Even before the 2015 Maryland striped bass trophy season closed last May, rarely would you talk with a fishermen without him offering a strong opinion on it. To refresh your memory, the state Department of Natural Resources set a creel of one rockfish per day between 28 and 36 inches or one striper over 40 inches. The size limits were implemented to meet the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s mandate of a 25 percent reduction in the overall striper harvest.
Come April 16, Opening Day of Maryland’s 2016 trophy rock season, last year’s slot will be no more. Anglers will now be able to keep one 35-inch rockfish per day through May 15, while the state will continue to meet its conservation obligation.
Each of the dozen or so charter captains and sport fishermen I spoke with—including Captains Harry Nield and Randy Dean, who are widely respected among their peers—say the 35-inch minimum size should work out better than last year’s regulation.
One headache the 2016 trophy rules should help ease, particularly among charter parties, is why a 35-inch rock was legal but a 37-inch striper had to go back into the drink. Understandably, this sometimes caused confusion on deck for charter customers, as the excitement quickly turned into disappointment when the mate had to slide the striper back into the Chesapeake. The straightforward minimum size requirement could also cut down on the number of stripers being handled.
“Moving away from the slot limit of 2015 to a minimum size limit for this year’s trophy fishery will likely reduce the handling of fish and will be a much easier regulation for anglers to understand and follow,” says Michael Luisi, assistant director of DNR Fisheries Service.
“It is worth noting that this new limit is conservation equivalent to 2015; therefore, Maryland anglers can know that they are doing their part in helping to conserve and protect the striped bass spawning stock.”
Light tackle and fly guide Capt. Kevin Josenhans told PropTalk that while he thinks we may be killing too many big breeders, he and other guides I spoke with are okay with the change.
“Considering all of the different stakeholders involved, 35 inches is probably a fair compromise,” he said. “Personally, I would like to see striped bass in Maryland managed similar to red drum. Have a slot of, say, 18-28 inches (May 1 - Dec 31), and return all of the trophy fish. Or at minimum, issue a tag for one trophy per person/season. The tag number should be assigned to the individual to prevent multiple limits.”
Despite some talk of a possible rule change to the resident/summer rockfish season (June 1 through December 20), creel limits will remain unchanged from 2015. That’s means you can still keep two stripers at 20-28 inches or one rock between 20-28 inches and one greater than 28 inches. Some sport fishermen I spoke to preferred one striper at 18 inches; that minimum size would match the commercial hook-and-liners minimum size, but that idea didn’t fly.
by Captain Chris D. Dollar
Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 08:45
Even before the 2015 Maryland striped bass trophy season closed last May, rarely would you talk with a fishermen without him offering a strong opinion on it. To refresh your memory, the state Department of Natural Resources set a creel of one rockfish per day between 28 and 36 inches or one striper over 40 inches. The size limits were implemented to meet the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s mandate of a 25 percent reduction in the overall striper harvest.
Come April 16, Opening Day of Maryland’s 2016 trophy rock season, last year’s slot will be no more. Anglers will now be able to keep one 35-inch rockfish per day through May 15, while the state will continue to meet its conservation obligation.
Each of the dozen or so charter captains and sport fishermen I spoke with—including Captains Harry Nield and Randy Dean, who are widely respected among their peers—say the 35-inch minimum size should work out better than last year’s regulation.
One headache the 2016 trophy rules should help ease, particularly among charter parties, is why a 35-inch rock was legal but a 37-inch striper had to go back into the drink. Understandably, this sometimes caused confusion on deck for charter customers, as the excitement quickly turned into disappointment when the mate had to slide the striper back into the Chesapeake. The straightforward minimum size requirement could also cut down on the number of stripers being handled.
“Moving away from the slot limit of 2015 to a minimum size limit for this year’s trophy fishery will likely reduce the handling of fish and will be a much easier regulation for anglers to understand and follow,” says Michael Luisi, assistant director of DNR Fisheries Service.
“It is worth noting that this new limit is conservation equivalent to 2015; therefore, Maryland anglers can know that they are doing their part in helping to conserve and protect the striped bass spawning stock.”
Light tackle and fly guide Capt. Kevin Josenhans told PropTalk that while he thinks we may be killing too many big breeders, he and other guides I spoke with are okay with the change.
“Considering all of the different stakeholders involved, 35 inches is probably a fair compromise,” he said. “Personally, I would like to see striped bass in Maryland managed similar to red drum. Have a slot of, say, 18-28 inches (May 1 - Dec 31), and return all of the trophy fish. Or at minimum, issue a tag for one trophy per person/season. The tag number should be assigned to the individual to prevent multiple limits.”
Despite some talk of a possible rule change to the resident/summer rockfish season (June 1 through December 20), creel limits will remain unchanged from 2015. That’s means you can still keep two stripers at 20-28 inches or one rock between 20-28 inches and one greater than 28 inches. Some sport fishermen I spoke to preferred one striper at 18 inches; that minimum size would match the commercial hook-and-liners minimum size, but that idea didn’t fly.
by Captain Chris D. Dollar