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bonefishdick · #1 04-18-2012, 05:57 PM

Lots of "Twinks" today and I mean twinks. I think Rats may be the next biggest stage that these guys will grow into. Encouraging to see that many small fish.

Only had one fish that actually went onto the reel and actually took a little drag. With all the little guys today, this one felt like a monster. Bet he was all of 23"

Slappy · #2 04-18-2012, 08:00 PM

Yay!! Won't be long now!

gseries69 · #3 04-19-2012, 08:31 AM

I'm curious if there is a scientific reason why these small stripers continue to migrate up north and if the journey takes a toll on them. My guess is that it has to do with the water quality of the Chesapeake but I haven't found any research done on the subject.

Most fishermen I've talked to who have fished for stripers for a long time have said they've never seen these small stripers before.

-ftp- · #4 04-19-2012, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gseries69

Most fishermen I've talked to who have fished for stripers for a long time have said they've never seen these small stripers before.

Last season I was catching the smallest stripers I have ever seen, as in six inches in length. This was at the beginning of the season, late April and lasted for only a few weeks for some reason.

ag1 · #5 04-19-2012, 09:57 AM

I was told by a DMF biologist that stripers begin migrations when they are 3 years old. This would suggest they are 15+".

There were 8" schoolies in the Merrimack last year and I caught a few 12" ones near Boston the other day. I'm no biologist, but I think it means they are locals.

EricL · #6 04-19-2012, 10:48 AM

In Chesapeake Bay nearly all of females leave the Bay and enter the coastal fishery before they reach 18 inches in length. Many leave the Bay when much smaller than that. I'm just speculating, but the very small fish you are seeing are possibly juveniles from the Hudson river. I don't know why some people find it so surprising that very small striped bass are capable of migrating long distances. If 9 inch Atlantic salmon are capable of migrating from New Brunswick through open ocean to the Faroe Islands/ Davis Strait why can't similar sized striped bass migrate a couple of hundred miles along the coast?

Eric