Day 6: Striped Bass Anatomy/ Classroom Discussion

As a (fictitious) recreational fisherman in the state of New York, I feel that the ban on taking striped bass from Federal waters should be lifted. From Montauk to Rockaway Beach, Long Island is known for its excellent Striped Bass fishing, and lifting this ban would further enable anglers to enjoy off-shore trips in search for that world-class, 60 pound striper. After years of strict size and quantity limits on this species of fish, I am now proud to say that fisheries have reported the striped bass are "sustainable", meaning they are not threatened by low population numbers and are, on the whole, healthy. Therefore, I believe it is in the interest of not only myself, but in the interest of hundreds of thousands of anglers who flock to Long Island in pursuit of trophy striped bass to reward us by increasing the range of our fishing grounds.

Back to reality....

Although I really am a recreational fisherman on Long Island, New York, I do not believe the Federal ban should be lifted. I will also admit, however, that my interests would not accurately represent the same interests of hundreds of thousands of on-shore fisherman who rely on surf casting and pier fishing as their means of catching the sacred Striped Bass. Having a boat allows me to easily fish offshore. Consequently, the influence of anglers like myself and others who have boats could lead to an imbalance in the number of fish taken offshore versus those taken from a pier or beach. If more bass are taken from offshore fishing grounds, this could result in stricter size and/or quantity limitations if anglers start reaching or exceeding the annual fishing quota. So in actuality, lifting the ban on taking fish from Federal waters would benefit a small percentage of anglers on the spectrum of recreational fishing. Furthermore, the Striped bass population, while it is currently sustainable and healthy, is now faced with a different problem: its food source. What I know commonly as "bunker", which is a main source of food for the bass, has been showing lower population numbers that can have the potential to adversely affect striped bass populations. Therefore, it is important to consider the implications of other fish populations before entertaining the notion of expanding fishing grounds.

That said, I personally would not be so affected by this ban (if it were to be lifted) as most of the fishing i do on my boat for striped bass takes place within three miles of shore, which falls under the category of state regulated waters.


Changing gears..... the wonders of Spectacle Island!!!!

I'm going to go ahead and say that Spectacle is my favorite island thus far. Firstly, we investigated the upper and lower aspects of the shoreline in search for various artifacts, which was awesome. Bruce showed off his speculating prowess by digging up some marbles (which probably belonged to him, according to the ferry boatman...) and other interesting items, such as pieces of old Coca-Cola bottles, spark-plugs and even glass tail lights from old cars. I was confused though, when i saw sizable rocks on both the lower and upper aspects of the shoreline; the macadamia nut theory didn't apply well here. Bruce eventually enlightened us about how the heavy rocks reached the upper shoreline, interestingly enough, due to possible storm surge or high surf that once broke rocks off from larger rocks located farther inland. I thought that was pretty neat. Additionally, i thought it was interesting to learn about the market for sea glass, which apparently pays very well for the little treasures washed up on the shores of Spectacle. Taking glass home is extremely frowned upon, so....DON'T STEAL THE SEA GLASS!!! or Bruce will beat you to a pulp.


On a different note..... BRUCE! IF YOU ARE READING THIS, RENT THE MOVIE "Old School" starring Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson. It is hysterical, you will enjoy it....and it will elucidate my joke about "Blue" from my previous blog post.

-matt heim