Striper disease?

[iwhitevt]

This morning the old lady caught the very end of something on the news that she said was about a disease affecting 80% of the chesapeake bay stripers, but that was all she got out of it. I searched the net today, but can't find anything. I'm planning on fishing tomorrow night and I was wondering if anybody might know some more?

 

[clop321]

Re: Striper disease?

iwhitevt,<br /> I don't know anything about a disease but it is a know fact the the bass up in my area (new york harbor/NJ) are contaminated with PCB's and other fun stuff that exists in the deep dark rivers which the bass live in. I guess if you eat one of those bass that has been hanging out in these places for an extened period of time, you may be at risk. My rule for Stripers... I eat one a year. But fun to catch !!

 

[iwhitevt]

Re: Striper disease?

one a year? that's too bad, I love striper (stripper? )on the table. heard from someone at the ramp last night its some type of bacterial infection that is killing some of them, but that is still all I've heard so far.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Striper disease?

iwhitevt,<br />glad to hear you fish for striper on the bay. i just bought a 20' cc to do just that next season. unfortunately, gowing up bass fishing with dad leaves me clueless. i went striper fishing a few times this year with some friends and we jigged under the bridge and chummed and bottom fished a bit. want to try trolling as well. can you recommend tackle (rods,reels,etc) that would suit my needs? i have no gear and plan to stock up over the winter. versatility is important. thanks-

 

[iwhitevt]

Re: Striper disease?

hey matttt25, well, i'm no expert that's for sure, but i've had a little experience. for the schoolies (18-25"), i like to shallow cast small jigs, dark colored soft plastics, and especially live bait when you can find it (cast net my own when i can find 'em) around the bridges, particularly near the islands. this can be real productive if you can find the birds working the baitfish schools. have had some luck with the bigger boys trolling deep with umbrella rigs(downriggers are a huge plus)or dropping a 7-10" croaker down to the bottom around the bridge piles. tackle- personally, i like 8-10lb spinning gear for the schoolies and 20lb casting reels for trolling. for spinning reels spend a little extra- the small drag areas tend to stick on some cheaper reels (definately go for a front drag). also heard from one of the shops that the okuma line is a great value, but haven't tryed one yet. for trolling gear, i like a stiff fiberglass rod (tough and cheap) and i have had great luck with the penn 320gti reels ( once landed a 7' ~150lb lemon shark on the beach in florida on 20lb big game line). penn is actually coming out with lever drag version of this reel that should be a huge plus. for a little more money, i don't think i've ever heard a complaint about shimano's tld reels. good luck, i know i need some more myself this season.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Striper disease?

thanks. any recommendations on actual rods/reels? i guess i'm concerned about the size/strength/etc and what i should purchase. i know i don't want a lightweight casting rod that i used to bring in 2lb smallmouths with, and i don't plan on tackling 100lb bluefins either. just shoot for something in between? line test? i'm simply clueless...

 

[SJ Striper]

Re: Striper disease?

Matt, Ive been catching stripers in the northeast my whole life. For casting eels, I use a 1 piece 7 foot ugly stick, Shimano baitrunner 4500, 20 pound trilene big game. Driftfishing, I use a 6 1/2 foot medium action boat rod, rated at 20-50 pounds, I use a penn 113H with 40 pound Big Game. For trolling, I run 300 feet of 40 pound stainless wire line over dacron backing on a penn 113H mounted to a penn slammer with carboly guides. For schoolie bass you can use any 10 pound rated outfit, with most any freshwater bass artificials,(slug-go's, lead head jigs,ect...) I hope this helps. My best bass is a 57 pounder taken in the surf in 1994 in Chatham Mass.(on a 10 foot Fenwick light action stick, with a surf modified penn 704Z and 15 pound test big game). SJ.

 

[iwhitevt]

Re: Striper disease?

edited previous post

 

[iwhitevt]

Re: Striper disease?

well, for any striper fisherman out there- finally found a little something on the bacteria thing if i can remember it all....from a VIMS report<br />its a bacteria infection that exists in some small amout in about 70% of the stripers in the ches bay. It affects the pancreas and kidneys, and also creates leasions on the skin. Supposedly, it has no affect on most of the fish, but about 10-20% of those infected will show signs of the infection and eventually die. The post said to be careful to handle visually affected (sores on the skin) fish as little as possible, as the infection can be caught by humans through open sores etc... results in 'fish handler's disease'... a skin sore disease. Still haven't heard wether it is safe to eat 'visibly un-infected' fish or not.

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: Striper disease?

great fish story SJ,<br />can't fish for a while upstate, but always enjoy<br />hearing about a good catch.<br />surf on,<br />M.Y.

 

[Scoop]

Re: Striper disease?

Here is another disease of interest that might just have gotten into Chesapeake bay. From the sounds of it, we will all be dealing with it. It is called Large Mouth Bass Disease. It also infects stripers. It is a virus that seems to be unaffected by bleach disinfectants. The bass seem to be able to catch it from infected water. A body of water may get infected by infected bilge water, fish eating birds, frogs and other amphibians can transport the diesase over land. There is a small aritcle in the December in Fisherman. Sounds extremely scary.

 

[iwhitevt]

Re: Striper disease?

hey scoop- any word on what it does to the fish or how it affects eating them?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Striper disease?

Here is the scoop MD. DNR homepage