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Thread: Better to to Catch and Release stripers or keep?

  1. #21

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    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.

  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ultralight View Post
    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.
    Last edited by Natural Lefty; 08-30-2019 at 04:24 PM.

  3. #23

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    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.

  4. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by Natural Lefty View Post
    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.

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ultralight View Post
    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.

  6. #26

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    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.

  7. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ultralight View Post
    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....

  8. #28

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    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?

  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by Natural Lefty View Post
    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.

  10. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by kwin View Post
    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!
    Last edited by etucker1959; 09-04-2019 at 09:12 AM.

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