2-25-2015 Report

[Notropis]

Wow, Fin, at 40 plus pounds, that has to be the biggest male I've ever seen! I've heard you mention pulling otoliths from fish in past posts. Did you get the otoliths from this fish? I bet it's well over 10 years old, maybe 12-14!

John52, the stripers in Beaver do go thru the spawning process by traveling up the river tributaries but typically they can't get up the rivers far enough for successful egg hatching. The fertilized eggs need enough current to keep them from settling to the bottom for several days before hatching. Usually fertilized striper eggs from the Beaver Lake tributaries reach the lake within a few hours, settle to the bottom and fungus over. That's why the AGFC has to stock them to maintain the population.

[Feathers and Fins]

We were shocked when we cleaned it Both Yak and I thought big girl but curiosity got to me and we slit open the belly and it was full of Milt and Shad. I would have bet everything on Female. We didn't go for the Ots as Blackened striper was really on our mind, that fish went from flopping to cooking in very short order. Cleaned processes and then spiced, let seasoning have 1/2 hour to soak in and it met the Cast Iron even J-doc was over and got some so it fed 4 people and still had plenty left over for another round later this week.

[Terrierman]

That's a heck of a fish. Nice job. And for what it's worth, I like that you are not afraid to talk about actually eating fish.

[Notropis]

That should be some good eating! I was just curious about the age. It's a sure sign that spawning season is getting closer when the testes of the males start getting swollen like you described. Congrats again on catching another trophy striper, you've had a great winter!

[JohnF52]

That's a heck of a fish. Nice job. And for what it's worth, I like that you are not afraid to talk about actually eating fish.

x2

[JohnF52]

Wow, Fin, at 40 plus pounds, that has to be the biggest male I've ever seen! I've heard you mention pulling otoliths from fish in past posts. Did you get the otoliths from this fish? I bet it's well over 10 years old, maybe 12-14!

John52, the stripers in Beaver do go thru the spawning process by traveling up the river tributaries but typically they can't get up the rivers far enough for successful egg hatching. The fertilized eggs need enough current to keep them from settling to the bottom for several days before hatching. Usually fertilized striper eggs from the Beaver Lake tributaries reach the lake within a few hours, settle to the bottom and fungus over. That's why the AGFC has to stock them to maintain the population.

If Sequoyah Dam was gone, the stripers could go up to Combs under most spring conditions, over 30 river miles above the lake. As it is, they can go up the West Fork up to the town of West Fork, but that tributary is more turbid than the main fork and middle forks. Sequoyah is not much more than a silted in mudhole, and will remain so unless Fayetteville does major dredging. I am surprised there is not pressure to remove that small dam.

[Notropis]

Good point John, Sequoyah is a big silt trap and it's getting shallower each year but it's probably a good thing that the stripers don't successfully spawn. It would raise the possibility of too many of them in the lake which could reduce their growth rates and create too much competition for forage with the other game fish species in Beaver. Lake Texoma is a good example of what can happen if stripers have successful spawns of stripers, lots of small stripers but not a high percentage of trophy sized fish.

The current situation allows the AGFC to maintain the striper population at a moderate level which helps insure good growth rates of individual fish and increases the possibility of catching trophy fish (like the ones Feathers&Fins has been catching this winter), while helping to minimize the stripers effect on the other game fish species.

[Feathers and Fins]

Ive been working on a paper for a long time about landlocked stripers its being reviewed by a few people but I will post it when its done. pretty neat stuff I have learned in doing the research. ( Teaser Alert )

[pomm muskie]

lake Weiss in Alabama has a reproducing stripier population which i think may be the only one in the country.... The biologist think they go up the coosa river to lay eggs but are still studying them to figure out how they do it.... Of course the crappie fisherman are not real happy with that..

[Feathers and Fins]

Of course the crappie fisherman are not real happy with that..

LMAO ya I believe it, but that's a discussion for another day. very soon