I am SOTS: MAKE STRIPED BASS A GAMEFISH!

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by afterhours

on that mortality rate....how were they caught? bait, fly, plug....

They have tested bait and plugs. Gut hooked bait is the worse. But what really kills fish is temperature. As I recall (always iffy these days) when water temps are in the 70's almost half the fish you release probably die.

Watched a guy in the canal land a 25-30ish pound fish on a plug. He lipped that fish (plug and all) and unhooked it without ever taking it out of the water, then spent a few minutes reviving it even though it looked fresh enough to swim sooner. I was duly impressed.


Here is some stuff from another thread:

Here is a link with some data http://www.acuteangling.com/Reference/C&RMortality.html

Here is a study (FW Striped Bass) that mentions temp effects. There is a better one somewhere that I can't find.
http://web.vims.edu/GreyLit/MDNR/ftm016?svr=www