walliston pogies

[jpwhaler86]

where have all the walliston pogies gone??

[amarshall]

I see a fleet of boats in the mooring field every morning. My guess is that the gillnetters got in there at night and made a few big sets and wiped them out.

[LurkerCharters]

Its not happening at Walloston, the reduction fishery seiners are to blame, pogie numbers are down all over the east coast. you can thank Dr. Jane and nmfs for that. I don't get the whole pogie for tuna fad, blue fish are still and will always be the best live bait for tuna.

[amarshall]

On a macro level, yes the pogies are being wiped out by omega protein.

On a micro level, the pogie seiners (not your local tuna fisherman) with the monster nets are not supposed to be fishing inside the mooring field but every year there's several pictures of that happening. The state does nothing about it.

[LurkerCharters]

Andrew, if you know someone who has pictures of a seiner in the mooring field please get them in touch with me. I am good friends with the enviro police sgt, and I will get them busted if they are on the wrong side of the line. There are also people over there with up to three gillnets, the rule states you are not allowed more than 300 linear ft of net and you must be within 200 ft of the net you are fishing. I have ratted on guys who set nets all over that place, if i see you breaking the rules I will take a pic of your boat and turn it over to my buddy. The increased pressure from every tuna fisherman in mass wanting pogies is partly to blame, but most of the guys I see netting over there don't know what they are doing and have their nets setup wrong.

[bankrat]

On a macro level, yes the pogies are being wiped out by omega protein.

On a micro level, the pogie seiners (not your local tuna fisherman) with the monster nets are not supposed to be fishing inside the mooring field but every year there's several pictures of that happening. The state does nothing about it.

true, but local tuna guys are doing damage too. Charter Guys going to get tuna baits with 300' gillnets that catch 100 pogies 3-4 times per week and end up throwing 2/3 of them back b/c they cant get them out of the net fast enough to keep them from dying...and rec guys doing the same thing once or twice a week.

The pogies reappeared in several north shore harbors in 2005 in big numbers after almost a 20 year absence....then the purse seiners came. then people started gillnetting them. None of those harbors have pogies in any significant numbers today.....

I think macs work far better anyway, and they have been easy to get this year.

I know people have a right to get bait and hate to sound preachy but to think local tuna guys dont have an impact is not correct.

[jpwhaler86]

You barley see them on top of the water anymore… last few years schools the size of swimming pools in there.

[bankrat]

remember 3-4 years ago when you could go at first light and snag as many as you needed because they were all running on top and just stacked in the harbors? on the north shore, at least, those days are over.

[Crabby Cakes]

"I have ratted on guys who set nets all over that place, if i see you breaking the rules I will take a pic of your boat and turn it over to my buddy."


There is a lot to say about this comment.

[fishingmaniac]

I just picked up a nice 8 foot cast net. Wonder if it might work for the pogies or tinker macks if I can find them?