The idea that a 40-pounder has less viable eggs than a 15-pounder has been circulated for years. It's become like an urban myth with no scientific evidence to back it up, but it continues to be told. One point not mentioned in this thread is the shear number of eggs produced by 40-pounder, compared to a 15-pound bass. One study counted 200,000 eggs produced by a 15-pound bass, while the 40-pound bass produced 2 MILLION eggs.
Download this PDF document if you've got some time to read:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/state_f...opulations.pdf
"...Population projections for the next decade indicate that striped bass stock abundance and biomass could be maintained near present levels (i.e., those in 2000 ) if fishing mortality rates do not exceed F=0.4. However, fishing mortality rates higher than 0.25 will result in a reduced proportion of older fish (age 10 and older) in the population and a decline in spawning stock biomass. As fishing mortality is increased, the age structure of the spawning stock is progressively shifted towards younger spawning fish.
Research on striped bass and other species indicate that spawning of smaller and younger fish is significantly less successful than older, more mature individuals. At fishing mortality rates greater than F=0.25, there is a heightened risk of reduced recruitment in the stock due to greater reliance on younger spawners."
More in Here:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/state_f...01biennial.pdf
www.fws.gov/northeast/fisherycenter/ bioactrep/01bioactrpt.pdf
coopunit.forestry.uga.edu/ FORS8390/Documents/example1.pdf
Hybrid Mode
