It didn't take long to realize that we were going down in flames with today's fishing, but I was hoping that we would go out in a blaze of glory. Never happened!! The 2009 fluke season officially closed it's door on us with not much left to report except some bitterness. To start the morning, we found out that the National Marine Fisheries Service has projected that the 2009 N.J. recreational catch is 29 percent over our quota. This means that we will be lucky to avoid stricter regulations for 2010 season. I can not speak for everyone, but I can speak for our boat. In the 17 seasons that I have worked for John, this was BY FAR the worst season I have seen. Just estimating, I would say that we averaged 18 - 20 keepers per trip, and that might be generous. In addition, not once was anyone in contact with John to find out our numbers. So where are they getting these numbers from? It is quite obvious that there calculations are flawed. I know the majority of you feel frustration over coming out and not being able to keep most, if not any of the fish you catch, and rightfully so. But from our perspective, we do this for a living. That frustration that you feel is one million times greater for us. I take it personally when we have a day of poor keeping, and many of you go home empty handed. Being a blue-collar guy (I don't know what fisherman are, but you get the gist), I understand the value of a dollar, and I understand that you, the angler, want to be able to bring some fish home. So, upon finding out the news of going over our quota yet again, I have become a very bitter man. I am usually a "The glass is half full" kind of guy, but today I took that glass and threw it in the bay!! I apologize for my rant, but it's been building. Oh yeah, for the record, we carried 55 people today and caught 6 keepers. . . . I can see how we went over our quota!!!
