The Stripers have been from around the power lines to the dam. We have put 40+ in the boat since Friday. Now not all of them were keepers but 2/3's of them were largest 14 pounds most 7-9 pounds. 9 Friday 18 today and 16 Saturday. Trolling GREEN BUCKTAILS with green worms 1 1/2 oz. Most of them were deep nothing less than 22 feet most 25-32 feet deep, both lead core and downriggers. There was a massive school at Eastland today around noon as soon as it clouded up.

Great report wish I could have been in the boat with you! Lost a big one today at Jordan Lake around 30" or larger real nice. Got off at the boat!

Thanks for the positive comment and sorry about you losing the nice one at the boat Sea.

Thanks for the report JRS, wish I could have had the new boat out there with you!

JRS,

Every striper you catch this time of year is a keeper (until October 1). You're supposed to keep your limit (4 per person) then quit fishing. Every one you throw back during the summer has a slim chance of survivng the release, so when you catch more than your limit, you're really killing more than your limit. Check the regulations.

It's everybody's choice whether to keep or release. The Game Law book doesn't say you're "supposed to" stop fishing after you catch/keep your limit, but most feel that everyone should keep the limit, regardless what size of fish and then either stop fishing or fish for another species. Even if the book said you're supposed to, it still wouldn't mean you had to. This is a personal, ethical decision that must be made by the individual fishing at any given time. I don't feel it's fair to criticize anyone that is legally fishing (license bearer) for their actions within the law. Just my .02

Not criticizing anybody. The regulations changed this year, so everybody might not know. The rules are in place to help sustain and improve the fishery. So, in the interest of the fishery stopping after the first four is the way to go.

Not to highjack a good fishing report but:

Just based on the large number of dead striper I saw on the water Sunday, I would agree that keeping the first four is the best way to go until the water starts to cool down some more. Water temps were low 80's then.

Not saying they were all dead due to throw backs (some were nice sized fish), but the heat is putting the fish under a lot of stress just going about their daily business, and fighting puts them under more.

If you must catch and release, use heavy gear to get them in quick, light tackle fishing is a killer in hot water.

If you catch them by accident (bassing, catting, whatever), please keep them as well. Better to give them to friends or eat them yourself than have them rotting all over the lake.

Anyway, good to hear they are out there in good numbers and congrats on the catching, maybe eventually I will figure out how to catch them in hot water.

I am catching Striper on freelines in shallow water early morning right now. I have absolutely no problem releasing these fish as I am quickly putting them right back from where they came from. Now on the other hand, if I drop a bait down 30 ft to just above or into the thermocline, I know this fish even if horsed up is probably not going to survive a release back into bath water. Those are the ones to take home for the Crisco inferno.

Linesider,

Are you fishing at Smith Mountain? I understand that the fish are being caught fairly shallow there right now. Most (if not all) of the fish down here are being pulled from down deep.

Yes I am fishing SML the most, but Buggs is my second home. I heard they are hitting freelines there at Buggs too, from a very reliable source. It's just like it is here though, the freeline bite is all over after the sun hits the water and the baits need to be right on the bank. Catching lots of LM and Channels on those same freelines right now too.

I do keep smaller fish that are bleeding or just not going to survive, however fish that are healty not stressed out or whatever but small get tossed right back in. An 18 inch fish doesn't really fight that much on heavier tackle so a quick to the boat you come then back you go. They hit the water swimming and off they go, I have not seen one come back to the top and if it did I would net it and put it on ice. Now I agree that they will fight you till they go limp and those fish more than not will die, that fish has got to go on ice in my boat. This stressing out applies only to stripers? How about a large bass? Same water do the bass fisherman have to keep their limit catch then quit? Or a big ol catfish he fights and then some does he survive? Should we keep everyone we catch? I try and use good judgement on fishing and what is done, I want the fish in the lake next month and next year.

It has been proven that stripers are far less tolerant of hot water than bass and catfish, thus the reason for the catch and keep philosophy during the summer. I do agree that the smaller fish are more tolerant of the hot water than the larger fish. Just because the fish swims away does not mean that the fish will live. This post was not meant to attack you personally. There are a lot of people catching and keeping their limit twice a day, and a lot of guys jigging that catch more fish in a day than I will catch in a month that hurt the population much more. If you catch a fish and put it back to die, it is like keeping over your limit. I just wanted to bring some attention to the new regulations.

Not criticizing you JRS, I was actually wandering off on the hijack over to the new regulations. You didn't say anything about culling your catch in the first post, just mentioned the word keeper sized, which under the new regs would mean any size as of June 1 until the winter limits come in again.

Good question on the Cats and the LMB. The striper have been studied for years on the Chesapeake and other areas and it is well documented that they stress and die easily in warmer water.

Not sure if anyone has ever done a similar study on catfish, it would be interesting to know anyway. Based on how hard they are to get dead after catching, they seem a whole lot heartier than striper are, but who knows how they react a week after being caught.

LMB have been studied and they are similarly effected by warmer than normal temps, they just start out liking water 10-20 degrees hotter than striper do, but will also die of too much heat and stress when water temps get too high for them. This is noted in several mortality studies of bass tournaments, where spring and fall seem to have very good survival rates, but summer has much poorer survival (at least in the south). This is why many bass boats are coming out with oxygen infusion and I believe some are even cooling the live wells in an effort to keep the fish alive.

EARL,

I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. I'VE BEEN FISHING KERR FOR ABOUT 35 YRS. MY RULE HAS ALWAYS BEEN IF ITS 25" OR BIGGER IT GOES IN THE COOLER. I MADE THIS RULE FOR ME WAY BACK THEN. THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS. IF THE FISH IS STRESSED, IN THE COOLER. IF NOT, MY THOUGHTS HAVE BEEN, IF 3 OUT OF 10 LIVE, THATS ANOTHER 150,000 NEW STRIPERS FOR YOU AND ME TO CATCH IN FUTURE YEARS. I HAVE NEVER GONE BACK OUT TO CATCH "THE SECOND LIMIT" AND DON'T INTEND TO. HOWEVER, UNLESS THE FISH IS STRESSED, AND ITS SMALL, ITS GOING BACK IN THE WATER. THESE FISH NEVER HIT MY BOAT. I LIP THEM WITH MY HAND AND DROP THEM WITH IN 5 SECONDS. I TIMED IT LAST WEEK.
I CAN TELL WHEN THEY ARE COMING IN IF THEY ARE BIG ENOUGH. NOT TRYING TO BE A BUTT ABOUT THIS BUT I'VE TRYED TO USE COMMON SENSE FOR A LONG TIME. THANKS FOR YOUR POST. SETTER

Do stripers actually reproduce in Kerr? They say they do not in Gaston, but I know Gaston is small compared to Kerr? Cris

Earl no offense taken. A good informative post or reply is alway welcome. I just can't believe a fish that hits the water swimming like crazy headed back home is going to die. I may be wrong but??
Chris they spawm up the river in Kerr lake is my understanding. My thoughts on that is up river to spawn then follow the current downstream like they are going back into the ocean by nature, thats why they school up at the dam then disperse when they know they can't go any further. I wonder just how many get sucked into the generators at the dam following the current? God willing see you guys and gals at the benifit tourny. >> the filet and release club<<

WHAT IS FREELINING?

My definition of freelining is not using any weight.
Just the hook and and preference of bait. I caught several stripers and bass this morning. We were strolling for them. Strolling is using your trolling motor to troll. Use small hooks and light line. Place the bait at least 60 to 80 ft behind the boat.
Hold on, don't free spool. Stripers will slam it and bass just intercept and pull back.

One of the major culprits in the dieing off of fish is the high level of dissolved oxygen. We, everyone need rain and as of now lots of it. Stripers are very intolerant of high stress/ temps. As fisher-
people we can only obey the regulations and use common sense. Good luck and do a rain dance please.

Bo

Here is the CPR response from Ramrod last week.

Plan ahead. Know fishing rules, minimum sizes and creel limits. Use tackle heavy enough to bring the fish in quickly. Have tools ready-net, de-hooker and camera. Use barbless hooks, they are easier to remove.
Handling your catch. Keep fish in the water whenever possible. Use knotless or rubber net. If you must handle fish, get your hands wet or use wet gloves. Do not touch the gills or eves. Do not remove the protective slime.Do not allow the fish to flop on the deck of the boat. Return to the water quickly-maximum time out of the water should be laess than 15 seconds. Never hold the fish vertically except maybe to weigh it.
Removing the hook. Be quick and careful. Remove hook if possible. Grasp fish with firm grip on the lower jaw or hold gently in the palm of your hand. Use a J-style dehooker, deep-throat dehooker or long nose pliers.
Releasing the Fish. Return fish to the water quickly and gently. Move exhausted fish slowly through the water to force water through its gills. Maximum time out of the water should be less than 15 seconds.
Ramrod

THANKS FOR THE INFO

Returned back to trolling (fished the Largemouth Bass for about 5 years)some last Saturday and was wondering if anybody uses Redfins anymore? I've got a tackle box full of them.

they use the heckout of them at Smith Mountain Lake, they should work at Kerr too

RED,
THIS TIME OF YEAR, I USE MOSTLY BUCKTAILS. IN THE FALL, WINTER AND SPRING, I USE BIG BAITS LIKE REDFINS.
EARL,
I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU ARE SAYING ABOUT CPR, AND I KNOW WHEN A STRIPER IS HOOKED IT WILL STRESS THEM. EXPLAIN TO ME HOW WITH LOW OXYGEN A SCHOOL OF STRIPERS COMES UP TO THE TOP CHASING SHAD. MOST FISHERMEN LOVE TO SEE THEM ON TOP. BECAUSE OF LOW OXYGEN, DO THEY GO BACK DOWN AND DIE? JUST A THOUGHT.
SETTER

a lot of it isn't the low oxygen levels in the lake it is the acid and what not the fish produce when under high stress. if I understand it correctly the combination of warm water, stress due to exertion and the acid they produce in thier own bodies/stomachs that combine to make it very difficult if not impossible for the fish to recover no matter how quickly they may be released back into the water. The best thing to do if you are striper fishing is keep the first four and then quit fishing for the day or switch over to a different species of fish. All of us have probably released stripers that we shouldn't have and then later you see fish dead in the water......................

I heard the same thing about the first 4 you catch from another angler on buggs a couple weeks back. Studies have shown that larger stipers are more easily stessed than other fish species, Be about like one of us out there in 80-90 degree temps fishing hard then your buddy gets ya in the back with ice water out on the cooler, not to good !! and can be fatal. Personally I feel the biggest part of fish that die at bass tourny's are stressed during the weigh in and secondly the livewells are not areated enuff. Also if possible if there is a dead fish in your livewell in you have dual wells get the dead fish out, the release toxins that will kill the other fish in your box, I have had floating fish get back up right by putting 6the aireator on manual which is nonstop and dropping ice in the box atleast every 30 45 minutes when it is hot out. I know ice will through them into shock, Not in small amounts. I am kinda curious about these deep caught stipers, I know on bass that most of them caught deep will float and die from not being able to release the air from thier air bladder, wonder if that is the case with srtipers ?? About the redfins, I love them for largemouth at nite. Another thought, Perhaps the game officials are suggesting everyone keeep the first four stripers they catch then quite and hoping everyone will cooperate so they do not have to make it a law.Caught my biggest smallmouth ever on smith saturday nite, 4lb 13oz then got a 3 pndr. Then had one straighten the splitring out on my bait and got away right at the boat, mouth looked like a gallon paint bucket.I'll battle with her again I hope !! How is the bass bite at Buggs after dark ???
Ray

would have loved to have seen a photo of that paint can sized smallie, stop losing those fish would ya? lol. Sounds like you had a great evening

Setter,

The fish don't come up very often when the water gets into the 80s and 90s. When they do, it's usually small fish that are more tolerant of the hot water and low oxygen levels. When the fish come up from fall to spring, the water is cooler. Cool water holds more oxygen than hot water, so the fish can go anywhere they want. If the fish come up when the water is warm, I guess they know when to go back down. When they are caught, they have no control on the amount of time spent in the hotter water. They are also under more stress when being reeled in than when they are feeding and swimming unhindered.

The DGIF can't make a law that forces people to keep the first four fish and quit because they can't enforce it. They already have enough problems enforcing the laws that are in place. It's up to the fisherman to help conserve the fishery. This wouldn't be in the regulations if it wasn't beneficial to the fishery. So, in order to preserve the fishery, people need to be educated about the damage they are doing and use some sense when it comes to fishing in the summer.