Now YA Did IT!!!!!!!!!!!

[gradywhite273]

got my word deep , i will call him tomorrow.

tim

[shoefish]

Okay. Deep. Help me out. Help me, to help you (Jerry Maguire style). I may be completely retarded here. Would you mind, once again, explaining what is at stake and what we can do to help? For the sake of me, pretend I have the intellect of a 5 year old (unfortunately I'm not far away from that). Thanks.
Shoe

[seabass]

Okay. Deep. Help me out. Help me, to help you (Jerry Maguire style). I may be completely retarded here. Would you mind, once again, explaining what is at stake and what we can do to help? For the sake of me, pretend I have the intellect of a 5 year old (unfortunately I'm not far away from that). Thanks.
Shoe

I agree with shoe . Although I'm a newbie on this board and I guess , have never made a formal introduction , Mike here, I get the drift of what's going on . Is this all about whether or not circle's are going to be required ? We all know that the real hook-up ratio on trolled baits is greatly improved with J-Hooks . The bureaucracy of it all seems to be the main issue as usual , I guess

[Deep C]

Okay. Deep. Help me out. Help me, to help you (Jerry Maguire style). I may be completely retarded here. Would you mind, once again, explaining what is at stake and what we can do to help? For the sake of me, pretend I have the intellect of a 5 year old (unfortunately I'm not far away from that). Thanks.
Shoe

National MArine Fisheries Service was an organization created to regulate commercial fishing interests. Some years ago they simply sought from lawmakers more power to include regulating recreational aspects of the industry to. They were granted permission by lawmakers, not the public that would be affected, on the condition that they enact no rules that would economically impact the recreational end.
As they have moved along they have created hardship through several regulations. A clear example would be the detrimental impact they had on the bluefin tuna charter fishery by enforcing rediculously low limits for bluefin tuna. This has impacted bait and tackle interests also.
This year they passed a ruling that all persons fishing in billfish tourneys shall use circle hooks starting in January when using natural bait. They did several studies that proved that lures could not effectively be used with circles and lures were exempted from having to use them.
WHat they did not address or do studies on was combination baits that use a large lure over natural bait. If they had, they would see that like lures alone the combos are nearly 100% ineffective using circles. Its simple physics...
Rather than do that study and make the right choice, they arbitrarily tossed combos into the natural bait category and require circles. This makes the use of this class of bait null and void.
My business centers around that class of "combo bait" and now since my product is rendered ineffective when used with a circle makes it unusable in a tournament. Nearly half my sales center around that class of lure and now since they are unusable I am taking monsterous losses in sales. All because they didn't take the time to do their homework.
I stand to possibly lose my whole business and industry wide, hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in sales are now in jeopardy.

[TROPHY SPORTFISHING]

MAN OH MAN HAS THIS BEEN A HEATED DISCUSION HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA LATELY NMFS IS TELLING US THAT NOT ONLY MUST WE USE CIRLE HOOKS IN DINK BAITS WHICH IS A BIG DEAL BUT IS POSSIBLE BUT COMPLETLY CHANGE THE WAY WE MUST BLUE MARLIN FISH BY NOT ALLOWING US TO PULL LURE/ BAIT COMBO'S UNLESS THEY HAVE A CIRCLE HOOK IN THEM MAN LET ME TELL YOU IT IS ABOUT FRIGGIN UN-AMERICAN TO TELL A NORTH CAROLINA CREW TO PUT THE HAWAIIN EYE BALLYHOO COMBO WITH A 10/0 OR 11/0 J HOOK OR A MACKERAL 12/0 J HOOK OUT TO PASTURE IT'S TAKING AWAY OUR GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO FREEDOM MAN I'M NO EXPERT BY ANY MEANS ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO CIRCLE HOOKS BUT I HAVN'T SEEN TO MANY DEAD WHITE MARLIN OR SAILFISH ROLLED UP DEAD FROM ALL THE HORRORS OF J-HOOKS AS NMFS SUGGEST CHANCES ARE THEY HAVE NEVER EVEN DONE ANY FIELD RESERCH ON ANY OF THIS SOME FRIGGIN GENIUS BEHIND A DESK CAME UP WITH THIS CRAP. WHILE WERE ON THE SUBJECT RANDY GRGORY WENT TO NMFS ALONG WITH NC GOVENORS CUP TOURNAMENT SERIES AND PROPOSED A 200 LB LEADER MAX FOR CIRCLE HOOKS PROPOSING THAT ANY BAIT OR BAIT LURE COMBO ON 200 LB OR LARGER LEADER BE ALLOWED TO USE J-HOOKS HOW FAR DO YA THINK THAT WENT? NMFS 1 NC GOV CUP 0 I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ANY OF YOU OTHER GUYS HERE BUT HOOKING A SAILFISH OR WHITE MARLIN ON A BLUE MARLIN RIG IS PRETTY TOUGH LET ALONE GUT HOOKING ONE GEEZ GET REAL HERE NMFS AND NOT TO MANY BLUE MARLIN I'VE CAUGHT AND AS I SAID EARLIER I'M NO EXPERT OR MARLIN GURU BUT I'VE CAUGHT ENOUGH TO GIVE MY HONEST OPINION HAVE I SEEN GUT HOOKED. IF THEY WANT TO DO SOMETHING FOR BILLFISH CONSERVATION RAISE THE FEDERAL MINIMUM FOR BLUE MARLIN FROM 99" TO 105" OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT MOST TOURNAMENTS WOULD FOLLOW SUIT AS SOUTH CAROLINA HAS TALKED ABOUT RAISING THE MIN IN THIER GOV. CUP SERIES TO 500 LBS I THINK. NMFS NEEDS TO GET THER HEAD OUT OF THAT HOLE IN THE GROUND THEY SEEM TO HAVE IT BURIED IN GET THE FACTS THE TEST THE RESULTS ALL THE INFO BEFORE GIVING US A DEATH SENTENCE WITH NO REPRIEVE!

[Nimrod]

I agree that combo baits should be under the circle hook exemption just as artificial baits.

I wish I were more knowledgeable on the subject of how the policies that are enacted come about. I also wish I were more in-tune with all of the latest scientific data on j-hooks vs. circles. I really wish I could trust all of the experts to do the right thing and conduct thorough and complete studies before making rulings and setting policies. Regrettably I cannot.

I play by the rules. I am told that I have to have a permit and pay a fee to fish in certain areas for certain species and I do it. I am told that I can only keep certain size and number of fish at certain times and I do as I am told. Now I’m now told that if I chose to partake in a competitive tournament that I have to fish using a type of hook in a style of bait that will render it ineffective…..no thank you. I will simply choose to not use that type of bait or not to tournament fish altogether.

Does that help the resource? Probably not. Does it hurt the industry, sport, and countless people that will be directly impacted? Absolutely. Does it directly impact me in a negative way? Of course – I would hate to have to stop doing the things that I love to do and to deprive my children the opportunity to experience our sport. I don’t mind adapting I just hate how this stuff seems to be shoved down our throat with little or no benefit to the resource.

It is unfortunate that the commercial fisheries interests have much deeper pockets and perhaps stronger lobbyist than us recreational guys. It seems that much of the policymaking that goes on is too politically motivated and not necessarily in the best interest of the resources the NMFS is supposed to be protecting.

Again, I am not a scientist, politician, or expert on this subject. I am just a guy who loves to fish recreationally with his family and friends who feels frustrated by the continual imposition of guidelines, regulations and bureaucracies that are imposed on us. Guidelines and regulations are one thing but to continue to harass the recreational fisherman by telling them what they can fish for, when they can fish for it, where they can fish for it and now HOW they can fish for it is too much. I wish NMFS and other agencies would spend more of their time, energy, and OUR tax dollars focusing on the real danger to our resources – domestic and foreign commercial over-fishing and by-catch.

[Deep C]

Thank you fellows... Thats the type input we need... Simple...

[gradywhite273]

Deep, have a meeting with the congressman, i will need you to help me with some facts and figures if you can.

thanks
tim

[Deep C]

I'll be happy to provide what you need... Including lures rigged with ja and circle with a test he can perform him self to prove they acn't work with circles uless you went to 25/0 size in which case you will need a rope to sink the hook on a dink sized bait...