Jack,
I do not ever remember killing a bass that I have released. I do not ever remember catching one that went much over 40 inches either. I tend to have my commercial mentality surface too when I have a bass on. I do not screw around with light tackle hence I usually get the fish to the boat quite rapidly. Perhaps the big ones die because recreational anglers use too light a tackle hence it takes far too long to boat the fish. The CO2 levels must build up in the fish's blood that is just too high for him/her to survive. It was interesting the reason you gave for the demise of the slot limit which I thought was a dam good idea. I could see where there would be a lot of bitching going around when different limits are set for different groups. I know the CT commercial guys, including myself, are upset because we are not even allowed one bass (any size) per day while our neighboring states do. About the only species that appears to be in good shape is the Striped Bass.
However, after seeing that horrible film clip, and I learned from reading this thread that the commercial guys still seine (or gill net) bass by the hundreds off Long Island I surprised that the bass population is still in good shape. The entire mentality of how our regulators (state and federal) go about managing fish stocks is really screwed up. I guess I cannot complain much because I cannot offer any positive suggestion on how to fix things up but in our hearts we know there just has to be a better way for keeping our fish stocks healthy. It hurts to see so many species go down the tubes that used to be so plentiful. I miss catching weakfish and winter flounder. Hell, I remember catching Cod off Sarah's Ledge! What is going to be next on their list; they seem to have their sights set on doing in the togs and fluke. |