Striped bass spawning success depends on the weather

[stripermaineiac]

wasn't this part of that study done for aqua culture for striped bass back a few years ago?Some good work but it still is a study done in a small area. Stripers spawn in a lot of places that people don't reseaech. Nova scotia and Maine being just 2 of them.Some of the down side problems are coast wide not just in the Ches-bay area.
As far as keeping a nice fish or throwing it back well the Charter industry,comercial rod n reel and netters do the bulk of the damage. Most sportfishermen don't catch squat anymore and have a limited effect as they mainly catch smaller fish.Work in a tackle shop and see how few large fish are brought in to be weighed. Not a whole heck of a lot anymore. Ron

[Clammer]

RIR

exactly the same in the winter places I fish / really noticed it last winter ..... but this year is worse .
as of right now I doubt if the end of Dec thru all of March is going to be worth going

I,m real close to selling my saltwater water gear .save some bottom stuff & a couple of setups for large bass / just in case I want to target them a few times , catching large isn,t a problem , but try & target 10" to 20 " fish .completely different story .

yea I know your all catchin a bunch of schoolies . 24" to 35" ........those arn,t schoolies ><><><<>

[MikeToole]

Of course weather plays a factor and so does many other things. There are many variable factors that can affect spawning success. The main way to over come this is to maintain the spawning stock at a level that will over come these issues.

Importance of big breeders is that they produce more egges. If only a small percentage of the fish will make it to one year old, the more eggs there are the more fish you have in the end.

If anything the posted article highlights the importance of protecting the breeding stock.