Some good indications that things may be on an upswing, but it certainly isn’t time to loosen the reins I hesitate to say it’s over, because for a lot of us along the striper coast, to say such a thing would be blasphemy! Yeah, “it ain’t over till it’s over,” but for sure, most of […]
Author Archives: John McMurray
Holy Mackerel!
Did another large-scale fishery really just develop right under our noses? Picking up from where I left off in my last post… I wanted to give readers a rundown on what happened during the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting earlier this month, or at least the “Unmanaged Forage” portion of it. If you read my […]
Of Sandeels and Tuna: We Need YOUR Help Getting Ahead of the Curve
I am absolutely hammering yellowfin right now, and well inshore of the canyons (no, I’m not gonna tell you where, LOL). I’m not trolling, or chunking, or doing any of that traditional stuff. I’m catching them on topwater plugs. Yeah, that’s right. These crazy-awesome fish are absolutely smashing topwaters! It is so freak’n cool I […]
For Fluke’s Sake, Let’s Be Honest: RFA Leaves Out Important Details on Summer Flounder
Given the kind of thing that usually comes out of the RFA (Recreational Fishing Alliance) shop in Jersey, I wasn’t exactly surprised to see their latest press release. But yes, I was a little taken aback by the complete lack of context, not to mention the direct attacks on Council Members trying to do the […]
And the Fluke Hits the Fan: With Summer Flounder, is it Really Time to Panic?
I’ve been raving about the fluke (summer flounder) fishing for several years now. Because it’s been pretty darn good! I mean, it’s basically been a completely different fishery than it was 10 years ago. Simply put, there have been dramatically more and larger fish around, up until fairly recently anyway. It certainly wasn’t always this […]
“Reasonable Access” to Fisheries? What H.R. 1335 Really Means
Early this month the House of Representatives, pretty much on straight party lines, voted out H.R. 1335, the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act. First, let me start by saying that most of the recommended tweaks to federal fishery management law in this piece of legislation are just bad for anglers. […]
Of Striped Bass and Bluefish and Bad Legislation
Are people really still saying we should manage everything like striped bass? It’s been an odd year thus far. A completely different paradigm than what most of us had become accustomed to. Generally, we start seeing good numbers of stripers in early to mid-April. Yes, it was an unusually cold winter and a cold April […]
So, Which Side Are You On?
While we gear-up for another season, anglers are unaware that the cards are being stacked against them A lot of us are de-winterizing and prepping boats, dusting off waders, changing out hooks on plugs, tying flies, making trips to West Marine and the local tackle shops, etc. All the while the question remains in the […]