Better to to Catch and Release stripers or keep?

[Ultralight]

We do mostly trout fishing and release far more than we keep for the eating. However, in some places, talking to fish biologists, they want us to take fish as certain species are overpopulated and thus stunted.

I don't know much about stripers. I know that they are not stocked and multiply just fine no matter the fishing pressure. With Silverwood, is the recommendation to keep or release the Stripers caught?

Thanks.

[etucker1959]

We do mostly trout fishing and release far more than we keep for the eating. However, in some places, talking to fish biologists, they want us to take fish as certain species are overpopulated and thus stunted.

I don't know much about stripers. I know that they are not stocked and multiply just fine no matter the fishing pressure. With Silverwood, is the recommendation to keep or release the Stripers caught?

Thanks.

There is a warning about eating too many of them at Silverwood. But I'll let others with more knowledge then myself, give more details from about that!

[fishing_freak]

keep as much as you can as long as your within limit regulations, stripers are a invasive species if they dont have any small shads to feed on they'll start targeting little bass, panfish etc. I remember the panfish population was high 20 years ago, what do you think killed them off

[carpanglerdude]

keep as much as you can as long as your within limit regulations, stripers are a invasive species if they dont have any small shads to feed on they'll start targeting little bass, panfish etc. I remember the panfish population was high 20 years ago, what do you think killed them off

Mmm, with that train of thought -- keep as many largemouth, bluegill, crappie, smallmouth, rainbow trout that you want as well within your limit since they are also non-native, invasive species to the region.

[georgia_brown]

Whole native species nonsense is made up by same liberals who think there are 53 genders and a man can become a woman by mutilating himself. Get this, plants and animals move around. Sometimes they're carried by other animals and get established somewhere else. Sometimes a bird eats some seeds and ***** them out somewhere the plant never lived before and it starts growing there for the first time. Nothing unnatural about this and the people stating the contrary are simply trying to freeze time.

[seal]

My take is eat um up, no worries unless your pregnant or a child or a pregnant child I suppose. At my age I could eat 20 lbs of striper a day and not glow. They also have a warning out on algae contaminating the fish somehow. Any reasonable individual washes their fish after cleaning and that is all that is necessary for the algae problem.

Take your limit, please! Too many fish, although the largemouth and panfish seem to survive just fine. I realize the crappie population and shad seem to have taken a hit but there are millions of silverside and other forage not to mention I’ve caught some slab bluegill the last couple weeks on the fly, th lakes in fantastic shape. Oh and on a positive note shad have been spotted by reliable sources this summer! Hope they return in abundance helps with the average size of the fish I believe and who doesn’t love a topwater shad boil.

Speaking of topwater, the whole summer there has been a very good topwater bite.

But if I were Etucker I definitely would not catfish at Silverwood, horrible bite I’d stay away if I were him.

[etucker1959]

My take is eat um up, no worries unless your pregnant or a child or a pregnant child I suppose. At my age I could eat 20 lbs of striper a day and not glow. They also have a warning out on algae contaminating the fish somehow. Any reasonable individual washes their fish after cleaning and that is all that is necessary for the algae problem.

Take your limit, please! Too many fish, although the largemouth and panfish seem to survive just fine. I realize the crappie population and shad seem to have taken a hit but there are millions of silverside and other forage not to mention I’ve caught some slab bluegill the last couple weeks on the fly, th lakes in fantastic shape. Oh and on a positive note shad have been spotted by reliable sources this summer! Hope they return in abundance helps with the average size of the fish I believe and who doesn’t love a topwater shad boil.

Speaking of topwater, the whole summer there has been a very good topwater bite.

But if I were Etucker I definitely would not catfish at Silverwood, horrible bite I’d stay away if I were him.

I love you too Dale! Lol

[seal]

I have no clue why more guys don’t catfish the lake man, it puts out DD cats regularly and 5-8 is about average. Get off your *** and go for a hike across Cleghorn under the campground or hell the swim beach in Cleghorn is excellent at times too. The river channel holds beasts.

Big tip after the first rains fish the swim beach area, the local Asian population is well aware of this and the cats go nuts when the food is washed in from the rains.

Don’t tell anybody I actually helped you etucker, would be bad for my rep.

[etucker1959]

I have no clue why more guys don’t catfish the lake man, it puts out DD cats regularly and 5-8 is about average. Get off your *** and go for a hike across Cleghorn under the campground or hell the swim beach in Cleghorn is excellent at times too. The river channel holds beasts.

Big tip after the first rains fish the swim beach area, the local Asian population is well aware of this and the cats go nuts when the food is washed in from the rains.

Don’t tell anybody I actually helped you etucker, would be bad for my rep.

The funny part is, my friends really like fishing Lake Silverwood! We went 6 times in the last 3 months for other species and did real well. Thanks for the catfish tip! A couple of quick questions if you don't mind. When you say the swim beach area, do you mean in Cleghorn by the Life guard towers. Or up closer where that stupid trout fishing was in Cleghorn in June?

[Natural Lefty]

Actually, Rainbow Trout are native to this region, including where Silverwood Lake is now, I think. The other species all come from east of the continental divide.

And no, fish don't just show up on their own in new watersheds unless something drastic happens, like streams changing course. Rainbow Trout are native to various SoCal watersheds because they are able to go to sea and migrate up different streams, plus when the oceans were lower, streams that now do not meet used to confluence so that fish could swim from one to the other.

[Ultralight]

LOL!! You guys are a hoot!! Thanks for all the laughs.

My query about Striper is not about eating, but about whether they are overpopulated and harvesting will actually increase the size of the stripers....:) I will just give the fish away to others really.

Finally, there's a warning about swimming currently as there is some type of algea contamination. Dogs die from that type of algea.....not sure how serious it is currently.

[carpanglerdude]

Actually, Rainbow Trout are native to this region, including where Silverwood Lake is now, I think. The other species all come from east of the continental divide.

And no, fish don't just show up on their own in new watersheds unless something drastic happens, like streams changing course. Rainbow Trout are native to various SoCal watersheds because they are able to go to sea and migrate up different streams, plus when the oceans were lower, streams that now do not meet used to confluence so that fish could swim from one to the other.

We'll probably have to agree to disagree on this --- some creeks held historical southern steelhead, and still do, by DNA testing (evidence supported, published literature). However, many did not, hence the environmental successfully lobbying to eradicate rainbow trout as "invasive" from numerous southern California creeks. I don't believe there is evidence showing the creeks draining into Silverwood supported such a native population, although not impossible.


To be clear -- I am not on the side of removing fish just because they aren't native. If that was the case, all of our brook trout and brown trout would be eliminated in the Sierras as well (some folks want this, sadly).
I'm pointing out that advocating for a removal of a species simply because it is "invasive" and "not native" is far too wide a brush to use. Find better reasons.

After all, most of us aren't "native" to the area either.

[seal]

The funny part is, my friends really like fishing Lake Silverwood! We went 6 times in the last 3 months for other species and did real well. Thanks for the catfish tip! A couple of quick questions if you don't mind. When you say the swim beach area, do you mean in Cleghorn by the Life guard towers. Or up closer where that stupid trout fishing was in Cleghorn in June?

Cleghorn beach near bouy line/tower, you can hit the river channel from there. Not many there for the heat of summer due to the algae warnings, we tube regularly there and Miller, no waders, yea algae is gonna kill us, lol.

[seal]

LOL!! You guys are a hoot!! Thanks for all the laughs.

My query about Striper is not about eating, but about whether they are overpopulated and harvesting will actually increase the size of the stripers....:) I will just give the fish away to others really.

Finally, there's a warning about swimming currently as there is some type of algea contamination. Dogs die from that type of algea.....not sure how serious it is currently.

Overpopulated take as many as you can. All I can say is I’ve fished the lake for too many years to count, wet wading, kayaking and tubing all summer long. I have lots of physical issues but they’re age related, so far I’ve survived the dreaded algae but then again I don’t drink the water which is what is bad for the doggies. I’d say if you have some cuts or abrasions it would be wise to stay away from algae prone areas but those areas are usually in the shallower parts of the lake which explains Cleghorn being a higher count than other areas.

[seal]

We'll probably have to agree to disagree on this --- some creeks held historical southern steelhead, and still do, by DNA testing (evidence supported, published literature). However, many did not, hence the environmental successfully lobbying to eradicate rainbow trout as "invasive" from numerous southern California creeks. I don't believe there is evidence showing the creeks draining into Silverwood supported such a native population, although not impossible.


To be clear -- I am not on the side of removing fish just because they aren't native. If that was the case, all of our brook trout and brown trout would be eliminated in the Sierras as well (some folks want this, sadly).
I'm pointing out that advocating for a removal of a species simply because it is "invasive" and "not native" is far too wide a brush to use. Find better reasons.

After all, most of us aren't "native" to the area either.

Miller drainage holds trout up higher, Gregory drains into a feeder creek so some trout can get in that way. I’ve caught fish in both pools by the Mohave/Cleghorn and Miller that were wild in high water years. Yes up above Cleghorn are wild trout also. As far as native goes that’s a subject I don’t have the knowledge on.

[carpanglerdude]

Miller drainage holds trout up higher, Gregory drains into a feeder creek so some trout can get in that way. I’ve caught fish in both pools by the Mohave/Cleghorn and Miller that were wild in high water years. Yes up above Cleghorn are wild trout also. As far as native goes that’s a subject I don’t have the knowledge on.

Would like to explore those creeks someday, although I think they got pretty hammered by the drought.
The contention that groups like Center for Biological Diversity and other anti-nonnativetrout folks have is that many local creeks only have populations of trout that are descendants of prior stocked populations, now wild. Not populations that show genetic lineage to the southern steelhead species. As such, they claim they are thus invasive and should be wiped out. They were able to convince the Forest Service to do so in several nearby streams, and also stopped much of the local stream stocking due to that (related to the old spotted frog debacle).

[Natural Lefty]

Carpanglerdude, of course I am not in favor of wiping out non native fish populations, although I do think supporting and even extending native fish populations is a good idea. As I am sure you know, several kinds of trout are native to California, some of them exclusively so, including Golden Trout (2 varieties) and Paiute Cutthroat, nd several strains of Rainbow Trout such as Kern River Rainbow, Eagle Lake Rainbow and McCloud River Redband. Also, the ancestral stock for most hatchery raised Rainbow Trout apparently is of California origin, primarily from the Sacramento River watershed.

I found a map of the native Coastal California Rainbow Trout range, and it is quite extensive even in Southern California, so as I said, they are native to this region, in many of the streams, whether in Steelhead form or stream resident form. However, they are not native to the Mojave River apparently. I had the impression that they were, but was never sure, due to the way that I have caught them in the Mojave River itself and some of its tributaries. Apparently, they were introduced long ago, however.


Here is the map. https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Inland/HTC#38442389-historic-drainages

[etucker1959]

Cleghorn beach near bouy line/tower, you can hit the river channel from there. Not many there for the heat of summer due to the algae warnings, we tube regularly there and Miller, no waders, yea algae is gonna kill us, lol.

Thanks! I'll give it a try when it rains!

[sealclubber]

Tapatio also kills that nasty algae .
Put plenty on your tacos.

[Brewcrafter]

As far as stripers - keep all you want (within legal guidelines!) - given how prolific and adaptable they are, it probably will not adversely affect their populations. And with regards to your comment about catch and release on trout - I'm pretty sure that is not legal, (I'm speaking about stockers here, which the vast majority of trout in Silverwood or most waters would be). Their survivability is pretty low.

[Ultralight]

I'm pretty sure C&R on trout is not only legal, but recommended...? Using minijigs where they are lip hooked almost every single time, the survival rate should be very high as I can get them free without even taking them out of the water. At most, 10 seconds maybe if the rubber net is inadvertantly lifted out of water.

[Natural Lefty]

I'm pretty sure C&R on trout is not only legal, but recommended...? Using minijigs where they are lip hooked almost every single time, the survival rate should be very high as I can get them free without even taking them out of the water. At most, 10 seconds maybe if the rubber net is inadvertantly lifted out of water.

Actually, the consumption advisory for Silverwood lake says that Trout are the safest fish to eat from there, so if anything, they are the first choice for fish to be kept. Fishing does impact the wild ones, but the DFW keeps stocking the lake. But personally, I don't like the flavor of fish straight from the hatchery. Holdovers or heavily populated wild trout (like brookies in many places in the Sierras) are good though.

[jdogg661420]

what I heard is keep fish in the colder water months for better tasting fish.. I believe if keep fish you should eat it not kill and throw in trash.. the lakes management team does take into consideration catch and release of fish. so its really a choice and if you want some free meals for your hobby.. I ride a motorcycle and mainly target largies so I just catch and release. but if I had a truck and boat I would prob get some stripers for some free meals and they are easy to catch if can find them. they are rare for me on shore though trying for largies. striper tastes good too so ya. a good way to check how healthy the lake is is the size limits and bag limits.. also to look at pictures at the local stores near the lake gas stations.. bait shop.. liquor store.. boat rental area at lake.. usually they have pics from the lake in them. and if you see big fish then you have a healthy lake.. I fish hardcore for largies and I get maybe one or two hogs a year and a lot of dinks... and mediums.. so ya just because you haven't got a beast doesn't mean they aren't there. a couple spots in Europe keep track hardcore of the fish caught there.. and some of the biggest only get caught every few years if that.

[kwin]

Actually, Rainbow Trout are native to this region, including where Silverwood Lake is now, I think. The other species all come from east of the continental divide.

And no, fish don't just show up on their own in new watersheds unless something drastic happens, like streams changing course. Rainbow Trout are native to various SoCal watersheds because they are able to go to sea and migrate up different streams, plus when the oceans were lower, streams that now do not meet used to confluence so that fish could swim from one to the other.

Trout are not indigenous/native to the Mojave River Watershed where Silverwood resides now.

[kwin]

We do mostly trout fishing and release far more than we keep for the eating. However, in some places, talking to fish biologists, they want us to take fish as certain species are overpopulated and thus stunted.

I don't know much about stripers. I know that they are not stocked and multiply just fine no matter the fishing pressure. With Silverwood, is the recommendation to keep or release the Stripers caught?

Thanks.



The problem with SB is their reproductive potential (fecundity) in an enclosed system (lake). Each female SB has about 100,000 eggs per lb body weight. By contrast LMB have about 12,000 eggs per lb body weight. It's a numbers game for SB with their progeny evolutionarily migrating out to the ocean to mature and grow. Enclosed lakes cannot support the consumptive demands of all of those SB spawned which is why they are a "problem", overpopulate and decimate the health of the inland fisheries they spawn successfully or have additional eggs/small fish pumped in through water transfer (i.e. Silverwood, Pyramid, Castaic, Skinner, DVL etc.).

For the health of the lake ecosystem and best management practices to foster a healthy fishery it is recommended to harvest/remove as many striped bass (SB) as legal. The bulk of the SB population in Silverwood are stunted and in all likelihood have not lived long enough to bioaccumulate the level of mercury determined to be unhealthy. I've had SB tested at another SoCal reservoir that verified this assumption. Anything approaching 3-5 lbs. would be questionable in my opinion regarding mercury accumulation, if that size fish was eaten on a regular basis. Any "unicorn" fish over 15 lbs I won't eat....but those are increasingly rare due to the stunting/overpopulation mentioned above.

[Ultralight]

Kwin, how did you get the mercury level tested? It seems that my friends are catching mostly 1-2 pounders off silverwood and it would be interesting to test those.

[kwin]

Kwin, how did you get the mercury level tested? It seems that my friends are catching mostly 1-2 pounders off silverwood and it would be interesting to test those.

MWD had SB tested at one of their lakes to get off (stay off) of the 303(d) impaired lake listing. MWD paid for the very expensive testing. 1-2 lb SB are only 1-2 years old and identical to the sizes tested at the other lake. My only concern would be Silverwood is completely State Water Project (which is higher in Hg due to mining activities in its drainage) than the other lake where SWP is blended with Colorado River Water which isn’t as high in Hg. But I still think the smaller SB at Silverwood haven’t lived long enough to accumulate threshold levels of Hg. I would and do eat that size fish when I catch them. Up to you....

[Natural Lefty]

I found out that trout are not native to the Mojave River and mentioned that previously in comment number 17, Kwin. I also posted a map from the DFW showing the native ranges of different types of trout in CA. It is quite extensive, but does not include the Mojave River.

If smaller stripers are okay to eat, why does the consumption advisory for Silverwood say "do not eat" Striped Bass, without distinguishing them by size?

[kwin]

I found out that trout are not native to the Mojave River and mentioned that previously in comment number 17, Kwin. I also posted a map from the DFW showing the native ranges of different types of trout in CA. It is quite extensive, but does not include the Mojave River.

If smaller stripers are okay to eat, why does the consumption advisory for Silverwood say "do not eat" Striped Bass, without distinguishing them by size?

Because the testing is expensive, their sample sizes are small in quantity and generalized including multiple size/age classes. I believe their warnings are based on flawed inaccurate science and need to have larger sample sizes with separate age classes analyzed to determine what is safe and what isn’t.

[etucker1959]

Because the testing is expensive, their sample sizes are small in quantity and generalized including multiple size/age classes. I believe their warnings are based on flawed inaccurate science and need to have larger sample sizes with separate age classes analyzed to determine what is safe and what isn’t.

Just out of curiosity what is the DFW budget? (that could be an rhetorical question) It's large so when they claim poor mouth on important programs or testing. The cost excuse is pretty lame. The Urban catfish fish program was only $500,000 and it was cancelled. But the Marijuana eradication budget is what? (6-7 million?) What part of Marijuana is related to Fish and Game activity's? You can't say that about Health issues on eating fish! People could die or get gravely sick from eating contaminated fish! But that Pot menace, even though it's legal for recreational use. Takes away money from important Fish and Game programs!

[contium]

If stripers are considered invasive why are there limits on them? Seems like it should be the opposite and you should have to keep/kill every one you catch. I was shocked when I had more than a "limit" (didn't know such a thing existed at the time) at Skinner and park ranger told me it was a good thing the game warden wasn't there that day. They told me they wanted them there. Regardless, I fight them to exhaustion which I understand will kill them after release due to lactic acid poisoning.