New Year's Eve striper trip results in 42lb fish

"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers" wrote in
message ...

"SimRacer" wrote in message
nk.net...
With the continuing "relatively nice for the time" weather we've had
here
in NC, me and a fishing buddy linked up and went out to the OBX to get
in
on some of this winter Striped Bass fishing we've been hearing so much
of
the past few years. We went out this past Saturday (Dec 31) off Hatteras
Island (NC) out of Oregon Inlet and managed to catch a few really nice
stripers. There were a ton of folks on the water, I was even surprised
at
the amount of charter boats we saw out there chasing these winter bass.
The "3 mile line" kept us all clumped up along the various stretches of
shore from Kitty Hawk/Duck NC past Oregon Inlet and the Bodie Island
Lighthouse all the way South to Hatteras Village and the lighthouse
itself. So we just jumped into the trolling line that was more like a
fleet by mid morning, and all "followed the birds" looking for schools
of
bait fish.

We caught this particular striper about 10 miles North of the Hatteras
Lighthouse, about 2 miles off the beach:
(this is my buddy in the photos, he reeled her in, so we gave him the
glory)

http://home.earthlink.net/~simracer5...b_striper5.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~simracer5...b_striper1.jpg

We had her certified for a state citation when we got back in, which is
35lbs here in NC. Weighed 42 lbs on the dot according to the
"official/certified" scales at the tackle shop. Our best rough
measurements were 45" long, 28" girth. Nowhere near the *rumored* new
record set this past week during a tournament of over 60 lbs, which was
the record from 1971 until this past week if said rumor is true. (We
heard
several weights through the rumor mill; 62, 63 and 65 pounds, so
apparentlly a large one above 60 lbs was caught)

Hope everyone here at rofb had enjoyable holidays.

That's a beast!

Hehe! Yes it is. The possibility of catching something "like this" was the
very reason we braved the ocean, the weather, etc in the first place, this
time of year.

With fishing pressure seemingly ever increasing around here during the "warm
months" I've made a committment to try to fish more of the off-season, and
it paid off this time. Now, here's hoping when I get on the flat water
nearby chasing the largemouth shortly, that we're as fortunate. Me and the
fella in these photos plan on LM bass fishing every spare day in Feburary
that is above freezing that we can...

--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

Next time, unless mounting the striper, release the big ones and keep the
12# and under. They taste better, and the big ones are females, and those
big females make lots of eggs.

"SimRacer" wrote in message
...

"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers" wrote in
message ...

"SimRacer" wrote in message
nk.net...
With the continuing "relatively nice for the time" weather we've had
here
in NC, me and a fishing buddy linked up and went out to the OBX to get
in
on some of this winter Striped Bass fishing we've been hearing so much
of
the past few years. We went out this past Saturday (Dec 31) off
Hatteras
Island (NC) out of Oregon Inlet and managed to catch a few really nice
stripers. There were a ton of folks on the water, I was even surprised
at
the amount of charter boats we saw out there chasing these winter bass.
The "3 mile line" kept us all clumped up along the various stretches of
shore from Kitty Hawk/Duck NC past Oregon Inlet and the Bodie Island
Lighthouse all the way South to Hatteras Village and the lighthouse
itself. So we just jumped into the trolling line that was more like a
fleet by mid morning, and all "followed the birds" looking for schools
of
bait fish.

We caught this particular striper about 10 miles North of the Hatteras
Lighthouse, about 2 miles off the beach:
(this is my buddy in the photos, he reeled her in, so we gave him the
glory)

http://home.earthlink.net/~simracer5...b_striper5.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~simracer5...b_striper1.jpg

We had her certified for a state citation when we got back in, which is
35lbs here in NC. Weighed 42 lbs on the dot according to the
"official/certified" scales at the tackle shop. Our best rough
measurements were 45" long, 28" girth. Nowhere near the *rumored* new
record set this past week during a tournament of over 60 lbs, which was
the record from 1971 until this past week if said rumor is true. (We
heard
several weights through the rumor mill; 62, 63 and 65 pounds, so
apparentlly a large one above 60 lbs was caught)

Hope everyone here at rofb had enjoyable holidays.

That's a beast!

Hehe! Yes it is. The possibility of catching something "like this" was the
very reason we braved the ocean, the weather, etc in the first place, this
time of year.

With fishing pressure seemingly ever increasing around here during the
"warm
months" I've made a committment to try to fish more of the off-season, and
it paid off this time. Now, here's hoping when I get on the flat water
nearby chasing the largemouth shortly, that we're as fortunate. Me and the
fella in these photos plan on LM bass fishing every spare day in Feburary
that is above freezing that we can...

--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

"Bill McKee" wrote in message
ink.net...
Next time, unless mounting the striper, release the big ones and keep the
12# and under. They taste better, and the big ones are females, and those
big females make lots of eggs.

Well, I understand your sentiment, but we are allowed a creel of 2/per
person here, and are limited to fishing to within 3 miles of the shore thus
preventing us from chasing the "real big ones" that are farther out. (And
USCG boats were on hand to enforce the "3 mile line" all day...)

Also, our minimum length on coastal stripers is 28". Anything 28"+ out there
will likely be thick enough to weigh 12lbs at a minimum IMO, so finding
anything "that small" where we were, would be a challenge, and obviously,
anything under 28" has to go back in the water to begin with. We're
basically commanded to keep 12+ lb'ers I guess is what I am trying to say.
In ocean waters off NC anyway. (Here are the legal specs, right from the NC
Marine Fisheries website:
http://www.ncfisheries.net/recreational/recguide.htm )

And I can say with 100% certainty, is that the taste of a fish exactly that
big is just fine. I grilled up several pieces of it last night for dinner.
We split this fish, and the other one we kept, among the 4 of us on the
boat. (Gently) Cut loose all the rest and every single Blue we caught (which
was 25 or so, average weight of which was about 12 lbs per believe it or
not).

Now, were this inland fish, absolutely. We'd keep the smallest we could if
we wanted the meat. And as it is, there were 4 of us on the boat, and we
only kept 2 fish total (out of 8 possible). Honestly though, very seldom if
ever do we keep any inland fish we catch outside of a small bucket of crappy
on occasion when we're getting a "fish fry" together for us and friends.

So I ain't trying to change your philosophy, far from it, but I am saying
that our "rules" out here prevent us from keeping anything as small as you
indicate as being ok. And when they allow 2 per person/per day, you can't
expect us not to keep some, especially a big one, at least every so often.
Really, you should come fuss at the netting boats that were out there
harvesting them commerically (I counted 4 of them around us on Saturday)
before you get on us recreational fishermen. I mean we caught a handful and
kept 2, and I doubt they culled 2 all day...and kept the rest. And probably
killed a bottle nosed dolphin or two in the process with their nets...(we
were surrounded by them all day, at least several pods or whatever they're
called, which was a beautiful sight to behold. If the water hadn't been 50º
and the air temp not been in the 40s, I'd have wanted to swim with
them...lol)


"SimRacer" wrote in message
...

"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers" wrote in
message ...

"SimRacer" wrote in message
nk.net...
With the continuing "relatively nice for the time" weather we've had
here
in NC, me and a fishing buddy linked up and went out to the OBX to
get
in
on some of this winter Striped Bass fishing we've been hearing so
much
of
the past few years. We went out this past Saturday (Dec 31) off
Hatteras
Island (NC) out of Oregon Inlet and managed to catch a few really
nice
stripers. There were a ton of folks on the water, I was even
surprised
at
the amount of charter boats we saw out there chasing these winter
bass.
The "3 mile line" kept us all clumped up along the various stretches
of
shore from Kitty Hawk/Duck NC past Oregon Inlet and the Bodie Island
Lighthouse all the way South to Hatteras Village and the lighthouse
itself. So we just jumped into the trolling line that was more like a
fleet by mid morning, and all "followed the birds" looking for
schools
of
bait fish.

We caught this particular striper about 10 miles North of the
Hatteras
Lighthouse, about 2 miles off the beach:
(this is my buddy in the photos, he reeled her in, so we gave him the
glory)

http://home.earthlink.net/~simracer5...b_striper5.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~simracer5...b_striper1.jpg

We had her certified for a state citation when we got back in, which
is
35lbs here in NC. Weighed 42 lbs on the dot according to the
"official/certified" scales at the tackle shop. Our best rough
measurements were 45" long, 28" girth. Nowhere near the *rumored* new
record set this past week during a tournament of over 60 lbs, which
was
the record from 1971 until this past week if said rumor is true. (We
heard
several weights through the rumor mill; 62, 63 and 65 pounds, so
apparentlly a large one above 60 lbs was caught)

Hope everyone here at rofb had enjoyable holidays.

That's a beast!

Hehe! Yes it is. The possibility of catching something "like this" was
the
very reason we braved the ocean, the weather, etc in the first place,
this
time of year.

With fishing pressure seemingly ever increasing around here during the
"warm
months" I've made a committment to try to fish more of the off-season,
and
it paid off this time. Now, here's hoping when I get on the flat water
nearby chasing the largemouth shortly, that we're as fortunate. Me and
the
fella in these photos plan on LM bass fishing every spare day in
Feburary
that is above freezing that we can...

--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "SimRacer"
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.fishing.bass
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 1:06 PM
Subject: New Year's Eve striper trip results in 42lb fish

Well, I understand your sentiment, but we are allowed a creel of 2/per
person here, and are limited to fishing to within 3 miles of the shore
thus
preventing us from chasing the "real big ones" that are farther out. (And
USCG boats were on hand to enforce the "3 mile line" all day...)

Also, our minimum length on coastal stripers is 28". Anything 28"+ out
there
will likely be thick enough to weigh 12lbs at a minimum IMO, so finding
anything "that small" where we were, would be a challenge, and obviously,
anything under 28" has to go back in the water to begin with.
snip

Nice fish Sim! Heck, the fish that won the recent 3 day annual striper derby
out here on the left coast only weighed 38.5#. There's been some local 40+
pounders weighed recently though. Not bad for furiners. d:^)

Btw, the minimum keeper size out here is only 18". I believe Bill is also a
left coaster. Also, most of the stripers caught out here are in the delta,
not the ocean. For that reason alone many folks do not keep the larger fish
around here. Water quality issues. I say if you have a license and your fish
is legal, keep your 2 limit, any size. It's the unlicensed guys keeping the
under size fish that really chap my hide.

-phish

"mikhaf" wrote in message
...

----- Original Message -----
From: "SimRacer"
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.fishing.bass
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 1:06 PM
Subject: New Year's Eve striper trip results in 42lb fish

Well, I understand your sentiment, but we are allowed a creel of 2/per
person here, and are limited to fishing to within 3 miles of the shore
thus
preventing us from chasing the "real big ones" that are farther out.
(And
USCG boats were on hand to enforce the "3 mile line" all day...)

Also, our minimum length on coastal stripers is 28". Anything 28"+ out
there
will likely be thick enough to weigh 12lbs at a minimum IMO, so finding
anything "that small" where we were, would be a challenge, and
obviously,
anything under 28" has to go back in the water to begin with.
snip

Nice fish Sim! Heck, the fish that won the recent 3 day annual striper
derby
out here on the left coast only weighed 38.5#. There's been some local 40+
pounders weighed recently though. Not bad for furiners. d:^)

LOL! That's why I won't go off on folks for saying things like this. I
figured he was coming from an area with smaller keeper limits and maybe even
a smaller stock of fish*. I am a conservationist, but damn, a 42lb striper
is a fish of a lifetime to all of us onboard that day. And is STILL over
20lbs from the current state record fish (which is a pending 62-63 pounder
taken just this past weekend as I hear it.) It doesn't even break our inland
record of 54+ lbs, but is still huge to us. My bud is getting an official
'Citation' from the state (they called today), and we're all going to pitch
in on a repro for him I think. (@ roughly $10 an inch, for 45 inches, is
pricey...)


Btw, the minimum keeper size out here is only 18". I believe Bill is also
a
left coaster. Also, most of the stripers caught out here are in the delta,
not the ocean. For that reason alone many folks do not keep the larger
fish
around here. Water quality issues. I say if you have a license and your
fish
is legal, keep your 2 limit, any size. It's the unlicensed guys keeping
the
under size fish that really chap my hide.

We don't have to have a license for the ocean, yet. January 1, 2007 and a
$10 resident year long "coastal waters" license will be required here in NC
tho. I *think* I may get a pass on it, as I read it if one has a lifetime
sportman's license on or before this past Sunday (01/01/2006), we're waived
the fee and get those coastal licenses free too. I've had a lifetime
hunt/fishing license in NC since I was 16 (roughly 21 years now).

But I'm with ya, it is always a few bad apples (unlicensed fisherpeople)
that make it tougher for the rest of us. I was kind of put off by the amount
of commerical boats out there this weekend with their nets, but I guess they
paid their fees and were within the 3 mile line too...I did see a floating
dolphin though, and we've all heard about Flipper and fishing nets...

And we have our own water quality issues here as well. Most of our inland
waters here in NC are polluted with Dioxins (mercury) and PCBs, and there
are consumption advisories for every body of water in the state, by and
large, including the actual Atlantic Ocean. That's why we usually just catch
a few crappie here to eat. Apparently fish of such "small" size aren't alive
long enough to absorb enough of the pollutants to warrant worrying about
them (so long as you don't eat them day in and day out of course). But we
don't keep large stripers, black bass or anything else that has spent a lot
of time in the inland waters. They're eat up with toxins to hear the
scientists tell it. http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/fish/

Oddly enough though, I've never seen Striped Bass on any of the "be careful
how much of this you eat" lists. Go figure.


-phish



*If you ever come across a map of the greater NC/VA border, look along the
state lines for the Roanoke River/basin. It contains Kerr Lake (Buggs
Island), Lake Gaston, and IIRC, the Roanoke Sound. This river from top to
bottom is a Striped Bass heaven. Limits (and even some slot limits) in the
impoundments, as well as strict dates/seasons for fishing the river runs are
in place, and are now by and large, adhered to. Well, follow that map out
past the "sounds" and into the ocean, and the area where we were fishing is
ground zero for where this river basin meets the sea. So IMO it is a strong
fishery from foothills to the sea, and as long as everyone plays by the
rules, a few 40+ keepers won't hurt it at all each year.

"SimRacer" wrote in message
. ..

LOL! That's why I won't go off on folks for saying things like this. I
figured he was coming from an area with smaller keeper limits and maybe
even
a smaller stock of fish*.

Well placed asterick. d:^) Generally speaking, yes, smaller stock of fish,
but the inland world record was set not far from the delta...

http://www.stripers247.com/landlockedrecordstriper.htm

San Luis reservoir and the ONeil Forebay have gone downhill lately. They
were both outstanding striper fisheries in the past. They are part of the
aquaduct system and are subject to severe water level changes not to mention
severe wind speed changes (0-45+ mph in 5 mins). Amazing place.


I am a conservationist, but damn, a 42lb striper
is a fish of a lifetime to all of us onboard that day. And is STILL over
20lbs from the current state record fish (which is a pending 62-63 pounder
taken just this past weekend as I hear it.) It doesn't even break our
inland
record of 54+ lbs, but is still huge to us. My bud is getting an official
'Citation' from the state (they called today), and we're all going to
pitch
in on a repro for him I think. (@ roughly $10 an inch, for 45 inches, is
pricey...)

No doubt a fish of a lifetime. I would've kept it too. At the end of the day
we all have to even things up in our own minds. I fished (c&r) for stripers
this fall using jumbo minnows and wondered why I didn't feel like I was
'cheating'. I'll occasionaly fish with jumbo minnows for LM, but unless I
have a kid in the boat, I feel like I'm cheating. As long as it's all legal
and I don't lose any sleep at night, I figure it's all good.


We don't have to have a license for the ocean, yet. January 1, 2007 and a
$10 resident year long "coastal waters" license will be required here in
NC
tho. I *think* I may get a pass on it, as I read it if one has a lifetime
sportman's license on or before this past Sunday (01/01/2006), we're
waived
the fee and get those coastal licenses free too. I've had a lifetime
hunt/fishing license in NC since I was 16 (roughly 21 years now).

$34.90 a year out here. And the bay/ delta enhancement (formerly striper)
tag adds on another $5.50. No license needed for pier fishing, but if you're
in a boat on the bay or ocean with fishing poles, you better have a license.
We are blessed with some amazing places to fish and plenty of species to
fish for. Had my first river king on this fall after much paying of dues. It
lost it after maybe 15 seconds passing the rod around the bimini poles in
the rain. But man what a 15 seconds! I just got laid off by HP and they're
going to have to drag me kicking and screaming (not to mention broke!) out
of this state. d:^)

But I'm with ya, it is always a few bad apples (unlicensed fisherpeople)
that make it tougher for the rest of us. I was kind of put off by the
amount
of commerical boats out there this weekend with their nets, but I guess
they
paid their fees and were within the 3 mile line too...I did see a floating
dolphin though, and we've all heard about Flipper and fishing nets...

I got tired of it a few years ago at a local reservoir and called the F&G
800 hotline. Two wardens were out the next day packing heat and taking
names. These folks were trashing the shoreline, fishing without licenses and
keeping undersized fish. To make things even worse, this reservoir probably
has more mercury contamination than just about any other body of water in
the US, and they would keep everything they caught to eat. More on this
below...

And we have our own water quality issues here as well. Most of our inland
waters here in NC are polluted with Dioxins (mercury) and PCBs, and there
are consumption advisories for every body of water in the state, by and
large, including the actual Atlantic Ocean. That's why we usually just
catch
a few crappie here to eat. Apparently fish of such "small" size aren't
alive
long enough to absorb enough of the pollutants to warrant worrying about
them (so long as you don't eat them day in and day out of course). But we
don't keep large stripers, black bass or anything else that has spent a
lot
of time in the inland waters. They're eat up with toxins to hear the
scientists tell it. http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/fish/

My favorite LM bass lake is Calero reservoir. It's 5 minutes from millions
of people in silicon valley and is chock full of big bass for its small
size. It's also very close to what was once the largest quicksilver
(mercury) mine in the world. Millions and millions of pounds of mercury was
extracted from the mines over 100 years. It also occurs naturally. The big
bass are just loaded with it. There are signs in 4 or 5 different languages
around the reservoir to warn people, yet folks still keep and eat fish from
the lake. Can't call the wardens if they have a license and their fish are
legal size. All you can do is shake your head.

Any striper fisherman who's done it for any length of time out here (not me)
will tell you to trim the darker meat from the filets. I believe it is done
for both taste and toxins.

Oddly enough though, I've never seen Striped Bass on any of the "be
careful
how much of this you eat" lists. Go figure.

I thought all fish were on the "be careful how much of this you eat" list
now? At least it seems like that sometimes. Glad I don't have much of a
taste for the stuff. Farmed live LM bass sells for ~$10 a pound out here in
asian stores. Mmmm...mmm...good! d;^)

*If you ever come across a map of the greater NC/VA border, look along the
state lines for the Roanoke River/basin. It contains Kerr Lake (Buggs
Island), Lake Gaston, and IIRC, the Roanoke Sound. This river from top to
bottom is a Striped Bass heaven. Limits (and even some slot limits) in the
impoundments, as well as strict dates/seasons for fishing the river runs
are
in place, and are now by and large, adhered to. Well, follow that map out
past the "sounds" and into the ocean, and the area where we were fishing
is
ground zero for where this river basin meets the sea. So IMO it is a
strong
fishery from foothills to the sea, and as long as everyone plays by the
rules, a few 40+ keepers won't hurt it at all each year.

Even though stripers aren't indigenous to the left coast, DFG still manages
them. My guess is that they know the stripers aren't going away and the
health of the striper population is directly related to the health of locals
like salmon and sturgeon among others. We have a DFG biologist that hangs
out on all the local fishing boards who seeks input for rule changes and
give us figures for the trapping they do. Pretty cool.

-phish

"mikhaf" wrote in message
...

"SimRacer" wrote in message
. ..

LOL! That's why I won't go off on folks for saying things like this. I
figured he was coming from an area with smaller keeper limits and maybe
even
a smaller stock of fish*.

Well placed asterick. d:^) Generally speaking, yes, smaller stock of fish,
but the inland world record was set not far from the delta...

http://www.stripers247.com/landlockedrecordstriper.htm

Wow! Now that's a hawg. And yes, I meant "less fish" and not "smaller fish"
with my smaller stock comment.


San Luis reservoir and the ONeil Forebay have gone downhill lately. They
were both outstanding striper fisheries in the past. They are part of the
aquaduct system and are subject to severe water level changes not to
mention
severe wind speed changes (0-45+ mph in 5 mins). Amazing place.


I am a conservationist, but damn, a 42lb striper
is a fish of a lifetime to all of us onboard that day. And is STILL over
20lbs from the current state record fish (which is a pending 62-63
pounder
taken just this past weekend as I hear it.) It doesn't even break our
inland
record of 54+ lbs, but is still huge to us. My bud is getting an
official
'Citation' from the state (they called today), and we're all going to
pitch
in on a repro for him I think. (@ roughly $10 an inch, for 45 inches, is
pricey...)

No doubt a fish of a lifetime. I would've kept it too. At the end of the
day
we all have to even things up in our own minds. I fished (c&r) for
stripers
this fall using jumbo minnows and wondered why I didn't feel like I was
'cheating'. I'll occasionaly fish with jumbo minnows for LM, but unless I
have a kid in the boat, I feel like I'm cheating. As long as it's all
legal
and I don't lose any sleep at night, I figure it's all good.


In the freshwater bodies around here, "some" guys will use Magnum Stretch
deep diver crankbaits for stripers, but the majority of the fresh water -
big ass - striped bass around here are caught slow trolling live shad.
Usually in a spread of at least 4 rods, using planer boards on the outside
pair.


We don't have to have a license for the ocean, yet. January 1, 2007 and
a
$10 resident year long "coastal waters" license will be required here in
NC
tho. I *think* I may get a pass on it, as I read it if one has a
lifetime
sportman's license on or before this past Sunday (01/01/2006), we're
waived
the fee and get those coastal licenses free too. I've had a lifetime
hunt/fishing license in NC since I was 16 (roughly 21 years now).

$34.90 a year out here. And the bay/ delta enhancement (formerly striper)
tag adds on another $5.50. No license needed for pier fishing, but if
you're
in a boat on the bay or ocean with fishing poles, you better have a
license.
We are blessed with some amazing places to fish and plenty of species to
fish for. Had my first river king on this fall after much paying of dues.
It
lost it after maybe 15 seconds passing the rod around the bimini poles in
the rain. But man what a 15 seconds! I just got laid off by HP and they're
going to have to drag me kicking and screaming (not to mention broke!) out
of this state. d:^)

I called NC Wildlife this AM, and they told me I was grandfathered for the
coastal fishing licenses due to my possesion of a valid lifetime license.
Doesn't matter, I'd have paid the $10 a year regardless. Based on the fees
you have, I'd say we're pretty lucky here to pay as little as we do per
year.

Sorry to hear about the layoff. I hear some NASCAR teams have some openings
over near Charlotte if you're interested in coming East. ;-) Plenty of water
out here too...


But I'm with ya, it is always a few bad apples (unlicensed fisherpeople)
that make it tougher for the rest of us. I was kind of put off by the
amount
of commerical boats out there this weekend with their nets, but I guess
they
paid their fees and were within the 3 mile line too...I did see a
floating
dolphin though, and we've all heard about Flipper and fishing nets...

I got tired of it a few years ago at a local reservoir and called the F&G
800 hotline. Two wardens were out the next day packing heat and taking
names. These folks were trashing the shoreline, fishing without licenses
and
keeping undersized fish. To make things even worse, this reservoir
probably
has more mercury contamination than just about any other body of water in
the US, and they would keep everything they caught to eat. More on this
below...

Scum of the Earth, people like this are. How funny is it that most of the
true "sportsmen" (and women) like us that take the heat from PETA and
whoever else, are usually the ones most concerned about the waterways and
the environment in general?


And we have our own water quality issues here as well. Most of our
inland
waters here in NC are polluted with Dioxins (mercury) and PCBs, and
there
are consumption advisories for every body of water in the state, by and
large, including the actual Atlantic Ocean. That's why we usually just
catch
a few crappie here to eat. Apparently fish of such "small" size aren't
alive
long enough to absorb enough of the pollutants to warrant worrying about
them (so long as you don't eat them day in and day out of course). But
we
don't keep large stripers, black bass or anything else that has spent a
lot
of time in the inland waters. They're eat up with toxins to hear the
scientists tell it. http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/fish/

My favorite LM bass lake is Calero reservoir. It's 5 minutes from millions
of people in silicon valley and is chock full of big bass for its small
size. It's also very close to what was once the largest quicksilver
(mercury) mine in the world. Millions and millions of pounds of mercury
was
extracted from the mines over 100 years. It also occurs naturally. The big
bass are just loaded with it. There are signs in 4 or 5 different
languages
around the reservoir to warn people, yet folks still keep and eat fish
from
the lake. Can't call the wardens if they have a license and their fish are
legal size. All you can do is shake your head.

OR....or, maybe their like me and figure due to their age that they've
breathed in lead dust and asbestos (from pre-1978 paint and old pipe
insulation) for half their lives already, so what's a little mercury gonna
do? lol I am pretty sure I chewed on lead-tainted mini blinds back in the
day too...;-p


Any striper fisherman who's done it for any length of time out here (not
me)
will tell you to trim the darker meat from the filets. I believe it is
done
for both taste and toxins.

Yup, that was the hardest part of the cleaning process this past weekend. We
had to continoully keep sharpening our filet blades so we could get at the
"red meat" and slice it off the pieces that were carved out of the huge
filets that came off the fish without taking "hunks" of good meat with it.
We got what I'd estimate to be about 99.9% of it. We're just gonna have to
chance the rest.


Oddly enough though, I've never seen Striped Bass on any of the "be
careful
how much of this you eat" lists. Go figure.

I thought all fish were on the "be careful how much of this you eat" list
now? At least it seems like that sometimes. Glad I don't have much of a
taste for the stuff. Farmed live LM bass sells for ~$10 a pound out here
in
asian stores. Mmmm...mmm...good! d;^)

Yeah, the link I sent you only (NC fish consumption advisories) listed
several species per water type (salt vs fresh). Like the ocean had Kings,
Spanish, and some others. The freshwater list had LM bass, bowfin, chain
pickeral, and others, and neither listed Striped Bass by name.


*If you ever come across a map of the greater NC/VA border, look along
the
state lines for the Roanoke River/basin. It contains Kerr Lake (Buggs
Island), Lake Gaston, and IIRC, the Roanoke Sound. This river from top
to
bottom is a Striped Bass heaven. Limits (and even some slot limits) in
the
impoundments, as well as strict dates/seasons for fishing the river runs
are
in place, and are now by and large, adhered to. Well, follow that map
out
past the "sounds" and into the ocean, and the area where we were fishing
is
ground zero for where this river basin meets the sea. So IMO it is a
strong
fishery from foothills to the sea, and as long as everyone plays by the
rules, a few 40+ keepers won't hurt it at all each year.

Even though stripers aren't indigenous to the left coast, DFG still
manages
them. My guess is that they know the stripers aren't going away and the
health of the striper population is directly related to the health of
locals
like salmon and sturgeon among others. We have a DFG biologist that hangs
out on all the local fishing boards who seeks input for rule changes and
give us figures for the trapping they do. Pretty cool.


Cool indeed. All the wildlife folks I've ever dealt with here were too (of
course I stay licensed, obey the rules, and am generally nice back to them).
I appreciate that my money has put this system into place here to look after
all the wildlife, and manage them, so that we can continue to fish and hunt
at will (observing all the "seasons" of course) while making sure the
species are going to stay around. The good thing for me is that there are no
seasons on my gamefish of choice (LM bass, inland Striped Bass in the areas
where I fish them, and ocean Striped Bass). So if I am brave enough to face
the weather, I can chase them at any time. There are stretches in certain
rivers and coastal sounds where the stripers have a "season", to give their
spawns a chance to succeed I imagine, but I don't chase those fish. The
seasons are too short, and the line of people wanting to fish those spaces
during those "seasons" makes it way too busy for me to get into. But I
respect the heck out of the effort that goes into making those seasons
happen (by the NCWRC) and by the time spent on enforcement during their runs
each year...

-phish