September 16, 2019 — One thing is pretty clear after Thursday’s public hearing in Stafford on the striped bass quota cuts and that is someone is not going to be happy when this is all said and done.
If the powers that be elect to make circle hooks mandatory in the bait fishery, then snag and drop fishing the bunker pods with treble hooks is history.
If a 35-inch minimum size limit is chosen, the trophy hunters will be happy but at the expense of many charter and party boat captains.
Carl Sheppard, the skipper of the Star Fish a 40-foot charter boat in Beach Haven, said his customers need to be able to catch at least one fish to take home in order for him to stay in business. He said a 28 to 35-inch fish makes the most sense to him.