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This is basic population biology - there are libraries full of this stuff. The bigger fish are older, and have been tested through all the challenges life puts out, and have survived. They are the best of the best, and they are the fish you want breeding. Small, young fish consist of the good and the not so good. Each year weeds out the less fit, so each year's class of fish is more likely to be more fit than the year younger.
For striped bass, and many other fish, the biggest fish are all females, and females are more important than males (sorry guys), so there's extra reason to release them.
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