SML Striper Growth

[Brian]

I'm not statistician, but it looks like the number of samples is so low that it would be hard to draw any conclusions... I would think that the very few fishermen submitting the samples and diaries could heavily skew the data based on when or where they fish or their techniques that may target certain size fish or fish with certain habits...

Of course, I could be wrong and sampling biases are already accounted for... I was just shocked to see the tiny numbers that mward posted... It seems like a nearly impossible task to manage this fishery with that little data!

I also haven't read this whole thread, so there are probably 5 pages discussing this very issue

[slammer]

Guides are on the water all year and many more days than the average fisherman. They also proffit from the fishery so I believe they should be REQUIRED to fill out logs/diaries of what they catch.

[piper]

Feb 22, 2014 9:25:45 GMT -5 slammer said:

Guides are on the water all year and many more days than the average fisherman. They also proffit from the fishery so I believe they should be REQUIRED to fill out logs/diaries of what they catch.

Only issue regarding "requirements" is the need for legislation and then enforcement..neither of which is going to happen. We're already dealing with budget shortfalls..with stripers/fishing extremely low on the totem pole

I think we should start with us. If 20+ of us fill them out and you factor in those that are turned in from non board users the number should improve. The reality is none of this will improve without a group effort unfortunately...which has me wondering. What kind of budget is Dan on and what number does he need? One would think we could raise funds any variety of ways from music to fishing tournaments .

[mwardncsu]

Piper - right on that this is all out fishery to help support and protect.

On the budget side - a major limiting factor has been manpower more so than budget. Dan has been the only biologist for our region for some time. They had two new hires enroute but I learned one has taken a position in another region before even getting here - but at least one more is on the way and hopefully they will backfill the third so that there is more resource to actually do the things that need doing - gill netting, forgage studies, etc.

[Deleted]

I've actually wondered if we could have a week long contest in Nov/Dec where whomever was part of the contest would be exempt from any slot or limit. Anyone in this contest must harvest all fish over 30" and must turn in the fish heads. Of course there would be prizes such as free drinks at the MandG or something of that nature. In return..we have a plethora of fishermen who get to do what they love..compete in a mostly ego-filled battle..but most importantly provide an excellent sample to Dan.

Just thinking out loud.

[Bert]

Yam, what are you thinking? Kill everything over 30" You might ought not to think out loud!

[Deleted]

No Bert I am not thinking kill every fish over 30. I am thinking Dan has problems with getting these fish due to the slot, summer fishing patterns and no gill net support. Thus a controlled sample using fishermen as the collection instrument seems logical. Once the number of fish Dan needs is reported, he could call the tourney off. I assume any person who was part of this would have a phone and does not enjoy killing these fish for fun.

[striperaddict]

No Bert I am not thinking kill every fish over 30. I am thinking Dan has problems with getting these fish due to the slot, summer fishing patterns and no gill net support. Thus a controlled sample using fishermen as the collection instrument seems logical. Once the number of fish Dan needs is reported, he could call the tourney off. I assume any person who was part of this would have a phone and does not enjoy killing these fish for fun.
Last Edit: 16 hours ago by stripedyam


"DITTO"

[Gator]

I really don't think that there is a quick fix to the issue. It takes time and participation in the process. Like I have said many times before- if we all contribute it will make a difference. Maybe something as simple as a fish diary campaign will help. I run into several people fishing for striper most times I am out. Lets just ask them if they are doing their share. maybe keep a few diaries with us and hand them out with a nice letter to expain what we are trying to acheive. I'm sure mward could write a nice eloquent letter to accompany the diary for this type of approach. Lets be heard.

[bodywarrior]

I think not harvesting any fish over 30 is a great idea! The big fishery may rebound for our grandchildren!

[BentRod]

I may jump on with Bigun here before too long. I keep seeing a negative trend in our catch rates. I don't know whether I just suck now or whether our fish population is going down the shitter. I think it may be a combination. I'll be interested to see what schools show up at the dam this spawn and then later this summer. We didn't see really any big schools much last summer or winter..that is worrisome to me after thinking about it all spring as we struggle to catch a few fish here n there. I know we catch some decent fish but we've been lucky to catch 10 fish in a day this year and we had many days of 20-30 fish in years past. A 20 fish day was no biggie..now its dang awesome. Our numbers are worse this year so far than last..I thought it was just a fluke last year as I was fishing a lot less, but I'm beginning to think our population is way down. All you have to do is look at this board to see the pressure is out of control. You go fishing and see 5 new Striper boats every weekend. 2 + 2 = 4 is the way I'm beginning to see it. It doesn't really bother me too much, because I'll still be here and get mine, but it may bother all these people that are coming to fish SML now when it's fished out in about 1 more year. I keep thinking back to the slot change date and I know I said it didn't kill us but it may be killing us..something has changed in the past 2-3 years population wise. This spring has really opened my eyes to it even further..last year wasn't just a fluke. All I can hope for is billions at the dam in a couple weeks..that'll be the tell all.

[Deleted]

Tyler, I agree, something has definitely changed in the last 2-3 years. The big schools have been non-existent....especially the last 2 years........

[archenemy]

I'm going out on a limb here.... I have been fishing the lake for the past 6 years and reading this board as well. I've heard many say that the bait population is very, very large. I would agree with those that have made that observation. I also believe that one of the primary reasons stripers school up is to to trap bait. So if the bait is everywhere then it makes sense to me that the fish will be too. With so many bait options for the fish they may simply be spreadout and or in smaller schools.

I've never caught 20-30 fish in one day at SML. Ten would be a great day for me and that's all I need. I would make the assumption that in order for an average-skilled fisherman to net 20-30 fish in one day they must be sitting on top of a pile of them - late spring/summer perhaps ? The largest schools I have seen are in the summer months and I did not see the large schools last summer. I did however witness many small schools and they were not concentrated at B&Bs.

I realize this is not directly addressing the growth portion of this topic but I for one think the fishing is better now than 6 years ago. I've come to learn that I would rather fish all alone than sit with 50 other boats. I have caught my best fish with no other boats in sight. I also know that the monsters are not schooling with the dinks. They go rogue at some point in thier life. I learned an important lesson from an old-timer at the lake who recently passed. He said you can burn up all the gas you want but when the fish and the fisherman start moving down the lake chasing the big schools you can stay north and find smaller schools that are feeding better because there are fewer boats & less noise. It turned out to be true.

Ok fire away but remember this is just my theory.

[Deleted]

Why would we fire away??  .....Opinions are welcomed here.....


You are correct, all the fish don't go down to the dam during the spawn........You may also be correct on the fish also...like BentRod said, we'll know more shortly.....also, you got to remember, our opinions are based on trends, not just 1 year....and even that doesn't always make them correct....

[BentRod]

I don't disagree with any of that Arch, especially your last point, I agree with 100%. Problem is we can't fish alone much anymore..there's too many boats.

I also think the spread out theory is possibly correct. However, what makes no sense to me is in the summer and winter and during the spawn when we should see big schools, we're not seeing what we used to..not even close. Could we now have more bait because we have less stripers?

I've discussed this in depth with some guides this spring and they all swear we're down like 40-50% of our population from 3-4yrs ago. They aren't pointing fingers either..they realize this is the fisherman's fault, including themselves.

And I still think we have a growth problem, but I'm not 100% behind the thinning the herd theory now. I think we may be thinned and they're still not growing. Maybe growth will spike this year?