striper size keep/release

I generally trust DFW resource management as quite conservative.  If it's legal to take, DFW has accounted for that in season setting, limit setting, open waters, etc., and has erred on the side of caution.

If it's legal and you will put it to good use, go ahead and take it.

How is cdfw and there current striper regs involved whatsoever in somebody deciding it was a good idea to bring 132 striper into the sf bay in the late 1800s and planting them as a non native species? Good luck answering that question.

Reality is if they mature at 18" or 28", at what length do you think they are eating TONS AND TONS of our native fish? Answer is a 6 inch striper can completely devour dozens of smolt. Smolt belong here naturally,  striper dont. I love fishing for them and ways have its a blast! But im starting to feel like accepting them in the ecosystem here in ca is like accepting the asian jumping carp!

Just do a research for yourself and don't fall for the bs that they eat up all our salmon. In fact, 50-60 years ago, we had the largest striped bass population which also coincide with the largest salmon population. Now, both these fishes population are down and this has to do with us exporting way too much water down south into the desert for farming. The biggest problem is not the striped bass but that the delta is being ruined and the spawning grounds for salmon are gone.

I remember those days with my father 50 years ago. He used to be one of the Devil's Slide crazies as well as an overall good striped bass fisherman. He always carried a pole in the station wagon just in case he wanted fish for dinner. He'd just stop on the side of the bay, take a few cast and dinner was in the car. His largest was a 38 pounder. He got that along with a 35 & 32 pounder at Devil's Slide back in the early sixties.

The entire delta region was compromised once they started pumping water down south and to the central valley. That is what caused the salmon to nearly go extinct as well as dropping the striper population. THank goodness the stripers are doing well in Monterey Bay.

I was at eddos marina a month ago camping with my boss. I left early sunday he stayed. Fish and game came to the campsites and invited everybody aboard the smolt releasing vessel they had they to striper fish during the release wbich is a first in my book. Of course after I leave! Shit! They slayed them. 30" striper hookups constantly my boss was saying. Imagine how many smolt got eaten! So lets not start acting like the decline if salmon isnt because of striper, it is. Among other things like Non native cormorants cdfw finds stuffed full of smolt and for some reason are illegal to shoot, wtf.we should be able to blast every one we see ATLEAST during waterfowl season imo.

We only take what we will eat. We only eat fish caught and game at our house, so we tend to keep more than some. That being said, I am looking at quality, not quantity of meat. We keep stripers up to 26". The reason is twofold,  they just tastebetter and have not accumulated ttoxins,  and, above that, they are breeding stock. We kept three at 30"  +\- this last year, and they didnt taste as good. Just our preferrence.

I've kept 5 stripers ever and I thought they tasted EXCELLENT.

They were 20-25 inches so sounds like that is ideal eating size.

If/when I get a chance to take a bigger one I will and will be super stoked on it. 

If I ever get to the point where I feel like my take is excessive for my family's consumption, or that it would be better for whatever reason to pass on a certain size legal fish I may re-think my decision.

I see people take a LOT of stripers on hook and line (both from fresh and salt) so honestly don't feel that my tiny amount of take will ever have any impact.

But yeah, bottom line is if its legal and you are gonna eat it you can decide for yourself and base YOUR decision off your personal ethics and circumstances.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

They are yummy...maybe it's just cuz its a nice change up from Ling/Rockies/Cabs etc but I've been really impressed with how they taste.

 

No clue if the ones taken from FW taste as good...and no desire to find out either. 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Yeah, stripers is good eats!
I like to trim off as much of the red as I can.

If somebody I didn't know was harassing me about keeping a big striper, I'd go out of my way to keep it, and mention it was going to be used as dog food.

+1

We had this debate a couple years ago after some Spearos speared a couple BIG stripers here locally, oh wat a shit storm that started!  I guess my opinion has changed a lil since then..Used to not  like seeing local Mogans taken but it is what it is and I just like to think now it's feeding a family. I personally don't even eat striper anymore since I usually got RF now so they all go back. But I heard the ocean ones are quite tastey! to each there own my friends.
 

Lots of purists harkin on guys for not releasing their catch. To each their own as long as it is not wasteful. I refer to Genesis.....it is here for you to take and use. (I am paraphrasing) Take thy bow and tho quiver....God wants us to be bowhunters.....or spearos like Jim! 

We had this debate a couple years ago after some Spearos speared a couple BIG stripers here locally, oh wat a shit storm that started!  I guess my opinion has changed a lil since then..Used to not  like seeing local Mogans taken but it is what it is and I just like to think now it's feeding a family. I personally don't even eat striper anymore since I usually got RF now so they all go back. But I heard the ocean ones are quite tastey! to each there own my friends.

I remember that thread!! 

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=46896.msg521612#msg521612

 

Sincerely,

Jim

We had this debate a couple years ago after some Spearos speared a couple BIG stripers here locally, oh wat a shit storm that started!  I guess my opinion has changed a lil since then..Used to not  like seeing local Mogans taken but it is what it is and I just like to think now it's feeding a family. I personally don't even eat striper anymore since I usually got RF now so they all go back. But I heard the ocean ones are quite tastey! to each there own my friends.

I remember that thread!! 

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=46896.msg521612#msg521612

 

Sincerely,

Jim

The comments and posts after the pic are the best!!

 

We had this debate a couple years ago after some Spearos speared a couple BIG stripers here locally, oh wat a shit storm that started!  I guess my opinion has changed a lil since then..Used to not  like seeing local Mogans taken but it is what it is and I just like to think now it's feeding a family. I personally don't even eat striper anymore since I usually got RF now so they all go back. But I heard the ocean ones are quite tastey! to each there own my friends.

I remember that thread!! 

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=46896.msg521612#msg521612

 

Sincerely,

Jim

The comments and posts after the pic are the best!!

 

Those are hogs!

I kept my fair share of big surf bass and released a lot of big bass! Ever since I kept a 45lb striped bass that was hooked deep and bleeding, I got a lot of crap from it and bothered me for a while. I've been judged so much about that fish and the threshers I caught last year. That's a reason why I never posted or shared all my catches in social media a lot. I learned that a lot of ppl discourage from keeping big fish but honestly it's the anglers decision. Ocean striped bass taste amazing!

I like the texture of the bigger ones (30" +) better, where I can get thick chunks or steaks.

I like the texture of the bigger ones (30" +) better, where I can get thick chunks or steaks.

Making me drool dude....

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim