Small fish Survey

[JohnR]

I'm trying to see in what areas people have found very small, premigratory, striped bass. Biologist say that stripers usually start to migrate at about age 3. Three year old fish are typically fifteen inches long give or take an inch. Fish less than that are often (not always) spawned near where you would find them. Let's get a feel of the smallest stripers we've all caught and where so we can get an informal idea of what areas other than the traditional big three that these little critters may be being born in.

Smallest fish - 6 inches caught in the Housatonic river in Stratfor, CT
I've also caught several fish around 8 inches in those same waters

Many fish under ten inches caught in the Neponset River in Dorchester

A few fish under ten inches caught at Shell Point, Onset, Ma

Some fish under ten inches caught at the West Wall, Matunucjk, RI

One other place for tiny stripers but I don't remember where the heck that was ???

[Marc Z]

Funny thing you should ask John. I just recently spoke to a guide who fishes the upper CT river in Hartford area, he has fished the area his entire life and knows it very well. He just showed me a picture of a bass that he had in the palm of his hand, he is convinced that they are spawning in the CT river. The thing is though, he contacted the CT DEP and they all but called him a liar. Not sure why????
Personally I caught some very small fish here in West Haven in mid November probably 12". Smallest I have ever caught.
MZ

[Clammer]

John, east greenwich Bay and in and around Warwick ,been catching under 12" pretty steady the last year last spring we caught lots up in the providence river But the place i have seen the most and the longest even when they said stripers were gone 15 -18 years ago is the Warren river//

[Slipknot]

I have noticed some small fish also. My kids were getting some 10 - 12 inch bass at the Stonebridge entrance to Broad cove in Onset Ma. That and the ones you mentioned at Shell point makes me wonder if they are spawning in the Weweantic River. Good subject John it makes you wonder if maybe the rivers are cleaner now and the bass are taking up residence and spawning. How old is an 8 inch bass.

The Pats will find a way to lose tonight, KC just tied it up , long pass beat Law and Milloy. Loserville that's us.

There is also a holdover population in the acushnet river.

Correction Troy (my favorite player) Brown just scored to take the lead.

[STEVE IN MASS]

About three years ago in May I was at Powder Point Bridge. There were literally thousands of small stripers breaking just north of the bridge. I was getting one or two on every cast. (Diamond jig and teaser). They were anywhere from 10" - 20". After about twenty minutes, I gave it up, but could have continued for hours. Never saw so many fish in one area at a time.

[BobThomas]

John et. al.

That is interesting to know. While fishing very early this year, around Mid-May, a buddy and I tried "Oregon Beach" for the first time. My first 2 casts with a fly around a nice jetty produced 2 stripers I estimated to be in the area of 5" long. My pointer finger barely fit in they're mouths with the fly inside as well! Wonder where they could be spawning?!

Race point had a school of Striped wonders in area of 10" early June then just got bigger.

Well, back to work. Thanks for the tid-bit. Would be nice to find out where those mini micros are coming from.

Bob

[Got Stripers]

I catch lot's of 8-10 inch stripers in the North River every spring. Don't like fishing in there for that reason, mostly small rats, but if the weather is blowing and I can't get outside, I will hit the river. Early in the spring I bring along light freshwater tackle for that reason, at least I can feel them, lol.

Tight lines.

[Mike P]

John, funny you mentioned Shell Point. My buddy Brad, the Hawg Hunter man, lives about 600 yards north of Shell Point, on Agawam Beach, where there's a small tidal creek that leads up into a marsh. We've caught bass as small as a dollar bill--about 7"--from the docks around his development. I'm wondering if there isn't a small resident population of spawners in that creek.

[chris L]

I caught 1 6inch striper just inside the middle breakwall in New Haven harbor and numbers of fish in the 8 to 10 inch also in New Haven harbor . Goes to show how ignorant the DEP can be . I bet there are stripers spawning in the Ct river and the Housatonic river as with the Thames if they will winter there they must be having babies . Just my opinion .

[GaryK]

About 6 years ago I caught a small six inch striper about two mile down from the Enfield dam. Got another this spring, same size, right at the dam. Funny thing is they hit a plug that was bigger than them. They're pretty cute when they are that small...kinda like the size of a beanie baby!

This summer, while throwing willow leafs for Hickories in Niantic Bay for bait I caught a striper that was about 8 inches long. That was in August.

I was at a CT Surf Club meeting a few years back and I brought up the topic of these small striper in the CT during the Spring. There was a DEP guy there who look at me strange. Someone had told me that if the DEP recognizes that the CT River is a spawning ground for stripers, it would be re-classified. Either I didn't ask him what he meant by that or I forgot what he told me. But I am convinced they spawn there.

Anyone?: Are rivers that are identified as spawning grounds classified somehow and what does that mean?

[JohnR]

They say that a fish "may" make its first migratory run at two to three years old at the earliest. Now a 12" fish could be on its first real migration or it could be in the areas near where it was spawned. But fish shorter than that up to say 8-10 inches are most likely pre-migratory fish. Fish 8 an under are almost certainly (I am no marine biology expert - that's based on books and the web) being landed in the area they originated. I have caught fish around 8 inches in cold, miserable Massachusettes. It seems they are locally produced fish. Some of these fish have been caught very early in the season as well. It is interesting that many of you are coming across tiny fish in other parts of New England too. It is also not suprising that the local DEP says that you are full of #$%* :P ...

I was just thinking about how a couple years ago when I repeatedly caught my smallest stripers (at least since I was a little kid on the Chessapeke ) from 8 down to 6 inches on the Housy... And I wouldn't say large numbers but maybe as many as 40 fish from around 2-12 inches in mass waters for the last couple years. Could they be from local spawnings and are the numbers big enough to be meaningfull ??

Slip, an eight inch bass should be one to two years old if I remember correctly. Oh, and I still have heartburn from anxiety that the Pats sitting on a two td lead, possesion of the ball, with only 3.5 minutes left last night , would find a way to cough up the ball and the game, to the Chiefs. I was ordering my finger to push down the "OFF" button the remote but some subconcious subroutine in my brain would not allow my finger the force to depress the button. Not beacuse it was interesting, but maybe for fear of jinxing the team ??? I NEED HELP!!! PATS/BRUINS/REDSOX FAN IN DESPERATE NEED OF PROFESSIONAL HELP (I gave up on the Celts when Reggie died)

[Slipknot]

That's a good one John - Jinx them-. At least they went for it a couple times on fourth down unlike earlier in the season when they had no identity.. I just wish the sox kept the the yankees from getting Mussina.

Maybe next year my goal should be to catch the smallest bass I can, I haven't had much luck landing any large.

[JohnS]

Have caught a bunch of stripers in the 6" range while perch fishing the past couple of years in the CT. River.
They mix in with the white perch and we have caught a bunch of them. I think there are fish that spawn in the river. It is known that they do winter over. So why not?

JohnS

[JohnR]

Slip, DID you really need to mention Mussina or the Yankees ? Come on now!! That gets me temper up and my face reddens!!! The Sox could have had him if Duquete didn't act like the headmaster at a leper academy!!! 'Ole Georgie wined and dined Mad Mike into going to the Bronx. So, instead of having a Martinez/Mussina 1-2 punch, it looks like we're back to Pedro and holding ones breath for the next 4 starts. Now for NY to have Mussina, Pettit, The Ageless Cuban Wonder, and the Rocketbat, its just too nasty to contemplate. >(

Did you know that the Yankess had $100mil in broadcast dollars this year? Compared to the BoSox's $10mil ?? It gets worse, the sox stay at $10 and the Yanks go to $$$150,000,000 ... >( sickening...

Gary, how are you? Long time no speak... I think you are right. If the CT DEP had to enact protection of spawning grounds to some of those rivers, they'd be screwed. Imagine if they had to accelerate cleanup and resource plans for those rivers, knock down a couple damns, retool a couple factories.

It would be really something though if the stripers really started to produce some real numbers of fingerlings in many Northeast rivers... Does anyonme know if the Thames is considered a spwning ground??

Thanks,

John

[Slipknot]

OOPS, sorry

[Patrick]

I've gotten some really small ones. One of the smallest ones I've gotten was 4 inches. That was on a shad dart.

Most the fish I see caught are just big enough to take a small chunk.

Every few weeks we see a few that take large chunks or heads. Heads are the best.

Hey John, why does it say, "Your email has already been taken" when I try to put "Stripersonlinerules@hotmail.com"? I know it's been taken, by ME!

[JohnR]

How many aliases do you have :P - I'll look tonight and find out...

[Vision]

Hi John! I've caught a lot of small fish in early spring in the Weweantic, as well as Onset, Shell Point and Butermilk Bay! IT seems to me they are always in the skinny water feeding on shrimp!