Do you guys eat striped bass?

I am going to start striper fishing in the delta and am wondering if I should keep my limit or practice catch and release? There is a lot of negative information about eating striped bass from the delta and I was curious what your opinion on the subject is. 

There are two factors in play for me, personally:  the fishery is struggling and inland fish can harbor toxins.  So, to solve for the struggling fishery, I only keep stripers that are in a specific slot (20"-28" for me).  That allows the larger fish to stick around and breed.  To help with both the struggling fishery and solve for the toxin risk, I only keep a few fish per year.

To apply the same ideas to your personal situation, think of conservation and personal health.  Take only what you need and don't overfish.  Heed the guidelines about how many fish to eat per month for a given area.  From there, you'll fish knowing you're leaving a strong fishery for the next generation and you're not putting you or your family at risk of any adverse health effects. 

If you want more specific information, there is lots of science out there behind the consumption guidelines and also around the fishery health.

20 to 28" slot also allows the bigger fish to GET BIGGER due to less competition in the forage they require. Delta striper are fairly clean and worm free. but yea, guidelines are not fake news.... So many little fish out there. So fun to catch. I keep some every once in a while. My absolute favorite top water fish. Big boils get the blood pumping!!!

My absolute favorite top water fish. Big boils get the blood pumping!!!

Or the explosion on the v-wake of a swimmer on glassy water with the sun rising over the horizon and the golden light casting shadows from the shoregrass.  Okay, maybe that's a bit nsfw.