O.K., Not really a ITT subject, BUT - New Limits?

Leprechaun

Leprechaun

Kind of a Big Deal - In My Mind Anyway
Staff member
So I'm hearing repeated rumors of NY limits for Sea bass at 5 fish 16.5" and 3 fluke @ 20.5", both with shorter 2023 seasons.

How close to reality do we think these might be? I did believe that future fluke limits would be influenced (negatively) by last season's drop from 19" to 18.5", but even crepe-hanger me didn't envision 3 @20.5". Geez.

Anybody know anything?
 
Leprechaun said:
So I'm hearing repeated rumors of NY limits for Sea bass at 5 fish 16.5" and 3 fluke @ 20.5", both with shorter 2023 seasons.

How close to reality do we think these might be? I did warn the fluke limit would be influenced (negatively) by last season's drop from 19" to 18.5", but even crepe-hanger me didn't envision 3 @20.5". Geez.

Anybody know anything?
Click to expand...
Holy crap
That’s depressing to hear
I heard rumblings on the sea bass but thats the 1st Im hearing on Fluke
 
Leprechaun said:
So I'm hearing repeated rumors of NY limits for Sea bass at 5 fish 16.5" and 3 fluke @ 20.5", both with shorter 2023 seasons.

How close to reality do we think these might be? I did believe that future fluke limits would be influenced (negatively) by last season's drop from 19" to 18.5", but even crepe-hanger me didn't envision 3 @20.5". Geez.

Anybody know anything?
Click to expand...

Really?

I have a question. What % of hooked fluke die after being "catch and release"????

Fisherman will catch a lot of fluke and few will be in the >20.5 range. Does the question make sense?
 
Of course. And the authorities factor that "inadvertent mortality" into their ridiculous catch limit algorithms.

I do not believe they have a "real" number for that mortality. Just like they have no solid number for what the rec catch is every season. This is an old story, for sure. "When in doubt, get more restrictive."

You can't keep the SB off your hooks all Spring/Summer, here off mid-Long Island. But the Jersey charter boats can come to our grounds for a solid month before our opening and beat the hell out of the fish - after they've dusted their own local bottom.

Doubt me? Good! This Spring I'll post pics of Jersey head boats on the Angler Banks and Middle Grounds, yanking and keeping fish while we're right next to them, throwing back beautiful fat units.

And just to add insult to injury, if I'm not mistaken, they get to keep 12" biscuits, too. Which they do, of course.
 
And yet you can walk into any local Long Island seafood market and see cases full of 14” fluke and 12” seabass
Go figure
 
I think three of my keepers last year were over 20". Bay fishermen don't need to bother. Maybe its time to take that summer Viking Cruise off Norway...
 
Did the Alaska cruise nine years ago. While NOTHING beats Viking, Princess did and does a pretty good Alaska cruise. Make sure you or anyone do the extra three or four days of the land cruise that goes up to Denali and back.
 

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Leprechaun said:
Of course. And the authorities factor that "inadvertent mortality" into their ridiculous catch limit algorithms.

I do not believe they have a "real" number for that mortality. Just like they have no solid number for what the rec catch is every season. This is an old story, for sure. "When in doubt, get more restrictive."

You can't keep the SB off your hooks all Spring/Summer, here off Long Island. But the Jersey charter boats can come to our grounds for a solid month before our opening and beat the hell out of the fish - after they've dusted their own local bottom.

Doubt me? Good. This Spring I'll post pics of Jersey head boats on the Angler Banks and Middle Grounds, yanking and keeping fish while we're right next to them, throwing back beautiful fat units.

And just to add insult to injury, if I'm not mistaken, they get to keep 12" biscuits, too. Which they do, of course.
Click to expand...
As you already know, Lep, and anyone else who partakes in the outstanding spring Scup fishery in the Peconics, the very same thing happens to our Sea Bass from an adjacent state with different regulations. The CT boats all make the trek to the Peconics from early May until late June to harvest Scup and, as a by catch the Sea Bass we cannot touch. To be precise, CT BSB season opens 5/15 and runs through the end of the year with a 15" minimum size and 5 fish bag limit.

So, we too are fishing side by side with boats taking the Sea Bass we must throw back. Equally frustrating is the fact that myself and many other NY charter operations in the vicinity all hold CT permits for our activity out in the Sound but what counts is not what your permit says or where you catch the fish but where you land the fish!

I just looked at the posted regulations for CT and while they still have the size and bag limits posted that were in effect last year, next to Sea Bass and Scup they state, "Change Anticipated in March 2023". For Fluke they have "Change Possible for 2023". How much to you want to bet that even with some changes the rules will still favor the CT boats?

Is CVS having a sale on Vaseline yet????
 
captmike28 said:
Equally frustrating is the fact that myself and many other NY charter operations in the vicinity all hold CT permits for our activity out in the Sound but what counts is not what your permit says or where you catch the fish but where you land the fish!
Click to expand...
Strictly speaking IF DEC boarded CT boats in NY waters, they could be held in violation of the NY regulations. Heck, just one DEC boat cruising around the fleet boarding a CT boat would start a mass exodus of CT boats....

Regardless, closely neighboring states should have identical regulations. BSB is an interesting mix here, a fishery that's just starting to open up, thank you global warming. Both ME and NH had 10 fish bag limits in 2022, with NH having no closed season, but ME season was May 19 - September 21, closed September 22 - October 17 and then opened through the end of the year. The season differentials make no difference since there aren't any fish here earlier than and May 19 is a big if, and they're all gone by the beginning of September. ME's size limit is 13" while NH is 13.5". None of this makes any sense...
 
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captmike28 said:
As you already know, Lep, and anyone else who partakes in the outstanding spring Scup fishery in the Peconics….
Is CVS having a sale on Vaseline yet????
Click to expand...
And if these rumors are indeed correct, just think how many more peeps will be partaking in the Peconic spring run and putting that much more pressure on Scup so we get screwed on those #’s in ‘24 and beyond
 
NJ FLUKE regs for 2023 look like they'll be unchanged from 2022.
NJ Seabass recreational quota has been reduced 10%. One of the options below will be approved to reach compliance....
Editorial: it's high time that neighboring states with disparate regs be normalized

is a breakdown of the final four sea bass and scup regulations for New Jersey in 2023. All of these options resulted in the 10% cut (or more) mandated by NOAA. These are the proposals that were submitted by our state to the ASMFC. It is highly unlikely that any other options will be considered. This is the beginning of an eco-system management approach which is why the sea bass and scup regulations are tied together. Our fisheries managers are now taking into account that these two species are often caught at the same time and locations whether the season for one or the other is open or closed. The ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board will be meeting at 10:30 AM on 3/2 to consider final approval of these proposals as well as those submitted by the other states/regions. On that same day the NJBMFC will meet at 5 PM to decide which option will become law. Prior to that decision, the public may give their opinions on the various options by attending in person at the Atlantic County Library, Galloway Branch located at 306 E Jimmie Leeds Rd., Galloway.
All Sea Bass options include a 12 ½” size limit for all seasons. All options for scup include a 10” size limit and a 30 fish bag limit.
Option 1 Sea Bass 12 ½” for all seasons 5/17- 6/19 (10 fish), 7/1-8/31 (1 fish), 10/1-10/31 (10 fish) 11/1-12/31 (15 fish) Scup 10” for the entire season 8/1-12/31 (30 fish) This option would allow us to stay open for all of July and August but we would be able to keep only 1 sea bass per day.
Option 2 Sea Bass 12 ½” for all seasons 5/17- 6/19 (10 fish), 7/1-8/31 (1 fish), 10/1-10/31 (10 fish) 11/1-12/31 (15 fish) Scup 10” for the entire season 1/1 -10/15 (30 fish) This option would allow us to stay open for all of July and August but we would be able to keep only 1 sea bass per day. The difference in this option would be that the Scup season would begin on 1/1 and end on 10/15 instead of 8/1-12/31
Option 3 Sea Bass 12 ½” for all seasons 5/17- 6/19 (10 fish), 7/1-8/7 (2 fish), 10/1-10/31 (10 fish) 11/1-12/31 (15 fish) Scup 10” for the entire season 8/1-12/31 (30 fish) This option would allow us to keep 2 sea bass from 7/1 -8/7 (a 38 day summer season with 2 fish as opposed to a 62 day summer season with just 1 fish) One advantage of this option over option 4 is that it would allow us to be open for July 4th.
Option 4 Sea Bass 12 ½” for all seasons 5/17- 6/19 (10 fish), 7/20 – 8/31 (2 fish), 10/1-10/31 (10 fish) 11/1-12/31 (15 fish) Scup 10” for the entire season 8/1-12/31 (30 fish) This option would allow us to keep 2 sea bass from 7/20 -8/31 (a 43 day summer season with 2 fish as opposed to a 62 day summer season with just 1 fish) the advantage of this option is that the summer season would be open 5 more days than in Option 3. It would also be open at a time when large sea bass are caught by those targeting fluke on the wrecks and rough spots as they migrate offshore
 
I went to the Freeport show yesterday and bought a bunch of stuff that I didn't really need. I saw the NYS booth.

There was a very nice young lady. She told me fluke would stay the same. Porgy and BSB will face undetermined changes.

Plus I asked about another sore topic....Fishing licenses. Seems this year will be the same free license we are used to. However, 2024 may see the old paid fishing license return. She mentioned they most likely would do it like a fresh water license. She mentioned most have no objections to a paid license IF it goes to support the fishery. That is what they are working out. Of course when implemented, anyone volunteer to “follow the money” and make sure it is used for fishing?
 
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