Stripers..Belly Up

[FlyLie]

It's that time of the year again. Went trolling on LC last evening, first time striper fishing since this spring. What a difference in the energy level of the fish. This spring, they would hit and run...run...run. Yesterday, they would hit and then just hang, a bit like a catfish.

Caught a 27 inch fish trolling a jerk bait at 20 ft. Fish was swimming when I netted him, but went belly up as soon as I put him in the live well. Caught next fish, 26 inches, trolling a swim bait at 40 feet. This fish was belly up when I got it to the boat. High water temperature (85 deg) and build up of lactic acid when the fish fights, belly up.

Point of the message is, don't cull stripers this time of the year. Catch you 2 fish limit and call it quits. Any fish you release will most likely go belly up .

[wishniwasfishn]

Boone, the stripers we catch in the potomac this time of year do the same thing, and its 2 fish over 18" limit there too. We chum for them, and a lot of people keep catching them, and you see them floating everywhere, its a shame really!

[know1]

Good advice, Gary!

Sounds like you had a successful trip nonetheless....and put some food in your freezer.

When I went last month, the water temperature was 88. I guess the rain lately has kept it a bit below that. They seemed to fight pretty hard then, though.

[Mean Morone]

Very good advice. I don't fish for stripers in the summer. I had the chance to go a couple of Sept. ago with some friends but chose not to. I was told that fish were easy to catch but when the fish came to the boat they were already dead.

[Lowerider]

Supports the old argument of catch 2 of any size and quit. I can't understand for the life of me why regs aren't changed during summer months. Weeding through 5 short fish just to catch 2 over 24 inches just kills 7 fish.

Why is it that KDFW is so slow to act on any reg changes?

Their 5 stripes over 15 inches in the C-land river limit is ridiculous.

Their no limit whatsoever commercial fishing or otherwise on cats in the OH is ridiculous.

Their year round 2 stripes over 24 inches on Cumberland is ridiculous.

Wake up KDFW! Follow the lead of your neighboring states!

I'll get off my soapbox now (for this year...again).

[Duayne]

{Helping to hold you on the soap box} The KDFW seems to think that a seasonal change in striper size on Cumberland would be too difficult for the populous to grasp. BULL! If they made the change, printed it, and posted it at the Cumberland docks as they do now with the 2/24, people would know. All people would have to do is understand the current date!

A 28-30 in winter and 18-20 in summer (mandatory take) would do wonders for the stripers in Cumberland and, mainly, would help increase the awareness of the hazzards of catch and release in the summer.

[Fishin is life]

I DONT striper fish....never have....just wondering if you could fizz them the same way you do a bass....i know we catch a lot of our fish deep in the summer and as soon as you put them in the livewell its belly up...but as soon as you fizz them and release the swim bladder they turn back over....would be a thought for somebody to try....if you're gonna keep em to eat anyway it would be worth a shot to see if you could get one to turn over in the livewell

[stripernut]

the short answer on fizzing is no....boone hit on the long answer (its lactic build up, not swim bladders, upsode down fish = dead fish.tried the fizzing in the chesapeake three years ago with a charter capt, dindt work at all

[apb]

I DONT striper fish....never have....just wondering if you could fizz them the same way you do a bass....i know we catch a lot of our fish deep in the summer and as soon as you put them in the livewell its belly up...but as soon as you fizz them and release the swim bladder they turn back over....would be a thought for somebody to try....if you're gonna keep em to eat anyway it would be worth a shot to see if you could get one to turn over in the livewell

Stripers die in warm water due to the lactic acid build up during the fight. Add the deep water affects to that and they are dead. Fizzing them will do nothing but put a hole in them.

A 28-30 in winter and 18-20 in summer (mandatory take) would do wonders for the stripers in Cumberland and, mainly, would help increase the awareness of the hazzards of catch and release in the summer.

I would go as far as one at 36 inch in winter. TN does this on Norris Lake.

Andrew

[HURRICANEBOB]

I agree with the summer thing, and for years now have avoided July, August, and early September.

During these months, I stay away from trying for linesiders, and instead move inside and work the Stripper Night Bite.

Ya know given the cost of shad if you buy them, trolling for Strippers is actually a little cheaper if you "us your own bait". I find downpooling works best, but sometimes have had luck pushing the bait to one side or the other. Offshore Planer boards cost over $20 each,. so I just use free lined $10's.

Funny thing is I used to fish under the lights, but find the Strippers prefer environment that is less well lit. I never keep any Strippers, strickly catch and release. I don't think the state has a size limit, but I never keep any over 150 pounds and always release the ones under 100 pounds.

Its best for their attitude to avoid netting, best to just hand land them, but don't try to lip them as they do have teeth. There's other methods where you can hand land them much safer.

[mhall]

Good post Gary, we can't say it enough, some will never get it, but some are still learning to.

[Mean Morone]

Norris had a reputation as being a trophy striper lake. After the state shut down the striper stocking program for 5 yrs to study the impact of stripers on other species of fish, the state put on some serious limits. They are trying to get Norris's reputation back. I know that many guides advertise that L. Cumberland is a "trophy" striper lake, but I've never gotten that impression in the 16 yrs I've fished it. It's about numbers not size. It would be interesting to see what the fishing would be like if the state adopted some serious limits like they have on Norris. I have a friend that has fished LC since before it ever had stripers in it. The stories he has told about how the striper fishing used to be are amazing. If they are true, and I believe they are, then the issues that seems to be causing the lack of trophy sized stripers in Lake Cumberland are fishing pressure and possibly the introduction of Alewife shad. You can't eliminate either one.