Stripers..Belly Up

[Bobby Headrick]

While on the subject of the KDFW and DNR, they also need to look at illegal aliens fishing and catching and keeping short fish and also disregarding all rules that we as tax paying citizens have to abide by. They need to patrol more espically at Rochester dam on the Green, they stack up there and keep everything they catch including short stripers hybrids bass ect, there is also the same problem problem at the Barren river splillway with the Amish, I ahve witnessed them snagging hybrids and paying no attention to ant size limits, they do the same on the lake, keeping all they catch, and I ahve reported this several times and all they say is that it is a touchy situation, but if I am caught with a short fish or snagging they would fry me. Also does anyone know how an illegal can get a fishing licence as they have no ss#, I had to give my SS# to get a trout stamp, these actions by certin groups also lead to the demise of our fisherys and the KDFW does nothing. Any one know why and is there a gamewarden that looks at this site please chim in.

[riverrat12]

While on the subject of the KDFW and DNR, they also need to look at illegal aliens fishing and catching and keeping short fish and also disregarding all rules that we as tax paying citizens have to abide by. They need to patrol more espically at Rochester dam on the Green, they stack up there and keep everything they catch including short stripers hybrids bass ect, there is also the same problem problem at the Barren river splillway with the Amish, I ahve witnessed them snagging hybrids and paying no attention to ant size limits, they do the same on the lake, keeping all they catch, and I ahve reported this several times and all they say is that it is a touchy situation, but if I am caught with a short fish or snagging they would fry me. Also does anyone know how an illegal can get a fishing licence as they have no ss#, I had to give my SS# to get a trout stamp, these actions by certin groups also lead to the demise of our fisherys and the KDFW does nothing. Any one know why and is there a gamewarden that looks at this site please chim in.

BIG DITTO on that Bobby, I was checked three times at Mcalpine the last two weeks by the DNR and I told them about the very same problem we have at the upper dam. Illegals are everywhere up there netting and keeping everything, not to mention peeing allot of my friends off up there trying to catch fish legally, they said they would check it out....never saw them go anywhere near them

[jfw]

It's funny on the hybrids we catch at McAlpine hardly ever die when we release them in the summer ,I suppose it's because they are caught in shallow water ?

[nightbasser73]

Bringing back the big stripers is easy!!! All ya gotta do is stop the live bait and the big fish will be back in 5 years!! My fishig partner has fished for them since the 60s and won a couple of the striperama tourneys they had here. Fished with doll flys and red fins the whole time he has fished for them. Started going down hill when everyone went the easy route and started using live bait for them

[mhall]

It's funny on the hybrids we catch at McAlpine hardly ever die when we release them in the summer ,I suppose it's because they are caught in shallow water ?

Hybrids can take the heat and stress much much better than the Rockfish or TRUE striper. Two very different animals.

[peter]

I think the hybrids are much more tolerant of warm water. That's whay they stock them in some of the shallower lakes.

[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 .

WOW! and WOW!!!....has this thread gone around the world in terms of comments. Never expected such a response .

Keep the positive and constructive comments coming...
Thanks,
Gary

[Duayne]

As the others have said, Hybrids are more tolerant to warm water conditions due to their white bass parent who has adapted to fresh water. Part of the warm water conditions include a lower dissolved oxygen level that is associated with warmer lake water. Warmer, slow moving water is less dense than cold water, thus retains less dissolved oxygen. Salt water is the same in being more dense like colder water, thus holding more dissolved oxygen, which is where true Stripers come from. Water movement in rivers helps dissipate heat and collect minerals that help keep it more dense like salt water. Rivers, especially below dams, will have a higher oxygen level because of this increased water movement so there is less of a chance of lactic acid build up to the point of being fatal in these waters.

Something else to keep in mind is, stripers will usually swim off and seem fine but will enter a paralyzed state after a short time. They will first sink and many do not go, "belly up" on the surface.

So those thinking, "well my fish always swim off so these guys don't know what they are talking about or don't know how to release fish" need to reconsider your position on the topic. Lactic acid buildup is a very real condition that is deadly to certain fish. It is a condition that even humans experience when fatigued, but not to the state of it being fatal.

[mhall]

Duayne makes a good point. I have had many people say to me ''Well if so many stripers die then why don't I see them floating everywhere.'' I read once that some Biologists believe that as many as 40% of dead stripers sink to the bottom and are never seen by the human eye.

[stripernut]

right on target duane, i like catching stripers...but..if and when the "limit" legal striper hits the net he's in the cooler and the rods are reeled up and its off to the smallmouth banks. in the back of my mind i always wonder if the striper i release is sinking like a dead submarine, just dont want to take that chance. now off the subject...while striper fishing tuesday morning we caught a 14 lb bluecat and tossed him in the cooler with the stripers, all the fish were iced down while other business called us away, 2 hrs later when we returned to clean the fish the cat was still very alive, heck with hybrids...i say we cross stipers and blue cats, they will live forever and get up to 100 lbs!

[PRO V LE]

Stripernut, are you sure it was a Blue cat? The KDFWR say that there are no Blue's in L. Cumb. just channels and flatheads.

[waterdog101]

Stripernut, are you sure it was a Blue cat? The KDFWR say that there are no Blue's in L. Cumb. just channels and flatheads.

I don't fish for cats very often, with rod and reel. but before they dropped the water in lake cumberland. sometimes when I go smallmouth fishing at night. I set a few limb lines for cat fish, to take home and eat. I'll smallmouth fish about 2 hours and then go and shine a spot light on my limb lines. and I have caught a lot of blues over the years. nothing big all 10 lb or less. but just right for eating. but you can be sure their are blue cats in cumberland lake. unless I caught the last one, before the water dropped to low for limb lines.