What to do! What to do!

[PRO V LE]

A guide takes his party out early in the morning on the big C. and they are all limited out at 5:15am with stripers. They have been on the lake less than 2 hours. This was a hired Striper charter.

[motalot]

You load the cooler up and go visit all your friends!

[MagikSmallie]

You keep on fishing for the alotted time and practice catch and release after your limits are met. Unless your just meat fishermen and don't want to fish for fun. I've had this happen with walleye charter's on lake Erie, we caught our limit (6 of us) in less than an hour and a half. we kept of fishing just for fun for the rest of our half-day trip.

[Trophycats]

Was it stipulated when you booked the trip that the trip would be over when you got your limit? As a professional guide, and I am sure Dave Stewart will attest to this fact, both the guide and client have to be clear as to what the day will entail, what is expected of each. I guide for Trophy Sized catfish, and I make it clear to my clients that we will fish as long as we can for a big cat. Sometimes that comes early in the morning, but since we are catch/release then we continue fishing to see if we can do a little better. But regardless the client/guide have to be on the same sheet of music. It makes for a much better trip, and also for more repeat clients and clients from word-of-mouth. But if the guide made it clear that the trip would be over, as soon as the limit was reached, then I see no reason for the client to be disappointed. Maybe the guide was worried about killing any additional fish, due to the heat and taking them from deeper water. I am not a striper fisherman by any means but I have read some posts on here, where it is crucial to be careful of them in the hotter months. Just my humble opinion. Warren

[Duayne]

Water is now too warm for catch and release of keeper sized stripers. Probably even too warm for those under the limit as well.

[mhall]

Water is now too warm for catch and release of keeper sized stripers. Probably even too warm for those under the limit as well.

Beat me to it Duayne.

Hey Dave, you go back to that nice trailer of yours get out of this unreal heat and take a nap, you retired rascal you, lucky dog. And when you get up drink some beer and cook something on the grill.

[apb]

Most, if not all, striper guides on Cumberland say you get 5-8 hours or your limit, which ever comes first. A big part of that may be due to catch and release not being an option as Duayne pointed out. I know there are a few guides that do multi-species trips. In that case, after limited on stripers, switch to the other species.

Andrew

[JUSTINHALL]

Unfortunately virtually all striper guides policy is till 2:00 (what ever time may be) or until limit is caught. The guides don’t allow catch and release after the limit has been caught. Catch and release for stripers is frowned upon by a lot of people during the summer months. They would get a lot of flack from other guides and co-anglers if they did it.
Unfortunately they only got to fish for a few hours but fortunately they did get their limit. More often than not guys hire a guide and don’t catch their limit, but sat on a boat in the sun all dayfor 1 fish. Not knocking guides that is just the way it is with stripers.
So the question of what to do: Thank your guide for helping you catch your limit.

[aceoky]

I know there are a few guides that do multi-species trips. In that case, after limited on stripers, switch to the other species.

That was my "first thought" as well, I wonder though, say you hire for stripers get your limit and then go after walleyes (for an example I know many guides do both) do they charge extra for that or.........????

[justlookingn]

I would tip him an extra hundred bucks and ask him politely if he was booked for tomorrow.

[PRO V LE]

It was a guide that posed this question to me. As noted above C/R of Stripers is not possible. I think he felt bad but had no other option than to quit with a boat limit.

[creeker]

I think if there's no agreement stated ahead of time that the trip would be x time or a limit, whichever came first; the guide could have offered a different choice of doing something else. I probably wouldn't have offered up more striper fishing, but might have thrown out bass, or maybe even redears; or even a trip to the dam or some other feature and back. But part of that also takes a good read on the clients. If I had driven multiple hours to come down to fish stripers and was done after 2 hours, I probably would have felt like I wasn't getting my money's worth. Especially if it was my first time, I'd think that every guide could do that and he was just trying to rush us off. But if I was local and had been several times, I might have appreciated being done so soon.