Outdoors: Preseason trolling a hot issue

By CHRIS D. DOLLAR, For The Capital

Published 10/25/09

It strikes me as odd that I'm writing about preseason catch-and-release fishing with six weeks left in Maryland's 2009 rockfish season. Believe me, I'd rather talk wing shooting or fish catching. But trolling for stripers before the spring trophy season has become such a hot button topic, one potentially fraught with unintended consequences, it demands discussion.

You don't need to be entrenched in fisheries politics to read the tea leaves: Maryland is being watched. Some New England states still question our spring trophy season and a recent proposal to amend Maryland's coastal gill net quota is drawing...

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Missed the mark - 2009-10-27 12:19:57

As a state, as a nation, as a people we should be leaning more and more towards catch and release, not limiting it. If the ASFMC has their sights set on limiting the amount of rockfish MD harvests, there are plenty of more efective ways to go about it. I think limiting the commercial harvest or limiting catch and keep regulations would have been more productive. We can not even measure the effect these regulations will have in MD because there are no studies done to determine a baseline. By limiting catch and keep, you know with reasonable certainty how many fish you are saving.

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Francis Z. - Hyattsville, MD - Karma: Neutral

rockfish - 2009-10-26 11:35:52

I live up on the susquahanna, and we enjoy a catch&release on the flats in the spring. I don't believe we hurt the fishery at all. If DNR were concerned at all about the rockfish they would stop the netting completely before we are searching for them like we are the Darter. They call themselves looking out for the crabs, and look at the condition of the crab fishery. STOP, I say STOP! Pasifying the commercial fisherman, and commercial crabbers, their wipeing out two of our greatest natural resources. All because of greed. James Tibbs. Perryville, Md

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james tibbs - perryville, md - Karma: Neutral

Blundering into Bad Policy - 2009-10-25 17:25:01

If Maryland need to reduce fishing related mortality we should be limiting the harvest of striped bass, not limiting a kind of fishing that dosn't harvest fish. More roe laden fish are killed on opening day of the average trophy season than all year as a result of release mortality. A limit on preseason trolling isn't appropriate. It sets a bad precedent. Limiting days on the water is a threat to all forms of recreational fishing. Its a bad idea. If DNR goes forward to the legislature with this proposal, I will complain to my state legislators that Maryland is being arbitrary and capricious. Lets put this to bed before it gets ugly.

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Matt Mobley - Leonardtown, MD - Karma: Neutral