Missed the San Antonio show (1 Viewer)

[nmrocks]

Would have liked to talk to the guys at the San Antonio show Memorial weekend even though flats are pretty poorly represented at these shows but the weekend wasn't a total loss..^&grin

 

[mikemiller1955]

nice catch Ray...

can't beat fresh fish...

I'm not gonna call the game warden...

but you might be over your limit...^&grin...

 

[jazzeum]

Not a total loss, unless you were a fish! ^&grin

 

[sammy719]

Not to shabby of a haul!!! if there isn't a box full of toy soldiers in the mail box the next best thing is a ton of fish in the fish box!!!...Sammy

 

[Panzer ace]

That is one big catch and an even better hat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nmrocks]

Thanks guys, this was a pretty amazing trip, there were actually 3 of us fishing and this captain knew the pacific. Actually only fished from 9:30 to 1:00 but he would put us on these pinnacles on the ocean floor and it was just pull them up as fast as you could real. All plastic, no bait and he cleaned them all! The hat was borrowed from my fanatical cousin, but with this trip I kept it!
Ray

 

[nmrocks]

I would like to add one disheartening note I witnessed on this trip.
On the way out we passed a "Dragger" as they call them, commercial fishing vessel that drags the bottom for his catch and the captain had nothing good to say, I assumed it was about competition.
It happened that on the way in we once again came across the same vessel on his way in, nets in and crossed his wake about 1/2 mile behind him. It was soooo depressing the surface was litterally covered with small dead fish of the same species, various cod, bottom fish littering the surface as the culled there catch. It was disturbing to see so many of the young of those fish we had caught just wasted. If you've spent anytime on the ocean fishing you know the gulls are the garbage men of the sea, following fishing vessels, they eat everything, but there was so much of these young dead fish being thrown over even the gulls couldn't eat them all, not even close.
The captain was passonate about how these draggers destroy the "nursery" if you will, habitat by dragging the bottom like this, but sports fisherman cannot get organized enough to stop the commercial fisherman who say this is not the case. The only thing I am certain of is if these young had grown to the size we were catching, there would have been enough match our catch 100's of times over. The draggers fish these waters daily.
Ray

 

[sammy719]

I would like to add one disheartening note I witnessed on this trip.
On the way out we passed a "Dragger" as they call them, commercial fishing vessel that drags the bottom for his catch and the captain had nothing good to say, I assumed it was about competition.
It happened that on the way in we once again came across the same vessel on his way in, nets in and crossed his wake about 1/2 mile behind him. It was soooo depressing the surface was litterally covered with small dead fish of the same species, various cod, bottom fish littering the surface as the culled there catch. It was disturbing to see so many of the young of those fish we had caught just wasted. If you've spent anytime on the ocean fishing you know the gulls are the garbage men of the sea, following fishing vessels, they eat everything, but there was so much of these young dead fish being thrown over even the gulls couldn't eat them all, not even close.
The captain was passonate about how these draggers destroy the "nursery" if you will, habitat by dragging the bottom like this, but sports fisherman cannot get organized enough to stop the commercial fisherman who say this is not the case. The only thing I am certain of is if these young had grown to the size we were catching, there would have been enough match our catch 100's of times over. The draggers fish these waters daily.
Ray

I here ya loud and clear Ray, the beautiful Chesapeake Bay sports the worlds best blue crabs (my favorite) but with the dreggers who rape the bottom day in and day out the last few years have been God awful for the industry and the local crabber who can't keep his business open due to the lack of crabs is just out of luck thanks to the dreggers so the industry put out hard regulations about amounts/male,female etc. and hopefully will give the blue crab a chance to repopulate in large numbers like they should, as much as I like fishing there isn't anything more fun then dropping a trout line at Dawns early light on the Bay then having a few cold ones for breakfast while we wait for the Jimmy's to take the line and then the excitement of bringing up that line, it's hit and miss but a good days catch of a bushel of Blue's is something I treasure every Summer on vacation!!...Sammy

 

[mikemiller1955]

you guys should watch "Big Fish Texas" on National Geographic...

it's a reality show about a Galveston family...

Kenny and Buddy Guindon and their commercial fish house called Katie's Seafood...

the commercial fisherman are making all the money...

while the state keeps the Gulf snapper limit to 4 red snapper on sport fishermen...

Katie's boats will bring in hauls of 10,000 pounds plus of Gulf Red Snapper and make a fortune...

while the Average Joe can only catch 4 snapper...

seems kind of unfair to me to Average Joe...

my cousin owns Galveston Party Boats (New Buccaneer, Cavalier) and they have deep sea fishing boats that carry 100 people off shore...

his business is really down because his customers are only allowed a 4 snapper limit...

so the worst part is...

if the customer doesn't catch a 20 pound plus sow snapper...

they just unhook it and throw it back in the Gulf...

where they almost always die...

then keep killing small fish one after another til they land a big sow...

stupid law...very unfair to sport fishermen...

 

[Panzer ace]

Mike/Ray/Sammy:

As a consumer (and one who buys a lot of fish) I take part of the blame in the rise of the tactics of commercial fisherman. After all, if there is no demand then there is no need for all of this.

It is easy to think that our carbon footprint is limited to coal etc., but the sad fact is that we impact everything from the jungle to the ocean and everything inbetween.

-Jason