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Striped Bass Conservation Efforts

Posted on: Apr 06, 2009

Posted in: Hooks, Lazer Sharp, News From Chris
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We recently teamed up with our friends at the North Carolina Wildlife Commission to educate anglers on catch and release of Striped bass in the Roanoke river – Read on for more detailsUse of Barbless Hooks Reduces Striped Bass Mortality

RALEIGH, N.C. April 2 – For those who are gearing up for another striped bass outing on the Roanoke River, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding anglers to use a single barbless circle hooks or lure with a single barbless hook when fishing in the upper river from April 1 through June 30.
While anglers can make their existing hooks barbless by crimping down the barb with pliers, the Wildlife Resources Commission, in partnership with Eagle Claw, are handing out barbless circle hooks to anglers fishing on the river this spring. Informational cards with a single barbless hook attached are available from Wildlife Enforcement officers, fisheries biologists and creel clerks working in the vicinity of the river from now until the end of June.
Small, non-offset circle hooks, preferably ones with the least amount of distance between the hook point and shank, are the best for reducing striped bass mortality. Studies show that striped bass caught on small, barbless circle hooks are usually hooked in the jaw, which means they have a much greater chance of survival after being released than fish hooked in the throat or gut. This is particularly true as the weather and water warm.
According to Chris Russell, Eagle Claw marketing and product director, the company has been conducting circle hook research and working with a wide range of conservation groups for the last 20 years. Their findings show about a 95 percent lip hook rate and an 80 percent reduction in gut hooking. Their research also shows that non-offset circle hooks are helpful in reducing gut-hooking even further.
To promote the use of barbless circle hooks while fishing for striped bass on the Roanoke River, Eagle Claw provided 5,000 Lazer Sharp barbless circle hooks, which have an approximate retail value of $2,500, for striped bass anglers to try out this spring.
“This is a high profile fishery and many of the fish are crucial to the spawning efforts of future generations of striped bass Russell said. “Since anglers come from a wide area to fish the Roanoke River, they can see the success of using a circle hook and apply its use to their home waters.”

Until the end of May, the Commission is posting on its Web site, , weekly fishing reports from the Roanoke River every Thursday afternoon. Click on the Roanoke River Fishing Report link on the home page.

Also available on the Web site is a pocket-sized information card on releasing stripers safely; a series of questions and answers on striped bass fishing; locations of free Commission-managed boat ramps on the Roanoke River; and striped bass fishing tips.

For more information on fishing in public, inland waters, call the agency’s Division of Inland Fisheries, (919) 707-0220 or go the website at www.ncwildlife.org