Lanier Trophy Stripers Thing Of The Past

cumberland

Senior Member
I hardly ever see it publicized anywhere mentioning the downfall of the older stripers on Lanier the last couple years. The gill maggots have wiped out most of the older stripers from stress on them. The bait stores this spring dont even sell the big shad anymore, only the smaller ones because there are no big stripers left to take the big shad. Most all pictures you see posted from guides are fish from 2 to 10 pounds at most. Pretty much a waste of time to striper fish on Lanier now if you are looking for 25 pound plus fish. I guess research will be needed to see if the gill maggots will permeanantly affect the trophy fishery.
 

Browniez

Senior Member
I hardly ever see it publicized anywhere mentioning the downfall of the older stripers on Lanier the last couple years. The gill maggots have wiped out most of the older stripers from stress on them. The bait stores this spring dont even sell the big shad anymore, only the smaller ones because there are no big stripers left to take the big shad. Most all pictures you see posted from guides are fish from 2 to 10 pounds at most. Pretty much a waste of time to striper fish on Lanier now if you are looking for 25 pound plus fish. I guess research will be needed to see if the gill maggots will permeanantly affect the trophy fishery.

I’m pretty sure there is research on other striper fisheries showing a definitive drop off in growth rate in gill lice fisheries.

I looked around after the first fish I found with them and seem to remember that.

They pretty much settled on the fact they came from private water Brook trout stockings didn’t they? The certain species we have affects Brook trout mostly in marginal waters from what I’ve read.
 

cumberland

Senior Member
I’m pretty sure there is research on other striper fisheries showing a definitive drop off in growth rate in gill lice fisheries.

I looked around after the first fish I found with them and seem to remember that.

They pretty much settled on the fact they came from private water Brook trout stockings didn’t they? The certain species we have affects Brook trout mostly in marginal waters from what I’ve read
 

cumberland

Senior Member
I think it is worse than just a growth dropoff on Lanier, when you go up the rivers in the spring now, it is only little stripers there. That pretty much proves the mature fish are not there when they don't show up in chattahoochee or chestatee during the spring spawn. I don't know about the brook trout, but i have heard some of areas of Virginia like chesepeake bay area have it infested in stripers pretty strong.
 

jgoins

Senior Member
You are right about the drop off. You would be better off going to carters or notley for a trophy. In saying that, I did catch my biggest striper ever up the chattahoochee earlier this year. It was 41 inches long and pulled the boga scale down to 26lbs. I believe true weight was probably a little more but I didn't care. I released her to hopefully she'll become a 40. There was a 30 caught on one of captain clay's boat also. They are there but not many
 

lampern

Senior Member
I know in NC they had a drop off as water quality as deteriorated as well over the years.

Less cool oxygenated water during the summer in many striper lakes and big stripers die off.
 

Chap

Senior Member
Like many problems, I don't think there is just one contributing factor. I wonder if the rising population of spotted bass is contributing to the decline. Do any of you guys think that the spots are competing for forage with younger stripers, thus making it harder for them to grow to maturity? This has been the theory with the largemouth, so I wonder if it also wouldn't apply to the striper?
 

j_seph

Senior Member
I have seen some pretty good sized striper caught this year on Lanier. Problem I see is the majority of the big ones I have seen through the years are usually dead cause the fisherman take em home with em.
 

lampern

Senior Member
It's like all fishing in that it cycles around. There will be larger fish that start showing up soon if those smaller fish make it through the gauntlet of Lanier striper fishermen.

Not if the summer habitat for big stripers has declined.

Look up Lake Norman, NC to see what can happen
 

ProAngler

Senior Member
Like many problems, I don't think there is just one contributing factor. I wonder if the rising population of spotted bass is contributing to the decline. Do any of you guys think that the spots are competing for forage with younger stripers, thus making it harder for them to grow to maturity? This has been the theory with the largemouth, so I wonder if it also wouldn't apply to the striper?

Can’t imagine this is the case on Lanier, I mark acres of bait constantly without any predators around a
 

ProAngler

Senior Member
Last few years have been real slow on the big spoon bite. Marking lots of schools with no bite. Usually this happens when you get big schools of 2-4 pounders that don’t go after the spoon like the 5+ fish do.
 

28gage

Senior Member
Gone from GA for 12 years but what's happening on Allatoona as far as big stripers. (Had a thirty in 1993 with lots of teens).
 

Spook

Senior Member
Wonder if hybrids would be better. Lanier was a great white bass lake. The lake can only support one of a species, Stripers, Hybrids or Whites according to a seminar I took back in 1998 by the DNR on Lanier's fish population. Make your pick is what he said, stripers are the most popular fish, for some folks, so that was the choice, they knew the whites would decline rapidly. Mark
 

Coenen

Senior Member
Wonder if hybrids would be better. Lanier was a great white bass lake. The lake can only support one of a species, Stripers, Hybrids or Whites according to a seminar I took back in 1998 by the DNR on Lanier's fish population. Make your pick is what he said, stripers are the most popular fish, for some folks, so that was the choice, they knew the whites would decline rapidly. Mark
'98 was pre-herring, or early herring, was it not? The bluebacks getting established was a monumental shift in the lake's forage base.

I've said a few times that I think Lanier will eventually get Hybes, and that it will essentially be the white flag for the striper fishery. I wouldn't dare speculate on a timeline for that, but if the gill lice really do significantly curb the lake's big fish potential(I think they will), then it would follow that a heartier species like the Hybrid might become a better fit.

Such as it is, I think that DNR is (wisely) taking their time to really assess the situation before jumping to conclusions and changing stocking patterns. It will be years yet before the strong stocking classes from the last few seasons reach max growth and begin to age out. We'll just have to wait and see.
 

Coenen

Senior Member
I don't see why Lanier can't get 50/50 hybrids and pures
For a long time DNR has wanted Lanier to be the "crown jewel" striper fishery. They may eventually change that, but it'll be a long while.
 

Spook

Senior Member
The stocking of stripers started in the 70,s. I do not target them, just want a healthy lake. From a good article -

During the same time, WRD fisheries personnel also documented the declining numbers of striped bass in the reservoir. As a result, sampling showed the decline was likely caused by poor survival of fingerlings stocked in four of six years between 1992 and 1997. (Anglers should note: A number of factors, including time of stocking, shad/herring spawning success, fingerling size, fish predation and reservoir conditions can affect survival of stocked fish.)

WRD’s tagging study results determined that the striper population was not being over-fished. The study indicated that 30-40 percent of stripers die of natural causes (diseases/water quality stressors) each year, and that 50 percent of the population generally survives and is replenished each year by stocked fish that grow into the adult population.
 

Dustin Pate

Administrator
Staff member
Hybes and stripers can co-exist...just look at West Point. Gulf run stripers have worked incredibly well here.
 
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