excessive striper dinks in C-land?

[Tim_T]

Just thinking outside the box...has anyone thought that perhaps the reason why you're seeing less and less of the larger sized stripers might be due...in part...to that fact that whenever you catch one of them you put it in your livewell and add to the mortality rate of that particular size of fish?

As a bass angler it never ceases to amaze me that a guy can complain about the lack of "size anymore" when he'll be the first to tell you he will take his legal limit of LM or SM home to eat. My response to his complaint...well DUHHH!!! The bigger fish are no longer in the lake...they're in your belly!!

So taking a stocked fish that doesn't reproduce and putting it in the live well has reduced the population? Well of course, those are probably fish that were going to spawn in Lake Cumberland!!!

The "I am more sportsmen than you are" attitude by some blows me away. The fish are put in there to catch and if they meet the requirements, keep if you like. Jeez, comparing native smallmouth and largemouth to stocked stripers that wouldn't exist there otherwise is like comparing apples to footballs!

[apb]

So taking a stocked fish that doesn't reproduce and putting it in the live well has reduced the population? Well of course, those are probably fish that were going to spawn in Lake Cumberland!!!

The "I am more sportsmen than you are" attitude by some blows me away. The fish are put in there to catch and if they meet the requirements, keep if you like. Jeez, comparing native smallmouth and largemouth to stocked stripers that wouldn't exist there otherwise is like comparing apples to footballs!

Actually, the post you refer to noted the size of the fish, not the total population. I agree, if you release stripers during the cooler months, then you should expect to see some larger fish in the lake. If you keep every one that you are allowed to keep, then they will not have the chance to grow to larger sizes. Also note that there is some natural reproduction of stripers in the lake. I wonder what affect the lower water levels have on that? From what I have heard, prior to the dam issues, it varied from year to year. Some years there was no reproduction, other years something like 20%.

How different was the river fishery of the Cumberland before it was dammed to now? Like would you have had smallies and largemouth in good numbers in the lake? Just asking cause I'm sure the dam has changed a lot of things for a number of species (river walleye, for example).

Andrew

[peter]

It is very possible the lower water levels have had an effect on spawning (I think). I haven't been up there but I have read some post on here saying that the South Fork of the Cumberland was more like it was before the dam or more like a river with boulders and stuff. If in fact the South Fork and maybe the Rockcastle are more like rivers now because of the elevation change of the lake relative to the elevation of those rivers (the lower lake levels are much more dramatic on the upper end of the lake) there would be more current and current is what is needed for the striper eggs to hatch. On top of that add the rainey springs we have had this may make for even more current at spawning times in the upper end.

Holding the lake at 680 makes the lake "more" like a river, water just passes through like it does on a river. They haven't let the lake back up (increase in elevation) as they normally did with the exception of a few times. It also makes the Cumberland River more like a River, High in the spring, low in the summer.

I have also been hearing of many people catching 6, 7 10, 20 of these 16 inchers in a day. I don't remember often hearing of folks catching those numbers of fish in the sizes we used hear about 9, 10, 12, 16 pound fish so maybe it follows there are many more of those smaller fish. I would guess this is true or the small fish have gotten dumber, or fishermen have gotten smarter but not smart enough to catch a big one.

When stocking is added to reproduction what does this do to the older larger striper's eating patterns and preferences. That may be basic fishery biology, I don't know.

This just came to mind. The stripers I used to catch at McAlpine dam on the Ohio were larger than that of Cumberland lately. It used to be skewed way the other way by a very large difference. It was explained to me by a fish and wildlife biologist that the fish on the river did not get very big because the water was the same temp from top to bottom and once it reached 82 degrees the larger fish stopped eating. 30 days of this and they die off. I could be wrong and I could check but I don't remember there being 30 days starting in mid August when the fish were forced to live in water that warm (30' to the surface) because of the lack of oxygen below that level. ...hoping the majority survived.

If some body calls fish and wildlife to see that they have been shocking up please post what you find out here. I have subscribed to this thread and get an email notification when a new post is made and would very much like to know. That's a handy feature if you haven't used it yet

I took a stab. If any body figures it out please let us know.

[PRO V LE]

If these numbers of small Stripers are indeed natural spawn lake fish then we are watching history before our eye's.
And do not think that there are still not 42"-44" fish still being caught
I also beleive you will see fishing methods change this year from the past.
Learn and adapt!

[mhall]

I am primarily a bass fisherman, a decent one at times, lol. I also love to fish for the stripers during the night bite and will target them casting early in the year and then in the fall when the jumps start to occur. I have learned most of what I know from Andrew, (apb) and he has been an excellent teacher. I'm getting better and learning more every year. Since the lake has been held at the 680 target there is no doubt the bite has changed. It's not as predictable and is ever changing. The night bite is sporadic and overall not as good as the years prior when the lake was at normal pools in my opinion.

This year has been weird, every time and I mean everytime this spring that I have went bass fishing I have caught stripers. Mostly shorts but quite a few keeper sized from 25 to 27 inches and a little change. One day Andrew and I was bass fishing and we couldn't get the stripes to quit hitting our jerkbaits. I had a 27 inch in the morning with several shorts and later in the day with Andrew I had another 27 inch, a 25 inch and again several shorts. He also had several shorts as well that afternoon. My point is I don't remember ever catching stripes during the daylight hours with bass baits so easily and so frequently as it has been this year. I'm certainly not complaining but it just seems weird, and it sounds as if everyone has been doing the same.........There is no doubt this has been an different year in my opinion.

[HURRICANEBOB]

Just some thoughts:

Big Stripes like cooler water. Threadfin like water warmer than Alewives, but cooler than gizzards. So maybe there's more day time shortie Stripe action is because the threadfins stay up, and thats bass spinner bait depth.

Maybe the threadfins population has exploded in part due to more warm water last year. Maybe thats why we all saw the crazy amount of thredfins in teh back of the creeks. But that was a good thing cause the Stripers found them back there and most folks I heard from had a blast in the shallow water. I know I did.

Maybe with more thread fin, that like to get close to the surface, we'll see even more surface action as this fall arrives. I love jumps, and don't mind a bit catching shorties when they are blowing up. Adrenaline rush!

Lots of you all are more experienced with the lake than me. I agree it seems things are changing. But I like the variety, love the surface bite, love cornering fish back up in a creek, and really don't mind NOT having to chase all over heck and back to try to find stupid alewives at 90 feet, when I can find threadfins at 20 feet with Stripers hot on their heals.

Since threadfin slow down and die off in real cold weather, think about how many big boy Stripers are just going to gourge themselves this fall when the little thredies start to struggle and slowly sink. I bet a bunch of the shorties this year put on a beer gut over the winter

Do ya really mind drinking to 12 ouncers, when one 16 ouncers is not available?

Last time I player poker 4 fives, beats 2 tens.

[stripernut]

hey bob i like the way you think, BUT one 30 beats 4 fives...hahaha.