The Backlash: March 2020 Newsletter

Cape Cod Salties March 2020 Newsletter

President's Message

March 2020 President’s Message

Fisherpeople, as I hope you know, the March meeting has been cancelled due to the virus, and we are hoping as we go forward that we can hold on to the spring events we have scheduled. We have asked the Captain John whether or not the haddock trip will go on May 5. The Annual Banquet has been tentatively moved to May 30, with a decision by May 1. The fluke trip is still on schedule.

If you are interested in the May 30 banquet but did not sign up for the April 4 date, please email me and say you are interested. You can hold off sending a check till after the May 1 decision date. We need to have an idea of numbers.

If you have not submitted your 2020 dues, please get them in. One thing to think about is that 100 new members would represent $3,000 in dues and would help us do the many things we take on during the course of a year - scholarships, environmental contributions, and the cost of doing business (Senior Center rental, insurance, etc.)

To let you know that we are still paying attention to business, On the Water magazine has a special sign up offer because all the tackle shows were cancelled. You can get a hat, shirt, and plug for registering for the magazine and the Striper Cup.

The March Saltwater Fisherman’s Magazine had a cover shot and a centerfold of what appear to be 40 pound plus striped bass, with the headline, “Go Big on Stripers.” All the great looking fish appear to me to be dead or close to death, and the four fish illustrated would have represented millions of smaller fish this year. Then the April issue comes back with a smaller fish and an article that reminds us that stripers of this size are catch and release this year. As hard as it is to convince people that the bigger the fish, the less tasty it is, with the pressure on striped bass experienced the last several years, I wish the magazine would spend more time on education of the fishery than encouraging the search for a trophy fish. Just so you know, a few years ago, I would love to have had my photo in that centerfold with a fifty-pound fish. I now realize the importance of keeping that fish swimming. I am not preaching, and I respect anyone’s desire to have that photo. Just remember that the longer the fish is out of the water, the less chance it has to survive.

At the last meeting I attended I said that we would talk about proper release of fish at every meeting this year. Google “proper release” and read different articles yourselves. When the virus allows us to gather together, we can share and discuss more fully.

Thanks, and Smile with Amazon!
Jack (jecreighton45@gmail.com, 508 394-2983)

2020 Membership Link

Click here to access Membership Application

Club News and Information

March's Meeting Speaker

Sorry, no meeting and no speaker this month

The February Meeting

The February meeting commenced with Vice President Randall Sherman leading the club in the Pledge of Allegiance.
As of right now the Haddock Trip is scheduled for May 5th with a rain date of the 6th. The Fluke Trip on the Helen H is still scheduled for July 16th and finally the Wives and Sweethearts Dinner on June 6th. With the world the way it is right now things could change but let's be optimistic and plan for the best.
The club's board approved the Barnstable County League to come in to one of our future meetings and give a quick presentation on who they are and what they do. Stay tuned for more information on that.
Right now we are trying to organize a "FISH TOGETHER" event. It is currently scheduled for Friday May 15th, 6:00 pm at West Dennis Beach. High tide is at 9:00 pm that day so it should be a great time to catch a fish. We are planning on even inviting the public to join us on that night. Don't worry it is a big beach so no matter how many people show up there is plenty of room for Social Distancing.
The Herring Run Clean up happened this March and as usual they did a great job. Here is a picture of a couple of the guys having way too much fun. To all involved, THANK YOU for all your hard work on this project.

They are still looking for volunteers to help with the herring counting, if you have never done it before someone can train you in about 10 minutes. If you are interested please get in touch with Randall Sherman. Also the club is looking for a volunteer to take over the chairs on this committee.
As you all know by now the Annual Banquet on April 4th has been postponed, again stay tuned for information on what is happening with that event as well.
The club had a spirited debate on what we thought our position should be on the proposed 2020 Striped Bass regulations, please see letter below sent out by our Vice President Randall Sherman as to where we landed.

Cape Cod Salties Sportfishing Club
Box 1183
S. Dennis, MA 02660

Acting Director Daniel McKiernan
Division of Marine Fisheries
Sir:
The Cape Cod Salties Sportfishing Club at a regular monthly meeting discussed at length the current proposals for the regulation of Striped Bass Fishing and have voted the following positions:

         We support the recreational slot limit of 1 fish per day 28 to 35”
         We support mandatory circle hook use for all bait fishing
         We support the no gaff regulation for all striped bass fishing

We do not support the proposal to open the commercial season before July 1.
We do not support the proposal to change the commercial designated fishing days from Mon and Thurs to Mon and Wed.
(over the past few years we have all adapted to the existing schedule for our recreational access to the many boat ramps in our area for either fishing or family boating. We avoid the commercial fishing days because the boat ramp parking lots are full, and we have modified lives accordingly regarding issues of work, child care, grandchildren care and wish this to remain consistent).
The commercial regulations should be the same as the recreational regulations regarding circle hooks for all bait fishing and no gaffs allowed.
C. Randall Sherman
VP Cape Cod Salties Sportfishing Club
508 280 8825

Very well said.....Thank you

_____________________________________________________

Fly of the Month
By Joe O'Clair

VINTAGE FLIES

There are many great flies on the market, but few "Vintage Flies". For some reason bait shops and fly fishermen (except the very old guys), remember how it use to be. Simple patterns and basic materials, produced some great flies and designs, and caught fish for many years.

In 1984 Greg Derr presented a fly called 'SUMMER BLUES" A very simple fly tied with Bluefish in mind. With some bucktail, a long shank hook 2/0 - 5/0 a new design was born. If you look at the design of this fly, most bodies are tied at the eye of the hook, this is tied at the curve of the hook. This was never done before in fly design. The original colors were blue over white, using blue flashabou. Red thread represented the gill.

Bluefish on a fly rod can be great sport. They seem to favor bright colors. Tie some up, you will never know when you will run into a school of Bluefish.

Cape Cod Salties Foundation News

FOUNDATION NEWS

February's Speaker

This month we had a visit from Mark Young of Young Marine Electronics on Whites Path in Yarmouth. Mark has over 45 years experience in this field so if he tells you something your best bet is to listen. He started in the U.S.Coast Guard in 1975 and has been on the Cape for 40 years. 30 years ago (or so) he started his marine electronics business with his family name.
Mark ran us through some of the history of marine electronics from Loran and radio direction finders to some of todays very complicated state of the are marine navigation equipment. He also went over plenty of other toys available for your boat. His shop services and installs all of the equipment. There were plenty of testimonials from other Salties in attendance as to the quality and professionalism of their work. Lastly Mark left us with the advice to always have a back up and the importance of getting equipment you can count on.

Club Events

Next Club Meeting is tentatively April 22, 2020

Annual Haddock Trip May 5, 2020 with a rain date of May 6th
Wives and Sweethearts Dinner June 6, 2020 at 5:30 PM
Annual Fluke Trip on the Helen H out of Hyannis July 16, 2020

Salties Fish Tales