Should we release ALL large female stripers?
Here’s a thought that I hope many will have an opinion on. I think about it every time I hear encouragement to “release the big female stripers.” And what better place than the Stripers Forum to get opinions in defense of the striper?
My first love is steelheading. So I often wonder if it’s possible for me to support the release of all large female stripers without knowing this practice does not have a significant negative impact on my beloved steelhead.
This seemingly simple question is really a complex issue for me to begin to figure out. There are just way too many variables. But I do take into consideration several facts (myths/assumptions?) when wrestling with this question:
Steelhead are hatchery subsidized and I think most would agree without it, the runs we have today, especially on the American, would be a fraction of what they are, if they existed at all.
However, unlike steelhead…
Stripers feed on steelhead
Stripers are voracious feeders
Stripers “stage” in the delta and can be found in schools numbering in the thousands before many migrate farther upstream
Large female stripers are capable of releasing tens of thousands of viable eggs
Stripers can grow to 60lbs or so requiring huge amounts of food (i.e. steelhead)
I do, for the most part, release large female stripers. But probably not for the reason you do. I do it because I don’t want to eat them. I’m more concerned with the toxins built up in their tissue over the years. But I’ll take two nice fish home from time to time if they’re in the 6-15lb range.
Anyone care to take a stand on this slippery slope or offer an opinion?
fly: Very light artificial fly fishing lure of which there are two types: the dry fly which isn't supposed to sink the way it just did; and the wet fly, which shouldn't be floating up on the surface like that. An Angler's Dictionary.
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