The stripers have changed
 

I have noticed the fish seem to be leaner than years ago. I wonder if there will ever be a striper that has enough weight gained to break the current world record. When was the last time a striper showed up net or otherwise that was over 70lbs.?

funny, though my numbers are down this year, size has been pretty good w/respect to "fatness" at least in the waters I fish.

I agree with JF - Peter Vican (sp?) caught the RI state record last year - somewhere @ 73lbs. TONS of monster fish being caught the last few years

Weren't there rumors about some monster landed down in the Chesapeake this past winter?

The fish now actually carry alot of weight and have been for as long as I can remember.

Last time I saw real skinny fish was during the summers on the outer cape. Caught many 48"-50" fish in the late 80's/early 90's that were only high 30# class fish. Also caught one that was 54" and weighed only 43#. The head on the fish was so big I put a 28# fish in its mouth head first and there was still room.

I have pic of my pb on the wall in my office and I wonder what it would have weighed with even a little bit more girth as its got no belly.

You hear people say "fix the bait" but I don't buy it. Bass will eat whatever is available. If its not bunker its something else and the fish aren't starving by any stretch of the imagination. All the bunker schools really do is concentrate the fish more, thus making them easier to slaughter once you find them.

I'm embarrassed to say it......but I agree with Jimmy, agreeing with JF,,, oh wait, does that mean I'm smooching again? twice in the same post?...:love:

Seriously though, I too, am finding the fish relatively closer in weight correlating to length....although earlier this year, I found fish feeding on a worm hatch that were quite lean, and then,, barely keeper-size fish feeding on pogies that were EXTREMELY FAT....which obviously makes sense.

What are you basing your findings on? Lotta variables in play with this type of equation.

not a rumor
it was caught and released
the location was a catch and release area.
quite a fish

I'm sure there are some cows out there

bait is a problem

Just based upon the fish I have been catching the past few years and seeing the schooling fish that are filmed by Mike Laptew (Stripers in paradise 1997 and Striper's gone wild 2005). I fished hard through the 80's into the 90's then I took several years off before I started fishing again although not as often as before or as long (16hrs. seems to be my limit now compared to 2-3 days when I was younger) and I usually only fish the tides I like now and try to avoid the weekends because the Ditch can get a little crowded.

That's Interesting, ...I actually thought most of the canal fish I saw caught earlier this year were pretty healthy looking, ie: length vs. girth, just a visual observation of course, as I didn't weigh anyone else's fish. I know it's been discussed on here before, as far as what an average length on a healthy fish should translate into poundage. ....although it's FAR from an accurate science. I was thinking due to the heavy concentration of multiple baits in the canal this year, for the duration that they were there...most fish were pleasantly plump??... Maybe I was just in the right place at the right time :confused:,,, and that's not an attack, just thinking aloud.

The smaller fish look the same it's when you get around 36ish and above that seem to be lean with huge heads that seem out of proportion. I haven't been fortunate enough this year to get above 32ish yet, in fact the season thus far has been the worst that I have ever had. The last 3 trips down to fish the ditch I got skunked, 2 trips without even a hit and I started using live eels again after my plugging and jigging were not producing like usual. And although I didn't have a line in the water the whole time, the last 3 trips totaled 46hrs with 2 hits and no fish. And to add insult to injury one trip I couldn't find my eel bag and saw my old one which unbeknownst to me had a hole in it and 10 out of 18 eels got out:realmad:.

Sounds more like you got the jinxies following you around...:hs:...I don't want to fish with you...sorry.

You might want to try tossing some chicken bones in the sand and singing an Ozzy song backwards....


T & P sent.

I have to agree with bloocrab the canal fish this year where extremely healthy and well porportioned

So far this year I haven't gotten anything over 32" (32ish because I released it) and the smaller fish looked fine, it's the larger fish that I feel are leaner than in the past. The larger fish 36" and above that I have caught in the last few years all seemed to be racers/lean as compared to lets say 10+ years ago.

Juveniles are malnourished in Chesapeake Bay due to the loss of baby menhaden because of the reduction fishery (Omega Protein' seining fishery) that has decimated the adult menhaden throughout the Mid-Atlantic.

Read "Striper Wars" by #^&#^&#^&#^& Russell. ;-)
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

The size/weight of the fish this year, as in past years, may have a direct connection to whether the net draggers had removed most of the pogies from the region in question.
If the bait is removed, the fish will be leaner and will have to work harder to food. It doesn't mean that they won't bulk up on mack, squid, sand eels or juvenile herring in the meantime but that they won't have food as readily available as when the pogie pods are in.

Tim
we haven't had pogies up here in mass but for about three years or so, pogies run in cycles....the bass are plenty fat this year...plenty of peanut bunker and sandeels and even herring...I don't know how we can blame pogie fishermen for somethingb that only started 2 years or so ago...

[QUOTE=Sashamy;779416]

Most fish I have seen this year have been nicely proportioned.

We've only taken notice of it starting 2 years or so ago.
How long have "fish oil" pills been on the market? For decades?
That's why I stated "may", "region" and "If" because not even area suffered a reduction in fish.

My comment was not accusatory, only hypothetical, which makes me wonder.... are you defending them, or have a vested interest in the fish oil market?:rotf2:

With an ever-increasing biomass of stripers, if the netting continues at the current pace, the stripers MAY not have enough food to maintain their overall health, and will probably seek out alternative food sources. That COULD account for a change between different YOY fish sizes.

Here's a hypothetical scenario:

If the pogies are netted to a point of the collapse of the region's biomass (pogies), and the stripers seek out alternate food, what kind of uproar would there be if they chose the blue crabs as their new food supply and decimate the Chesapeake Bay stocks?

I've heard if it wasn't for the Hudson river we'd barely have a striper fishery .. I don't know if that's true but, I wonder what the percentages are of fish Hudson River vs. Chespeake Bay .,, Now and years past . The latter always being regarded as the larger ,quality fish . I don't think you can measure the fishery by that blast of large that blows thru the canal every year .. Some fishing the primary holes are still doing well .. what about the secondary holes ? .

It's funny, but i've noticed that the overwhelming majority of my fish this year have been much fatter than in the past. Almost all the fattest side of the measurement/weight scale.