Thousands of Chesapeake / Delaware strain, striped bass fingerlings were recently relocated from North Carolina to Raystown Lake. The stocking, conducted by the Pennsylvania Striped Bass Association, took place at the Tatman Run boat launch.  The fish were purchased from Delmarva Aquatics.

 

As you can see from the photo, the minnow sized striper fits in the palm of your hand. In four years, it will reach the legal size of 20 inches and weigh about four pounds. From that point on, who knows how big this little guy will get. Stripers weighing more than 20 pounds are common catches at Raystown, and the largest striper caught to date was 53 pounds 12 ounces.

 

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and local Striped Bass Fishing Clubs have been stocking Raystown annually since 1974. Each year, tens of thousands are released. The exact number of stocked fingerlings that survive the “fish eat fish” world in which they live is hard to say.   But once it becomes an adult, a striper can live as long as 30 years. 

 

Money to pay for Raystown stockings made by the Pennsylvania Striped Bass Association comes from funds raise through membership fees and money donated to the fish stocking program.  The 2008  fish stocking budget is $26,000.  Club members also singled out Mark Sipes as someone on whom they can depend for support. Mark operates Battle Ridge Whitetail farms in McConnellsburg, PA. [As soon as Mark’s Website is finished, I will post the link]  Mark and a long list of local businesses support the PSBA programs.

 

The actual stocking process requires more than just driving up to the shore and dumping in the fingerlings. Care must be taken to slowly adjust the water temperature in the transport tanks to match that of the lake water temperature. This is done to avoid a sudden and potentially fatal change in temperature. Once that is done, a large drain pipe is opened and off they go.

 

       

 

Here is a short video clip of the process. The loud generator is annoying, but necessary to pump lake water into the transport tanks. As lake vacationers come and go at the launch, the striper club is "doing its thing"!  

 Images of the Big Brothers / Big Sisters fishing event July 19, 2008 hosted by the PSBA.

L-R:  Coast Guard Auxiliary Safety talk, then down to the lake for some fishing fun!