Isnt the striped bass population thriving right now?
Thats a matter of opinion. There are mixed signals and information coming from the scientific data as well as from the observations of some very experienced anglers fishing from Maine to North Carolina. While the total number of fish may be up, the age structure of the striped bass population is seriously out of balance, resulting in fewer and fewer large, mature fish in the mix. Stripers Forever, and more than a few fishery managers, think that in addition to being unfair to the public, the high level of commercial fishing targeting mature, prime breeder fish and young fish in nursery areas is a double whammy that is potentially very dangerous to the health of the striped bass population.
