Fichy, good post and points. I agree with you as that's what I was eluding to a few posts back.
Also agree the slippery slope of enacting of a fee.
As a few examples :
Years ago there was a thing called doe day.
Then there were party permits for harvesting female deer. These were at no extra costs to the hunter.
In modern times they now enact a doe permit at a cost of , yes a poultry $10.00 but its based on a lottery system. No guarantee but they still take your $10.00 no matter.
The rub is , where does this money go towards the control of game populations management ? Honestly, it goes to the general funding and is pretty much used to buy more access, not just for the hunter but for everyone either they hunt or hike.
Another example is now on the horizon of a mandatory boating course for anyone operating a motorized boat. In told its about $30.00.
Is a boating course a good thing ? Absolutely but where will this money go towards ? My guess is back in the coffers.

The good I see about a stamp, is it will deter people from buying one to fish for just a few times , the bad thing is they will roll the dice and fish anyway.

Ps:
One of the basic simple regulations I can't understand that ny has not enacted is to display your license visibly.

We are not required to wear a back tag where I hunt but I do.
I take a piece of electrical tape and cover the flap. When I'm hunting or fishing I always know where it is , just like a wallet.
Only reason I say it should be visible is because it at least gives some identification that you might actually have one.
Without visual, you actually have to be asked to show it and we know far to many ( dec press release) who don't.

HT,  you probably know the regs are going to change on the Hudson as they are trying to achieve an 18% reduction in mortality. Whole east coast is going to be changing, as the stocks are crashing again. The fall migration in new England was pitiful, as it was off of Montauk.  I liked the proposals for the Big O, agree with you  entirely. I'll send something in. 

Yes fichy.
I think there will be drastic changes into the striped bass recreational fishery next season, well at least a regulations or " plan " enacted to achieve an 18 % mandatory harvest / mortality rate.

My very first thought is circle hooks will be mandatory to meet this plan on paper.
Sadly, I believe they will achieve absolutely nothing.
Second thoughts are they will abolish the over 40" and keep the lower keep. Again accomplish absolutely nothing.
Lastly, in a drastic approach, bait will not be allowed which will crash the economy.
It will accomplish a lot but will destroy the recreational fishing.

They totally are looking at things from a blind eye.
There are much better approaches such as enforcement. How many poachers are caught on both sides ? Recreational and commercial that ONLY get caught and documented. It's a huge amount that don't because lack of enforcement funding. I can say for fact, whats not on paper is our dec boat left the dock twice this season. It sat idle because the officers were not allowed to patrol.
Next is they are totally screwed up by allowing the harvest of future spawning fish and dis allowing the harvest of 2nd and 3rd year spawning class. I'm in total disbelief in this

If anything, they'll take off the lower slot. Removing bait fishing in the Hudson would be ludicrous. It's why I rarely fish it. Stripers on the fly there are like unicorns.  Maybe if I lived in Saugerties.  I did know an azzhat that used j plugs to snag at the Troy Dam. The Hudson is doing better than the overall fishery. If you want to see the oceanic version of the trestle in full swing, just go to the Cape Cod Canal when the net tells you to.  Five deep, casting over the top of each other, fist fights, morons without a clue dragging everything they hook up on to the rocks and home to their cats.  A million pounds of wasted fish, most of breeding size. The Hudson compared to that is about as barbaric and destructive as  a night at the Metropolitan Opera. Hopefully, common sense will prevail, but there's no question action will be taken.

Rg, twice a month the nydec posts their arrests. A huge amount of fish are being poached down by the city monthly.
That's just the ppl being caught.
Now like I said up here our dec has a patrol boat at my marina right next to my boat . I talk to them regularly and we even filet fish for them. They patrol approx 50 miles of the river from the impassable federal dam to almost Kingston . They went on 2 patrols this season citing funding cuts.
Now as L-13 said, I also know for fact captains and mates add to their clients limit.
There are a lot of shady things that go on out there. With a 1 fish limit, I see fish caught, boat leaves then boat returns to catch more.
Honestly I really think a tag system is the single best way to reduce harvest in a controlled way and enforce regulations.
Example again :
You get 5 tags per season. You keep 5 fish whenever you want. Once all tags are filled you are no longer allowed to fish for rest of season.
It does not effect a C&R Fisher in anyway and also protects the fact of you releasing a mortality wounded fish by the standards of the current regulations

When I used to fish Nova Scotia we got 10 Atlantic tags which MUST be attached to each fish immediately upon catching.
A system like that may well care for the Captain/mate issue.
 

"seine collection of naturals"???????  The seining is done to measure alewives, it is over 20 years of data and it is currently over 200 trawls over a multi week period.  And it is random, as opposed to running  the boat until a pod is located which is what I'm pretty sure captains do.  But I am sure the guy who walked on the moon knew a lot more than  the NASA scientists, because he walked around on it.

Wish I had 5 million to raise more fish for stocking that will be cut.

Our concrete and steel cement plant was built in 1962 . Some things last a long time, like a hardly used forklift.

Geesh

https://www.newyorkupstat...n-in-improvements.html

Where have you heard anything about the fin clip trailer?  If you were paying attention, you would be aware that DEC will start another finclip study of the kings this season if they can get the Canadians on board.
 
Some people are never happy unless they are P+Ming.
 
 

Yea I was off by 1.5 on the trailer. I do remember the 1.5 and getting old kills the memory of numbers without looking back on " data ". Some may say that was free money but i have not found many things that don't come without costs. I'm questioning the purpose of this said much needed trailer. Why isn't it being utilized if its such a valuable resource that actually determines the stocked vs wild returns for basing " data " ? So far , it was a 1 and done..
Questioning authority does get old but just tossing pennies into a fountain seems to make one wonder where all those pennies go.
Routine maintenance is a yearly budgetary thing. I don't drive my vehicles forever without planning on changing the oil or tires until failure or push my lawnmower around the yard without gas .
Just like the hatchery roofing project, these are typically Capitol projects.
Capitol projects usually involve a ton of money that just has to get spent and the bulk is wasted on useless things just to eat the money. There are also tax law restrictions based on these things. Our employees are not allowed to perform these jobs and must be contracted out.

What I'm speaking, is landscaping, round tanks instead of the long rectangular tanks that's been used forever, a platform so people don't have to stand on the curb to look over the fence at the ladder, a forklift that will probably run forever if routine maintenance is done, can only imagine what plan for the ladder would be. Maybe a pretty epoxy paint application to preserve the concrete or some new gates that when exposed to constant water flow will eventually rot. Seems like more routine maintenance.

I could have sworn the wells and pumps were upgraded a few years ago as a Capitol project but again, my memory sucks.

It is apparent that along with memory, reading comprehension also fails with advancing age and curmudgeonry.
As I stated above," The trailer has been used for a 3 year study of Kings, the recent coho study, and was used as well by the Canadians, and there is another Kings study planned to start soon." That's three done, one in the works.  Steve Hurst, DEC Director of Fisheries, has stated that the current holdup is getting agreement from the Canadians.  The Lake is not the exclusive playground of New Yawkers, it is an International water body.  The Restoration Plan was adopted after a Public Comment period, and the trailer was overwhelmingly identified by respondents as high priority for the expenditures. As to actually using it, it can mark 60,000 fry per day, so that is ballpark 1.2 million Kings in 20 days, so there is a labor component.  There is also the need for 200+K for tags.  I would still like to see a study on Steelhead, but that will have to wait for the kings to be completed.
 
If you had visited the hatchery in the last couple of years, you would know that the ladder has started to collapse inwards and has been braced with a "band aid" frame constructed of lumber.  Gee, if it totally collapsed during the salmon run, maybe we'd get a year without kings!  I know the Romans built a lot of things that lasted for centuries, but they quarried stone for a building material, even the best concrete has a limited lifespan.  And things exposed to water flow are subject to a ton of stresses not found in terrestrial construction. 
 
But even aging hindsight is generally 20-20, second guessing after the fact.
 
The wells and pumps have been upgraded, but water supply has been a constant problem, even though it was the best water source available for a hatchery when that one was sited.  Lots fo this got reported at the SOL meetings last spring, but I know that is too far to drive.

It was used in a 3 year clip over 4years with the kings. 
It is being used, or was, the report should be out soon, for a 3 year study of cohos, you may have heard from down in NYC North about the coho head collection effort, related to the coho clipping,  it was certainly promoted on the DEC website, and at the last few SOL meetings.  https://forums.fishusa.com/Message/603496-Reminder/
 
And it was loaned to Ontario for a study up there.  That is three.  And there is another King study coming.
 
I guess the cost of an ice auger is only justifiable if you employ it 24/7 365 days per year?  My boats sit idle for about 11 months a year now, but I get my money's worth in the other month.

DEC Delivers Press Release - Information to keep you connected and informed from the NYS Department of Environmental ConservationShare or view as a web page || Update preferences or unsubscribe

DEC Announces 2020 Lake Ontario Chinook Salmon and Lake Trout Stocking

State Adjusts 2020 Stocking Plans to Maintain Lake Ontario's World-Class Fishery

Sport Fishery Continues to Produce Record Catch Rates and Thriving Populations

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced the state's plans for fish stocking in Lake Ontario to ensure the lake remains one of the top fishing destinations in the country. Lake Ontario offers opportunities to catch trophy-sized fish from a wide variety of species, including Chinook and Coho salmon, steelhead, brown trout, lake trout, Atlantic salmon, bass, walleye, and panfish. To ensure these species continue to thrive and to address a further projected population decline of alewife, a crucial prey fish, DEC's 2020 stocking of Chinook salmon and lake trout into Lake Ontario will be reduced by 20 percent. More than 3.6 million salmon and trout will be stocked in 2020, and DEC remains committed to supporting Lake Ontario's world-class sport fishery as part of its adaptive management approach to ensure its continued success.
"This past year, salmon and trout fishing in Lake Ontario was outstanding, and DEC remains committed to ensuring that the ecological, recreational, and economic benefits of this sport fishery are sustained through science-based management," Commissioner Seggos said. "New York's Lake Ontario fishery represents the best of the best, and we intend to maintain our world-class status. The adjustments announced today represent our commitment to an adaptive management approach for the long-term sustainability of the fishery. I am optimistic that fishing will be exceptional in 2020, and encourage anglers to take advantage of this extraordinary resource."
Effectively managing for the long-term sustainability of the trophy Chinook salmon fishery requires balancing predator numbers with available alewife as prey.
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and DEC forecasted declines in the adult alewife population following the relatively severe winters of 2013-14 and 2014-15, that contributed to poor alewife reproductive success. Managers documented strong alewife reproduction in 2016; however, these fish now appear to be under intense predation pressure and scientists have forecasted a further decline in the adult alewife population in 2020, due to the diminishing 2016 alewife year class and relatively poor alewife production in both 2017 and 2018.
DEC reduced the number of Chinook salmon and lake trout stocked in Lake Ontario by 20 percent in 2017. Chinook salmon stocking was reduced by an additional 20 percent in 2019. Based on the newest population assessments, DEC will reduce 2020 Chinook salmon and lake trout stocking by an additional 20 percent from 2019 levels.
The stocking adjustments highlight DEC's commitment to science-based management to maintain a high-quality Lake Ontario sport fishery. With these stocking reductions, 2020 lake-wide salmon and trout stocking in Lake Ontario will exceed 3.6 million fish, including approximately 1.1 million Chinook salmon, 755,000 rainbow trout/steelhead, 556,000 brown trout, 601,000 lake trout, 325,000 coho salmon, and 200,000 yearling Atlantic salmon. Additionally, many Lake Ontario tributaries also produce "wild" Chinook salmon each year. These wild salmon make a significant contribution to the fishery, comprising on average 50 percent of the adult salmon population. DEC is optimistic that these management decisions will maintain high-quality fishing opportunities, and Lake Ontario will remain a premier sport fishing destination.
Additional information about the status of Lake Ontario alewife and 2020 DEC stocking plans can be found at DEC's website.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/press.html

Glad the fishing was OUTSTANDING on the lake this year- good for them.
Stunk on the river.
Gonna stink even more.