# Anthony & Talapia Cape May Rips 11/19



## Talapia

picture says it all. We were using
eels.


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## Talapia

My Dad and Anthony. 
Anthony kicked butt on this trip. He had 
4 keepers with the largest of the trip.
We must have dropped at least 8 keepers
between us. But as you can see we 
did OK.


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## Fishing_Noob

Ant did it again. Hurry and leave West....    

J/K Ant. Nice fish again. Was this a headboat trip? Where's Cape May?


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## Talapia

Charter boat. Mouth of Delaware Bay.

P.S. That is a 19" flounder in the picture
also. Sucker tried to eat an Eel almost 
as long as him! Apparently they catch
quite a few Flounder on eels out there.


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## dckhd247

Pretty Work Boys!!! You're right alotta guys have been pickin' up flatties mixed in with the striped ones...Just an added bonus...


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## Anthony

It was definitely a great trip even though we didn't get to do any toggin'. It was nice to get some nicer stripers. The biggest was 18lbs which is my biggest since spring season. That flattie was definitely a bonus, wasn't suprised that it hit an eel but was just surprised that they were still around. All the fish were over 31 inches. Capt John really knew what he was doing. On the radio he heard that most boats only had 2 or 3 keepers and we ended up with nine plus a flounder. The highlight of the trip was when Henry Sr tried to take a picture of himself while fighting the fish at the same time . I still wonder how he didn't lose that fish. Fun times.


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## Talapia

Man, now you got me laughing again!!!!

Yeah, I wanted to go toggin REEEEAAAALLL
bad!!!!! Me and you kept looking at those
nice stone crabs he had in the bucket!!
I had my snafu all set for a nice big
juicy one! (Thanks for showing me how
to snell the hooks). I have got the tog
bug even stronger than ever now!! 
Got a few things in the works though!

Talapia


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## Duke of Fluke

*Snafu!*

There you guys go talking about the seceret rig in public again!  I spent a couple hours last night snelling hooks in tandem in preparation for this weeks togging. Look out whitechin! 

By the way good job on catching those boys in the zebra outfits. Good looking bunch of fish ya have there.


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## Talapia

Hey.......where ya goin togin at?


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## Duke of Fluke

I was thinking of hitting the Big Mohawk. I really want to give the Searcher a try this year, but I think they are strictly doing charters until Dec. then they start running open boat tog trips. Any suggestions of where else I might go? The Mohawk has always been good to me. Company is always welcome if anyone is interested.


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## Talapia

Does it get crowded? I am kind of leery of
driving that far to get railed on a party 
boat. I am kind of spoiled now. I mainly 
stick to charters or limited space boats
(Morning Star).

P.S. Any word on the offshore seabass/
tile hook up? 

Talapia


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## dckhd247

Talapia, the mohawk is limited space...I think he limits to 35...when he gets 35, he leaves...I've heard some people say there is plenty of space, and also that they are a great tog boat...


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## Duke of Fluke

During tog season Chris leaves the slip as soon as there are 35 fare which usually translates into extra fishing time...he is also one of those captains who tends to get back to the dock a little late. I know he fishes for a living, but I get the feeling that when tog time rolls around he does it more for love of the fishing. That is why he leaves at 35 fares when he could take 70 and probably fill the boat. The Mohawk fishes for tog and only tog from the time the season opens until it closes in late spring. In recent years he has continued togging even after fluke season opens and all the other boats swithch. Many of the other boats in the area tend to do a mixed bag trip where you catch some porgies, ling, seabass, etc. If that is what your looking for this is the wrong boat. I can say without a doubt the Chris is the best tog captain in NJ if not DE and MD also. I know those are some big words to throw out there, but he really know his stuff. He learned from one of the best and has a lot of experience. He knows which pieces hold fish at a given water temp or set of conditions. He is also amazing when it comes to getting on top of the structure. The Mohawk also has an advantage due to their location. Northern NJ has a lot of live/rough bottom in addition to wrecks and reefs. If you pull up to a piece and it is empty you can be on another prime piece within minutes. Further south there is less live bottom so if you move you are usually talking 15-20 minutes or more. On the flip side, I'd say that there are more12-14 pounders to the south. However, I'd say that the overall fishing is phenomenal. I've seen the whole boat take 10 fish limits several times b4 the limit was decreased. I always do really well and that is why I keep going back. The only drawback is that you have to get there at an un-godly hour to get a prime position at the rail. Anyone who is interested in making a trip up from further south is welcome to crash at my place. It takes 2 hrs to get to Belmar from my house. 

Sorry guys I did not mean to hi-jack your thread.


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## Fishing_Noob

Hey Duke,

Is he doing Tog now and if so, does he have a contact? Info?

Thanks,

Tony


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## Duke of Fluke

Noob he is toggin now. They have a website www.bigmohawk.com but it is not updated regularly. I'm sure there is contact info there.


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## Axon

I knew it Tony is hooked


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## Fishing_Noob

Hell yea. Them Togs got the better of me. Can't let that happen. Lost so many rigs to them and now it's payback. LOL. When you planning on doing some more fishing Mike? Let me know so I can join up.


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## Talapia

Fishing_Noob, 

Hate to tell ya, but it gets a whole 
lot worst before it gets better.
And the worst it gets, the more
addicted you get. Go and read
the spring reports on the MS
to see how bad it gets


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## Fishing_Noob

Talapia, oh I lost alot already in a month of toggin. I expect to lose alot more. But, I am seriouly thinking about buying bank sinker molds cause that is the only thing that really cost the most. 

The Togs I don't hate but those damm rocks. Anyone know of a link for the structure at OC bulkhead? Would really like to see what's down there beside rocks. Oh, I'll be at the bulkhead again if anyone want to join up or if CJ can get a boat for us this weekend on the Mohawk. 

Forget the Rocks/Blues/Drums, it's Toggins for me now.


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## Anthony

Monty's last report, I may head out on monday for some toggin'

Fish Report 11/24/04


Hi All,
I thought perhaps this should be called the Tog & Dog report...
But there were some sea bass and bluefish as well! 
The fishing for bass is not what I would expect this time of year. But, with a lot of effort, it can yield a decent catch. Saturday and Sunday were fairly unremarkable yet both days saw some anglers near a limit. Bluefish appear to have moved inshore where there are more of the small anchovies than I've ever seen. On every course I have set the last few weeks I've run across miles of dense schools of these small baitfish. Dining on a regular basis on the anchovies, the blues were sometimes mixed with a few striped bass on the occasions I've been able to try them. The main body of stripers will move down as the water cools even more. That sea bass are moving offshore is more than a notion. We've had several tag returns of late. All were from 7 to 10 miles further inshore than we were at the time. One was a telemetry tag that we had released last November. Because of it's size, this type of tag is really hard on the fish and there have been only a few returns . Woods Hole was very glad to have this one back. The fish grew an inch and a quarter in just a shade over a year. Usually I show 2 1/2 to 3 inches a year from similar sized fish. Perhaps the size of the tag reduces their effectiveness at feeding. Either way, the data that the telemetry tag provides is temperature, salinity and depth ~ all keys to understanding overwinter migration. BTW, it was a $100 tag and re-released with an ALS tags as well!
Still seeing some bluefin tuna, some as close as 13 NM offshore. As I suspected, they have closed the season on them. It's a conspiracy you see. Government fisheries spies watch my every move and as soon as I put tuna tackle back aboard... Closed! Maybe not.
The dogfish seem to have tapered slightly and were not so much of a nuisance just recently. Since I have my 'Staff Biologist' Steve working deck again we have done a few stomach content analysis on dogfish. Result? They are really hungry! Crabs and 1 small unidentifiable fish were all we found. 'Course the ones that bit a hook would be hungry...
We fished for tog on Monday and Tuesday. As the sea bass move offshore 2 bucks a gallon for diesel becomes impossible with a super light crowd. I hadn't tried them since spring, though we did nick a few over the summer. The report is pretty close to fantastic... Monday we caught limits of tog, tagged 41 more and then went bluefishing. Tuesday we caught more tog limits and tagged 61. A few, and I mean precious few, sea bass found their way into coolers while inshore too.
There's just a handful of days left. Friday, Saturday and Sunday I'll try to run out for the bass. Monday and Tuesday I'll go toggin' and that will wrap it up for the year. Well, probably, since cbass and tog are both closed in December. But if the weather holds on the warm side I might be able to take a few folks in early December for bluefish just for a kick. When we fished them Monday it was a scream. It doesn't take too many to wear you out!
I suppose I've seen a lot of different years go by, some 25 of them on the reefs and wrecks offshore of Ocean City. I saw where the pressure exerted on our fish by party and charter boats directly effected the following years catches ~ sometimes for a decade. Certainly there are many pressures, such as commercial fishing and environmental factors, that go into figuring what the following year will look like but they are harder to see and perhaps can only be seen over time. During the early to mid 1980's there were summers that sea bass were near impossible to catch with any consistency. So we turned to tautog. The tog population at that point was relatively unexploited and the fishing was indeed fantastic. Size and creel limits were unheard of ~ a freshwater thing. After all, the ocean was boundless. It was simply a matter of finding them. I can't recall when the pool winner was under 12 lbs. in those days and saw fish to 17 3/4 pounds. I wonder how many tog were needed to support 2 party boats fishing a single wreck on the same day many times throughout the summer. More than I've seen since I can assure you. Following that 2 1/2 - 3 year spike in fishing effort it was a loooooong time before I saw another great catch of tog. At about the same time Ocean City's bay/inshore tog fishery was getting hit really hard as well. Trout and flounder populations were failing to provide decent catches and there were these 7 to 12 pound tog right under angler's feet! They got caught! Live and learn I suppose... 
Tautog are a habitat dependant fish. Hypothetically, with the absence of fishing pressure, you could work up an equation based on the amount of habitat that would calculate how many tog there are in any given area. Including fishing pressure makes it a lot harder to figure but is what the tautog fishery management plan tries to do. And do it without any knowledge of the amount of habitat. (Yes, I think some research money needs to be funneled into a seafloor habitat study in the region!)
I suspect there have been large populations of tog in the region for as long as the water temps would allow it. ( going back to mastodons here...) Prior to our culture the oyster bars in the bays and the corals offshore were prime habitat for the species. As we merrily worked the oysters into a memory and towed most of the corals flat we reduced the natural habitat available to a whisper of it's previous amount. Fortunately for tog fishers, at that same time we were also building more wharves, docks and stone jetties all of which tog find attractive places to live. And, unfortunately for those aboard, the ships and boats lost to calamity were replacing some of the lost corals. More recently, artificial reef building has become more aggressive. Over time this will greatly benefit tog populations. If we're careful and don't keep them fished down we could make the tog stock far greater than ever existed. For our part, throwing back females, building new reefs and keeping a small creel limit should work to keep the stock growing. Keeping all the pressures in check will ensure the stock flourishes.
You all have a great Thanksgiving.
Best Regards,
Monty

Capt. Monty Hawkins
Party Boat "Morning Star"
www.morningstarfishing.com
410 520 2076 Advance Ticket and Info line
[email protected]
11546 Dolly Circle
Berlin, MD. 21811
http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn.pl?file=forecasts/marine/coastal/an/anz650.txt
http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn.pl?file=forecasts/marine/offshore/an/anz085.txt
http://www.ocreeffoundation.com/main.html


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## Axon

Talapia clear your PMs


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## outcastn41

Gentlemen Thats A Great Job Of Catching Fish, But I Hope You Realize That There Are Limits On Stripe Bass In Nj 1 Fish Between 24 & 28 Inches And 1 Fish Over 34 Inches, And That Flounder Season Ended In Early Oct. Not To Take Away From Your Catch But Next Time Be Careful Of What You Show Pictures Of On The Internet.


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## Anthony

We were fishing in DE. 2 over 28 inches per person. And flounder are open as well. There were 4 of us and we are also allowed to keep limits for the captain and the mate. So legally we were allowed to keep 12 total.


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## Ballbreaker

*Need to know were your Capt. takes you....*

I have to agree with outcastn41. If you were fishing in the Cape May rips you were in New Jersey and therefore Jersey rules apply. I really don't care but NJ Fish and Game does. The Capts from DE need to inform there charters that they are breaking the law and could be fined. Better hope you don't get caught.


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## DOVERPOWER

You and the captians did nothing wrong Anthony.
You where within regulations for a boat from Delaware.


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## DOVERPOWER

Origanly posted on Cafe locale by Bill from Bills sport shop Lewes, 
Roy Miller is Delaware DNREC 

Spoke with Roy Miller today concerning the Striper fishing in the De. bay problem and he is just as mystified as we are as to why NJ did this. According to NMFS the one slot and one over 34" will give the same results as two over 28". He stated that it is a possession law however he doesn't think that there will be a whole lot of on water checking by either state but that it will be at the port of call. 
Now Delaware has ticketed NJ boaters in De. waters for 16" flounder ( that's NJ limit but under ours of 17 1/2"). 
Striper will have a 6" illegal between 28" and 34" in NJ and De. will still be illegal with two over 34" (NJ can only keep one)And the slot between 24" and 28" will be illegal in our waters. This will make law enforcement very difficult in Delaware bay waters and he thinks they will probably settle for ramp and dock checks on both sides of the bay. 

Here is Mr. Millers’ reply: 
Although we warned New Jersey that this was going to be a problem, their decision makers overlooked our concerns and went ahead and instituted striped bass size limits different from ours and Pennsylvania's. NJ now has a 24-28 inch slot plus one fish over 34 inches. In other words, NJ anglers cannot keep a striped bass between 28 and 34 inches. If you are fishing locations like Brandywine Shoal and Ship John Light, you are in NJ waters and the NJ limits apply. However, when you return to Delaware waters and a Delaware port, our limits apply (2 fish at 28 inches minimum). Historically, most of the size limit enforcement in both states occurred dockside unless one or both states got complaints and set up patrols on the water. We all know that it is difficult, unless a boater has a GPS, to determine where he or she is in relation to the imaginary dividing line between the states if you are not within sight of any landmarks or buoys. If you are going to fish waters that you know are on the NJ side of the Bay, then to be 100% safe, keep only one striped bass per person and make sure it is 34 inches long or longer. If you have any fish in your possession that are between 28-34 inches and you are on the NJ side of the Bay, I can't guarantee you won't be ticketed if you are checked on the water. By the same token, any NJ fisherman on our side of the Bay better not be caught with a fish less than 28 inches or they could be subject to prosecution. It is not like NJ didn't know what are regulation was when their General Assembly adopted the slot limit a few weeks ago. We announced our intent to institute the 2 fish at 28 Inches to be in compliance with the Striped Bass Plan last winter. NJ waited until they were declared out of compliance with the Plan in August and then instituted a size limit different from ours. As you can tell, this is a frustrating situation for us in Delaware, and I can appreciate the frustration our fishermen will feel. 

Roy W. Miller 
Administrator of Fisheries 
Division of Fish & Wildlife 
89 Kings Highway 
Dover, DE 19901 
(302)739-3441 
fax (302)739-6157


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## Blacksnapper

*Know what you are talking about before you speak!!*

Sure are a lot of folks who are mind readers
out there...how else would they PRESUME to 
know what state a charter boat is from
when it is fishing between two? How else
would they PRESUME to know that the 
Charter Capt is breaking the rules, after
all I am sure that they are more up on 
fishing stuff in that area then he is...he
has only been doing it professionally for
30 years. How else would they PRESUME to know that the anglers in question have not studied up on the rules...after all, nobody 
could know the rules better them them...
If they had half a clue, they would know
that it is just poor taste to interrupt a 
good Fishing Post with a bunch of their own
personnal baggage. Just start your own 
thread and wail away....And no I am not
a new user. This is Talapia. I had some
computer problems this weekend and 
could not access my account. I will send
an e-mail to SF to delete this account 
on Monday.


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## Anthony

Thanks Doverpower for clarifying things. I think that half of the fish were caught at the Rips and the others were caught at the mouth of the DE bay. I hear what you are saying Henry. I don't like when people come into a thread and start bringing it down when they don't know all the facts. But that's the internet for you, too many people from different places who have different regulations.


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## Ballbreaker

Yes Talapia you are correct no chater capt. would knowingly violate the rules. Thats why over the past several years there has been more than one who has had their ticket pulled. As for the facts, I am only responding to the fact in the thread, "Talapia Cape May Rips" and as all the anglers from Cape May know you can see the Cape May lighthouse from the rips and not Delaware. Oh and just so you know flounder season is closed in New Jersey also, unless you caught a winter flounder and if you know the difference you know a winter flounder would not be able to eat an ell. So as Mr. Miller said you need to be careful. Happy Fishing


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## Talapia

Ballbreaker, 

This is my last response to you.
If you want to start a new account
as someone else then that is your
choice. I was sick of your posts
before I and am still sick of them.

You think that you are so smart starting
a new user account as "Ballbreaker", 
like this is the first post that you 
have ever made. 

There are people who contribute to 
this board and there are folks like
you. I guess that is why you have
sunk to using a different alias.


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## Ballbreaker

Talapia, 
I have no idea who you think I am, you are incorrect in thinking that I have logged in under a new account. I have never ever been on this web site before Saturday the 27th when a friend showed me the catch of illegal fish taken from the Cape May Rips were I fish and abbide by the laws of the state of New Jersey.

As far as responding to me don't flatter yourself by thinking I care. Guys like you get caught by guys like me everyday. Getting your friends to respond and defend your wrong doings do not make them legal. Even the De. fish and game said you have to abide by the rules of were you are fishing. So do us a favor on this side of the bay and stay on your side. 

Oh yea, I own a boat and the name of it is "The Ballbreaker."


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## Anthony

Ballbreaker said:


> Talapia,
> I have no idea who you think I am, you are incorrect in thinking that I have logged in under a new account. I have never ever been on this web site before Saturday the 27th when a friend showed me the catch of illegal fish taken from the Cape May Rips were I fish and abbide by the laws of the state of New Jersey.
> 
> As far as responding to me don't flatter yourself by thinking I care. Guys like you get caught by guys like me everyday. Getting your friends to respond and defend your wrong doings do not make them legal. Even the De. fish and game said you have to abide by the rules of were you are fishing. So do us a favor on this side of the bay and stay on your side.
> 
> Oh yea, I own a boat and the name of it is "The Ballbreaker."


Ok this is getting ridiculous. If you have a problem with the catch, you should contact the captain of the charter boat. If you have a problem with the regulations, you should contact the DNR. Charters do what they can to put their customers on fish. They probably know more about regulations than any of us do. All Talapia tried to do is show how good we did and maybe a little publicity for the Captain of the boat and you turned it into a petty "our side, your side" argument.


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## Talapia

Anthony, 

He is a troll. He will go away on his own.
He just wants some attention. 

How sad is that. It's nice to have
friends.


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## dckhd247

I'm not trying to get into this argument but he's right...He can be called all the names in the book but that doesn't change the fact that when in Jersey waters, you go by Jersey regs...And you guys very well coulda caught the fish on the DE side so I'm not saying you're at fault...I'd go by the Captains rules too...In fact, on my own boat I'd keep them over there too...


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## Ballbreaker

Thank you dckhd247, that is all I started out saying was that I agreed with outcastn41, and they were lucky not to get caught. They are correct the Capt. more than likely knows the regulations and knew were they were fishing. But it is still a violation and its not wise to plaster pictures of it and brag. 

I've been called alot worse than Troll. As for me going away I may I may not, I just got here maybe I'll stick around a while.


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## Anthony

The problem is that you are accusing us of being poachers. Only the Capt knows exactly where we were fishing. To be honest I had no clue where we were fishing until we hit the second spot. You are saying that we are guilty based on a report. The first spot we hit there were a ton of boats. I even recognized one of them, a DE charter boat. You keep insisting that we are guilty when you don't have all the facts. That's what I have a problem with.


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## Hat80

*This has gotten way out of hand!*

Anthony, you and Talapia or the other paying cutomers did nothing wrong. At this point no one knows that you wern't in Del waters and never will. You were on a headboat and that is the Capts job and responsibility, don't worry about it. 

The new Va Striped Bass record fish was caught in Nc waters by a boat from Va that returned to a Va port. The boat you guys were on left a Del port and returned to a Del port. At that point those are Del fish, and apply to Del regs end of story!

Had the authority's boarded and check that boat the Capt would have been fined, not the anglers. That is if it was in Nj waters, only the Capt knows for sure.

*Sandflea, I think it's time to close this thread. You know where it's headed.....Tightlines*


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## DOVERPOWER

> Had the authority's boarded and check that boat the Capt would have been fined, not the anglers. That is if it was in Nj waters, only the Capt knows for sure.Sandflea, I think it's time to close this thread. You know where it's headed.....Tightlines


Well said Hat

Can I get an amen!!!


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## johnnyleo11

I'll guess we'll see how many more negative plugs we can get in here before it's all said and done. I think SF is out for the week.

Too bad that oil spill kind of ruined things in the other bay...


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## sand flea

1. This thread belongs on the boating board, not the Md./De. board.
2. I'm not here to play babysitter, so this thread is closed.
3. Ballbreaker and outcastn41 have the same ip address. 

End of discussion.


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