Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Those are some hefty specks! Well done!

The stripers are thick and fat right now in the bay and 'mac. But you need a big boat to get to them. I turned out an invite to go one day and the crew caught many 40"+ beasts and it was flat calm! Oh well....

There is a huge debate about the striper populations. I have some friends that are deeply involved in the policy side and it ain't pretty. The YOY recruitment (baby fishies) has not been good for the last few years. The authorities put restrictions on rec fishing by closing when you can catch and keep fish. But the recs get mad because the commercial sector gets no closures. Who kills more fish?

This year, there has been a slug of big fish (cows) in the bay and river. Thankfully, it' been C&R for the bigger ones so that the brood stock is protected. The struggle is what you described. Where are the schoolies?

The problem is much deeper than what I just wrote but it's serious. And unfortunately, every state has different rules.

Absolutely beautiful trout and lures!  Ernie's summary is a good one, and for better or worse stripers seem to be much concentrated in recent years compared to the past.  The upper Chesapeake Bay bite last spring, summer and much of fall was concentrated almost exclusively in the Patapsco river, pretty much unprecedented.  The overall population of large fish (> 40") seems sound, but if their lack of reproduction success continues, it may prove very challenging to effectively manage the fishery to satisfy all of the recreational and commercial interests.  Anecdotal evidence and recent NY/NJ catches seem to indicate that the Hudson River and other CT/New England river spawning stocks are playing a more prominent role in the fishery, so lets' hope that many of these rivers have spring conditions conducive to a great spawn in '24!

WOW!!