Please read before posting

[Admin]

For those who don't understand what is going on and why you may not be fishing very soon, this video will give you a brief overview of the situation. I will find more ways to get the message out in ways that make sense to all of us.

Votes play a huge part in the process, so PLEASE take the time to tell your story. We need to know what NO FISHING will mean to you, your town, business and family. Let us hear what fishing means to you and how it will affect your vote.

I beg of you to keep this clean. Show respect. If we can get everyone putting good information in one place we can make sure everyday that these posts are read by the correct people.

[Deep C]

On a chilly March morning the three year old watched intently as his father pressed the dough ball onto the sharp curved piece of metal. At the other end of a split bamboo cane pole he watched the bobber disappear as his father said it would. With his Dad's help he lifted. The doughball had been replaced with a seven inch perch. The hook was set.
Through his youth every weekend and vacation day was spent in pursuit of that same thill he felt with that first perch. Venues changed from pond to river and from north to south but the passion burned in his very being. Species sought grew in size from inches to sizes approaching small cars. Then came a crossroad. Move toward a life of wealth, doctor, lawyer or executive perhaps? Or, go with his heart and chase a dream of living as one with the ocean?
Move forward a lifetime later. Endless hours spent living that dream. His hands are scarred, body battered, but not a single regret worth mention disturbs his sleep. He looks across the dining room table. Loving wife and daughter, his supreme rewards for a lifetimes dedication to fishing. They live comfortably but certainly not in an austentacious manner.

Then one day the skys grow dark though the sun is shining. For no particular reason he is not permitted to continue his lifes work. No valid science behind it. The fish are there as thick as ever. The water as blue and rich as it was some 50 years before. Maybe more so.

The house he was so close to paying off is facing forclosure. His daughter even with a 4.0 average in school will be delivering pizzas and taking night classes at community college instead of taking full advantage of the educations that only places like Princeton or Harvard can provide. His wife smiles politely but he knows that she should be enjoying retirement instead of working two jobs to make ends meet. His two meanial labor jobs don't cover the bills but at least provide a diversion of the pain he feels missing the work he was born to do.
He gets off his shift at the grocery store. Unable to afford fuel he bikes his way home. Along the way he counts the vacant buildings and offices. Tall grass grows in the parking lots where the once bustling motel and restaurant used to serve and shelter those who came to Florida to fill their dream of catching and releasing a sailfish.
Up ahead the old boat dealership remains vacant. The marina lies in disrepair with pilings tilted and rotting form disuse. White washed windows stand prominant where the fish market and another restaurant stood. He closes his eyes and remembers how vibrant and alive this once posh area was. When he opens them though is the stark reality of the blight that had replaced it.

The shores of the intracoastal are dotted with the decaying and rusting remains of once proud fishing machines. Abandoned as unusable. Millions upon millions of dollars worth of machinery left as scap. How many banks failed as the collateral value of these magnificent works of art became nil once the waters and fisheries were closed? What a waste...

He spots an old friend who also once was a noted charter captain, now pushing a lawn mower up into the bed of his aging pick up. The smell of alcohol was prevalent as he spoke. "Got two lawns to cut tomorrow. None today so I went down to the inlet lounge. Not like it used to be. Dead in there anymore. Speaking of which we lost two more from the dock. One lost to the bottle. The other, well I guess he couldn't take it no more and shot himself."

Back on the bike he thinks back to the glory of yesteryear. Big proud machines gracing the waters they slid across. Food on the table with the option of going out. Tremendous fish most of which were let go. The occasional one on the grill he can still taste. "Why?" He asks himself... No science. No reason. No compassion for not only people but a whole way of life that preceeds biblical days. All because of a select fews personal agendas. They didn't care because they never understood....

A reality check... There are ten bait and tackle shops employing roughly sixty people. Those shops employ the services of dozens of vendors. Another fifteen marinas with staffs totalling over a hundred serve as home to thousands of boats that require maintainence from welders, plumbers, mechanics, electricians, painters, wood workers, fiberglass repair people. They take fuel and provisions from any of the dozen or so local outlets employing still more. Somebody had to build all those boats and motors equalling thousands more jobs. The entire beach front is lined with hotels complete with dozens of employees each. Restaurants serving food to the hundreds if not thousands that visit this area each month to fish on the hundred or so boats emplying a couple hundred more people. Charities collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars while local buisnesses see even more from a hand full of competitions. Sounds like a big area? All within a half hour bike ride...

[Hatterized]

UNITED WE RISE......if u are on this site....u have wetted a line......LETS KEEP IT THAT WAY.......time changes sure.....BUT.....not like this.....


pretty sad when u have do dig a pond on your own property for future generations to appreciate catching A FISH

[F.stop]

very interesting thank you for posting john really important that we take advantage of this feature of sportfishermen.com!!!! thanks again john!!

[knot for shore]

IT MEANS GOING OUT ON A CLEAR, SUNNY, HOT MORNING AND WETTING A LINE, JUST WAITING FOR THAT FIRST PULL. COFFEE IN HAND, KID NEXT TO YOU, SLIGHT BREEZE.....

IT'S SIMPLE.....

[Deep C]

Its disgraceful... I hear it all the time "oh I look at the internet but don't participate... I don't have time..." My stance is that if they can spend the time reading they should take a few seconds to voice their views.
My God! We're already feeling the effects around here... And they still don't lift a finger to help them selves. Between the economy and the closures the numbers walking the docks looking for work is staggering. I see things I never saw before. Two and three million dollar 60 to 70 foot boats now idle at the docks without captain or crew. We know what kind of decay boats that sit unattended experience. Others that are running are doing so elsewhere. Mexico and Bahamas are now the recipients of dollars thet would have otherwise been spent here.
On a bright note, our two senators are all over this topic. One from each party at that. LaMieux is riding Ms. Lubchenco like a rusty ten speed but I see that it falls on deaf ears. She just continues doing as she wishes... Following an agenda driven by her cronies in the enviromental activist world and completely ignoring common logic. Putting her in charge of fisheries management is akin to having Cochise guard the liquor cabinet.

[knot for shore]

IT MAKES YOU JUST WANT TO SHAKE SOME HEADS IN WASHINGTON MAN! I MEAN SHAKE THEIR HEADS UNTIL THEY FALL THE EF OFF. IT'S CRAZY WHAT MONEY AND POWER WILL DRIVE. HELL........ON BOTH SIDES I GUESS.

I SENSE SOMETHING DRASTIC HAPPENING IN THIS COUNTRY OF OURS. OR MAYBE I WISH FOR SOMETHING DRASTIC. READ ME?

[rugman]

i feel the people making decisions are being mislead as much as we are.but when i see the people at the docks asking the boats what they did that day fishing they just blow em off,so that portion of the surveys is probably just averaged.if this makes sense i dont know.but i make my living on the docks and when fuel hit 4.00 to 5.00 dollars a gal the boats just sat.now with all the closures the same thing will happen .

[giantfan]

My fishing experience does not have the same economic affect that many of you have...but it came with a price...

http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/...me-688099.html

What a great story. Thanks for sharing.

Just to be clear. The reason why I listed all of the costs is so that when our lawmakers see this they will know that if they take fishing away from us that all the local merchants that I use will loose that income just from one angler. The impact will be huge.

[Agitated88]

What a great story. Thanks for sharing.
Just to be clear. The reason why I listed all of the costs is so that when our lawmakers see this they will know that if they take fishing away from us that all the local merchants that I use will loose that income just from one angler. The impact will be huge.

No doubt I understand your post Ted...my point is there are other effects not typically thought about. Btw...thanks for reminding me why I don't currently own a boat but have friends who do!!