Great News For Maine Striper fishermen & The Entire Atlantic Coast Striped Bass Fishery!!!

BREAKING NEWS!!!

HOORAY!!! Ladies & Gentlemen...please hoist your beers in the direction of Alexandria, VA in salute of an effort by the ASFMC's Striped Bass Commission that is sure to bode well for the stocks of east coast Stripers...If the initiatives of this important Addendum passes, and they rightfully should, it will not be a quick fix solution to the problem but it is definitely a huge step in the right direction...The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has released the following info...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 24, 2011
Alexandria, VA – The ASMFC (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission), Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board has initiated development
of Draft Addendum III with the goals of reducing striped bass fishing mortality (F) up to 40% and further
protecting spawning stock when it is concentrated and vulnerable.
The addendum was initiated in order to
allow managers to promptly respond to the results of the stock assessment update in the fall if necessary.
Provisions of the addendum, if passed, could be implemented prior to the start of the 2012 fishing year.
The Board’s action responds to recent trends in the fishery and resource, including a 66% decline in
estimated recreational catch from 2006 to 2009; a 25% decline in estimated striped bass abundance from
2004 to 2008; and lowered recruitment in recent years. Additionally, states in the northern extent of the
fishery have expressed concern over decreased availability of striped bass as a result of the diminished
water quality in the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months that may also contribute to increased
prevalence of mycobacteriosis in striped bass.
Draft Addendum III will propose a range of fishing management measures including, but not limited to,
adjustments to commercial and recreational minimum size (for jurisdictions outside Chesapeake Bay and
Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River), reductions in annual coastal commercial allocation, reductions in
recreational bag limits, revisions to the target F rate (for Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke
River), and reductions on fishing for striped bass in known spawning areas during the spawning season by
at least 50% (for jurisdictions bordering the Hudson River, Delaware River, Chesapeake Bay and
Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River).
The commercial and recreational fishery is currently managed through Amendment 6 to the Striped Bass
Fishery Management Plan. The Amendment, passed in 2003, allocates the coastal commercial quota and
set a two fish bag limit and a 28 inch size minimum for the recreational fishery, with the exception of the
Chesapeake Bay fisheries, Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River fisheries, and states with approved alternative
regulations.
The Draft Addendum will be developed for preliminary review by the Atlantic Striped Bass Management
Board in August. For more information, please contact Kate Taylor, Fishery Management Plan
Coordinator, at ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Maine' Premier Saltwater Fishing Guide Service
Super Fly Charters
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
Super Fly Charters Facebook Page
www.superfly-charters.com

Super Fly Charters: Your #1 Source For Maine Saltwater Fishing Reports, Guided Striper Trips & Charters

Maine Striper Fishing Update

Reservations are continuing to come in for the 2011 Maine saltwater fishing season...Many anglers are already booking trips as far out as September to insure that they get the prime dates. We do multi trips each day based on the ebb and flow of the tides so don't worry we have still have lots of availability...As of right now we are scheduled to begin our season sometime in May...Once we have the boat ready to go, we'll begin doing groundfish trips and based on the availability of early migrating Stripers we'll be focusing on the prolific herring runs that occur on many of our tidal rivers.
Striper fishing in the Maine during the month of May can be hit or miss but when the bite is on, we can help cure your case of cabin fever with an early season slayfest...once June rolls around it'll be game on for 150+ straight days...Striped Bass, Bluefish, Bluefin Tuna, Cod, Mackerel & Sharks will all get your much deserved attention...

Sooo...if you have a date in mind that you'd like to reserve, please give us a jingle to insure that you get a chance to participate in what's going to be another great fishing season on the beautiful coast of Maine....also be sure to browse through our Maine saltwater fishing reports archives to read our day by day, month by month reports....we have hundreds of great pictures that back up our daily fishing reports...

Maine' Premier Saltwater Fishing Guide Service
Super Fly Charters
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
Super Fly Charters Facebook Page
www.superfly-charters.com

Maine Striper Fishing: Super Fly Charters

Maine Striper Fishing Charters

We're getting closer to the start of fishing season here in Maine...the snow is melting and spring is on the way...We'll soon be pulling the cover off the boat to begin the annual maintenance regimen...This season we'll likely be keeping the Super Fly at a Marina slip...but have no fear we'll still be able to trailer up and down the coast!!! After a decade of guiding here in Maine It's nice to still feel that excitement builds up that happens every year around this time...it'll feel even better to hook into a fresh from sea Striper...this will happen sometime in late May...from that day till sometime in late October we'll be relentlessly pursuing a variety of saltwater game fish!!! In the meantime check out one of my posts from a guided trip that took place last June...

(June 12, 2010)Recap Of A Typical June Striped Bass Trip
Yesterday, I had Chris Oliver of Knight Marine Service ,located in Rockland, Maine, back aboard. Chris fishes with me several times each season in various locations and has been guided to his first stripers of the year going back the last 7-8 years aboard my boat...this year would be no different. This time out we had a great day of fishing on Maine's Kennebec River.
We were on the water by 4:00 am and as we left the south boat launch facility in Bath we were greeted by flat calm conditions and the last part of a ripping outbound tide. A short run from the dock and we spotted whirling gulls and bait fish being blasted by hungry Stripers...It didn't take but a few casts and we were tight to our first Striper of the morning, a fat 25 incher another pass by the ledge gave up a 27 incher then another & another as the action tapered off we decided to head off down river...the next stop produced a couple of fish that were holding deep in the current...off we go again.
As we approach the next stop we see gulls dive bombing the surface of the water and the frantic splashes of herring trying to escape the hungry stripers that were herding them to the surface...This wasn't one of those classic all out 5 acres of busting fish blitz, but rather a mini blitz of maybe a couple dozen stripers having their way with a school of herring. I positioned the boat to slide past the edge of the busting fish and we cast into the the surface feed with our 350 grain lines and our fluffy white 4"-5" herring deceivers that were tied with just a hint of chartreuse angel hair on their flanks. long strips followed by a a short pause proved to be irresistible to the hungry stripers. As the tide turned we boated several more stripers before the fish went down...we continued to work this area for a while and the stripers continued to pop to the surface one fish at a time. It's very exciting to watch a stiper rise up underneath a herring that fluttered on the surface and blast it repeatedly as it tried to gulp it down...
We kept at the fish during the incoming tide picking up one fish here and one fish there. Around noontime we headed upriver to the Kennebec tavern for a quick bite to eat before trying one last fish...Armed with a light spinning rod, it only took one cast with the deadly flat tire shad lure to find a fat 27"er a great way to end an even greater day on the water

Call us if you'd like to join us for a day or two this coming season. We'll be happy help you plan your Maine vacation!!! If fly fishing isn't your thing...no worries we're well equipped for light tackle & live bait fishing too!!!


Maine Striper Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com

Maine Striper Fishing: Department of Marine Resources NOTICE OF RULEMAKING Chapter 42.03 Striped Bass –

Here we go again...Looks like there is more smoke on the horizon as the natives are becoming restless and the wagons are circling....This time it's trouble brewing on the lower Kennebec watershed...There is a lot of finger pointing and accusations directed at a certain Boothbay Harbor charter captain and his associates who are allegedly using their influence to help structure Maine fishing rules for their own personal benefit...That remains to be seen!!!

All of that contentious nonsense aside, I have read the DMR notice and have seen the proposed boundary line changes..It's my interpretation that if these rule changes pass....the special Kennebec regs would still cover the main stem of the Kennebec river and all of the fertile nursery areas of Merrymeeting bay and it's tributaries...most of the Sheepscot river would revert to the general state rules that governed it prior to 1990 as would the outer beaches and ledges between Cape Newagen and Small Pt. It also sounds like the special catch and release season rules would remain in place. The big difference is that in a further attempt to reduce the release mortality of native Kennebec Striped Bass, circle hooks are now mandated for bait fishing as opposed to J-hooks which were the standard when these special conservation rules were implemented 20 years ago...Part of the argument now is whether or not using bait on c-hooks now levels the playing field of release mortality vs. artificial baits fished on a j-hook...clearly using natural bait will be more effective 100% of the time...no one can argue that fact...It's the release mortality that comes into question....In various case studies, it has been shown that the use of a "inline circle hook" rather than a "J" hook, resulted in a significant reduction in deep hooking. It can therefore be inferred that requiring the use of "circle hooks" with natural baits in a catch and release program would result in a much higher increase in fish survival...these same studies indicate that deep hooking was reduced by as much as 81% over the course of the study by using non-offset circle hooks vs j hooks...Will a Striped Bass that's hooked in the corner of the mouth with a circle hook be just as likely to survive after being released as a fish thats hooked in the same place with a fly or artificial bait???...My own experience leads me to say yes...Thats where things get complicated for me...I'm all for conservation and fully support the way the current special Kennebec rules are structured...however times have changed and so have some of the other rules concerning the types of hooks we can now use...if the mandated use of circle hooks is proven to level the playing field then I can understand how making some amendments to the current rules has some merit...Either way i'm going to support or oppose these rule changes based on science and not emotion...regardless of what happens i'd like to see the special Kennebec catch & release season stay in place...also many folks would like to see the 20"-26" slot limit be replaced with the old 36" limit for keeper fish...I'd support that if the science backed it up...but thats a battle for another day

Obviously there are lots of varying opinions regarding this issue...my thoughts are that if a guide or an angler chooses not to fish bait for their own philosophical reasons and they practice what they preach, I think thats cool and I fully respect that because those guys are keeping it real!!!...It's the guys that preach one thing and practice the other that lose credibility in my eyes...Yeah...I have a problem with that!!! It's easy for everyone to be all self righteous and to get caught up in the drama and I find it a more than a little funny that some of the same Kennebec guides that are in an uproar over these proposed rule changes are the same guys that are causing traffic jams at the Kennebec Angler and at Sheldons bait dock on July 1st, buying all the bait that they can carry and are stacking fish up on the docks like cordwood??? If the new rules pass these same guides will most likely be the first ones, in May or June, to have their sports drifting live eels or bloodworms??? Anyone else find that to be ironic?...It's often said that every cloud has a sliver lining...well in this case it seems like the pocket of every hypocrite guide has a green lining$$$
I hate to say this but there are a lot of big ego players that fish the kennebec watershed and all of them think that they have the answer as to what the right way and what the wrong way is to manage this fishery...Unlike some of these close minded, card carrying, doom & gloom zealots out there whom apparently think of themselves as expert fisheries biologists, I don't have that qualification so I've chosen to keep an open mind about exploring these rule amendments and not pass a quick judgement until I've been fully educated about them by folks who are more qualified...

Yes the motives for establishing these new rules are starting to smell a little more fishy to me as time passes and additional info becomes available...I'm sure that it'll all come out at the public hearing when Recreational Fishing Alliance Rep.- Capt. Barry Gibson gives his testimony...more than likely if these proposed rule changes turn out to be bogus they will hopefully be crushed quickly...How this is handled by the Maine DMR will be a good barometer of how the new administration is going handle future important recreational fishing issues...most of us are not optimistic!!!

If you have strong feelings one way or the other about these proposed rule changes, please submit your written comments or better yet voice them at the upcoming public hearing!!! Read Details Below

Department of Marine Resources: NOTICE OF RULEMAKING

Chapter 42.03 Striped Bass
(Kennebec River and Sheepscot river areas)
The proposed rulemaking would remove the marine bait prohibition and replace it with the requirement to use circle hooks while using marine bait when fishing in the Kennebec River closed area during the established May 1 to June 30th season. The closed area is also proposed to change from upstream and inside the line drawn from Cape Small to Cape Newagen to a line upstream and inside from Fort Popham, Phippsburg to Kennebec Point to Indian Point, Georgetown, and upstream from a line in the area called Robinhood between Lowe Point, Phippsburg to Newdick Point, Westport and downstream of the Route 144 Westport Island Bridge therefore removing the Sheepscot River from the Kennebec rules and placing it under the statewide regulations.

This request was made by the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) - Barry Bibson of Boothbay Harbor who is the rep. for RFA in Maine.
PUBLIC HEARING: April 4, 2011, 6pm, Bath City Hall, 1st Floor Auditorium, 55 Front Street, Bath
DEADLINE FOR WRITTEN COMMENTS: April 14, 2011
CONTACT PERSONS: Bruce Joule (207-633-9505) or Pat Keliher (207-287-9973)
For more information: Online the web link for a copy of the proposed rules is: http://www.maine.gov/dmr/rulemaking/
Or, to obtain a hardcopy by US mail write: Dept. of Marine Resources, attn: L. Churchill, PO Box 8, West Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04575-0008 TEL: 207-633-9584, or
EMAIL: laurice.churchill@maine.gov, FAX: (207) 633-9579 or TTY: (207) 633-9500
To receive future rulemaking notices by email please use contact info above.

Maine Deep Sea Fishing Reports With Capt. George Harris & Super Fly Charters

Deep Sea Fishing In Maine: Part II of III...We'll cover Groundfish, Tuna & Sharks In This Three Part Series

(Part II: Sharking..Fishing For Sea Monsters On The Maine Coast)

When most anglers think about planning a sport fishing trip in Maine, light tackle fishing for sharks usually isn't the first thing that pops into their minds...but it should be!!! July through October can offer some of the hottest & most consistent big game fishing that we have on the Maine coast. Large Pelagic Sharks cruise the nearshore temperature breaks and forage rich underwater sea mounts looking for an easy meal...Mako, Thresher and Blueshark are the primary targets with Blueshark being the most common Shark caught in the Gulf of Maine...The usual routine is to get set up on a temperature or current break with buckets of our freshly ground chum hanging off the side of the boat creating a bloody & oily scent super highway that draws sharks in from long distance...any shark that swims through our miles long chum slick will swim directly to the stern of our boat...usually we'll have a few hook baits already deployed at different depth intervals and we'll also have a livey bridled up and swimming in the livewell for use as a pitch bait in the unusual event that the sharks are finicky...Blue Sharks are prime candidates for fly & light tackle anglers. During down time while we're waiting for the sharks too come in...we often drop jigs to the bottom for fast action on codfish, mackerel and other species...there is always something happening...once the sharks arrive...it's game on and everyone on the boat functions as a team...we are well equipped for fishing sharks...our tackle includes an array of Penn International 50W & 30W lever drag reels mounted on custom Chaos stand up rods for the heavy lifting...For the lighter work we are fully equipped with heavy Penn 9500ss spinning outfits, lightweight graphite rods rigged with Shimano 15-20-25-30 TLD's and an array of Gloomis, Sage & TFO Bluewater fly fishing outfits....all of our tackle is impeccably maintained...If you're planning to fish in Maine this summer and would like to give sharking a try...please give us a call.

Maine' Premier Saltwater Fishing Guide Service
Super Fly Charters
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
Super Fly Charters Facebook Page
www.superfly-charters.com