IEP Article on striped bass

[Dugger]

https://iep.ca.gov/Science-Synthesis...g/striped-bass

I won't bias the conversation now ... but will be interested in folks reaction after reading the article.

Doug

[Tony Buzolich]

Doug,

I don't know what you want from the guys that fish for striped bass a lot. I do fish for them a lot as do several of my best friends. The report so much says that they are in decline and it's the larger fish (females) that are primarily disappearing which in turn reduces the spawning population.

Now, we all have our own opinions about striped bass but they are in conflict with one another. Decline in salmon runs is a constant topic of discusion and it's easy to blame striped bass for that demise. Yes, striped bass do eat salmon smolt,,,,,,, along with lots of other small fish. But they are NOT the only culprit eating the smolt. I think a bigger culprit is our native PIKE MINNOW (aka squawfish) which has been established in almost every stream in the state, and most other states in the surrounding areas.

Now if you're a salmon guy you're going to blame everything you can on introduced species (striped bass) but forget about our own native culprits like the squawfish.

Then, you get the actual law enforcement people (wardens) supporting this thinking and the stripers are getting blamed again for the salmon demise. I've heard it said that certain wardens actively promote the killing of EVERY striped bass that gets caught. "Bonk them all in the head" it's said.

Then, you get another faction in the blame game with the SPEAR FISHERMEN. These guys aren't after an occassional fish dinner, they want to kill the biggest stripers they can as a trophy. These are almost ALL the females like the report says. Add to this the fact that the bigger fish contain the highest amounts of mercury and should NOT be eaton. So what do these guys do with these large speared fish? They throw them away. They can't release them again once they've been speared.

I think it's safe to say that most fly guys that fish for striped bass ALL release their bigger fish. Even more and more of the guides in our area actively promote the release of the bigger fish. The female spawners that are needed to carry on the population of this great sporting fish we've come to enjoy. And the guides know this too.

And what about the dams? Do all these dams have any affect on the reduced salmon and steelhead populations? These dams weren't native natural dams. They were put here by us which in turn blocked a lot of the salmon spawning areas and in so doing reduced their populations. But it's a lot easier to blame a non-native species than to look at our own selfs.

So, this survey thing simply supports the numbers in decline. It doesn't say it favors it. It just shows we're using up what little resources we have to enjoy. Native or otherwise.

A slot size limit for striped bass would eliminate the killing of the larger females we need to carry on the spawning population.

Just my thoughts, Tony