Guys- I'm new to this forum and do not normally post but I feel obligated as an angler to bring to light a major issue that has come to my attention.
It seems as though everybody turns a blind eye to the poachers lining the banks keeping shad and herring in the Fletchers Cove area. The place turns into an absolute zoo on the weekends. Who manages this section of river? Honestly guys, I fish the area a lot, and I've only been approached once by a man in a row boat with fishing rods who told me to take my boat in. I then watched the man anchor up and start fishing. How well is this fishery being managed?
Its no secret, a massive school of river herring is currently in their peak spawn at the mouth of Pimmit Run and other tributaries in the area. Its also no secret that the mouth of Pimmit run is surrounded by fishermen rigged up with treble hooks and carrying duffel bags. Every parking spot at chain bridge is full. Taking a walk yesterday to the mouth of Pimmit to observe the herring spawn, I was greeted by dozens of fishermen scattering away with their treble hooks and duffel bags. When I went back to the parking lot and sat in my car, I watched as fishermen came and returned from the area exchanging bags of fish.
If you don't believe me, go to the chain bridge parking lot and look around. Walk to the mouth of Pimmit Run and see the herring and watch the poachers scatter with their heavy bags.
The only reason I am writing on this forum is because I don't know how else to address the issue. Fishing is the driving force of my life. River Herring and Shad are what make the Potomac the amazing fishery we know. Seeing my home fishery being depleted because of ignorant fishermen and in my opinion an utter lack of fisheries management and law enforcement breaks my heart.
How do we put an end to poaching on the tidal Potomac?
And for anyone interested in why the River Herring and Shad fishery is under such 'strict' management (moratorium), feel free to read the following like:
http://www.asmfc.org/species/
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/1d96c3a4-dad8-4a03-a922-b0913548e060%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
No comments:
Post a Comment