I haven't heard much in the way of Striped Bass reports. The one report I did get was from Mike MacAskill of the Goose Hummock shop who told me that he was fishing with Greg Weisel on the flats of Monomoy on 4-24 and they caught "plenty" and saw hundreds of small stripers in the 20 inch size class. I have noticed that the herring have stopped running in the Orleans run in Pleasant Bay, but the Brewster run had many fish in it. The trap boats are now catching mackeral regularly in the weirs. I have been seeing many small "glass eels" in the herring uns though. These are the highly valued elvers that according to theory (that I find hard to believe) are returning to the fresh water ponds from being spawned in the Sargasso Sea. It is very important that these small fish be protected from the overharvesting practices in the past. Most have been sold to Japanese fish farms as "seed" or sold in the sushi markets as a delicacy (live). Be on the lookout for folks with nets or fykes (small weirs) of very tiny mesh. Somone poaching these fish is risking a very stiff penalty. We all know what a great striper bait a live eel can be !Big doings in the Groundfish regulations of the future. Stay posted for a complete report after the dust settles.
Bruce
