Possible Release Of Stripers In Table Rock Today

[Feathers and Fins]

Do you really think they would ruin the Table Rock bass fishery when both Bull Shoals and Lake of the Ozarks have them and rank (if I remember right) higher than Table Rock Lake? I wouldnt put my $ either way though.

No and in all honesty it would probably benefit the lake. If you want to use the BASS top 100 lakes as a quays guide so to speak you need to look at each lake and its predator’s species above Tablerock.11 of them have Stripers, Hybrids or a combination of both, 11 more lakes have Pike or Musky or a combination of both. So 22 lakes have apex predators, Stripers do little predation on Bass and Crappie where as Musky and Pike are notorious predators of bass and crappie.

The lakes health is benefited by the predators that keep in check other species when they grow beyond the predation capabilities of Bass this is simple biology 101 of keeping a balanced ecosystem. There are few lakes in the US that support striper breading and thus must be stocked by the DNR’s for each state. Those departments can raise or lower the population of stripers thus using them as a ecosystem control tool.

Then there is the financial benefit to communities around the lakes, almost every lake I have ever visited with well managed striper populations have guides that specifically target them and they are pursued by anglers, some areas actually become destinations of interest to anglers specifically for them. Both of those factors increase revenue to the local economy.

Its always interesting to me how the detractors of managed striper fisheries seem silent as soon as the science comes up in the conversations. They like to say how bad they are or they don’t want them because of a million reasons but when the facts present themselves silence follows. Shame as I said before as if they pushed for a well rounded managed fishery they would only improve their catch rate and size of fish. Again go back to the top 100 those lakes with apex predators have large Bass in them.

I wont say stripers are perfect as if they are not managed they will eat themselves and everything else out of house and home but in a managed controlled lake they are a great tool for the health of the lake.

[Wayne SW/MO]

How about we just leave Table Rock alone as it is and if you want to fish for stripers go somewhere else to chase them. I know I don't want my expensive jerkbait collection to have to be restocked every year when one decides he wants to take mine. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Well it was built by man so I suppose there is no standard. As far as going someplace else, it's a 2 way street. I've fished all my life for blacks, most of it in this state and haven't had any problems. It would be hard to introduce anything that would hurt the black bass here, they thrive everywhere.

[Quillback]

Count me as another "leave well enough alone" voter.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Count me as another "leave well enough alone" voter.

A lot of people would have been happy with that. I didn't get in on the White river fishing before they meddled with it. I would have liked to have fished Owen's White.

Unfortunately it's too late and change is upon us.

[Champ188]

Silent? I have never been silent about stripers on this forum or in any other venue. My personal opinion is and shall remain that they overstrain the forage population, therefore reducing the number of black bass per acre that a fishery can support.

Here's a fact. Beaver Lake cannot compare with Table Rock in terms of black bass production, and no one needs science to prove that. There is proof everywhere you look, particularly in tournament statistics. I'm sure there are electrofishing survey results that would further prove it.

For that matter, look at the forums here on OA for Beaver and Table Rock and tell us which lake is a better black bass fishery.

Finally, ask MDC why there are no stripers in Table Rock or PRACTICALLY any other lake in Missouri.

[Feathers and Fins]

My personal opinion is and shall remain that they overstrain the forage population, therefore reducing the number of black bass per acre that a fishery can support

All science disproves that so its purely speculation on your part. I posted a link to just 1 of the many studies that verify that and why.

Beaver Lake cannot compare with Table Rock in terms of black bass production

And Tablerock cannot compare to 38 other lakes. Comparing one lake to another is like comparing apples to oranges. So again speculation on your part.

ask MDC why there are no stripers in Table Rock or PRACTICALLY any other lake in Missouri.

Couldn't have anything to do with Black Bass anglers raising holy cane when its brought up can it? Hmm wasn't there just a lake that they were wanting to stock that the uproar from bass anglers put that on hold. Not sound science but pressure from people.

Speculation is not science.

[Sore Thumbs]

I have to agree with Champ. We all know that they are the same body of water seperated by a slab of concrete. Table Rock gets more pressure and still out produces Beaver by far. Beaver is a joke to FLW guys. They hate it. David Dudley caught a 4lbr last year in that tourney and said it was like gold having a bass that size on Beaver. The difference between those bodies of water is Striper. Im just sayin. We can argue about bodies of water feeding the Rock but I don't think that makes that much difference when it comes to numbers and size. I enjoy catching those big uns too but I would much rather go to the Rock when Im bass fishing.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I don't what the reason is, but Beaver never produced like TR, nor did BS. But then again TR doesn't produce like it did in the late 60's and the 70's. TR is the only lake with 3 rivers feeding it though and that might have something to do with it.

As far as feeding, stripers feed in mid-lake and tend to feed most heavily during the day when shad are in that area. The only downside that Texoma experienced that I'm aware of is to the sandie population. the lake did have a down turn in big stripers that they attributed to a fall off of the big shad needed to keep them healthy. It didn't affect the black bass. Toledo Bend had stripers from early on and it was as good as it gets for many many years, but I haven't fished it in quite awhile so can't speak to the present. If you look at the list of Texas lakes that have stripers you can find some pretty good bass lakes on the list.

I don't see a need for stripers in TR because it has a pretty diverse fish population as it is, but no one can convince me that stripers would hurt it when the evidence shows that it doesn't hurt other lakes.

Finally, ask MDC why there are no stripers in Table Rock or PRACTICALLY any other lake in Missouri.

LOZ, which produced before and after hybrids, which feed on smaller shad, were introduced. LOZ has produced in spite of heavy pressure.

[Champ188]

Apparently, the fact that I capitalized PRACTICALLY for emphasis somehow got lost in transmission. Again, I said PRACTICALLY all Missouri lakes.

At least for now, this is a free country and Fins, Wayne and anyone else has every right in the world to love their stripers. Likewise, it's my right to loathe them.

You aren't changing your opinion on them and neither am I.

Onward.

[dtrs5kprs]

Whole lot of fuss over something that will likely never happen.