Lake Cumberland slot limits for Stripers

Just wondering what you guys thought about a slot limit for Lake Cumberland Stripers?
This lake in Virginia had one after a huge fish kill in 2002. Would this help Cumberland grow regular 40# or
would it be a useless regulation with no added benifits?



Smith Mountain Lake Regulations

Striped Bass

June 1 - October 31

2 per day


November 1 - May 31

2 per day 26 inch - 36inch protective slot limit (all striped bass caught between 26
and 36 inches must be immediately released unharmed, fish under 26 inches and over 36 inches may be creeled)

2015 slot limits will be increased to 30" to 40"

I just wonder if the way the stripers seem to die fast after being caught if this would make any difference. It is something to consider though. Have you seen any info on how it is doing in Virginia?

Catch and release can be successful during their slot season. And the size limit addresses the fact that the larger the fish, the more prone to dying during catch and release.

You have to read into the regs to see what management is trying to accomplish. In this case, they are looking to increase the number of quality fish. They are probably over stocking and creating a large amount of smaller fish that can be taken for food fair. They address the issue of summer catch and release issues by allowing any size to be taken. Most would probably throw back anything under 16 inches which would probably be OK, but it doesn't hurt if they don't. Then they protect the quality size fish during the slot season, while asking you not to release a trophy, as it probably wouldn't survive catch and release at any time.

As for Cumberland, my worry is with the over abundant bait population. I figured they would raise the size limit back up this fall but they didn't. I think Cumberland could use something similar to these regs, but the problem is culture change with the guides. They expect to send bags of fish home with every customer and that doesn't have to be the case.

If there is a possibility of fish being stunted due to poor water quality, then nothing will help. Those fish will have to die off or be taken and be replaced with stocking and hopefully the size of fish will increase because of better water quality and the abundance of shad. We will know in a couple of years if these fish were stunted or not.