Fish Report 5/22/22
Opening Some Of June
Sea Bassing OK(ish)
Asking One Last Time..
IF YOU BOOK LEAVE YOUR BEST POSSIBLE CONTACT NUMBER & LISTEN TO YOUR MESSAGES -
Weather Cancellations Happen - I Make Every Attempt To Let Clients Sleep In If The Weather's Not Going Our Way..
Fishing has been OK. Have caught some limits everyday so far. That 50kt NEster just before season gummed things up.
Opening through June 19 for sea bass trips. (with some days booked out for personal reasons) Size limit 13 inches - 15 per person.
Special Saturday-like Hours Memorial Weekend - otherwise
- Sailing Daily - Saturdays 6:30 to 3:30 at $155.00 — Weekdays & Sundays 7 to 3 at $135 - All Trips Sell Out at 18 Anglers.
Be a half hour early! We always leave early
..except when someone shows up right on time.
Clients arriving late will see the west end of an east-bound boat.
With a limited number of reserved spots, I do not refund because you overslept or had a flat..
Trips Also Announced on Facebook at Morning Star Fishing
https://www.facebook.com/ocfishing/ & my personal FB page along with after action (or lack thereof) reports..
Bait is provided on all trips.
No Galley. Bring Your Own Food & Beverage.
If You Won't Measure & Count Your Fish, The State Will Provide A Man With A Gun To Do It For You. We Measure & Count — ALWAYS — No Exceptions!
It's Simple To Prevent Motion Sickness, Difficult To Cure. Bonine seems best because it's non-drowsy. Truly cheap & effective insurance.
Honestly - If you get to go on the ocean once a month, once a year or even less; why risk chumming all day? Similarly, if you howl at the moon all night, chances are good you'll howl into a bucket all day.
Bring A Cooler With Ice For Your Fish – A 48 Quart Cooler Is Fine For A Few People. Do Not Bring A Very Large Cooler. We have a few loaners - you'll still need ice.
No Galley! Bring Food & Beverages To Suit. A few beers in cans is fine for the ride home.
Wishbone doesn't replace backbone.. Have to keep a shoulder into reef building to make it happen.
Donations help too!Ocreefs.org
As of 5/21/22 we have 36,204 Reef Blocks & 454 Reef Pyramids (170lb ea) deployed at numerous ACE permitted ocean reef sites - we also have 548 pyramids deployed by MD CCA at Chesapeake Bay oyster sites working to restore blue ocean water…
Currently being targeted oceanside: Virginia Lee Hawkins Memorial Reef 99 Reef Blocks (+55 Reef Pyramids begun 8/18/20) - Capt. Jack Kaeufer's/Lucas Alexander's Reefs 1,888 Blocks (+44 Reef Pyramids) - Doug Ake's Reef 4,174 blocks (+16 Reef Pyramids) - St. Ann's 2,837 (+8 Reef Pyramids) - Sue's Block Drop 1,602 (+22 Reef Pyramids) - TwoTanks Reef 1,243 (+ 11 Reef Pyramids) - Capt. Bob's Inshore Block Drop 912 - Benelli Reef 1,511 (+ 15 Pyramids) - Rudy's Reef 465 - Capt. Bob's Bass Grounds Reef 3,861 (+74 reef pyramids) - Wolf & Daughters Reef 734 - Al Berger's Reef 1,149 (+14 Reef Pyramids) - Great Eastern Block Drop 1,402 (+21 Reef Pyramids).. And a soon-to-be-named reef at Russell's Reef 30 Blocks & 49 Pyramids - We've also begun block drops at Capt Greg Hall's Memorial Reef with 222 Blocks & 2 Pyramids + 325 Castle & Terracotta Tog Blocks & 10 Pyramids 81 feet Bass Grounds Unnamed ..
Greetings All,
Sea bass fishing is OK. Not stellar. The new size limit forces a lot of plump, tasty cbass to go back for a few more weeks before they grow into size limit. They'll likely grow almost 3 inches over the summer.
I spent a large part of the winter--months actually--doing a deep dive on NOAA's MRIP recreational catch estimates. (See Fish Report 2/28/22 - On the Theft of Marine Recreational Fisheries.. and Fish Report 2/9/22, Fighting a Reargaurd Regulatory Action.. And Fish Report 2/1/22, MRIP's Coming Disaster. They're complex pieces but were read by scientists and managers.)
I'm hopeful readers, as some already have, will write their DC senators and others asking to have MRIP be given an "Extended Peer Review" - or, in some other way, have Commerce Dept & NOAA ask everyone BUT statisticians what they think of MRIP..
All previous peer reviews have been by statisticians only.
Gosh, boy does MRIP think there's a LOT of fish in the sea. With any amount of Private Boats and fish possible there then becomes an infinite amount of catching. Recreational private boat anglers from just one state frequently "catch" more sea bass by estimate than all Party/Charter effort north of Hatteras. There have been years, even recently, where Private Boats catch more sea bass than ALL Commercial & Recreational boats put together. In fact, there have been times when Private Boats caught DOUBLE all professional effort.
I wish I were kidding - 2X All Trawl, Trap, Partyboat, & Charterboat catch.
There are even numerous instances where Shore anglers outfish party/charter. One estimate that comes to mind is Sept/Oct MD Shore 2016 where they 'caught' 178,000 lbs of sea bass that averaged 1.4lbs apiece.
After 40 years I rarely average that size sea bass for my clients in a single day and certainly never across months. It would take MD's Party/Charter fleet 4 years to land that many pounds.
When that estimate was published, in fact, we shook the internet by its ankles and found one angler who claimed to have caught a legal sea bass in Ocean City's back bay from Shore. It was not 1.4lbs.
These estimates for Shore and Private Boat have become laughably incorrect and will make past & present US fisheries managers and scientists appear foolish when corrected.
MRIP has been examined before. But in previous Peer Reviews - by statisticians only - MRIP's just been the coolest thing ever to them.
If you know absolutely nothing about fish & fishing, these estimates are just peachy.
If you're trying to restore fish populations or are on the receiving end of bad regulations stemming from bad catch data?
Oyyyyyy... And then, as if punitively, every time we've forced a review of the data, estimates have risen. Sometimes by multiples.
At least they've finally grown so bad others see what I've been making a fuss over all these years.
I promise - Today many in mid & upper management are deeply concerned with MRIP's skyhigh recreational estimates. I have long tried to warn, and now they see, where vastly overestimated catch has led to fish population estimates (stock estimates in the trade) becoming far too high as well.
Now, with bad stock (population) estimates firmly in place, commercial quotas have been issued that shall soon be seen as ruinous to management's multi-decadal effort.
Here's the great news: among new people working in key positions, Dr Hare is NOAA's new chief fisheries scientist. I have absolute faith in him to seek what is factual.
I've also spoken with Evan Howell who is newly in charge of MRIP. I found Dr Howell to be sincerely concerned. Extremely so.
Write to Commerce, NOAA Fisheries, your State Fisheries reps - even & especially your Washington DC reps.
Ask for an "Extended Peer Review" for MRIP.
Every single letter counts. Very few anglers or even professionals in the recreational fishing trade can be troubled with writing such--endless complaints? Sure. Actually writing to the complaint dept? Not so much!
One sentence is all you really need: MRIP needs an Extended Peer Review that includes Fisheries Scientists, Managers, and Fishermen themselves; not just statisticians.
Regards,
Monty
Write Your DC Reps (Senators & Congressman) Email will get read but if you snail mail a regional office they'll reply in writing.
https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
NOAA is under Commerce, Secretary of Commerce, thesec@doc.gov Gina M. Raimondo
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20230
Dr. Rick Spinrad PhD (rick.spinrad@noaa.gov ?? NOAA's big boss)
NOAA/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Room 5128
Washington, DC 20230
Janet Coit, Esq. NOAA Fisheries (New Fisheries Boss with LOTS of fisheries and enviro experience)
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20230
Evan Howell PhD. Director of MRIP (New! Willing to take a hard look at it!)
NOAA Fisheries
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Michael Pentony NOAA's Regional Administrator GARFO
Bob Beal
Executive Director ASMFC
Dr. Chris Moore
Executive Director MAFMC
