I am a fisherman...I don't label myself a fly fisherman...yes I absolutely love to fly fish, and I love to tie flies, but I also love pitching live baits...Like I said....I'm a fisherman.
One thing that this rulemaking process has taught me is that I am only a moderate conservationist...I am pretty much in the dead center of the road...yes I'm an advocate of catch & release, and I feel blessed every time that we catch & release a Striper...but I certainly don't begrudge my fishing guests a fish dinner either. I also feel pretty comfortable saying that I feel just as confident releasing a Striper that crushed a live herring as a fish that nailed a lefty's deceiver....the types of terminal gear have evolved to the point where release mortality is at an all time low when using proper equipment.
Another thing that I have learned during this process is that my tolerance for conservation zealots is waning fast...really fast...We all know who these guys are...These Quacks are so far right of center that they are not even on the horizon...they are the guys that troll all the online Maine fly fishing message boards with their blah blah blah doom & gloom, psychobabble rants...."the sky is falling"..."the sky is falling"...gimme a break...chicken little!!!if you know what I'm talking about and you visit some of those websites...Do yourself a huge favor and don't get caught up in that garbage...do your own reasearch...and draw your own conclusions...we all know that every story has at least two sides. When times are good you'll see some of these same guys boast on all the web forums about single handedly catching as many as 3000 stripers during a single season...apparently the fish that they catch somehow have a halo around them protecting them from release mortality...perhaps release mortality is an affliction only reserved for non fly caught fish...do you think many of these guys cry themselves to sleep over the possibility that a few of their Stripers might not survive release???....No, more than likely they are too busy high fiving each other celebrating their "Striper Thumbs" to shed a single tear. I guess it's only okay for one group of anglers to enjoy the slayfest...Now that things are a little tougher this small contingent wants to point their fingers at bait fishermen???...none of them want to look in the mirror...hmmm...how is that for irony???
Sure...I can appreciate a good debate with open minded people once in awhile...that is a good thing and it often leads to even better things...I respect that people are going to have varying opinions...It's the one sided spin that so many of these card carrying conservation zealots spout off about that really gnaws at me...Basically I have no use for it...In the end it's the guys with the cool heads that usually prevail.
So if you have strong feelings about these rule changes...you have until April 14th to submit them in writing to the DMR...I'll respect your opinion no matter which way you're leaning
(River Herring Flies & River Herring)
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' Premier Saltwater Fishing Guide Service
Super Fly Charters
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
Super Fly Charters Facebook Page
www.superfly-charters.com
3 comments:
Well said George!
Wow George, I'm flattered. Seems like I hit a nerve there.
Matt....it's not just you...You actually don't bother me that much because you stand behind your convictions...I respect that, even if I don't agree with you totally. I have more issue with some of the guys that stand up and preach one thing...yet they are the first to ones to do exactly the opposite...Ask some of the captains who have stood up and publicly opposed what they'll be doing in may/june if these proposed regs go through...or better yet hop aboard my boat in may / june and i'll show you first hand what they're doing...you won't see many of these guys fly fishing...Actions speak louder than words don't you think???
Your approach to fisheries management seems somewhat sound to me...I have seen at least one off the wall zealot publicly lobby for whole areas of the Kennebec to be CLOSED to all fishing for the whole season...if you think that you struck a nerve with me...what do you think that does...It doesn't make me want to buy the guy an ice cream cone.
Not sure if you've read all of my recent posts about these rule changes....or just scanned through them? if you have read them, I'm sure you'll see that I'm not crazy about them...if we do actually have striped bass spawning in the kennebec, I'd sure like to give them some added protection...I believe we do have some spawning activity...I have witnessed activity that I can only attribute to pre-spawn behavior...and that was in July...the flip side is that if we're working over the same fish that the rest of the state is fishing...naturally, I'd expect to have a level playing field...
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