excessive striper dinks in C-land?

[Lowerider]

Anyone else notice or having the same problem of having to go through 2-3 short fish before you get a 24 incher in C-land? I've noticed over the last two years and heard of more short fish being caught than ever before. I guess that's good for the future but it's really ending the excitement of lake fishing for me.

I'm hearing the same ratio from several people. One guide out of GHD this Friday caught 25 stripes with 9 making it over the 24'' mark and big fish went 15 lbs. Now that's a great day in anybody's book so don't get me wrong but what's up with all the short fish? Anyone aware of them stocking an extraordinarily hight number a couple years back? I just wonder if it will hurt the over all quality in the future.

[apb]

Have noticed the same thing. Several really small ones, like under 12 inches too. The only difference in stocking that I have heard was that the numbers have been down the last few years due to the lower lake level.

Andrew

[stripernut]

there are too many 23.5 inchers too count, and 10 times as many 16 inchers. up until last yr the only time we caught excessive amounts of short fish would be the month after stocking. now the unofficial count is about 18 shorts per keeper, this is on live bait. we only use circle hooks so the mortality rate is very very low on the shorts, but this will change as the water warms up.... i will quit for the summer when they start dying and would hope the ethical fiisherman doesnt have a trail of dead shorts behind his boat either. im like you, hopefully next yr willl be a bumper crop

[mhall]

I've caught a bunch of shorties this year fishing for bass. Alot of them seem to be 18 to 22 inches, with alot of them being about 22 inches and a little change. Couldn't keep them off a jerkbait earlier this year.

[Embrey]

is it true a lot of them die just by catching them? i have no idea,i just heard that somewhere

[BKGOOCH]

same here probly 5 shorts to 1 keeper,also the shad never seem to near as many as years past.

[mhall]

is it true a lot of them die just by catching them? i have no idea,i just heard that somewhere

Embrey it is all relative to water temps and depth. Sometimes if they have a long fight from very deep water it will kill them. But mainly water temps are the issue. Once water temps get above 72 degrees or so the stripes become stressed during the fight and can die. Release them quickly and handle them cautiously helps alot. The warmer the water gets the worse the mortality rate goes up.

[tracker18]

10 to 1 this past weekend. 2 under 12". Never seen so many short fish.

[HURRICANEBOB]

Was having the same thing happen to me, and have just decided to run boards and down rods deeper, and fish somewhat farther out from the shorelines. Another thing I've done is go to larger live baits whenever they are avaialble, and stayed clear of the threadfins. Bad news is I've gotten fewer hits, but they do seem to be a little bigger when they do.

Not a 100% cure, but on average size increased.

I guess the good news would be there has to be a lot of small ones now for their to be alot of big ones later....right?

Other thing I wonder about, remember how stressed the lake was last year with heavy August rains that drove the surface temps up and bottom temps up as they pulled water off the dam?
Do ya all think we are just now maybe seeing the results of senior fish population mortality from that?

[stripernut]

hey hurricane noticed the same thing about the slightly bigger fish being out over the channels for 2 days in a row, and then somebody told the shorties where i was....nothing but shorts this morning, never got closer than 150 yds to the bank.....wearin me out. all i use is the biggest alewives i can net, the shorties just kille em. there were alot of adult fish in december which was great to see because i was worried about the stress/mortality after such hot and low oxygen water all fall. i know the lake is a mess but i am glad to see all this fresh water.

[peter]

I agree. Last Oct, Nov and Dec fish in the 30-35" range were showing up with a good deal of regularity and obviously that means they survived the stress of the summer. Threadfin were all over the place in the creeks. How many adult fish died, if any--who knows.

Has the forage balance of threadfin and alewife changed? I am seeing and netting a lot more threadfin now. Not that I can make any conncetion there to explain the shorty connection.

If somebody has the time contact fish and wildlife and let us know what you find out. I am sure they have been shocking on a regular basis down there.

[mhall]

That lake has always had a healthy threadfin population but I agree with Peter, the last couple of years the threadfin population had just exploded, there are billions of those things in that lake now, wonder why??????????????????