| tkwalker |
01-26-2013 11:31 PM |
Things change <'TK><
Andy' This will only cover one facet of Striper fishing for me ... Trophy size Rocks .. Primarily on the Cumberland. I have fished for stripers on most fisheries in East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee and KY. But I settled on the Cumberland because I was seeking The Rogues. The fish that had left the schools and pretty much had no predators ...
Rocks were introduced to the Cumberland in the early 70's and raised and released near Cunningham Island. The Striper fishing was truly pioneered By Ralph Hollis Dallas which I first met in the 70's while fishing a Bass tourney ... Another Pioneer was Fred McClintock out of Ky ... My first Striper was caught on J.Percy Priest in 1974 ... It was a school fish that weighed 17 pounds ... fishing the jumps as fast as we could rebait our Gill on the hook it was a blast !!
For almost 3 decades from their introduction there was not a lot of pressure on the Rocks on the river ... Especially in long isolated stretches on the upper end of the Lakes , Cordel Hull, Old Hickory, Cheatham, Barkley. There were only 5% of the Lic Fishermen that fished for the old Linesides ... Especially the Rogues ... That is totally a different technique, well lets say it was then but now common place.
As far as stocking numbers per year and harvesting ratios, and the percentage of fishermen going after the Stripers to day I don't have the stats. I have no idea since 2006. Mike Anderson may be able to shine some light on that . But I would guess it has increased dramatically ..
But with that said and an increase in a little pressure, when it comes to the River. I would say that the Striper Landlock record is still swimming in the Cumberland with a lot of cousins .. Why is it so prolific? The reason ... The Cumberland River is the coldest River in the State of Tennessee !! Why is That ? Fed by Dale Hollow and Center Hill Both ... Which is in a comfort zone of the Rocks and makes it Bait fish heaven as well . <'TK>< :)
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