Porgy which may also be called Bunker or menhaden are one of the preferred baits for catching striped bass. They are known for stripers in fact, and many anglers depend on them for bass hits. Bunker can comprise up to 80% of the diet of a striped bass, it is high in calories, and is oily and fatty making it preferable to stripers. Today, commercial fishermen are taking millions of bunker at a time through a process known as purse seining. One reason that bunker is so popular for commercial fisheries is that food, medicine and even pet food are depending on supplies of Omega 3 oils. Take a look at some of the labels in your home and you’ll no doubt be surprised by some of the foods that you find them in. Purse seining is the process that involves spotter planes identifying schools of bunker, radioing coordinates to waiting fishing boats allowing them to quickly net millions of bunker in a single pass of a net. This is troubling not only because it lessens the ability of anglers to snag bunker, but there is an environmental price that is paid for this large scale harvesting. Bunkers are by design filter feeders, which simply means that they clear up debris in the form of suspended matter and food particles – they remove them from the water which helps keep it clear. Bunker also tend to travel in large schools, it’s not unusual to see millions of them in a small area. Most anglers already know that if you see a single bunker, there is no doubt that a school of them is not too far away. Summer heat means that bunker head to estuaries and back creeks for feeding – it’s not unusual for them to literally suck all available oxygen out of these smaller bodies of water. In fact, bunker are often to blame when there are mass fish kills in these small bodies of water.

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Anglers everywhere enjoy the waves crashing on the beach, and the smell of salt in the air. They also love the idea of walking for miles along the sandy beach. It is a great environment, and it would be even better if you could determine how to get fish out of those waves. The problem is, you do not know exactly where to start, and you are not sure which beaches are classified as good fishing beaches. Not to mention, there could be significant costs involved plus you are not sure what type of tackle you need.

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If you’ve recently been surf casting, chances are fairly good that you were using a large casting sinker, a spinning reel and a 10 foot or larger stout rod. You’re using this tackle because you want to use a variety of live baits and plugs, and your reel needs to handle a 20 or 30 pound monofilament line. However, you are dismayed by the fatigue that casting into rolling waves brings on with this heavy rig. Whether you know it or not, this type of a rig might just be overkill. You could be exerting far more energy than you need to get your bait placed properly in high surf with waves rolling and crashing to the beach. Technology can be your friend in this case, and as a surf angler you have the opportunity to assemble a new rig that will be lighter, shorter and save your stamina for fighting the fish instead of casting. There are options that are far easier to use than these traditional surf sticks that are so large and unwieldy.

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Bunker which are also known as Porgy and menhaden are probably the best possible baits when it comes to striped bass. Not too long ago, Bunker made up about 80% of a typical stripers diet. In fact, Bunker is an easy target for stripers, because it is fatty, oily and contains high calories. The problem is that today, a lot commercial entities are competing for bunker. One of the reasons for this is the oils in the bunker are used in everything from pet food to medicines. The next time you are shopping, take a look and see how many labels contain Omega-3 oils. You may be surprised at the number of products that are using these oils which are directly derived from bunkers. Commercial fleets have become very efficient at snagging entire schools of bunker. In fact, they can wipe them out with a single pass of the net. All too often, commercial fishing companies will use a spotter plane to locate a school of bunker and provide their boats with the coordinates via radio. When this occurs, the ship will lay out a large net that will encircle an entire school, a process known as purse seining. What makes this particularly troubling is the potential ecological impact of doing this. As a rule, Bunker’s feed by straining suspended matter and food particles out of the water making them filter feeders. As a general rule, you will find Bunker swimming in massive schools that can literally number in the millions. In fact, there is little doubt if you found one bunker that there are many more in the immediate area. When the summer heat takes control of the waterways, bunkers will typically find their way into small estuaries and back creeks and literally suck the oxygen from the water. When this happens, which is nearly every summer, massive fish kills occur.

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What could be better than waves crashing on the beach, the smell of salt in the air, and walking for miles along a sandy beach? There is one thing that could enhance the experience, that would be learning how to fish those waves. All too often, anglers are not exactly sure where to start tackling the surf. There are a number of concerns, including, which beaches are good for fishing, and what the costs involved are as well as what type of tackle they need.

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