how are the stripers to blame?????

folks the stripers have been here since the late 60's, in fact they were bigger, healthier and ate alot more than their skinny puny descendants of today.

if the bass (namely smallmouth bass) fishing was ever any good on lake cumberland , and it has been from time to time.....well it has been good with the stripers swimming right along side the bass.

i would think a statement like "fish populations are cyclic PERIOD" would make more sense than blaming the stripers without ANY scientific data, studies or research to support such a statement.

with that said....i wish the daily creel limit was zero with a size limit of 1,000 inches. i love (obsessed with) those brown fish. and i too cringe when i see a striper guide, or weekend striper warrior com to the cleaning station with a 23 inch smallmouth. but i cringe just as bad when i see a tournament competitor jerk a big smallie off the nest in pumkin creek , thow it in the livewell and race to conelly bottom to the weigh in, have the chances for a successful spawn been jeopardized????? you bet.

p.s. i have been cleaning stripers for years and have never seen a smallmouth bass in the stomach of a striper.....i have seen gizzard shad that were big enough to fillet, skipjack that looked like state records, bluegill, crappie and an assort ment of everything in the lake.....except a smallmouth. so what do they do thats so bad to the smallmouth ???? bite em just to kill em and spit em out?