# First Landing 10/2



## BretSV (Sep 15, 2010)

Hello everyone. This is my first post here, thought I would share my experience this past weekend. Went to First Landing State Park on Saturday. Got there about 11 am, fished until 5 pm. Fished from the surf, between the three of us we caught two small blowfish, a couple tiny speckled trout, and about eight small to medium spots. Pretty large fish jumping out of the water pretty much across all distances from shore equally, thought we would catch more. I've been to first landing three times in the past month and the tourists dropped off massively this past weekend with the beginning of fall weather. I think there were only three groups of us fishing across the entire beach, versus about twenty groups two weeks ago.

I had a few questions, this is my first year fishing, and I caught this fish which I didn't recognize.










Also, I went there about a month ago, and there were guys pulling in a net by truck, it must have been a quarter mile long. It looked like they were keeping about 1 out of 100 fish, the rest were all dead. The catch you see in the net stretched almost as far as you could see down the coast. Are these guys commercial fishermen? Does this happen often on the Bay? Again I'm new, and don't know much, but it just struck me as wrong upon seeing it.


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## techie22311 (Nov 16, 2009)

sea mullet, kingfish or whiting depending on who you ask. good eating.

http://www.texasgulfcoastfishing.com/whiting.html


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## REKER (Jun 23, 2010)

Techie is right. Alot of people around here call it Sea Mullet. Very good eating when you get a few good sized ones.

Btw, I hope someone can chime in with more info about that net.


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## croaker83 (Aug 15, 2010)

that net makes me upset bro


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## Gamble (Sep 23, 2010)

Definitely something fishy about that net. (no pun intended  )

There's all kinds of stuff in there. Rays, fluke, reds, most which are clearly smaller than the commercial minimum size for keepers. Most of the fish in the net are dead as well, makes me sick too. :--|

Read an article on nets like that from another state's website. It said that those types of nets can only be used at least a quarter mile away from the shore. I also hope that someone with more knowledge on this topic can chime in here.


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## BigJeff823 (Oct 14, 2002)

Them nets are an OBX tradition but they would atleast use all the fish;DAM WHATS UP WITH THAT.


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## BigJeff823 (Oct 14, 2002)

THAT IS DISGRASEFULL;WHAT A WASTE OF FISH.


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## LIL JON (Apr 26, 2010)

if u look care fully in the right corner in front of the guy wearing blue shoes, right in front of his left shoe there is a monster trout hes gotta be atleast 7-8 lbs


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## BigJeff823 (Oct 14, 2002)

I know the fish that are in that net could feed an ARMY;WHY WOULD SOMONE DO SUCH A THING.


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## IIJoNII (Apr 19, 2010)

LIL JON said:


> if u look care fully in the right corner in front of the guy wearing blue shoes, right in front of his left shoe there is a monster trout hes gotta be atleast 7-8 lbs


yeah man I was checking out that huge speck trout, dammmnn


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## Gamble (Sep 23, 2010)

So if they only kept about 1 in 100, what did they do with the dead ones? Throw them back with the kids swimming in the background??


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## Smittroc (May 1, 2009)

outrageous.


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## NorthernVAfisher (Oct 4, 2010)

*outrageous*

It may be a rogue seine or traul net that was lost out in open water. When they get to the beach the only thing you can do is haul it out. Nets that large can weigh a ton including fish. They may be sampling the fish (Fish and Game Biologists) and they will only sample certain species.

It would be nice to have been there to ask but I know a couple fishery biologists that go to instances such as this.


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## SkunkApe (Dec 9, 2006)

Those guys are commercial fisherman. They've had permits to fish those Haul Seine nets for a very long time. If they kept 1 out of every 100 fish, it wouldn't be worth their trouble. If you stuck around to watch the entire process, which can take up to six or so hours, you would have seen probably 80 - 90 fifty-five gallon trash cans full of fresh fish go to market, far, far more than get thrown back (which the birds eat). The fish that get thrown back are rotten and most have been picked by the crabs. The majority of the catch consists of Croaker, (big ones), Spot, Specks (very few big ones right now), a few Pups, a few Flounder, and other mixed bag fish.


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Welcome to the family.


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## Gamble (Sep 23, 2010)

SkunkApe said:


> Those guys are commercial fisherman. They've had permits to fish those Haul Seine nets for a very long time. If they kept 1 out of every 100 fish, it wouldn't be worth their trouble. If you stuck around to watch the entire process, which can take up to six or so hours, you would have seen probably 80 - 90 fifty-five gallon trash cans full of fresh fish go to market, far, far more than get thrown back (which the birds eat). The fish that get thrown back are rotten and most have been picked by the crabs. The majority of the catch consists of Croaker, (big ones), Spot, Specks (very few big ones right now), a few Pups, a few Flounder, and other mixed bag fish.


Thanks for the info. Stupid net, where's the fun in that?


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## BretSV (Sep 15, 2010)

SkunkApe said:


> Those guys are commercial fisherman. They've had permits to fish those Haul Seine nets for a very long time. If they kept 1 out of every 100 fish, it wouldn't be worth their trouble. If you stuck around to watch the entire process, which can take up to six or so hours, you would have seen probably 80 - 90 fifty-five gallon trash cans full of fresh fish go to market, far, far more than get thrown back (which the birds eat).


Didn't mean to be overly critical of them without full knowledge. Like I stated I actually had no idea what the deal was with it, but just my initial reaction was that it felt wrong. I eat fish and know it has to come from somewhere, but I think it was just the fact that it was at a state park that made me feel it was wrong. And also there were a few rough necks in the group that kept yelling at women and children to "GET THE F**K BACK!". But most of the guys were very friendly or just too busy to even care about the audience they had attracted.

Oh and when I said they only kept 1 out of 100 fish, your right I didn't stay for the whole thing. Maybe they were just pulling out the biggest ones first, because while I was there they were walking the net and pulling out 1 out of every 100 fish, probably less than that actually, and I assumed the rest were wasted. If they collected them all up, or at least a good portion like you said, then it doesn't bother me as much.

And that huge trout, or one just like it, went home to a camper at the park who had helped the fishermen out all morning apparently.


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## Reeko (Jun 8, 2009)

Makes my cast net look worthless ...


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## WDinarte (Oct 21, 2009)

*Hummm*

Is this legal, this is the way this people make money. the gov. have any rule for this people?...


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## rattler (Jul 3, 2004)

LIL JON said:


> if u look care fully in the right corner in front of the guy wearing blue shoes, right in front of his left shoe there is a monster trout hes gotta be atleast 7-8 lbs


Looks like a 22-24" to me, still a nice one. Bottom right may be a turtle or a BIG FLATTIE.


SkunkApe said:


> Those guys are commercial fisherman. They've had permits to fish those Haul Seine nets for a very long time. If they kept 1 out of every 100 fish, it wouldn't be worth their trouble. If you stuck around to watch the entire process, which can take up to six or so hours, you would have seen probably 80 - 90 fifty-five gallon trash cans full of fresh fish go to market, far, far more than get thrown back (which the birds eat). The fish that get thrown back are rotten and most have been picked by the crabs. The majority of the catch consists of Croaker, (big ones), Spot, Specks (very few big ones right now), a few Pups, a few Flounder, and other mixed bag fish.


Not on YOU. Not all play by the rules and you know it if you are on the "inside" like your post sounds. I have seen many pulled and never seen the the 3-5% "by catch" that they "suposedly get. 


WDinarte said:


> Is this legal, this is the way this people make money. the gov. have any rule for this people?...


YEP. Most are self governed. The GOV believes what they tell them. Commericial fishing is killing the bay. Omega rapes the "bunker". Farms/citys polute with run off. (look up the chesapeake watershed). Do you want fish in the resaurent that was caught HERE? Thats it.


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## rattler (Jul 3, 2004)

Looks like a "round head". OUR WORD. king fish in NC


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## WDinarte (Oct 21, 2009)

*Wow...*

If thi is "normal" on the bay I will say...
God bless the bay !!! :fishing:


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