "gun control" measures that hunters and shooters have had forced down their throats for decades. None of those laws do anything about stopping crime, just harass the law abiding. There are already enough laws in every aspect of our culture and environment. Part of the problem is that they go unenforced and far too many violators get off with a warning. In terms of people caught poaching, no, not a single 18 3/4" fluke but several shorts, automatic confiscation of all fishing equipment and if the fish are stashed in a boat or vehicle, that too. Hunters ? Bye bye family heirloom and ATV when caught. We don't even pull over drivers too lazy to clean off the roofs of their mommy SUVs and hurling sheets of ice on those behind them. Don't get me started on the 20% of my lazy neighbors that left the 5 inches of snow on their sidewalks Thursday. Money is tight ? Yet you manage to pay exorbitant taxes and fees here. We could pay off the town's debt and reduce taxes if we wanted to. If fines were commensurate with violations, and issued, more ENCON LEOs could be hired.

 

[rabiatou]

Now that the door is open, and circle hooks are a coastwide requirement look for this to expand and continue as the gov't takes more and more control over how we're allowed to catch a fish. How many bass are gut-hooked on trolled sandworms or a diamond jig with a bait teaser? I'm going to say very very few. I have never gut hooked any fish on a diamond jig.

I honestly believe these regs will increase every year. You're using too light line and stressing the fish so no more light tackle fishing? Imagine the stress put on a big bass on a fly rod? They will come after us for all of it. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. This reg passed with ZERO data to back it up. I get that it only makes sense that it will save fish, but so does not fishing them in warm waters, or on lures with 9 barbed hooks. Now that they got away with this coastwide regulation without having to give us anything in return, look for changes like this in the future.

These are some I can think of just off the top of my head if you can think of any please add them

No treble hooks
All barbs crushed
Minimum Line Strength
You must have a de hooker on board
No More Lead Products
No Summer Fishing for bass Due To Warm Waters
What if they determine that fish are being gut hooked on Gulp? Will they stop us from using it?

If they can force you to use a circle hook on a diamond jig because you have a piece of squid on there, they can do anything in the name of saving fish.

in no bail ny violent criminals are free in 2-4 hrs. so what penalty will fishermen face. probably worse. but seriously less and less bait stores and marine fuel look into the future AS LONG AS WE FISHERMAN STAY SILENT MORE IS ON THE WAY

 

[chunkster]

in no bail ny violent criminals are free in 2-4 hrs. so what penalty will fishermen face. probably worse. but seriously less and less bait stores and marine fuel look into the future AS LONG AS WE FISHERMAN STAY SILENT MORE IS ON THE WAY

The question at hand is. Who is running the marinas? Who is buying the boats?
Who is your clientele? I can't afford it. I'm not interested.

scal·a·wag

A person who behaves badly but in an amusingly mischievous rather than harmful way; a rascal.

Meet my husband. My father use to run the place. Since he passed away now he's in charge.
He like to fish for striped bass. What does that mean?

 

[chunkster]

This is kids.



He passed the test.



Is his integrity any good? Well you know, we need the business.
It's been slow. We'll take his business.



DOCK SPACE

 

[Bobbysea]

I expect it to be mandatory relatively soon that it will be mandated to troll ballyhoo with circles. I'm totally on board with circles for natural bait for bass, been using them here on the east end of the sound for a long time with great success. You want to bring the striped bass population back? Lets have a wild, wild west open season on black sea bass for a year or two. That species has decimated the forage for striped bass in the sound. They should be treated like an invasive species. Catch every last one. Hooks are a small percentage of the problem. Just my 2 cents worth. Merry Christmas and a healthy new year to all!

 

[pequa1]

Can't help you there given the current regs. I just fish the bay via kayak and occasionally a small boat and none of the sea bass I catch meet the length requirement. A few years ago three of us caught over 100 of the damn things at the Big M and I had the only keeper !

 

[Bobbysea]

That's precisely the problem

 

[Fishing Nerd]

I'll take the unpopular position here. No, I'm not a fan of all the regulations they're trying to push, but I do think that we need someone taking on this role and that not all of what they're suggesting is unreasonable or not matched by science.

The fisheries are under pressure like no time before. We can squabble about where that pressure comes from, comm or rec, and whether some of these regulations would improve the matter. The undeniable part about it remains the same - fish stocks are declining, and fishing pressure is only increasing. The math overall just doesn't work.

I don't think any regulations here are instituted just to harass the recreational fisherman. Again, it's debatable as to whether or not some of them will be effective, and how enforceable they might be, but I don't think it's fair to suggest it's just some sort of targeted campaign to discourage fishing. Those do exist, but they're a lot more transparent - they just outright claim fisheries are going extinct and moratoriums need to be put into place.

If all fishermen were responsible, we wouldn't need these regulations. I don't for a second doubt that our group here falls into the responsible category. I've been swapping out treble hooks on plugs and crushing barbs for years. I've been keeping only a small number of fish per season compared to what I catch. I've never taken a small fish, always up to date on the latest regulations and equipped to quickly measure, unhook and return to the water to preserve mortality. I'm sure most if not all here are the same way. We're not the people they're after.

The people they're trying to get are the ones who either don't know or don't care. There's a sizable population who simply don't know the right things to do. I've had people ask me about regulations while I'm on the beach, or ask whether they needed a license. These are the folks who need education and they need the visibility of laws and penalties in order to reinforce that understanding.

As for the outlaws - these are the people who just don't care and are going to do the wrong thing regardless. The weird part is that we all seem to agree that greater enforcement is needed, but there's a pretty strong stance against regulations. You can't have one without the other - if anything, stronger regulations justifies the need for more enforcement. If there was no threat of penalty, these bad actors would be emboldened to be much worse, if you can imagine. I've seen it all, from sharks getting cut and returned to the water to people trying to keep fluke the size of my hand (if you're wondering, I'm not Shaquille O'Neal). Every year we see stories - a boat pulled over with a bunch of undersized bass, or a person ticketed with a trunk full of small scup. Even if they're only a handful, they're there to scare away at least a few of the people with bad intentions. Measuring them against the inconvenience to the law abiding fishermen is the wrong way to go - we should be willing to put up with some inconvenience if it helps the fisheries.

I'm not that old, but in my lifetime I can remember fisheries that have almost completely disappeared. People my father's age can tell you about fisheries that are long gone. My grandfather used to talk about taking cod and whiting off the shore in Coney Island, which is long gone. If we don't support attempts to help out these overburdened fisheries, we're going to end up fishless. My kids grew up holding a fishing rod from the time they were old enough to stand upright. I'd like to one day be able to go fishing with my grandchildren, God willing - that both the fish and I are around long enough to see it. Will there come a day when I'll be telling them about how I used to catch fluke and that it's a shame they're not around anymore? I sure as hell hope not, but you have to know it's a possibility if we don't do something about it.

 

[poorrichard]

Don't by any means mean to steal the thread. I was thinking of posting this issue for comments and it has been mentioned above in a few posts.

When was the last time you saw or was stopped by a DEC officer? I fish the North Shore from early May to late November and haven't seen one in years. I am on the water multiple timed per week. A stones throw away from there Stony Brook Headquarters.

The above rules and regulations can't be enforced because there are only 40 DEC officers in the state.

That is why the "bad apples" so to speak have no fear of punishment. No to mention no bail but that is a subject for another day

We will see more regulations that make no sense.

 

[pequa1]

I don't see this as stealing the thread since regs without enforcement are useless.
While leaving my town beach with my second and last keeper of the past season, a female DEC cop was entering in an SUV. she is the first DEC LEO that I have seen in the last half a dozen years, that being one of those 'huge' green RIB boats in the state channel checking for short stripers. (huge to me on an 18, lol)

Increase the fines, confiscate and auction, hire more DEC LEOs.

 

[chunkster]

I myself is a collector of zoned action 8 and bait hatteras heavers.

Here not so much, because it's seasonal. In florida it's very common
to see boats confiscated. This is what I noticed. The more you know
and the fancier or we can put it as, the better your equipment is. The
more you will be targeted. A bank fisherman with one rod targeting
panfish during a slow bite will be overlooked. Now someone on a private
boat with a number of rods can be taken as. Hey what's going on here?

 

[BoatGuy]

Don't by any means mean to steal the thread. I was thinking of posting this issue for comments and it has been mentioned above in a few posts.

When was the last time you saw or was stopped by a DEC officer? I fish the North Shore from early May to late November and haven't seen one in years. I am on the water multiple timed per week. A stones throw away from there Stony Brook Headquarters.

The above rules and regulations can't be enforced because there are only 40 DEC officers in the state.

That is why the "bad apples" so to speak have no fear of punishment. No to mention no bail but that is a subject for another day

We will see more regulations that make no sense.

I have been boarded. Not last year but maybe 3 times in the past 7 years.

If I could suggest, instead of having a crew on a boat, just put one officer on the boat docks. They did this once at Mount Sinai. They checked EVERY boat before it went out for the proper safety equipment and every boat that came back in.
it took 2 officers. Now imagine if they rotated and covered all docks from time to time.

Not a total solution. If I had illegal fish and saw the officers, I would just dump my illegal fish before I docked.

 

[chunkster]

Not a total solution. If I had illegal fish and saw the officers, I would just dump my illegal fish before I docked.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Did the fish float or did you have them in a weighted bag?
Did you use binoculars to see the officers or did one of your
friends text you?