OTW "Striper Cup Tourney" Format is Irresponsible to the Fishery

[Krispy]

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[Slipknot]

I'm glad you replied Steve. I don't blame you one bit for defending yourself when he made it personal by questioning your integrity. I would have done the same thing but as a moderator I would have left the namecalling out , that is all.So that's why I said something. I could see it coming when I read it

Back to the discussion of irresponsibility now.............

I guess we'll wait and see how it all turns out this year. I doubt that many people will be weighing in 2 fish per week and I also wonder if OTW is planning to make public the total amounts of fish entered at the end.
After reading some of the replies here, I come to the conclusion that some of you need to read the rules as to how the prizes are awarded.

[Mike P]

Look, I love stripers as much as anyone, but I don't get this sacred cow mindset. Some people have no problems killing bluefish even if they don't keep them. Some people keep their limit of fluke, flounder, tautog, scup, sea bass, cod, pollock or haddock (if they lucky enough to catch a legal one) every time they head out. How many people will head out in a month or so and fill a couple of totes with mackerel to freeze and use as bait the rest of the season? Not a single one of the fisheries I listed is as healthy, numbers wise, as the bass fishery. Yet we wring our hands over a tournament that was conceived for the right reasons, because it'll result in dead bass. Post a picture of a 10# fluke on the internet, or an 8# tautog, and everyone goes "wow, nice fish". Not a single person ever says, "shame on you for keeping it, you should have released it". Post a picture of a 40# bass, and dollars to donuts some yahoo is going to criticize you for not releasing it. Yet, I'd venture to say there are tons more 40 bass out there than there are 10# fluke, and much more damage is being done to the fishery by killing 10# fluke. Fluke and tautog were put here to be killed and eaten, in a lot of your minds. Stripers, I guess, were put here to be worshipped.

If you practice catch and release with keeper groundfish, more power to you, and your opinions here have the same merit. If you don't, well, maybe a look in the mirror is in order before you criticize OTW and their staffers for hosting what some of you think is a striper Holocaust.

[beamie]

Originally Posted by Mike P

Look, I love stripers as much as anyone, but I don't get this sacred cow mindset. Some people have no problems killing bluefish even if they don't keep them. Some people keep their limit of fluke, flounder, tautog, scup, sea bass, cod, pollock or haddock (if they lucky enough to catch a legal one) every time they head out. How many people will head out in a month or so and fill a couple of totes with mackerel to freeze and use as bait the rest of the season? Not a single one of the fisheries I listed is as healthy, numbers wise, as the bass fishery. Yet we wring our hands over a tournament that was conceived for the right reasons, because it'll result in dead bass. Post a picture of a 10# fluke on the internet, or an 8# tautog, and everyone goes "wow, nice fish". Not a single person ever says, "shame on you for keeping it, you should have released it". Post a picture of a 40# bass, and dollars to donuts some yahoo is going to criticize you for not releasing it. Yet, I'd venture to say there are tons more 40 bass out there than there are 10# fluke, and much more damage is being done to the fishery by killing 10# fluke. Fluke and tautog were put here to be killed and eaten, in a lot of your minds. Stripers, I guess, were put here to be worshipped.

If you practice catch and release with keeper groundfish, more power to you, and your opinions here have the same merit. If you don't, well, maybe a look in the mirror is in order before you criticize OTW and their staffers for hosting what some of you think is a striper Holocaust.

Well said Mike P. This is the point I was trying to make with my first post on this subject.!