Two friends of mine have taken separate charter boat trips on Lake Texoma. Both were told that all striped bass must be kept because of the high mortality rate if released. This sounds totally bogus to me. The boat comes in when a limit for all anglers is taken. The fish are mainly taken on top by following the birds to the schooling fish and catching them on conventional tackle. My friends are solid types, so the facts are straight. Are stripers really this fragile?

Don, They are sometimes hard to revive after a long fight, but they are not a fragile fish at all. Ed

I believe it has to do with the summer water temps. The guides do not make this stipulation in the winter.

The thrill is not in the kill

In most southern lakes where stripers are stocked, they get stressed in the summer. The surface water is often warmer than they prefer and the deeper water is often low in dissolved oxygen. So, higher summer mortality rates is the norm in southern climates. They can handle a Chesapeake summer okay (although the biggest ones head up the coast toward New England after spawning) but a Texas or South Carolina summer will put the hurtin' on 'em.

Once the surface temp hits 80 degrees I will not target lake Stripers because they can and usually do die after release. I usually Trout fish or Striper fish below Dams where the water stays much cooler. When releasing a fish I use a Boga grip and lower the fish into the water while trolling moving it's head from side to side. The movement helps release the Lactic acid buildup and prevents the fish from locking up.

[www.dnr.state.md.us]

A good read on the topic. Includes some real mortality numbers at different temperatures, salinity, and hook types. I believe it was this study that showed how important it was to minimize the time a fish spends out of the water. In the heat of the summer, it only takes a few seconds of keeping a fish out of the water to kill it.

Don- there are several key factors that influence striped bass C&R mortality rates. They include water temperature, hooking location, fight time, handling by the angler, and salinity. In our studies on the Roanoke River, NC, C&R mortality rates were 6.2% at water temperatures below 72 degrees. Once water temperatures exceeded 72 degrees, mortality rates skyrocketed. Striped bass are, in fact, a cool water fish and are highly susceptible to lactic acidosis after a long fight. Mortality is frequently delayed by 12 to 24 hours after a long fight. Unfortunately, many anglers mistakenly think that because a striper swims away, he'll be healthly and no worse for wear. Controlled tank studies in NC and elsewhere have indicated otherwise.

Reservoir striped bass present their own set of problems. Those caught from reservoir where summertime "habitat squeeze" exists are already stressed. The squeeze occurs when striped bass have to choose between cool deep waters with little oxygen or upper level hot waters with more oxygen. Either habitat is suboptimal and body weight may be affected because prey fish are located somewhere in the water column that the stripers don't want to enter.

I've been a fisheries biologist in NC for 28 years and have spent 28 of those years studying striped bass. For what it's worth, here's my recommendations:

1. When water temperatures exceed 72 degrees, avoid targeting striped bass
2. If using live or cut bait, use circle hooks and bend the barbs down.
3. If using artificial lures with treble hooks, replace the treble hooks with single hooks and bend the barbs down.
4. Use tackle heavy enough to get the fish to the boat in short order- increased fight time increases the probability that the fish will die.
5 Wet your hands before handling a striper- it's mucous layer helps fend off infections
6 Minimize the amount of time the fish is out of the water- many anglers I know never even bring them out of the water.
7 If you really get into a school of stripers, make a concious decision to minimize the number of fish you'll catch & release before calling it a day- no matter how careful you are, some portion of the fish you catch & release will die.

Hope this info is of use.

Pete Kornrgay
Camden, NC

Thanks for the responses, especially the NC studies. I see now why the guides insist on keeping all the fish. I do use circle streamers, but it sounds like I should leave the fishies alone in the dead of summer.