FISHUNT7

I spoke at lengthwith an Alabama Fish and Game official yesterday. He has some contact with Dr. Bob Shipp and a couple of other Feds. He has had some information and opinionsrelayed to him and was open to sharing the information.I asked him a bunch ofquestion and he gave me his opinion or interpretation of what he has heard. Anything involving a law, hestated whatthe law said. Here are some things I asked that I have seen other people post on here about.

Q: 2010 Snapper regs? A: He thinks they are leaning towards keeping the 2 fish limit and going to a 150 day season instead of 75 days like '09. His feeling is that the season will run from June 1 until October 31.

Q: Why not a May-September season? A: April and May get into the reproduction months. June is also a month they would like to take out but the tourism industry dictates that the season starts when school gets out. A large amount of the good reproducing fish are caught in June and that only takes away from future stock. They don't like to see big snapper tournaments in June but there is nothing they can do about it. They would rather see big tournaments held latter in the year.

Q: Why not set an upper limit on Snapper like 23" or 24" if the big sows are so important? A: The eggs from a 12-15 lb fish aremore viablethan ones from a 22-25 lb fish. Taking the really big sows does not hurt the fishery as long as there are plenty offish in the 12-15 lb range.

Q: If a Floridaresident catches fish in federal water but comes back through Orange Beach because of weather, will they get a ticket? A: If the weather is bad enoughto forceFlorida residents to go through Perdido Pass,Fish and Gameprobably will not be checking fish. If they check you, then the weather was most likely not bad enough to go through Alabama, and you can get a ticket. (It sounded pretty simple when he explained it like that)

Q: If the fish were caught in Federal water, what does it matter? A: Up until a few years ago, it didn't. But everybody started using the excuse "I caught these fish in federal waters"to get out of buying a fishing license. The state was losing a lot of money. They eventually changed it to a "possession" license. If you have fish in your possession in Alabama, you better have a license. He said Florida is the same.Alabama residentsget tickets for cutting the corner 9 miles out in the Gulf. If they go straight from the Nipple or the Oriskany to Orange Beach, they run the risk of getting a ticket 9 miles out in the Gulf when they cross into Florida waters.

Like I said before,the snapper regs arejust what he feels will happen. He does not have a vote in what will happen but he has talked topeople that do. He thinks we will here something latter than sooner because there is a lot of information they are discussing. They are also getting pressed hard by the charter boat industry to split them from the recreationalquota so that is delaying things also.

bluffman2

thanks for the update

is there a "hold your breath icon on here"

younghooker

charter boat Capt.s are not our friends.. :banghead I've got radar.. but I've never tried to steal charter boats spots.. until now & I can see their big boats from miles away..

Captain Jake Adams

You are right to a certain extent, however, please don'tview all charter boat captains as the enemy. I for one, along with several other captainson this forum, share the same views as you concerning sector separation (completely against it) and stealing other peoples' spots (I don't do it).When you pickoff a boat, that spot is obviouslyalready being fished and I would personally rather fish something with less pressure, not to mention I feel picking boats off isunethical. I am a recreational fisherman first and a charter boat captain second. It is very unfortunate that a handfull ofcaptains are selfishly dividing the recreational sector and making all charter boats appear to be the enemy. Just remember that there are still a lot of us on your side, we are not allbad guys.

Captain Jake Adams

FISHNUT7, thank you for taking the time to post the details of your conversation. It sounds like things may be better this year from what he said. It's nice to get some potentially positive news for a change

lobsterman

I am here to tell you that I will be shocked if they give us back the snapper that quick. I do not believe it. They aren't accustomed to giving back after they take something. I will believe it when I see it.

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Capt. Jon Pinney

I agree with every word Jake.. :clap

lobsterman

I agree with Jake also. I have had some of my numbers picked and it thouroughly frosts my derrier.

__________________
AKA Jiggin Junkie
II Chronicles 7:14

Randy's Canvas & Marine Vinyls

850-279-4140
850-855-5314 cell

Custom Awnings - Repairs
Boat Cushions - Curtains and more

JoeZ

There's two charter captains right there that know what it's all about. Jon and Jake, along with countless other charter captains, are against sector separation. Truth is, the majority of charter are against it. It's a small but vocal group leading the charge. I think, not positive, that the number of charter boats in the Northern Gulf (the ones this impacts) is around 1,600. Of those, only a few hundred (less than 400) are pushing sector separation. Of the 400 pushing sector separation, about half support the original SOS plan, maybe less as they continue to see the flaws in it.



Come to think of it, without looking at the list, I can't recall any Pensacola area boats that support SOS. So please, if you're thinking of taking a charter (which I recommend for 100 reasons), first look local and support OUR guys in Pensacola. Why not start with these two here? I would.



Second, look at the list. If you want to go out of town, know who you're going with first and see what he thinks of your fishing rights as a recreational angler.

Magic236

Thanks for sharing your conversation. Hopefully we will have more sensible fishing regs in the near future. We have gotten some positive news, but need to stay informed and involved.