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Thread: New Rules - I love gadgets - but Spadefish?

  1. #1
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    Default New Rules - I love gadgets - but Spadefish?



    SCDNR News

    Descending devices and non-offset hooks soon to be required for snapper-grouper fishing
    July 2, 2020

    To encourage best fishing practices and improve fish survival, NOAA Fisheries recently announced new gear requirements that will apply to offshore anglers from North Carolina through the Florida East Coast. Beginning July 15, 2020, anglers targeting snapper or grouper species will be required to have a descending device on board and readily available for use. Additionally, the new rule “requires the use of non-offset, non-stainless steel circle hooks when fishing for snapper-grouper species with hook-and-line gear and natural baits” in South Carolina coastal waters.

    Over fifty fish species fall under the umbrella of the snapper-grouper ‘complex,’ a diverse collection of large offshore fish that are sought-after table fare and critical to a healthy ocean ecosystem. In South Carolina, some of the most commonly encountered snapper-grouper species are black seabass, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, red snapper, gag grouper and spadefish.

    Many snapper-grouper species live a long time, grow slowly, and reach maturity at a late age – all of which makes them vulnerable to overfishing and makes each adult fish valuable to the overall population.

    Because these fish are often pulled from deep waters, they’re at high risk of barotrauma, a potentially fatal condition that occurs when fish undergo rapid pressure changes. Barotrauma, often accompanied by bulging eyes and bloated stomachs, can be a death sentence for caught-and-released fish.

    Fortunately, barotrauma can be reversed through the use of a simple tool called a descending device, which helps anglers return a fish to the deeper waters from which it was caught. Descending devices can range from sophisticated, commercially available instruments to a DIY weighted hook.

    Since 2017, SCDNR has partnered with the FishSmart program to distribute hundreds of descending devices to South Carolina residents. These devices are a safe and effective way to ensure that deepwater fish have a greater chance of surviving catch and release, benefiting both the angler and the fishery. For more information on descending devices.

    A limited number of these devices are still available for South Carolina residents that are willing to participate in the FishSmart program by providing a valid email address and answering a follow-up survey. Please email SCDNR saltwater fishing coordinator Matt Perkinson at PerkinsonM@dnr.sc.gov for more details.

    For more information about these changes, please read NOAA Fisheries’ full bulletin.

    Additional details regarding best fishing practices and descending device requirements are available here.





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  2. #2
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    More recreational deterrents for us taxpayers, with an extra side of (additional) revenue. Just the gubmint doin' gubmint stuff.

  3. #3
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    Vent and toss back. Fish has a helluva lot better chance of getting back down than on that thing and not being eaten. We tried something similar two years ago, 75% at least got sharked on the way down.
    Last edited by Saltydog235; 07-14-2020 at 02:33 PM.
    Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.


    You might take out a dozen before they drag you from your home and skull fuck you to death. Marsh Chicken 6/21/2013

  4. #4
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    I talked to the DNR dude and told him he was out of his mind if he thinks a family spade fishing should be required to have a vent tool rigged and ready because NOAA said they were part of grouper/snapper fishery. He said law enforcement is aware.... like we need another subjective law for them to interpret...
    “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” - Thomas Jefferson

  5. #5
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    So we need one of these for Friday? Vent tool no longer acceptable??


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  6. #6
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    I’m gonna make one out of a big j hook, a swivel and some heavy leader. I ain’t spending 50 bucks on a SeaQuilizer.


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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Islandguy85 View Post
    So we need one of these for Friday? Vent tool no longer acceptable??


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    Yep


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  8. #8
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    We only allow this to happen by abiding by it as a whole.

    We only have ourselves and our DNR to blame for enforcement.
    Be proactive about improving public waterfowl habitat in South Carolina. It's not going to happen by itself, and our help is needed. We have the potential to winter thousands of waterfowl on public grounds if we fight for it.

  9. #9
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    Haha, making spadefishing difficult, that's grand

  10. #10
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    Well F a duck


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  11. #11
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    You need to have something that you can reasonably call a descending device on board. I could make one from the stuff in my tackle box in about a minute. Folks spend thousands and thousands to fish offshore and then get hung up about a requirement to have an inexpensive fish saving device on board. The first link I clicked on had them for $6. I wish they'd require them for big spottails caught at the grillage.

    Most of the spadefish I've caught were in about 45 feet of water and were on the surface. No need for recompression.

  12. #12
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    Seaqualizer is easy to use, biggest issue is enough weight releasing a big fish.

    Tagged 20-30 fish using one so far.

    None sharked.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by BOGSTER View Post
    We only allow this to happen by abiding by it as a whole.

    We only have ourselves and our DNR to blame for enforcement.
    I've been sayy for years that there needs to be a class action fuck you organized. Set a date, make it public, kill ONE snapper, and wait at the ramp for the warden.
    Quote Originally Posted by walt4dun View Post
    Monsters... Be damned if I'd ever be taken alive by the likes of faggot musslims.
    Quote Originally Posted by 2thDoc View Post
    I am an equal opportunity hater.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by scdiver View Post
    Tagged 20-30 fish using one so far.
    None sharked.
    How do you know? Camera on the device? Diver down? Return tags? Or assuming they weren't sharked because the device came up without. Curious, pretty bold statement.

    A few bottom trips ago we were covered up with the 3-5 lb reds but there were big triggers there too so we stayed and picked through them. After about 15-20 mins and a few same drifts the sharks got bad, real bad. Didn't eat any but the red. Case them up, eat them when they were going down, etc.
    you aint did a dawg gon thang until ya STAND UP IN IT!- Theodis Ealey


    Quote Originally Posted by Rebel Yell View Post
    The older I get, the more anal retentive I get.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Palmetto Bug View Post
    You need to have something that you can reasonably call a descending device on board. I could make one from the stuff in my tackle box in about a minute. Folks spend thousands and thousands to fish offshore and then get hung up about a requirement to have an inexpensive fish saving device on board. The first link I clicked on had them for $6. I wish they'd require them for big spottails caught at the grillage.

    .
    I agree with this.

  16. #16
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    I got one of those devices free in the mail about 5 years ago through some organization.

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  17. #17
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    How many of you have actually been stopped and checked for fish recently?? I fish 75-100 days a year and I think the last time I was checked for fish and size etc. was 2013. All the wardens in Charleston county are simply riding around on weekends looking at bikinis and checking for life jackets occasionally. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing and don’t worry about it.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by carolinadrifter View Post
    How many of you have actually been stopped and checked for fish recently?? I fish 75-100 days a year and I think the last time I was checked for fish and size etc. was 2013. All the wardens in Charleston county are simply riding around on weekends looking at bikinis and checking for life jackets occasionally. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing and don’t worry about it.
    I've never been checked by a game warden saltwater or freshwater fishing. I think I've seen a GW at a landing once in the last 15 years

  19. #19
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    I gotta agree with carolinadrifter on this one. I'll fabricate something that’ll pass the laugh test but not too worried about it. There is basically 0 enforcement of any laws regarding recreational fishing in the ocean off the SC coast. I highly doubt most game wardens even know what the regulations are these days. Most could care less about anything but a BUI around Charleston.
    More Ducks, Less People

  20. #20
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    Easy weight:
    collect a pail of lead from your range
    wash the dirt away
    melt it down into a veggie can
    set a double swivel down in an inch or so while filling
    snip away the can once cool
    save a plastic container (Dukes mayo) and put several holes in the bottom
    Lead is better than steel rebar, less apt to scratch fiberglass

    Attach to Seaquilizer or a big J hook with barb ground off.
    Don't know if it is effective but ya can toss a few chunks of unusable bait (heads/tails...) to opposite side of boat and give it 10 seconds to drop then drop fish/rig over.
    Shanks & cudas will lay under a bottom fishing boat. (a live bait on a steel leader dropped down 25' will get their attention too)
    Lazy bastards!

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