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- Written by: Rich
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Many of you know I have a strong loyalty and commitment with Thomas & Thomas fly rods as an advisor to the company. For the last year I have had the pleasure and honor to be heavily involved in the progression of our latest rod, the Exocett 88.
Join us on Saturday, January 11th, from 1 to 6 p.m. at Bear's Den in Taunton, MA, for the official launch event for the newest member of the Thomas & Thomas lineup.
The entire 88 lineup will be available for test casting, and T&T Product Engineer Connor Quigley will be present to answer questions and provide insight into his design process.
All attendees will have a chance to win an Exocett 88 model of their choice in our exclusive door prize raffle. Don't miss your chance to be the first angler with the new 88!Myself and Ambassador Eric Wallace will be there to share insight, discuss line selection and fishing situations as well as answer any questions about this latest series of rods. We all hope to see you there! For more information on the event, click the photo below.
And when you get a chance here is a tying video for your pleasure.
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- Written by: Rich
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The Striped Bass continues to be the headliner for hottest topics. The numbers are staggering and it is pretty safe to say that we are on the edge looking down at what might be a collapse even harder than the one in the late 80’s to early 90’s. To say it’s not surprising is an understatement. The data doesn’t lie and you could see this was coming better than Vegas with a tipped hand. I applaud the ASGA for their relentless work, but I cannot happen to wonder if they too are able to actually do enough and in time? Hear me out on this. If the Juvenile Abundance Index is as abysmal as noted for the last 5 years, with 2023 being the worse to date (the other 4 years combined were the worst on record), then how the hell is anything short of a Moratorium going to fix the situation? I know I am not the only guy who can see this. That IS the only solution that worked and with numbers trending in a downward direction to zero why hasn’t that been on the table or even mentioned?
What other shore guides and anglers have witnessed this season in regards to few if any juvenile fish caught or seen off our shoreline fisheries is right in line with what I have seen so if many are experiencing the same, and the abundance of juvenile fish is a true testament of the strength of a fishery coupled with truly abysmal spawn data, I ask is every entity involved kicking the can? It doesn’t pass the smell test. Maybe all of these “tournaments/gatherings for conservation” should cease too, because no offense, it’s really hard to take “insert organization name” seriously when the data shows the harsh decline and you want us all to believe a FISHING tournament regardless of catch and release practices involved is all for conservation.
I signed the letter, for the Striped Bass as I care and love these fish, but I really don’t see any real action going on from all the powers that be. The real can kicking is the feeble attempts to keep a fishery open for those that make a living off of it recreationally when they ought to be rethinking their business model as who knows just how much longer the fish they target will be around. That’s reality folks, yet another complex issue with several layers mudding up the waters to real conservation. And it’s not the organizations for the Striped Bass’ fault, they unfortunately are playing with a deck of cards severely stacked against them. I have faith the Striped Bass wins, but in todays day in age, it doesn’t look very promising.
Yesterday the ASGA released the data for 2024, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. We hit the 6th year in a row of abysmal spawning. This mirrors exactly what transpired in 1983-1988 only this time the numbers are worse, worst of all time if we are being frank. So, I ask is the can gonna continue to get kicked or is this the catalyst to finally see real action? We all know what happened in 1989 that helped. If you don’t know what I’m talking about it I’ll give you a hint; it begins with an M and I mentioned it earlier. I think that we are there so lets get our heads out of the sand. You can read more of the data HERE if you are so intrigued, and sorry to ruin your Friday, but the reality is it’s beyond time to actually enact some real changes.
Close friend and fellow angler/tyer Mike Rice and I had a discussion on the topic last night when the information dropped via the ASGA website. I will play nice as the colorful metaphors used were much harsher, and it was a conversation we have been having for the last few years. The responses that climate are the issue are laughable; this isn't a climate issue, it's a fishing issue, and better yet an overfishing issue and lack of consistency across a group of states that these fish pass through every season. But here's the thing, as it's already happening, a few top "influencer" guides are already staking a plan to save their guide business; we both have already witnessed it with our own two eyes online. Head further north, find the herd of Striped Bass trying to adapt, hammer the shit out of them, post about it on social media with "pioneer and hero" overtones cuz well, thats what we do today, "hey look at me and how great I am" while pumping out our chests. The same said influencer has the finances and means to chase these struggling fish, because well what they don't tell you is they don't really need to guide because that Trust Fund you weren't aware of has set them up better than most, but we will use that guise of being all about the "grind" cuz others envy a life on the water. All of this is not in the hopes of conservation, but in the hopes of being the "first" to exploit, uh I mean, show the world it and in the background ring the phones of all the upcoming new post covid "film producers" and destination trip conglomerates so they can call their people to be the first get a lodge there so we can hammer the shit out of those fish once again before all the others chasing fishing dreams via the net get there. All in the meanwhile blame everything and everyone on the East Coast for f@&*ing up the fishery. Sounds about right, but very short sighted and not productive, but hey, you got your dopamine hits so good on you.......
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