Just a message for those that pass through here...

[choochoo]

I just wanted to drop some words for those that lurk through here looking for the hottest tips. As those of us heard that were at the last striper club meeting, there are some real challenges facing the SML stripers. We are looking at three years of well below average fingerling survival. There are some lean years coming and it is important to start conserving the adult age classes we have in the lake now. Some of the guys that are here regularly dropping reports are also amoung the those with the most concern for the future. It is amazing that they share the information they do. I urge everyone to not only join openly in the board conversations, but also respect the those providing such great information by joining in the conservation efforts. I'm not saying you shouldn't keep fish occasionally, just be honest with yourself about how you intent to use them. A family fish fry is great. Even greater is taking advantage of such an occasion to share with others the struggle our fish are facing. We need everyone to harvest responsibly so we all can enjoy good fishing. Educate yourself on the struggles the fishery faces and share with others.

[coheasion]

Choochoo.. That was very eloquently expressed. Thank you for taking the time to write that as I do feel it is very important that everyone practice conservation so that we can all continue pursuing this hobby that gives us such joy and memories.

[johnr]

Well said.

You raise a valid point about how we intend to use our catch. I'm as guilty of it as anyone, because I just found two bags of fish in my freezer from sometime last year. This was as I was putting two more bags of fresh fillets away the other way. I pulled out the old ones and fried them up, but it's a good reminder that I don't eat as much fish as I think I do. I think we could all be a bit more honest with ourselves concerning all fish and game in our freezers and what we intend to put in our freezers.

It's going to be a trying few years coming soon. In the end the fishery will be better for it I think, but it'll take a while.

[Red Bear]

I dont catch too many stripers from the lake, but i gladly threw back the 11-12 incher that slammed my nightcrawler this past weekend.

Question though: How does one go about figuring out if the fingerlings stocked had a good survival rate or not? seems like it would be next to impossible...

[KB]

Apr 5, 2017 11:13:20 GMT -5 Red Bear said:

I dont catch too many stripers from the lake, but i gladly threw back the 11-12 incher that slammed my nightcrawler this past weekend.

Question though: How does one go about figuring out if the fingerlings stocked had a good survival rate or not? seems like it would be next to impossible...

It's usually done by the netting done the next couple years. And by anglers reports on size. Like the 11 inches you caught by turning in a angler diary helps also. Hope this helps and anyone please correct me if I'm wrong

[Red Bear]

i dont know, i would just think if they netted one section of the lake that only had say for example 100 small stripers. but didnt net this section over here that has 2000 small striper. that seems like quite the discrepancy. either way im just curious to how that works. i know its not an exact science, still curious though

[BentRod]

It's mainly through gill netting various locations throughout the lake. They may do some shocking but I don't think so for small stripers specifically. Angler logs are helpful for fish of a catchable size - however, most fish aren't caught on a hook and line with any consistency until they're at least 18-20" big.

Anybody that's fished the lake over the past 10yrs, knows there's clearly WAY less fish in the lake right now then there was 5-6yrs ago - and there's WAY more forage then there was. Stocking success is critical now to keep us on the right path going forward.

IMO, we're going to see the hurt of poor stockings years from now when these year groups are 8-12yrs old - that's when instead of having maybe 300 32" fish, we now have 150 32" fish (random numbers but you get the point) from a year class. In other words, the older they get, the more dramatic the bad year classes are felt assuming a 40-50% mortality rate per year. We can get the lake full of 6lbers quickly, but you'll feel the impact of bad year classes on those 30"+ fish populations later on with significantly reduced numbers. It is what it is though - it's a cyclical lake and the fishery is still in really good shape.

[tblspoon]

Very interesting thread....

Reminds me of a set of new comers hunting private property trying to grow the "buck of a life time". Trying to manage a deer on 100 acres that travels 40 Sq miles is hard. Cars, poaching, starvation, dogs, coyotes, poisoning, damage control stamps, trespassing and such makes it impossible to grow the "buck of a lifetime".

Please apply the same logic to growing the "striper of my dreams" and add in commercial (guides), weekend warriors, bow hunters, poaching, summer stress, etc...

I catch and release all the time unless they are injured beyond recovery. I do not fish for striper on summer, I will turn in ANY VIOLATION that I witness.

To be continued after lunch (I'm at work).....

[31Airborne]

Well said and amen.

Not striper related but thebassmaster needs to read this. Just sayin' . . .

[slammer]

We should not have to beg and hope that fishermen will not rape the fishery. Thats the DGIFs job. " During the same time frame as the slot limit, cold water months, NO striped bass can be kept". At least for a year or two. My 2 cents..

I personally keep about 10 fish a year, just to keep the wife happy.

Now the flatheads are going in the pan in corn meal.

tblespoon, I have turned in a few people as well. I knew of a guy a couple years ago that kept scissors on his boat and would trim the tails off of slot fish to make them legal. What a POS he was ! Another would use a stringer and hang the slot fish off the boat instead of putting them in a livewell or cooler. He would then slip them loose if he had a boat approaching him and let them float away. Both turned in !!

[ajrod88]

I'm not taking one side or the other on the subject. I'm ok with catch and release, I'm also ok with harvesting fish if done responsibly and legally. However, I do have a question. How does harvesting 24''-29'' fish effect fingerling survival in a negative way? 

[BentRod]

Apr 6, 2017 17:49:57 GMT -5 ajrod88 said:

I'm not taking one side or the other on the subject. I'm ok with catch and release, I'm also ok with harvesting fish if done responsibly and legally. However, I do have a question. How does harvesting 24''-29'' fish effect fingerling survival in a negative way? 

It doesn't - what led you to that question?

[ajrod88]

Apr 6, 2017 18:20:42 GMT -5 BentRod said:

Apr 6, 2017 17:49:57 GMT -5 ajrod88 said:

I'm not taking one side or the other on the subject. I'm ok with catch and release, I'm also ok with harvesting fish if done responsibly and legally. However, I do have a question. How does harvesting 24''-29'' fish effect fingerling survival in a negative way? 

It doesn't - what led you to that question?

It just seems like with the news of poor fingerling survival some people think we shouldn't be harvesting any fish. I guess I'm wondering if the fish just below the slot now will still be alive when the effects of the poor fingerling survival are being noticed? 

[BentRod]

Apr 6, 2017 21:58:09 GMT -5 ajrod88 said:

Apr 6, 2017 18:20:42 GMT -5 BentRod said:

It doesn't - what led you to that question?

It just seems like with the news of poor fingerling survival some people think we shouldn't be harvesting any fish. I guess I'm wondering if the fish just below the slot now will still be alive when the effects of the poor fingerling survival are being noticed? 

I think all they're saying is there's the potential for the lake to have a significantly reduced population in the future due to poor stocking success, so be careful and conservative in your harvesting practices and make sure you aren't wasting fish. I wouldn't go as far as to say we need a moratorium period on striper fishing - I think we'll be fine, but awareness of an issue is better than carelessness.

A 24" fish is as young as 4yrs old and can live to be 18-20yrs old.

[bushwacker]

Apr 7, 2017 6:12:05 GMT -5 BentRod said:

Apr 6, 2017 21:58:09 GMT -5 ajrod88 said:

It just seems like with the news of poor fingerling survival some people think we shouldn't be harvesting any fish. I guess I'm wondering if the fish just below the slot now will still be alive when the effects of the poor fingerling survival are being noticed? 

I think all they're saying is there's the potential for the lake to have a significantly reduced population in the future due to poor stocking success, so be careful and conservative in your harvesting practices and make sure you aren't wasting fish. I wouldn't go as far as to say we need a moratorium period on striper fishing - I think we'll be fine, but awareness of an issue is better than carelessness.

A 24" fish is as young as 4yrs old and can live to be 18-20yrs old.

very well said Bentrod. I agree with having the ability to harvest fish if you choose to, at a legal and ethical manner. I am an avid deer hunter as well and I can't stand to see an animal shot and left or to find a deer with just his head cut off. My favorite bible verse is in my sig. GEN:9 1-3. "The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything". God trusts us to be good stewards with his awesome creation we should respect it.