I never would have brought home a 6 man limit of BSB - I never would have called both Jim DeMints office and Lindsay Grahams office to complain about the closures- I never thought I would post another fishing report on Charleston Fishing. This is a day of nevers!
Why didnt the SAFMC have a meeting about BSB closures last year - open for public comment? How were they able to sneak it past everyone under the guise of Snapper - Grouper closures?
What about a random sampling of fishing license holders - using ‘cold calling’ method to set recreational catch limits?
What happened to our SC Constitutional RIGHT to Hunt and Fish?
What about a government bail-out for the charter businesses who cant fish for the next few months? What about the captains I hire to run the boat on said charters? The fuel and bait suppliers?
I had no trouble rounding up 7 anglers on Sunday. We thought of hitting the stream for Wahoo before we can only catch one per boat - plans changed as I wanted my son to see ‘how it was in the days before the fisheries close’ and have him take part in the record fishing day on the PainKiller - (not even an argument about missing church on sunday from the admiral - my retort “church is always available, fishing might not be” - ).
Left the dock at 9:30am, ran fast in not so slick and not so warm ocean, about 40 miles out. Dropped cigars to the bottom and pulled up 2 BSB at a time on EVERY DROP! Shortage, no way. Only fish other than BSB was an occasional sand perch when we drifted off the spot. Water was cold, 56 ish, fish were plentiful. We made most of our catch at the back of the parking lot, and came in to another spot 5 miles closer for the remainder. HUGE BSB - PLENTIFUL. For every keeper - we tried to keep 16 inches or larger - we must have released 4. Jigs were too slow to keep my interest - switched to cigars and cut bait. Home by 3pm. Seas flattened out for 50 mph run home.
All of the fish were cleaned and shared among the fishermen. None were wasted.
Hey Man,
No need for Nomex.
It’s been a windy season that restricted a great portion of Rec. guys from getting out there.
I buy a fishing license in 3 states and have yet to be called or have my catch counted.
With our kids in mind, will we give up? NEVER.
They don’t care about the fishery! It is VERY obvious!!! If they did we would be rasing money form wrecks, hacheries, and stock building programs. But THEY DON’T CARE!!
Set the trap boys, we going to pass through them again!!
In a way I can agree to bad habits comment about thats how the NMFS has taken us.
Many know very little, but when they see a picture like that and others with huge piles of BSB or any species they see a slaughtering from just one boat in a days trip, and opinons are formed quickly and with very little thought process. In that picture there could have been 6 folks fishing, when all said and done each individual has 20 or so pound of meat. They don’t look at that way and many others as well.
It’s a nice trip for sure, maybe as anglers we all need to quit posting pictures of the mega hauls from ones trip, less fuel for NMFS to fight the fire with.
Thanks for the kind words. I was concerned about posting photos of the catch, but I think in this case, it shows the fishery alive and well (no pun intended). If the BSB are endangered and overfished, how could a recreational angler limit out in a few hours of fishing? I like to think the photo is more of a statement to the NMFS - certainly they can use anything against us, especially bad data!
It’s a nice trip for sure, maybe as anglers we all need to quit posting pictures of the mega hauls from ones trip, less fuel for NMFS to fight the fire with.
Like they say a picture is worth a 1000 words.
Yea, then they will argue that the fishing is terrible cause no one is catching them like they use too.
“I remember when people use to post huge catches on the internet, now they only catch a few!” We need more closures!!
Not saying posting is good or bad but they have and will continue to spin the data to their agenda. Which is NO MORE RECREATIONAL FISHING!
Set the trap boys, we going to pass through them again!!
Again I disagree. The picture shows what a VERY HEALTHY fishery looks like. That is a drop in the bucket compared to what one blackfish boat brings in a a “potting” trip. 600-1000 lbs is easy. Or how about a head boat from Capt. Dicks with 80 people catching a limit. The people that are pushing closure are not looking at pictures and saying that we catch to many, they have another agenda, and could care less what the facts are.
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NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
You maybe right but i think we and the internet made it real easy for them to get their agenda really going…think about it by nature they are lazy so we post pics of our great catch(copy/paste and saved to hard drive,never even left the office),you say it proves they are wrong and its a healthy fishery,they say no you are killing to many,now same trip without a limit and they say see we told you the fishery needed help,you can not win this battle,they will twist it as they need it.(the ole glass is half full or empty argument).i chose not to give them any ammo at all…make them have to do some digging…
the last time they called to ask about my fishing experiences for the year,i told them i didn’t get a chance to go,fuel was too high…
quote:The people that are pushing closure are not looking at pictures and saying that we catch to many, they have another agenda, and could care less what the facts are.
That couldn't be any truer if Billy Graham had said it.
They have their agenda and we don't fit in it.
Doesn't matter what is said or posted....They simply don't care!
The fishery is as healthy as I have ever seen it. I remember the "Good old days" and in my opinion they weren't as good as these days we have now. The 12" limit has done wonders for the size and numbers of BSB. That tells me that they aren't really concerned about the fishery, they just want us to go away so they can go ahead with the Cath Share program and begin the process of making money.
The funny part about is that there are less head boats now than ever before. People are throwing more fish back, and the size limit has worked well. It’s disgusting how our goverment has betrayed us.
You maybe right but i think we and the internet made it real easy for them to get their agenda really going…think about it by nature they are lazy so we post pics of our great catch(copy/paste and saved to hard drive,never even left the office),you say it proves they are wrong and its a healthy fishery,they say no you are killing to many,now same trip without a limit and they say see we told you the fishery needed help,you can not win this battle,they will twist it as they need it.(the ole glass is half full or empty argument).i chose not to give them any ammo at all…make them have to do some digging…
the last time they called to ask about my fishing experiences for the year,i told them i didn’t get a chance to go,fuel was too high…
Ding Ding we have a winner.
The only thing that the www made better was porn.
You folks keep posting big catches of fish. And you think they don’t look and count?
I never thought I would post another fishing report on Charleston Fishing.
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Yes, you break internet posting rules when you catch to many fish. Does not matter that is was 7 people and if those seven would have taken their own boats and made 7 different posts it would have been okay. The totals would be the same but you would not have the picture of all those poor dead fish.
I have to go hug my tree now…
Some people on this site never post reports only lerk in the shadows to be critical of others.
Set the trap boys, we going to pass through them again!!
What the pictures do NOT show, is the hundreds of big healthy BSBs that are still in on the bottom, feeding, growing and breeding for next year. As a diver, I have seen HUNDREDS of BSBs on almost every chunk of live bottom that I drop on. Same with sheeps, spades and smaller grouper! I’ll be looking into UW a video camera for this summer. Maybe, if a few of us can post up video of a thriving ocean, they (NMFS, PEW, etc.) can’t make the claims that the ocean is dying. Of course, it sounds like they never let the truth get in the way of their agenda!
2 solutions… MORE artificial reefs & lets all KILL some Lionfish!!!
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PS: If a fly lost it’s wings, would it be called a walk?
