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		<title>PTTS doing more damage than jigging … a commentary by Richard Hirsch</title>
		<description>Discuss PTTS doing more damage than jigging … a commentary by Richard Hirsch</description>
		<link>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch</link>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 11:04:18 --500</lastBuildDate>
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			<title>Kayak guy says:</title>
			<link>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-214</link>
			<description><![CDATA["crowd that likes to play bumper cars in the Pass and screams with joy when a shark hits a hooked tarpon, or even chums up these sharks prior to the events, or delights in a low-skill/high-kill technique" This is absolutely ridiculous! One of the things tarpon anglers in the pass hate most is sharks. PTTS rules state: "E. Ineligible fish for weigh in or release points will include but not limit fish that have;   1. Jumped into, and remain in a boat 2. Been brought aboard a boat 3. Been hooked outside of the mouth of the fish 4. Been bitten by a shark during the fight to the severity that the fish is unable to be released alive. 5. Been hooked by two different teams. 6. Hooked outside of the boundaries 7. Handled by the gills" So if the tarpon is attacked by a shark, then it is not worth anything for us. So why would we intentionally try to have them get eaten by sharks? And why would we intentionally chum for sharks? And why would we try to spook the shark when it is attempting to eat the tarpon? Also note: 3. "Been hooked outside of the mouth of the fish" So that means hat if we are snagging all the tarpon then none of them would be eligible, unless it is hooked INSIDE OF THE MOUTH! Which means that the tarpon would have had to intentionally eat the jig.  So all this shark-eating, snagging, and destruction isn't anything like they make it out to be, just think about it and actually listen to what we are saying.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Kayak guy</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:20:37 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-214</guid>
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			<title>Kayak guy says:</title>
			<link>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-213</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The reason nobody has listed the PTTS as a problem is because it is not one. Tarpon fishing in boca grande is not bombarding fish with large hooks and weights so that you snag one after another , it is just like any other fishing. I personally have fished boca grande many times with jigs that they say snag the tarpon and have caught nothing. The fish actually eat the lure! For example, we spent two days straight in the pass. On day one, the fish were biting and the sonar was showing lots of tarpon below us. We hooked multiple fish that got off. On day two, the sonar was again showing tons of tarpon below and we caught nothing, not even a single bite. So if we are snagging the tarpon with the jigs, that would mean that we would have had a steady amount of hook-ups throughout both days, which we obviously did not have. Have you ever noticed that some teams in PTTS catch tons of tarpon and others catch little or none? If it was just snagging fish one after another, then it could be said that all the teams participating in the PTTS would catch the same amount of fish, which they do not. There are numerous tournaments in boca grande pass, but it is interesting how PTTS is the only one targeted. As for the dead tarpon, they are just simply recycled back into the ecosystem.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Kayak guy</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:18:54 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-213</guid>
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			<title>Jig Man says:</title>
			<link>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-184</link>
			<description><![CDATA[You sound like eco-terrorists. A bunch of tree hugging hippies that stand for the crying tarpon. We all know you're pissed because you've been losing charters ever since the PTTS came to town. Just admit its about filling your wallets and not about saving tarpon. If it were REALLY about the tarpon, you wouldn't omit certain information, like the fact that there are 'live bait' tournaments held nightly AFTER the PTTS has a day tournament. Why wouldn't you cancel the "worlds richest tarpon tournament" instead of hosting it DIRECTLY after another tournament? Doesn't that hurt the stressed fish even more? Of course it does... but instead of admitting that fact, you purposefully don't mention it and then say "well we see dead tarpon the next morning after a PTTS tournament" Its a good thing I have children because otherwise you all might pull the wool over my eyes. Fishing is fishing. Why don't you protest bass tournaments that use artificials? You're arguments are terrible and the public agrees. You're being anti-capitalist, eco-terrorists who "OCCUPY" boca grande like college drop-outs with no clue on how to grow up and believe, much like the liberal media, that bashing your opponents and spreading malicious lies with no photo evidence other than doctored pictures taken from peoples facebook pages from 5 years ago. Its pathetic and you all should learn to share the pass instead of trying to kick out anyone who poses a threat to your guide business. ARE YOU AMERICANS OR JUST COMMIE HIPPIES SCREAMING FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO MAKE THINGS FAAAAAAIARRRRR??? Man, what a bunch of children... Move if you don't like it. No one is forcing you to live there... :)]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Jig Man</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:41:19 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-184</guid>
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			<title>tarpon lady says:</title>
			<link>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-181</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ A boycott is a legitimate means of bringing about change. The modern tea party movement traces its roots to a similar boycott in colonial Boston against tea imported from England. It was a means to bring about change. The Save The Tarpon boycott of PTTS sponsors is having an effect. It has prompted many PTTS sponsors to reexamine their relationship with this event. Some have publicly withdrawn support. Others have stated their intention to follow. All are watching closely. The PTTS has become a liability. Sponsors and advertisers don't shell out good money for bad publicity. Miller's Ale House, for instance, has found itself publicly tied to a PTTS team discovered to be in repeated violation of the regulations that govern tarpon fishing. Not the image a respected brand wants to project. Its parent company, another PTTS sponsor, also finds itself guilty by association. The PTTS is becoming a bad business decision. The PTTS defends its conduct by noting it's legal. They will agree to stop, they say, when told to stop. It appears STS is simply taking the PTTS up on its offer.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>tarpon lady</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Jun 2012 05:40:27 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-181</guid>
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			<title>Gary Colecchio says:</title>
			<link>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-175</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ Maybe because its an invention? To suggest that this relatively new tournament has more effect than 80 years of converting breeding females to fly food in dumpsters by local for-profit business is just silly. So just who authored this petition? According to the Naples news Rick Hirsch lives in New York and vacations in Florida. He fishes exclusively and is connected with the Boca Grande Fishing Guides Association members. This group of “traditional live bait ” guides has been fighting for 15 years for exclusive use of the pass using a listed set of rules published in the local press and Chamber of Commerce. Their goal is to rid the pass of “off island ” guides. Their strategy has been if they can ban the use of artificial baits (jigs), the outsiders would leave. Of course this tournament is now a target because it shows that recreational fishermen need not employ local guides and successfully catch fish themselves. BGFGA has demanded Florida Fish and Wildlife study the snagging issue , at taxpayers expense and rejected the findings when it did not substantiate their claims. They have since sued the state, as well as make other outrageous, unsubstantiated claims such as outboard motors ( employed by jig guides and recreational fisherman, vs their traditional inboards) scare the fish and change their migratory habits. This issue is not one of concern for the health of the tarpon fishery, all science points to a healthy fishery, but an economic one and a turf war engaged in and accelerated in the last decade. Doubt it? From Save the tarpon's facebook page: "Save the tarpon of Boca Grande Pass now launched their website designed to attack the sponsors and owners of this unsportsmanlike tarpon fishing tournament" It seems to me that if the true concern was for the fish, that would be voiced more prominently.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Gary Colecchio</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:29:16 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-175</guid>
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			<title>joe laform says:</title>
			<link>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-173</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Wow!, I never thought about the damage the ptts is doing to the fish and to the pass, I think one way of hurting them is to let the sponsors know we will no longer support there products or buy there equipment, we have a voice there are many more of us consumers, than they are ptts tournament fisherman.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>joe laform</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:42:35 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-173</guid>
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			<title>Capt. Don Mull says:</title>
			<link>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-154</link>
			<description><![CDATA[There is no reason except for profit to destroy The Boca Grande Tarpon Fishery. The use of Jigs should be outlawed. Live bait is more challanging. I love tournament fishing but when a tournament hurts the fish, the tournement need to STOP. The state need to get off there lazy butt and do something TODAY. It is almost to late, If you want to kill fish kill the Jewfish ont the Tarpon,,, The Jewfish tast better,,,,]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Capt. Don Mull</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:21:02 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-154</guid>
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			<title>Capt. Mark Futch says:</title>
			<link>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-153</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Well said Rick. Occupy Boca Grande Pass on June 17 at 0930 and let the FWC know how the public feels about the destruction that has occured on their watch. As a grade on this fishery the FWC gets an F for failure.]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Capt. Mark Futch</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Sat, 16 Jun 2012 12:08:23 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-153</guid>
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			<title>Mike Manning says:</title>
			<link>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-7</link>
			<description><![CDATA[:lol: That is great!!! I'm glad someone did something like this about that crazy mess out there. The funny thing about that whole thing is there are several guides that brag about all the things they do for the Florida fishery!!! But they are right there in the middle of the worst thing that ever happened to the "Boca Grande Tarpon Fishery"! I sure hope someone is able to stop the PTTS. I also tarpon fish everyday from April 10th to end of July and the only time you see dead tarpon are the day after the PTTS Tournaments..]]></description>
			<dc:creator>Mike Manning</dc:creator>
			<pubDate>Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:23:44 --500</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.bocabeacon.com/news/editorial/4106-ptts-doing-more-damage-than-jigging-a-commentary-by-richard-hirsch#comment-7</guid>
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