World Record Weakfish

Om May 7, 2008 at at 2:30 AM, David Alu of Jackson NJ, caught a 19 pound 12 ounce weakfish while surf fishing for striped bass on the shores of Raritan Bay. He caught it on a bunker head. The weakfish was 37 inches long and had a girth of 23 inches.

This weakfish is a pending IGFA world record, as the current all-tackle weakfish on the books weighed 19 pounds 2 ounces. David was guided in his efforts by Rich Swisstack, of the Shore Catch Guide Service.

ASA Striper Tubes

The American Striper Association (ASA) has been looking for a Striper Tube capable of keeping a large fish alive and fresh for release after weigh-in at their tournaments. In 2007 they tested this tube on the tournament trail with very good results. They will have these tubes available for ASA members and will be displaying them at upcoming events. The Tube is 12" by 12" by 48" and stands upright. It has a pump built in that you can attach to a power source for water circulation making the tube self contained. In 2009 the ASA will encourage the use of the new striper tube at tournaments by offering a bonus weight for a successful live release.

73 Pound Striper

On January 23, 2008 Fred Barnes, from Chesapeake, VA caught a 73 pound striped bass, while trolling off of Cape Henry. This fish set a new Virginia state rockfish record. The previous record was a 68-pound, 1 oz. fish caught in 2006 by Clay Armstrong. Fred's huge striper hit a red and white Stretch 30 trollng lure, while trolling extra fast, about 5 knots, while hurrying to get to some bird action. Fred was fishing aboard the Country Girl captained by Pat Foster. To see Fred's fish follow this Link: 73 Pound Striper

Yo-Yoing

Yo-yoing is a technique used to jig in deep water using weighted fresh whole bunker, or bunker chunks. With whole bunker, the bunker is loaded with lead or other metal which is stuffed down its throat and secured. The object is to make the bunker bait heavy, so that it can be sucessfully jigged in deep moving water, near structure.

Apparently some, or many of these prepared baits are somehow ingested by striped bass, and end up in their stomachs, as can be seen by the photo on the right. The photo shows the stomach content of a single 44 pound shore-caught striper, which consisted of numerous metal objects that weighed a total of about 2.5 pounds. The photo is from the January 2008 issue of "On The Water Magazine". Both the November 2007 and January 2008 issues of this magazine had informative articles about yo-yoing for striped bass. The magazine supports banning traditional yo-yoing techniqes, as do we.

Link to more about Yo-yoing: Yo-yoing

Dead Striper Fishermen

The striped bass fall migration is now extending into the winter months. In the past most recreational fishermen put their boats away by mid November, but some are now keeping them in the water longer, hoping to catch striped bass. On Nov. 29th 2007, four fishermen capsized their boat in Delaware Bay. Three were rescued, but one other was found dead under the capsized boat. The very next day three fishermen capsized their boat off of Atlantic City. All three were dead when found. These fishermen were all fishing for striped bass. The ocean and bays can be cold and treacherous places in the late fall and winter.

Why are we catching less stripers and more rays, skates, and small sharks?

According to a March, 2007 article in Science Daily - A team of Canadian and American ecologists has found that overfishing the largest predatory sharks, such as the bull, the great white dusky, and hammerhead sharks, along the Atlantic Coast of the United States has led to an explosion of their ray, skate, and small shark prey species. The study also cites shellfish, including hard calms, population declines in areas occupied by cownose rays.

The Most Important Fish in The Sea

A recent book " The Most Important Fish in the Sea " by H. Bruce Franklin states that Menhaden are the most important fish in the sea. This is because they are the main food source of our most valued saltwater food and gamefish, including striped bass.

The author also stresses that this important fish is being strip-mined, and very much endangered, by excessive harvesting by the menhaden reduction fishery. Although 13 of 15 East Coast states have outlawed the menhaden reduction fishery, Virginia, North Carolina, and all the Gulf states except Florida still allow it. One company - Omega Protein, completely dominates this destructive industry.

Fatback

This item is from the August, 1941 issue of National Geographic Magazine.

North Carolina leads the South Atlantic States in commercial fisheries. Menhaden account for the major portion of the annual catch. More than 40 vessels operate out of Morehead City in search of "fatback", as these fish are locally called. From April to June, and October to January, the boats cruise the coast.

In seven plants in Morehead City and Beaufort, the menhaden are steam -cooked and passed through hydraulic presses. Their oil is used as a substitute for linseed oil and in the manufacture of linoleum, paints and varnishes, and insecticides. The residue becomes fertilizer.

Caifornia Striped Bass

In 1879 Dr. Livingston Stone sheparded 132 fingerling striped bass, in wooden barrels and milk cans, from the Nasesink River in NJ, to San Fransisco Bay. They survived the long train ride and were deposited in the Bay. Today striped bass is one of California's top ranked sport fish.
Link to more about California Striped Bass.

Big Striped Bass

The word record striped bass caught on rod and reel weighed 78.5 pounds, and was caught by Al McReynolds in 1982. An even larger striped bass, weighing 92 pounds, was caught in a net by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources during a research project in 1995.
Link to these Big Stripers.

Freshwater Striped Bass

In 1941 the Santee and Cooper Rivers were dammed producing the Cooper-Santee Reservoir in South Carolina. Striped bass that had been in these rivers at the time became landlocked, and cut off from the ocean. As it turned out these striped bass thrived in this freshwater environment as these waters also supported large populations of threadfin and gizzard shad which the stripers feed on.
Link to more about Freshwater Striped Bass.

River Herring

River Herring, Alewives and Blueback Herring, which were once very abundant are becoming scarce. One reason is that dams have been built on many streams that block these migratory fish from their spawning grounds. Many states are now taking action to correct this by building fishways and slotted fish ladders that provide bypass channels around the dams.

The picture on the right shows the entrance to a fish ladder that was recently built by the State of NJ at Batsto, around a dam that blocked a tributary to the Mullica River.

Link to more about River Herring.

Beach Bums

The 2007 January-February issue of Audubon Magazine includes an article called "Beach Bums". The article centers on the North Carolina National Seashore, including Cape Hatteras, where it is stated that ORVs sometimes travel at 50 mph, run over birds, and endanger people.

Circle Hook Study

Physical injury is the most important factor influencing the survival of released fish. Deep hooking when fishing with bait that injures vital organs results in low survival. In the study 476 striped bass were caught with conventional bait hooks and 640 with non-offset circle hooks. The deep hooking rate for conventional bait hooks over the course of the study was 17.7%, and was 3.4% for non - offset circle hooks. The study was performed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service.

The Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby

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