Questions for Spear fishers:

[Darian]

What do you (spear fishers) do with the Striped Bass that you catch?? Do you eat the larger fish or dispose of them otherwise?? If your choice is otherwise, what are those uses???

[SeanO]

What do you (spear fishers) do with the Striped Bass that you catch?? Do you eat the larger fish or dispose of them otherwise?? If your choice is otherwise, what are those uses???

Not sure they frequent this forum, D, but hopefully they utilize the resource in a sustainable manner.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

They still shoot lion, hippos, elephants, giraffe......?

[gene goss]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...3446/table/T6/

Maybe we should be educating the public about the size of the fish does matter for mercury contaminant levels.......maybe a article in the Sacramento Bee about contaminant levels in large stripers would help educated the public about eating large stripers. hmmmmmm

[winxp_man]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...3446/table/T6/

Maybe we should be educating the public about the size of the fish does matter for mercury contaminant levels.......maybe a article in the Sacramento Bee about contaminant levels in large stripers would help educated the public about eating large stripers. hmmmmmm

Wish it where that easy! People in the world really are that ignorant to where they would tell you that you don't know crap even with proof! Sad really! Then again out there they probably really trying to wipe out the stripers to get to the water in the rivers! Man these subjects sure do piss me off!

[STEELIES/26c3]

There actually was a full multi-page spread article in the SAC BEE on mercury levels in California game fish. I believe that was back in 2006 and there have been other, lesser articles in other newspapers/other media outlets.

[Darian]

to try to get an idea of what the use of larger Stripers is, not to stir up more debate.

I'm only interested in finding out how many of these fish end up on the table or in some other use. Personally, I wouldn't eat any Striper I caught but every day Stripers are on the menu in this area, sometimes in restaurant menus illegally. Are they speared, netted, etc.???

Agreed the number of spearos frequenting this BB may be small but from past threads and people I've met, I know there're lurkers/members of this BB community that are spearfishers as well as being gear and/or fly fishers. I'm hopeful, they will respond.

[Rockit]

I'll chime in opinion even though I don't shoot anymore, and have never done freshwater.
15 years ago I was extremely active hunter in the salt. 2-3 times a month minimum..sometimes a ton more.

I did not know anyone that would shoot a fish simply for the trophy pic. I would (like to) assume the general ethics of the spear community has not changed so much in that time that it would be common practice to throw your kill away. I'm guessing most people eat what they take.

[Rockit]

They still shoot lion, hippos, elephants, giraffe......?

Usually all of the meat is given to the locals to consume.

[winxp_man]

So poison people with mercury? Haha...
I don't care for anyone willing to kill a fish that is a trophy fish size! Let them go to breed. Keep the smaller fish to eat. But this is just me and maybe I'm weird. But I don't care.