Catch & Release Discussion

[dorado50]

Originally Posted by Matt

Then you should step up and fight the mlpa instead of worrying about how many fish people keep!

X2...what about the Mexican seiners that wrap the migrating Yt off the Coronado Islands bound for LJ and beyond. I don't think you have a view of the overall picture of what really goes on in other countries,especially Mexico. I know for a fact kayak fisherman and private boats have no impact on our fisheries whatsoever. Wrapping 10 million lbs. of yellowfin,yellowtail,sharks,albacore, and all other by-catch (yearly)is what affects Calif. fisheries. Y u so worried about LJ anyway?

[TCS]

At least I won't have to go to BD to see a good catfight. Bust out the popcorn!

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by dorado50

X2...what about the Mexican seiners that wrap the migrating Yt off the Coronado Islands bound for LJ and beyond. I don't think you have a view of the overall picture of what really goes on in other countries,especially Mexico. I know for a fact kayak fisherman and private boats have no impact on our fisheries whatsoever. Wrapping 10 million lbs. of yellowfin,yellowtail,sharks,albacore, and all other by-catch (yearly)is what affects Calif. fisheries. Y u so worried about LJ anyway?

Dorado, I am sure that you are correct in what you have written about the foreign and commercial fishing impact. Unfortunately, you and I have no control over that and we both know that our Government is not interested in solving this problem. No money or votes to be gained there.

I believe that you are incorrect, however, when you say that "kayak fisherman and private boats have no impact on our fisheries whatsoever". If that is the case, where did all the Black Sea Bass go 40 years ago. Why is the average size of a local rockfish only a pound or two these days when they were five times that size just a few years back. Neither of these types of fish were ever a commercial target. The change came as a result of irresponsible recreational fishing practices years ago. Sure, things are improving but we have to stay the course.

Everything we do has an impact. All I am suggesting is that we all behave responsibly.

Why am I so worried about La Jolla? That is a surprising question coming from a veteran yakfisher. To me and a lot of others in this part of the world La Jolla is the single most important fishing destination in the region. No other place comes close.

Bob

[cioppino]

Originally Posted by dsafety

Dorado, I am sure that you are correct in what you have written about the foreign and commercial fishing impact. Unfortunately, you and I have no control over that and we both know that our Government is not interested in solving this problem. No money or votes to be gained there.

I believe that you are incorrect, however, when you say that "kayak fisherman and private boats have no impact on our fisheries whatsoever". If that is the case, where did all the Black Sea Bass go 40 years ago. Why is the average size of a local rockfish only a pound or two these days when they were five times that size just a few years back. Neither of these types of fish were ever a commercial target. The change came as a result of irresponsible recreational fishing practices years ago. Sure, things are improving but we have to stay the course.

Everything we do has an impact. All I am suggesting is that we all behave responsibly.

Why am I so worried about La Jolla? That is a surprising question coming from a veteran yakfisher. To me and a lot of others in this part of the world La Jolla is the single most important fishing destination in the region. No other place comes close.

Bob

We americans are just as guilty as anyone else when it comes to commercial over-fishing. Dont just point the finger at the Mexicans.

Bob when it comes to local fish you have to realize that they were and are commercially targeted. Commercial fishing by definition is the act of taking fish from the ocean for the purpose of profit. Well last I checked half day and three quarter day boats werent running out there to bring home fillets to the family. They were and are doing it strictly for cash in the pocket.
A fishing pole is not much different than a commercial Jack pole, just more line and sometimes more hooks. So now you have four half day boats and two or three three quarter day boats heading out when business is good. Shoot might as well fill em up to capacity, after all its not about fishing pleasure its about selling as many tickets as you can. So all those boats add up to about two hundred or so fishermen a day running out to la jolla, oh yeah don forget about the twilight boat, wouldnt want to give the fish a break. Do that everyday for an entire summer and fall or for as long as you can sell a ton of tickets. Shoot that adds up to tens of thousands of lines hitting the water locally a month. That adds up to some serious commercial fishing pressure if you ask me. That my friend is why a calico over twelve inches is so hard to come by towards the end of summer and why rockfish are so small.

The problems are numerous and BIG. Pollution, commercial pressure, cattle boat pressure. Not sure what to do about it Bob. The DFG should take a good hard look at size and take limits. Might be the only way to truly help our local fish species.
Honestly the yak community is the smallest part of the equation. I understand your concern Bob, but man there are bigger fish to fry.

[dorado50]

Originally Posted by cioppino

We americans are just as guilty as anyone else when it comes to commercial over-fishing. Dont just point the finger at the Mexicans.

Bob when it comes to local fish you have to realize that they were and are commercially targeted. Commercial fishing by definition is the act of taking fish from the ocean for the purpose of profit. Well last I checked half day and three quarter day boats werent running out there to bring home fillets to the family. They were and are doing it strictly for cash in the pocket.
A fishing pole is not much different than a commercial Jack pole, just more line and sometimes more hooks. So now you have four half day boats and two or three three quarter day boats heading out when business is good. Shoot might as well fill em up to capacity, after all its not about fishing pleasure its about selling as many tickets as you can. So all those boats add up to about two hundred or so fishermen a day running out to la jolla, oh yeah don forget about the twilight boat, wouldnt want to give the fish a break. Do that everyday for an entire summer and fall or for as long as you can sell a ton of tickets. Shoot that adds up to tens of thousands of lines hitting the water locally a month. That adds up to some serious commercial fishing pressure if you ask me. That my friend is why a calico over twelve inches is so hard to come by towards the end of summer and why rockfish are so small.

The problems are numerous and BIG. Pollution, commercial pressure, cattle boat pressure. Not sure what to do about it Bob. The DFG should take a good hard look at size and take limits. Might be the only way to truly help our local fish species.
Honestly the yak community is the smallest part of the equation. I understand your concern Bob, but man there are bigger fish to fry.

Pretty much hits the nail on the head! Like I said,"kayak fisherman and private boats have no impact on our fisheries at all".

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by cioppino

We americans are just as guilty as anyone else when it comes to commercial over-fishing. Dont just point the finger at the Mexicans.

Bob when it comes to local fish you have to realize that they were and are commercially targeted. Commercial fishing by definition is the act of taking fish from the ocean for the purpose of profit. Well last I checked half day and three quarter day boats werent running out there to bring home fillets to the family. They were and are doing it strictly for cash in the pocket.
A fishing pole is not much different than a commercial Jack pole, just more line and sometimes more hooks. So now you have four half day boats and two or three three quarter day boats heading out when business is good. Shoot might as well fill em up to capacity, after all its not about fishing pleasure its about selling as many tickets as you can. So all those boats add up to about two hundred or so fishermen a day running out to la jolla, oh yeah don forget about the twilight boat, wouldnt want to give the fish a break. Do that everyday for an entire summer and fall or for as long as you can sell a ton of tickets. Shoot that adds up to tens of thousands of lines hitting the water locally a month. That adds up to some serious commercial fishing pressure if you ask me. That my friend is why a calico over twelve inches is so hard to come by towards the end of summer and why rockfish are so small.

The problems are numerous and BIG. Pollution, commercial pressure, cattle boat pressure. Not sure what to do about it Bob. The DFG should take a good hard look at size and take limits. Might be the only way to truly help our local fish species.
Honestly the yak community is the smallest part of the equation. I understand your concern Bob, but man there are bigger fish to fry.

Cioppino,

You are not going to get any disagreement from me on the points you mentioned above. I am sure that you are dead-on, including your statement that yakfishers are among the smallest dangers to a sustainable fishery. As a group, we are probably the most responsible fishers out there as well.

That does not alter my opinion that even though we may behave better than some others, we still need to do our best to help protect this resource we all love so much. I am hopeful that the PBers and Cattle Boat operators will do the same.

Most of us are already doing all the right things and that is terrific. Unfortunately, there are still a few among us who either disagree with this philosophy or have not yet gotten the message.

This thread began in response to some young guy bragging about how he was able to catch and kill three huge YT in three days. That was a remarkable feat that most of us will never experience. I am curious about what happened to all the meat from those fish. If it was all consumed or frozen to be eaten a few months from now, great. No harm, no foul.

If, on the other hand, some of those fish were killed for no reason other than so this gentleman could display his trophies and show off what a great fisher he is, I have a problem with that.

There is a world class fisherman among us who fishes nearly every day, mostly targeting YT and WSB. I have been beside this guy as caught and released a big YT. It was the first time I had seen this done. Later in the day, he caught another, which he kept. If he had caught a third on that day, I am sure it would have been released. I suspect that this great fisherman releases more fish during a typical season than most of the rest of us will catch in a lifetime. To me this is the responsible way to enjoy our sport.

Bob

[deepdvr]

Everyone has an opinion on it. My take....I don't give a shit what you do as long as I'm catching something. Stay within the regs and don't waste the resource. Some people drive gas guzzlers some people drive hybrids, some people prefer blondes some prefer brunettes. Personally I like em all! For me, its like the opportunity to have sex. It rarely, if ever, comes around for me, so when the opportunity does present itself you'd better believe I'm all over it and I'm taking all that I can. Except for that one time I ran out of money at the cul-de-sac of love just outside of Carson NV.

[Iceman]

This won't be a popular opinion here but I think going fishing with the intent to catch and release is silly. Basically, you get your kicks out of fooling fish into biting your lure, allowing them to fight for their life and exhaust them, take them out of the water and possible damage them, then feel good about yourself for releasing a spent fish who is now a big target for other predators.

I stop fishing after I have 20+ pounds of fish. After a 40 or 50 lb fish I might not go out again for a couple of months. Not saying everyone should do what I do, just sharing another opinion.

Catch and release is not necessarily the most noble of things, give someone else the opportunity to get theirs. This sport is more of an addiction than therapy to some.

Dave, I can appreciate your perspective. I am satisfied with a good catch and savor that "mission accomplished" until the next time. I don't ever recall fishing 2 days in a row even if it is WFO.

[MVC]

I pretty much do my part by being a crappy fisherman. I never catch anything at La Jolla except Calico.

[steveooo]

Blast from the past

Originally Posted by madscientist

I never had any interest in being a sportsman. In some ways, I find the notion of hooking and potentially injuring fish just for pleasure, or "sport", less morally defensible than fishing for meat. Walking around the neighborhood trying to kick cats would be sport as well, but most would say somewhat cruel.

Providing fresh, organic, wild caught, non-netted, non-polluting, non-commercially processed seafood to people you care about, now that's a crime and a horrible example to set!

[blackcloud9]

Hi Bob, let me help you with some facts related to commercial fishing for Rockfish and Black Seabass ...... BOTH have been massively commercially harvested in the past.

Black Seabass: The fish was so heavily exploited in both California and Mexican waters that the commercial landings declined rapidly from 115 tonnes in 1932 to 5 tonnes in 1980 in California waters, whereas it decreased greatly from 363 tonnes to 12 tonnes in Mexican waters over the same period (Domeier 2001).

http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/20795/0

Rockfish: During the 1980s rockfish landings averaged 45,800 metric tons per year; peak rockfish catch occurred in 1982 when over 61,000 metric tons were landed along the US West Coast (PacFIN 2005).

See page 9 at
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/c...fishReport.pdf



I won't even state my opinion on c&r here, but I could not let a false statement like that pass without comment.

[dsafety]

Thanks for the correction Larry. I was unaware that either of those types of fish were ever commercially fished to any degree in the coastal San Diego waters. I wonder if those fish counts came from the gill netters and long line fishers that used to ply these waters.

I have lived near the ocean all my life. This must have snuck past me somehow.

Bob

[THE DARKHORSE]

...Right into sixty pounds of ice .

[deepdvr]

One of the nicest photographs I've ever seen.

[Afran]

Originally Posted by dsafety

Thanks for the correction Larry. I was unaware that either of those types of fish were ever commercially fished to any degree in the coastal San Diego waters. I wonder if those fish counts came from the gill netters and long line fishers that used to ply these waters.

I have lived near the ocean all my life. This must have snuck past me somehow.

Bob

Google is your friend.