Connecticut Salt Water Fishing License

[tight rope walker]

First and foremost I am old enough to pick my battles thank you. When I was 13 I wrote a letter to the editor of the Middletown press complaing of water quality in connecticut. That was a long long time ago, and I knew what to do back then.

The money that was won from the tobacco companies was supposed to be used to help people stop smoking. Look on the web site and see where all that money went.

I believe it was in New Bedford Massachusetts, at a public forum where a old time commercial fisherman was quoted as saying," we should be ashamed of our selves for what we have done to the fishing stocks".

The Connecticut saltwater fishing license started out at ten dollars then quickly went to 20.
Why?

But you still did not answer my question, why don't you move back here and solve all our problems? As you seem to have all the answers.

I would like to get you in a room of old timers, so you could hear for yourself what the fisherman themselves are saying.

Finally, how do you know what species of fish a fisherman would like to catch? Pound for pound, a bluefish will out fight a striper any day of the week.

And if you were old enogh to follow the saga of the sriped bass, you would know that at one time they were on the brink. The only reason they have come back as they have is because commercial fisherman can not take them. And the only reason there are so many in Connecticut is because they are not as many migrating to the Chesapeake anymore, but deciding to stay here instead.

If you go up the Thames river, up to Norwich, even in the dead of winter, you will find them stacked up in the harbor. This is public knowledge and has been on many fishing shows.

When you have a modern, efficient, fishing fleet, that is in business to turn a profit at any cost, it's hard for me to wrap myself around the idea that that recreational rod and reel fisherman had anything to do with where we are now.

Or do you consider the individual who goes out to cut a couple of trees down to heat his house, on the same page as the company who clears thousands of acres?

 

[smellzlikefish]

How old do you think I am? I know what Connecticut fishermen are targeting because I grew up one. I was fishing for stripers at their lowest, and I know darn well how a bluefish fights. BTW, any Connecticut rodsman worth his salt knows a false albacore or bonito could kick a bluefish's butt in a tug of war any day. I have fished for those Thames river stripers. A few schoolies may hold over through the winter, but very few keepers are caught because they are all in Chesapeake Bay. I used to use light spinning tackle for the over-winter fish. There are still commercial guys targeting stripers, just not in Connecticut. I also know that striper populations follow natural sin-wave cycles on the frequency of decades indirectly proportional to the bluefish.

I think you are ignoring very important aspects of my argument so I will try to type this as slowly and clearly as possible. The commercial guys are to blame, as are the recreational fishermen. Keep in mind there are far more recreational anglers out there than commercial guys. I am well aware of the effects of commercial fishing and have heard it straight from the fisher's mouths before. I have also seen the annual catch reports, and read through the peer-reviewed analyses. The fish the commercial guys don't get, that's what the recreational fishermen are after. You don't see factory boats at the race and you certainly don't see longliners/draggers anywhere near the shallow water refuges that many fish resort to.

Why don't I go back to Connecticut? I do. Regularly. I'll be there soon in fact. For now, I've set up permanence elsewhere.

I'm old enough to know that pointing fingers at everyone else gets nothing accomplished. If everyone accepted their part and took action to reduce their harm, the fisheries wouldn't be in such a mess right now. I stopped fishing because I knew that being able to reliably catch and release 20+ bluefish or stripers (take your pick) was terrible for the population. The fish were released stressed, sometimes foul-hooked, and I did take a few home for dinner. If I was the only fisherman out there, the populations could handle it, but I realized how many others were fishing like I was. Recreational fishing has certainly hurt other places, why is Connecticut immune?

 

[tight rope walker]

I never want it to be said that I am not a fair person. So in turn I am going to type this as fast as I can.

First, if you read anything I have said previous, you would have noticed I stated I would applaud any solution that would bring back the species I have mentioned. I just don't believe the salt water fishing license is the answer. And whether you and I like that answer, I am afraid most of the middle class people I encounter agree. Perhaps professional people have a different take. But most of the people I encounter go fishing to supplement their food source, as I do.

The fish I decide to keep end up on the table, if not they are returned to the water.

You can fish right now in Connecticut without a saltwater fishing license. Aside from age restrictions, all you need do is get on a party boat or charter. No license required.

To imply that, just because a group uses a resource they are partly responsible for it's decline, is going out on a limb.

I have never caught a false albacore ( not for lack of trying ) so I can not attest as how they fight. Remember I caught two blue fish last year, and they were in Rhode Island and released.

To imply the letter I wrote to the press was " sweet ", is just plain cruel and mean.

So based on that I will venture a guess that you are in you mid thirties and a professional person.

Also to show that I am a fair person, the next time you come back to Connecticut to vacation, please email me in advance so that I may pick you up at the airport and drive you to where you want to go.

I am sure we will have a lot to talk about.

 

[tight rope walker]

I may have been a little hasty in judging your age.

So, as not to offend anybody, I would now say late twenties early thirties.

Unless of course I was right the first time.