STRIPERS REPORT! does PSAC fish anymore?

[scottyfishon/offcreature]

VIRGINIA BEACH ,VIRGINIA

my friend has been out and there sum cows lurking !!
they got a 65 pounder in the boat the day before!

first days biggest 31 #'s

DAY TWO BIGGEST 51#'s

enjoy the photos ! ocean guys
photo 1 is the first of the trip
photo 2 s the 31 #der
photo 3 is the 49 inch 51 #der!!!

yummy fillets for sure!

hizzy and me want to hitch a right PSAC!!
:

[griz104]

Scotty.. you don't need to go that far south.. a friend of mine has been hammering them out of Ocean City also...She said they are bigger this year for some reason...

[psac]

We had a terrible season inside the sound this year. Fish were smaller, and fewer. A good friend of mine absolutely crushed them out at Block Island, however. Its good to see that quality and quantity is still out there. I was getting a little nervous that we were seeing a slowdown or even a potential collapse.

I do still fish, but not nearly as frequent Scotty. Hopefully next year will bring some of these pigs back to me. If I could, I would like to "soap box" for a moment. I would like to encourage all of us Striped Bass fishermen to really put thought into releasing these larger fish back. Genetically speaking, there has to be some link to these fish and thier size. The have the genetics that are key to continued health of the fishery. But please, take as many small fish out of the system as you would like, but let the really big fish go. They've earned the right to be that fat.

[BigSkyJD]

If I could, I would like to "soap box" for a moment. I would like to encourage all of us Striped Bass fishermen to really put thought into releasing these larger fish back. Genetically speaking, there has to be some link to these fish and thier size. The have the genetics that are key to continued health of the fishery. But please, take as many small fish out of the system as you would like, but let the really big fish go. They've earned the right to be that fat.

You said it.

[onemorecast]

The have the genetics that are key to continued health of the fishery. But please, take as many small fish out of the system as you would like, but let the really big fish go. They've earned the right to be that fat.

When I was reading the post I was thinking the same thing.Also the smaller ones are better to eat and have less PCBs etc.

That being said those are some nice fish

[dakota]

Agree with catch and release on the big cows. Stripers are a trophy fish, equivalent in my book to steelhead. There's nothing greater in catching a a big striper than watching it swim away. More likely than not, that 50lber is probably 10 - 13 years old. I can assure you that fish has been caught many times over the course of its life and if those anglers didn't practice C&R, you wouldn't be holding that trophy. I live in NJ and the regulations are 2 over 28 inches an 1 additional over 28 with a trophy tag. The last two years you couldn't find a fish under 34 - 36 inches. Six pack charters were routinely coming back with 18 big bass, mostly all spawners. Way too many big fish are being taken. The point being this fishery went from total collapse 10 - 15 years ago to a once again thriving fishery with many trophy fish that are getting bigger every year. We should let a higher percentage of the big fish, which happen to be female, have a chance to spawn and perpetuate a tremendous fishery. Doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't keep an occasional big fish, in my world a 50lber ending up on the grill is a sad ending to a truly trophy fish.

Take a quick pic and let someone else experience the fish of a lifetime.

Having said that, congratulations on your catch....fish of a lifetime.

Dakota

[Uncle Keith]

I hate to be a "Kill Joy" about C & R with the Big Girls...

A Striped Bass spawns 4 or 5 times in it's life - twice by time it's 24 inches.

Bass do pruduce eggs/sperm every year - they just don't bother to run their natal river and spawn. I used to work the deck of a 6-Pack boat. We ran to Block and, fished The Race. I've cleaned more bass than you could imagine. I've seen the reabsorbtion of eggs/milt with alot of fish.

I have caught more than 15,000 bass over the years - only 2 have been over 50lbs. I've had my hooks straighten under the load of SIGNIFICANTLY bigger fish. I've released fish that were bigger than 40lbs back during the moratorium and ALWAYS honored size restrictions - even when the minimum size was 38".

The one thing that always gives me pause: Back in '86 I sent in a tag and got $5.00 and a hat. I called them and asked them "what else do you have?". I received literature from the Federal Hatchery in Maryland and they claimed to have shocked a 126lb female in a spawning river - they were using her eggs for brood stock.

Yep, 126lbs. I beefed up to a Newll 646 as soon as old Carl came out with one. Now, I do all my Big Fish fishing with 130lb Spectra; a Newell 641; 60lb Trilene Big Game for leaders; Custom tied 40 - 80 Rod tied "stand up" style with Fuji SIC guides.