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.