[Mattb]

Fished Plum Island last night from 5ish to about 8pm. It started raining fairly hard as soon as I pulled into the parking lot, and that pretty well set the tone for the evening for me. I only had the flyrod and with the gusting winds fishing was tough. I was able to fish effectively inside, but the wind was blowing right into my left ear on the beachfront, and I wasn't up to the challenge of backcasting into the surf and watching out for breakers. I ended up getting the skunk, but it was my first trip out this year, and I pretty much expected that.

The spin and conventional fishermen fishing the beachfront were doing quite well, i probably saw 10 or 15 fish landed and thrown(literally) back into the surf. I noticed that 2 of the 3 people i saw fishing the beachfront were only wearing rubber boots, necessitating dragging the fish up the sand and then heaving it back into the water so that their feet didn't get wet. >( >( >( >( >(

-Matt

 

[juro]

As much as I love PI, the shore crowd there does seem to have a tendency to abuse fish by my observations. It makes it tough for those of us (regardless of gear choice) who try to treat the young'uns with kid gloves like the investment in the future that they are.

I have watched people drag the fish up (no boots) wrap the fish in a bait towel, dig out a deeply swallowed small seaworm hook that was fished on a 12 foot surf rod in a spike, then kick the schoolie back - over and over again.

I watched a guy who would make a good poster model for the Gloucester fisherman filleting shorts at night.

I've watched guys cutting 5 inch tinker mackeral into chunks to save bait while catching schoolie after schoolie from the Salisbury jetties, the majority of which had swallowed the tasty morsels. The schoolies were thrown from the tops of the jetty as if in disgust, bleeding down the sides.

On the positive side, I think the ratio of buttheads to sportsmen has been shifting. Although I am one who believes that the way people fish makes a difference in the harm it does to released fish, that's far from being the only issue. It's also the way people think (or don't think) that makes them care about the welfare of the fish they release.

I'd like to see F&W people speaking to anglers in a friendly educational way up there to raise awareness. Might stop the smuggling of shorts too.

 

[Eroach]

Hear-hear Juro,

I struggle to approach abusive fisherman in a friendly manner. What I want to do is drop them in the sand and kick them into the water (so I don't get my feet wet).

I find that many abusive anglers seem insulted about having their fish handling practices addressed (even when approached in a friendly way.) This regard of fish is what they grew up with. Fishing culture passed from parent to child are tough patterns to break.

We all have to be stewards of the ocean, not exploiters of an "endless bounty" as we did in the not-so-distant past.

On a special note, I despise those who view sub-legal fish as undeserving of respect. can you think of anything more backwards?

Eric.

 

[striblue]

Every time I see guys like that I think of the Movie "Deliverance"..... " Squeal like a pig....come on ...squeal like a pig"

 

[ssully]

juro (05-16-2001 11:55 a.m.):
As much as I love PI, the shore crowd there does seem to have a tendency to abuse fish by my observations. It makes it tough for those of us (regardless of gear choice) who try to treat the young'uns with kid gloves like the investment in the future that they are.

I have watched people drag the fish up (no boots) wrap the fish in a bait towel, dig out a deeply swallowed small seaworm hook that was fished on a 12 foot surf rod in a spike, then kick the schoolie back - over and over again.

I watched a guy who would make a good poster model for the Gloucester fisherman filleting shorts at night.

I've watched guys cutting 5 inch tinker mackeral into chunks to save bait while catching schoolie after schoolie from the Salisbury jetties, the majority of which had swallowed the tasty morsels. The schoolies were thrown from the tops of the jetty as if in disgust, bleeding down the sides.

On the positive side, I think the ratio of buttheads to sportsmen has been shifting. Although I am one who believes that the way people fish makes a difference in the harm it does to released fish, that's far from being the only issue. It's also the way people think (or don't think) that makes them care about the welfare of the fish they release.

I'd like to see F&W people speaking to anglers in a friendly educational way up there to raise awareness. Might stop the smuggling of shorts too.

I've seen this happen elswhere. It's safe to say it's not a PI phenomena.

 

[juro]

You're absolutely right Sully, I didn't mean to imply that it was uniquely a PI problem. I end up going to PI a lot over a season because I know the fishery and it's close, so I guess I see it more there than I do at other places with similar crowds and behaviors.

What other spots would you say are in the same league? Not that it would stop me from going there if the fishing was great and I was in the area ;-)

 

[saltRon]

We have a program in British Columbia called "OBSERVE RECORD and REPORT'' This has been quite effective in some instances with some heavy duty fines handed down
Education can be a remedy but as you infer these types do not want to here that there form of recreation is no longer acceptable What do you do???
saltRon