Fish Kill on Lake Cumberland

[FlyLie]

Fisherman account for less than 5% of fish kills this time of year. The Corp of Engineers kills thousands more than we ever will. Why is this a fishing board and everyone blames people for fishing. Ridiculous!

As a rule, I would not respond to a post like this, but the collective ingnorance and angrorance just just pisses me off. (forgive the sp?)

CAN YOU QUALIFY THAT STATEMENT WITH DATA???? And I assume, you do have some legitimate (research based) data to back up your off the cuff statement?

Riciculous, remember...Wolf Creek Dam is a "FLOOD CONTROL DAM"., so keep that in mind when make your judgements, as well as what we as fisherman can to do perserve the quality of striper fishing in LC.

PS, just checked your personal profile on "fishin.com and find nothing...hasn't been filled out. Just hoping your are not a regular fisherman (catcher <24 inches) on LC, just saying ! But to be fair, if you have a valid KY LIC., catch and release them little ones and long as you feel it's right. It's you legal right to do so!!

[BuckhrnBasser]

As a rule, I would not respond to a post like this, but the collective ingnorance and angrorance just just pisses me off. (forgive the sp?)

CAN YOU QUALIFY THAT STATEMENT WITH DATA???? And I assume, you do have some legitimate (research based) data to back up your off the cuff statement?

Riciculous, remember...Wolf Creek Dam is a "FLOOD CONTROL DAM"., so keep that in mind when make your judgements, as well as what we as fisherman can to do perserve the quality of striper fishing in LC.

PS, just checked your personal profile on "fishin.com and find nothing...hasn't been filled out. Just hoping your are not a regular fisherman (catcher <24 inches) on LC, just saying ! But to be fair, if you have a valid KY LIC., catch and release them little ones and long as you feel it's right. It's you legal right to do so!!

Dadburn right I have the right to do so. I hope you loose sleep at night thinking that I am catching and killing all of those fish. We should promote people to partake in fishing in this region; not disourage them from it just because a few guides might not get a 5 star rating. Fishing is recreational, and guys like you that make it commercial take all of the recreational "fun" out of the sport. Always remember, opinions are like a@@holes, everyone's got one, and some smell worse than others. And you, my friend, are telling grown people not to do something, and that is the most vile smell in America. We were founded on the fact that we dont like to be told what to do. The same applies here as well.

P.S. I have been fishing the points across from Rowena about 3 times a week early in the morning and catching non keepers like crazy on a Spook.

[apb]

...And you, my friend, are telling grown people not to do something, and that is the most vile smell in America. ....

I know this comment was not directed at me. However, no one in this thread has told anyone what they can and cannot do. All that several of us have tried to do was to supply some info so others would have a better understanding of stripers. A few like yourself seem to want to take this the wrong way or just stir things up.

Is it legal to catch and release stripers of any size right now? Yes. Is it recommended? No. Duayne spells out the reasons why not pretty well. From the reading I've done in various fisheries journals, he is 100% correct. Its posts like his that keep me reading the forums: I learn something.

Andrew

[bassmaster]

Have a question for everyone on here......honestly....have you released a keeper striper (or stripers) just so you could catch another.......Not alot of difference (they could die, the chance is there). Just saying. It's not a matter of what we "can or can not do" but what we "should or should not do" (these will differ from person to person). Excellent info Duayne...this explains to everyone why we see floaters at all times of the year (keepers and throwbacks of different species as well) Have a good one.

God Bless and Good fishing!!

Tim
bassmaster

[apb]

Have a question for everyone on here......honestly....have you released a keeper striper (or stripers) just so you could catch another.......Not alot of difference (they could die, the chance is there). ...

Yep, sure have. During the months of the year when the water temps are cool and the stripers have a good chance of surviving. During the warmer months its been catch two (keeper or otherwise) and I'm done. That is what we are talking about here: targeting stripers when the water conditions are not good for catch and release.

I have not targeted stripers at Cumberland during June-Nov for over 6 years (probably more, don't remember for sure). End of Nov thru end of May I'll target them at night with plugs/jigs. If I get a keeper that I don't think will go back, I keep it.

...Can't you just "fizz em" (what ever that is) like the bass fishermen do when pulling up lg. mouths form the deep in the heat of the summer? ...

Not as far as I know. Different species, different problem.

Andrew

[Duayne]

Have a question for everyone on here......honestly....have you released a keeper striper (or stripers) just so you could catch another.......Not alot of difference (they could die, the chance is there). Just saying. It's not a matter of what we "can or can not do" but what we "should or should not do" (these will differ from person to person). Excellent info Duayne...this explains to everyone why we see floaters at all times of the year (keepers and throwbacks of different species as well) Have a good one.

God Bless and Good fishing!!

Tim
bassmaster

No, Tim, I haven't. I have a four keeper rule on my boat, regardless of how many people are on it, unless it's just me. Then, of course, it's two. Even if I release a keeper, the fish counts. Now, this rule has never applied to non-keepers and there may have been times fish were too close to call by looking and it could have been a released keeper. I fished the spring for them with a bucktail and this is when it became very apparent there was a problem with the larger classes. So I haven't fished for them since the water temp has been higher than 65. These are my preferences and i would never preach them as rules everyone should follow. Each person has to decide what fits within their philosophy. But it's hard to apply a philosophy from two years ago to today. I don't mean to skirt the question, but we have some major concerns about the fishery and that's why we might seem a little overly touch on this. I don't personally know any long time weekend striper fishermen who are targeting stripers due to the questions with the fishery. I am certain Lance Sasser has fished for them, but I haven't seen his boat out at all in the times I've been down. This is a guide that usually fished the lake as hard as anyone and makes a living doing it. Again, I wouldn't fault anyone for fishing them as long as they understand all the factors. I probably will pick it back up in a month or so. Hey, we may be totally off on the effects of the kills the last few years. We've been holding our collective breath this year and we might just make it without a kill. But I'm taking a, "better to be safe than sorry" approach.

I did do a little pre-fishing for some buddies that were in a tournament on Cumberland my last trip down. Caught 20-30 Smallies and Ky's, mostly on top in about an hour and a half. None under 12 inches and three smallies that I'm sure would have measured along with some football Kys. One mean mouth I classed as a Ky . I had a kicker 4+ smallie at the side of the boat that got off. I know, the one that got away. I also tried for Walleye and blanked but I've never been able to figure those critters out after the spring bank bite. Anyway, I've found some other things to do when I get down there. The next trip will be a boat maintenance weekend. Fun fun..