[fishnbuddy]

Well someone asked me how's it been fishing this year so far, and do I have any pic's of my trips. Well Im sorry to report that I have been fishing but once this year and even tho I caught a few I dont have pics.

I had a very bad winter health wise, in October I felt a pinch behind my left sholder blade, I thought it was a pinched nerve (pin's & needels down whole left arm) It felt like when you hit your elbow funny bone but it didn't go away. But my neuro said "no it's the MS". It took therr months to go away, then hit me again late winter into spring. Then in may as quickly as it hit me it went away and I feel much better.

Back to fishing, what else is a huge problem is the darn gas & food prices (dont get me started) DW & I are both on fixed income's and this is realy hitting us hard, money I would normaly use to go fishing I now have to use to survive. You have no idea how mad I am at Bush for letting this happen to us.

Then there are the new fishing regulations. Here in NY our main summer time target is Fluke (flounder), the people who make the regs have been tightening the noose for the past several years, and what realy hurts is the species is not in danger. Some reg writer's way back in the 70's set a quota number which was suppose to bring the fishery back from danger did in deed work, but the number's are way too high for the fish to reproduce at the set rate.

As a result over the past few years the fluke regs are getting too tight. In 2006 the regs were a fluke had to be 18" to keep and a 4 fish limit, thats up from 17.5" in 05'. Mid May to late October. In 07' they raised it to 19.5" with the same time span, however in mid season they closed the season because they said we went over the quota. How the heck do they know? There's never anyone counting our catch!

Now in 08's they raised the size limit again, now to 20.5". This hurts the industry big time because a 20.5" fish is almost trophy size! Most of the party boats here on long Island go half day trips, it is not going to be worth going because chances of all the customers on the boat getting a 20.5" fish is not good! This is going to cause fishermen to hang up there rods and the party boats to go out of business! (not to mantion the cost of fule raising the fair)

Thats how fish'n has been! Sorry if I sound bitter but I have a right to be because now that I am retired I thought I would be doing a lot of fishing but the government it taking it away from me & all the other fishermen/women.
Don

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