Two watermen plead guilty in striped bass poaching case

Hopefully they throw the book at these guys, especially since one of these clowns is also accused of witness intimidation.

A fish poaching case that began in February 2011 with a discovery of mysterious, illegally set nets full of tens of thousands of pounds of striped bass off Kent Island is finally coming to a close.

Two Tilghman Island watermen pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to illegally taking 185,925 pounds of striped bass from the Chesapeake Bay.

Michael D. Hayden, 41, and William J. Lednum, 42, admitted to selling the striped bass for $498,293 through a ring they operated between 2007 and 2011, according to court documents.

LINK (via: The Baltimore Sun)

Meanwhile, Maryland is actually slowing down striped bass recovery.

With striped bass, another (expletive)-show @ ASMFC

Captain John McMurray with a blunt assessment of the current state of affairs when it comes to the ASMFC's management of striped bass stocks.

It ain't pretty.

LINK (via: Reel-Time)

"Striped bass deserve better management"

Charles Witek spells out the bleak outlook for striped bass as a result of the recent Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission meeting.

After you read his post if you're not already a member of Stripers Forever you should join immediately, it's free.

LINK

May at ASMFC

Charles Witek with a primer on the upcoming Striped Bass Management Board meeting.

ASMFC’s Spring Meeting will take place during the week of May 11, down in Alexandria, Virginia. The Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board will meet on the 13th, when it will hopefully put together a draft addendum to the fishery management plan that will determine how bass will be managed for the rest of this decade.

LINK (via; One Angler's Voyage)

‘The Full Moon Beckons Like a Crack Pipe'

"This is an eye-opening account of the black market striped bass industry, and a vivid portrayal of one man's fishing addiction that contributed to it. With chapters like 'The Full Moon Beckons Like a Crack Pipe,' the reader is drawn into the world of obsessive striped bass fishing and this angler's eventual descent into the underground market to support the ever-growing expenses of his fishing habit. But it's the Striped Bass as a species that suffer the most, as stocks are - once again - pushed into decline." --John Skinner, Noreast.com, author of "A Season on the Edge"

LINK (via:Stripers Forever)

Striped Bass Cooperative Anglers Program

New York State would like your help.

Here's a chance for recreational anglers to participate in a fishery research project on its most important level, that of data collection for the DEC Striped Bass Cooperative Anglers Program (SBCA).

LINK (via:Surfcaster's Journal)