*sigh* There is no blame to anyone here. I defend the tourney guys who carry bass around in a hot livewell all day just to weigh them and release them just as I do someone's right to go out and catch and release small Cumberland stripers on top. It's legal so that's what I support. As with the small stripers and the bass, some make it some don't. Normally, it's not that big of a deal with Cumberland stripers. But just as with the tourney guy who says all the bass from the hot livewell will make it is falsely qualifying non-fact, it's equally non-fact to assume that a striper of any size this time of year caught by any method will swim off and be a happy, living camper. I think StriperNut's 20% is off slightly this time of year. With the stripers seaking 60 foot plus water, I would estimate the die rate at 40% or higher regardless of top water or deep. There is a reason they are that deep, and even the smaller ones have to go there for comfort. That means they have to work that much harder to surface feed.

I've been fishing Cumberland since I was a kid. I've been fishing for stripers since I was old enough to buy my own bait tank. I'm now 49. I wish I had a nickle for every minute I've spent reading about, studying, experementing and fishing for stripers. I wish I had a nickle for every nickle I've spent on boats, equipment, gear and tackle used to chase them. If I added it all up, I'd be sick today because I'd probably have enough money to retire early. I'm not unique in this at all and I bring it up only to point out how deeply I care for this fishery. There are a lot of people who have a life long passion with Cumberland striped bass. Right now, many of us are worried sick over the affects the draw downs have had on the striper population. While I have no scientific facts to back up the point, it seems quite obvious by the un-even catch rates that the mature populations on Cumberland have suffered greatly with the last two summer fish die offs. So I'll not appologize for posting over and over that preserving these smaller classes is key to the future of the Cumberland striper fishery. If people do not wish to read it, I highly suggest you skip my posts on it. But it's my personal experience that if I feel someone else has stepped on my toes, I probably did something to put my feet in the wrong place.