Mountable Striper

[djw2414]

What would you all consider a mountable striper? I caught one about 35lbs below wolf creek dam but let it go. It was a heck of a fight though.

[JoeB]

Here's my opinion FWIW. On the lake, that fish is definately a stuffer. But trophies are relative. I caught a 4 lb. smallmouth out of a small stream in VA several years ago and am still proud of the mount. Since, I have caught several smallmouth over 6 out of Cumb. and Dale and have never mounted any of them. While they are great fish, they're not truly special out of these lakes. (If I ever catch a 7, you can bet it's going on the wall)

Out of the river, a 35 lb fish is certainly nice, but a lot of them have been caught there. If I wanted a striper on the wall, I would definately hold out for a 40 in the river. Very attainable.:D

[cumberlandguy1]

Nice fish...I waited until I got one over 50, which I finally did, (51) caught on the main lake between White Oak and Fishing Creek.

[elnutsmalljaws]

51 on the main lake is an INCREDIBLE fish. I agree that it is all relative to where you catch it. A 35 from the lake is mountable but 40 or better from the river is where I draw the line. Still a 35 anywhere is a good fish. My best is 29 pounder from the lake for I don't fish the river.

[tglass]

a 51 is a monster out of the lake. I have caught fish up to 49 in the river but can't break the 50 mark yet. My best friend on the other had caught a 63 for his first river fish(yes the fish was caught in tenn.) and then followed it up with a 53 for his 2nd. He kept the 63 and released the 53. How long ago was the 51lber. caught in the main lake? By the way to the thought of mounting a 35 out of the river hold out for a 50 plus. I mounted my first fish which was 40 and wish i would have let it go. I have released all other which is about 10 or so over 40. i wish i could fish the river more and my numbers would go up but once or twice a year makes it rough.

[cumberlandguy1]

the 51 was caught not too long ago, July 2003...I had been told that there wasn't any left that big....but I have hooked several more that I couldn't do anything with. I was using the biggest shad I could find...10 inches and bigger.

[PRO V LE]

I sure would like to see a picture of that fish. :-)

Dave.

[cumberlandguy1]

I'll have to take a picture of the mount lol...I wore the picture out showing it off. The fish was 49 1/2 inches long with a 29 1/2 inch girth. I still have never seen one that fat anywhere else....we actually measured it 3 times to be sure we had it right. The fish was weighed about 9 hours after I caught it, so I don't know how much weight it lost, if any. Taxidermist said it was probably closer to 55 but who knows? Not sure how much weight it might have lost...any ideas?