Tough times for stripers -

[David Lee]

I'm sure everyone knows this ...... populations are at an all time low .

I've always thought that taking a fish for the table every now and then isn't a bad thing to do . I also think that Stripes could use a break from the current bad situation .

It would probably help the situation if we all released ALL legal Striped Bass for the next few months , just until the spawn is over . Every fish could matter , small or big .

Not trying to pick a fight , or raise the sand in any way - Just hoping that everyone can give it some thought before you harvest any Striper of breeding (LEGAL) size .

David

[paulegan81]

good call David........

winter stripers taste better anyways



Paul

[Tony Buzolich]

David,

You're absolutely right about releasing as many fish as possible. For the most part we do. Probably 99% or more. But once in a while I will keep one for the barbie, or if one may have taken a fly deep and is a bleeder.

Yesterday's fish were all released, but as I re-read my post I used the word "keeper" in reference to "size" not to actual "take". I will often use this term just to recognise the fish as slightly better in size. I guess I better watch my choice of words.

As for low striper counts, everyone seems to be saying the same thing. The delta this year was less than stellar. Many who posted reports about the delta complained about the lack of "bigger" fish. Bigger here I'm suggesting fish in the double digit size of 10lbs. or better.

On the same vien of thought I'm also hearing reports of all the party boats hitting the stripers harder than ever this year because they are not permitted to go after SALMON. I hear Bob Simms on the radio talking about every party boat in the bay limiting out quickly on stripers and then switching over to ....halibut? or something else to catch so as to finish off the day.

And this brings up another thought, What about the use of "BAIT" for fishing. Every one of those party boats is loaded to the max with live anchovies. Every bait fisherman in the world knows that fish will eat bait deeper and often the take ends up in the fish's stomach. And even when a "bait" fisherman wants to release an undersize fish, or throw a small one back, they have to DIG the hook out of the fish's mouth or stomach.

Any of you guys that have ever caught a bluegill on a worm know what I talking about here. Fish WILL eat a bait deeper more often than any lure or fly. And the real sad part is the fisherman ends up killing the fish that he's trying to release.

So yes, I apologize for using the word "keeper" as it was never meant to be taken literally.

[David Lee]

It wasn't pointed at you , Tony . Lots of folks here (rightfully) keep a few for the table now and again - I'm just thinking that might not be a great idea w/ the current state of the fishery .

Just a thought about the general welfare of the species . Good point about swallowed bait - circle hooks offer less damage !!

David

[matt johnson]

David, I agree. We anglers and the harvest decisions we make are about the only "tool" left for managing the CA striped bass fishery.

I fish the Sacramento River spawning run a bit, and for the most part I do not get too discouraged. Most of the guides release all the big females, and there appears to be some degree of "peer pressure" amongst them to do so.

A good friend runs part of the CDF&G creel survey. He comments that most of the guides are releasing the big fish. He says most of the people who still like to keep the big ones are non-guides, locals, etc.

However, the "spawning run" fishery seems to get more popular every year. I would love to see fewer "limits" going into the box, even if they are small males!

I have some hope that the court ordered restrictions on delta pumping are helping the stripers. According to the 2008 index, juvenile striped bass abundance increased a little. It was just a little, but that is better than another decrease!

I don't know what to do about the party boats in the bay? Hopefully the striper population will use different areas this summer....

Salmon season will likely be back on next summer, so hopefully the bay stripers will get a break then. Matt.

[Frank Alessio]

This is a no brainer.... Clearlake is the best Black Bass lake in the North State because

no one in their right mind would eat a Bass out of clearlake. Some eat Crappie and

some eat Catfish. It is a fun lake to fish and very easy to put fish back into. Now

Folsom lake on the other hand gets a pounding and when you fish it you can tell...

Catch and release gets easier every time you do it..... And then you can go out

and do it all over again......

[OceanSunfish]

River guides have been exerting some peer pressure of late amongst eachother to release female fish, etc. Still, if you do the math, (guide boat 2 to 4 anglers for 4 to 8 fish take) is a drop in the bucket compared to what the Happy Hooker/Cal Dawn, etc. gaffs fishing the rock piles on a given day in June.

I'm not trying to underscore the importance of conservancy during the spawn run, but rather just putting things into perspective.

USA Fishing website, an ardent supporter of the bay fleet, is now supporting CSPA so I hope the corner is turned in that all business enterprises that rely on the striped bass sportfishery are on board with fighting the 'good fight'.

We all need to fish with greater responsibility and respect to the fishery and we all need to unite to fight for its management and survival.

Of course, it would be a big help if they would just shut off those damn water intake pumps at Tisdale for a few days when the fish are actively spawning. It seems like common sense and you would think that DFG would be asking support for such a plan, but they've been castrated and rendered useless.

[Tony Buzolich]

Ocean?

You just brought up another good point (no pun) about the use of gaff hooks on party boats. Gaffing is the quickest way to get a fish on board the boat but with it's use there is NO such thing as catch and release. I've been on party boats (in the old days) before when everything was gaffed except for halibut and salmon. Gettum' in quick and fill the sacks, and go get some more was the attitude on board these boats. At times I remember even then thinking that "geez, that's small, throw it back". But too late, the mate would have a gaff in it without second thought.

As for the Tisdale pumps? Whew, that's an awful amount of water the rice growers and and farmers up here will scream about. And, realize too that the spawn is just about ready to start and will go through all of April and May. That's a lot more time than just a couple of weeks.

No matter how you call it, water is the life blood of everything. Nature and God only provided us with so much of it to go around. And with Cailfornia's burgeoning population increase how can nature ever expect to not suffer.

[Darian]

Tony,.... I certainly agree with the non-use of gaffs in distressed fisheries. Kinda makes you wonder where the regulators are.... Seems like this is one that doesn't require much research to see the damage caused. Of course, if AB 1253 is passed in it's present form, gaffing of any Striper caught might be required.

The prior reference to the Tisdale pumps reminded me that water usage is so integral to almost all of our agricultural, industrial and domestic activities, that any modification to allocations affects everyone.

Since we/our fisheries are directly impacted by what happens to water allocations taken from the Delta, we tend to lay the blame for those demands on developers, growers and local governments without considering the impacts on our daily lives if the current uses of water are stopped.

Some water uses are not as obvious but have great impact on how much water is pumped. For example, injection pumping for natural gas and/or oil. In this instance, water is injected into the strata (rocks/shale) under high pressure to force gas/oil out. The process is used extensively for pumping oil out of declining oil fields. If that process is curtailed, natural gas/oil production would slow or stop; raising the prices for these products or increasing demand for foreign gas/oil. Neither of which is good for reducing the need for coal fired power generation plants and keeping the cost of heating our homes, cooking or fishing trips down to a reasonable level (to name just a few).

Another example is the manufacture of the ubiquitous personal computer and all of it's components. Water is used/polluted in the manufacturing process. Yet, I hear few if any complaints from computer users about the impact on bay area fisheries of release of the polluted water by computer manufacturers in the silicon valley....

As Tony said, there's only so much water and we'd better start using it wisely for all or make some major modifications to our lifestyles and say good bye to many more water born species.

Since returning to the past is probably not realistic, I'm a believer in restoring balance to water use and not a return to the past. My only concern is that we've gone so far beyond that point that it may not be possible to bring things back into balance.

[Hairstacker]

Of course, if AB 1253 is passed in it's present form, gaffing of any Striper caught might be required.

Or hopefully they don't start looking at stripers like they're pike and we have to start cutting their heads off. In either case, I simply won't fish for them anymore. I have never kept a striper and don't plan to start.