Strange striper stomach contents - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

Steve K · 06-28-2002, 09:58 AM

I caught a striper on BI a few weeks back that had lobsters and crabs in her stomach along with a 1 lb rock. The fish must have picked up the rock accidently while going after the lobsters. Anyone else ever find a rock or something strange in a bass stomach?

hunter-gather · 06-28-2002, 10:35 AM

Yes, quite a few rocks. Isn't it amazing that even the small schoolies can have keeper lobsters in their stomach

I have seen many rocks, a bottle cap, countless rusty hooks, seaweed, kelp, lots of small shrimp, squid, herring, poge, pollock, sea perch, small tautog, eels, and many, many lobsters(they eat WAY to many lobsters, they are lobster eating machines)

IRL · 06-28-2002, 11:15 AM

how bout a 18" rainbow trout!!!1

Mr. Kav · 06-28-2002, 12:51 PM

this doesn't have any thing to do with stripers but i was fishing with a " legend " when it comes to marlin fishing and one day we hooked up with a screamer. It was obviously a huge marlin (1000lbs + ) anyway we had it on for about 20 minutes. the fish swallowed the hook and was hooked up and then all of a sudden the line goes slack and we thought we pulled the hook. we reeled in the decomposed carcass of an estimated 90 lb white marlin that the fish had inside of him. pretty crazy huh?

BassmanN · 06-28-2002, 01:11 PM

Maybe the rocks hold them down in heavy current!

hunter-gather · 06-28-2002, 01:26 PM

18" Rainbow trout! Nice....

thewaterfordstriper · 06-29-2002, 06:00 AM

i opened up a stomach and found about two pounds of seaweed. nice low-cal diet.

Slipknot · 06-29-2002, 09:33 AM

nobody mentioned a sea bass yet.

mikecc · 06-29-2002, 08:09 PM

Out of all the bass I have caught on eels I have never seen an eel in a bass's belly.

JohnR · 06-30-2002, 07:34 AM

I've caught several bass with eels in the stomach. I don't usually check what's inside and unfortunately, the bellies aren't always full to begin with...

Canalratt1 · 06-30-2002, 10:29 AM

Funny Mike I also have never saw any eels. Lobsta seems to be #1 but many fish I have caught have some rocks or gravel in them. A few issues back a guy caught a nice sized striper off the Vineyard that was loaded with gear used for Yo-yoing. What came out of the bass was amazing it was in an article from On the Water.

thewaterfordstriper · 06-30-2002, 11:52 AM

i read that too canal. i thought it was funny how the writer felt if he entered the bass in a tourney, how other people would think he was stuffing it with extra poundage.

Mr. Sandman · 07-01-2002, 08:04 AM

Bass seem to eat just about anything. I think the most common food is what ever is around. I bet we are seeing more lobsta's because there are fewer sandeels and other baitfish then in years past. Last year many of the fish I caught had small lobsta's and small rocks in side, I guess if you can digest a lobsta shell, you problaby could pass a rock. My 'roids are flaring up just thinking about that.

I have also seen windowpane (flounders), crabs, snappers, begals, small blackfish, scup and bunker in there. The strangest thing was another small bass in there. But most of all I miss the sight of a 40+ so distened and gorged with sand eels it doesn't even look like a bass. I hope those days return.
I wonder where all the bait goes? A couple decades ago I recall seeing larges schools of mullet in the surf line...when was the last time you even saw a mullet? And where are the giant schools of bunker and clouds of sand eels so thick you can nearly walk on them? IMO the bait fish is more endangered then the piping plover...I see hundreds of those birds everytime I go to the beach....

I wonder of tatoo could whip up a lobsta-plug?

JohnS · 07-05-2002, 07:29 AM

I have seen them with small green crabs in them. Intersting note, I was bringing in a small 2# schoolie one day and I saw a 20# fish right behind the one I was bringing in, it was looking for an easy meal and almost ate one of it's own.

JohnS