Big striper facts and figures

[rockhopper]

I was searching for the info on the Cuttyhunk bass and came across this, it amazes me that such huge bass used to be commonplace. :drool:





Donald Zboyan of Fords caught a 68-pounder off Sandy Hook on June 29, 1970, and Joseph Elisio of Trenton nailed one that went 64 1/2 pounds on a chunk of mackerel while fishing off the Seaside Heights pier in 1974.

Tom Schnoor, Middletown, caught a 67-pound, 2-ounce bass on a live bunker May 27, 1976, at Sandy Hook, and Thomas James Russell caught a 69-pounder Nov. 18, 1982.

Russell's bass still stands as a 16-pound test International Game Fish Association world record as does the 66-pound, 12-ounce bass that Steve Thomas caught on 12-pound test line Nov. 1, 1979, at Bradley Beach.

Not in the 60-pound class, but a world's record, nonetheless, is the 48-pound, 9-ounce striped bass caught on 12-pound test line by Edna Yates while fishing in Deal on July 27, 1980.

New Jersey boasts the largest striper recognized by the IGFA, the 78 1/2-pounder caught by Albert R. McReynolds on Sept. 21, 1982, at Atlantic City.

McReynolds' fish replaced the 73-pounder caught Aug. 17, 1913, by Charles B. Church in Cuttyhunk, Mass. That fish measured 60 inches long with a 30 1/2-inch girth.

Charles E. Cinto tied Church's weight on June 16, 1967, with a 73-pounder that measured 56 inches long with a 35-inch girth. That fish was also caught in Cuttyhunk.

Sept. 5 of that same year, John J. Salonis caught a 68 1/2-pound bass at North Truro, Mass. That fish measured 54 inches long with a 32 1/2-inch girth. Ralph Gray had caught one of the same weight at North Truro on Oct. 1, 1958. His measured 50 inches long with a 34-inch girth.

Edward J. Kirker came just a pound shy of that mark with a bass he caught Oct. 10, 1969, at Cuttyhunk. That one measured 51 inches long with a 31-inch girth.

At the time the 72-pounder was publicized, a reader wrote Saltwater Sportsman magazine that he had a 75-pound bass caught in a North Carolina net years ago that was mounted. That fish had measured 53 3/4 inches long with a 34 1/2-inch girth. It contained 14 pounds of roe.

Robert Rocchetta holds the men's 50-pound test IGFA record with a 76-pound bass he caught off Montauk, N.Y., July 17, 1981. Chester A. Berry holds the IGFA 80-pound test record with a 70-pound bass he caught off Orient Point, N.Y. on Sept. 5, 1987.

Despite all of the recreational effort that has gone into striped bass fishing in the last 125 years, no one has matched the netters. Numerous fish in the 75- to 80-pound class have been reported taken in the twine.

The largest were two seined at Edentown, N.C., in 1891 that weighed 125 pounds apiece.

Possibly the largest ever taken was one that was netted off Worton Point in upper Chesapeake Bay in 1915 by a Capt. Charles O. Cummings. His fish weighed 106 pounds without the head, tail, roe and entrails.

Marine biologists estimate that the discarded parts would have weighed 38 pounds bringing that fish to a total weight of 144 pounds.

The monster stripers have all been females. Male stripers grow faster than females from the second to the fourth years, but from then on the females grower faster and apparently live longer.

Male stripers older than 10 years are rare in the Atlantic Ocean, and studies done by Maryland biologists from the 1950s through the 1960s revealed few big males.

During the period from 1954 through 1963, the Maryland scientists checked 44 male bass that weighed between 15 and 20 pounds, eight that went between 20 and 25, six that weighed from 25 to 30 pounds and one that weighed 32 pounds. It measured 40 inches in length.

The largest male was one that was measured at 45 1/2 inches long when it was tagged and released April 19, 1958, in the Nanticoke River, a Chesapeake Bay feeder stream. That fish was caught six weeks later off Barnegat.

[jonthepain]

when i was a kid they were so thick in Little Egg Harbor that you could walk across the bay on their backs

[jonthepain]

and not even get wet.

[DarkSkies]

^^ If that weren't partially true, I would give ya one of these :kooky: Jon. :HappyWave:

There is some truth to that, though. Before the moratorium, in the good years, bass were so abundant people never gave it another thought that these fish could be wiped out.

As little as 7 or 8 years ago, you could catch bass and blues from the surf along the beach, merely by going from beach to beach looking for active fish. :wheeeee:

And as little as 20 years ago as the stocks were being rebuilt, you could catch double digit numbers of bass, blues, weakfish, and fluke, from some beaches along NJ.. all in the middle of a bright sunny August day....even in the absence of a blitz to tell you they were there.

I feel like such an old fart describing these memories Jon. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png The only good thing about it is if I'm an old fart, you're definitely an old fart too! :ROFLMAO

Thanks for the perspective, Rockhopper. Others, feel free to post some vintage catches like Rockhopper did to allow some new fishermen to see what fishing was really like.

The OFFC shared stories with me of following the striper migration to Cape Cod, and guys up there catching wheel barrows full of bass, back in the 70's. It's amazing when you look back in history and see what you can find. :learn:

[basshunter]

The monster stripers have all been females. Male stripers grow faster than females from the second to the fourth years, but from then on the females grower faster and apparently live longer.

Male stripers older than 10 years are rare in the Atlantic Ocean, and studies done by Maryland biologists from the 1950s through the 1960s revealed few big males.

During the period from 1954 through 1963, the Maryland scientists checked 44 male bass that weighed between 15 and 20 pounds, eight that went between 20 and 25, six that weighed from 25 to 30 pounds and one that weighed 32 pounds. It measured 40 inches in length.

The largest male was one that was measured at 45 1/2 inches long when it was tagged and released April 19, 1958, in the Nanticoke River, a Chesapeake Bay feeder stream. That fish was caught six weeks later off Barnegat.


Wow, never knew that, thanks for the info!

[jonthepain]

And as little as 20 years ago as the stocks were being rebuilt, you could catch double digit numbers of bass, blues, weakfish, and fluke, from some beaches along NJ.. [B]all in the middle of a bright sunny August day....even in the absence of a blitz to tell you they were there.

you sure could on lbi. i did it regularly.

[DarkSkies]

Thanks for the perspective, Rockhopper. Others, feel free to post some vintage catches like Rockhopper did to allow some new fishermen to see what fishing was really like.
It's amazing when you look back in history and see what you can find. :learn:


The one and only Squidlips :HappyWave: created a thread called "On this day" where he documents some of the original catches in the 70's and 80's.

I love Squidlips. He's one of the funniest and nicest guys on the surfcaster circuit. :thumbsup: You won't find one person who has anything bad to say about him. :clapping: He resurrected these records when Brian from Stevens B&T in Long Branch was going to throw them away. They give us a perfect time capsule back into a time when many of today's fishermen were not even fishing yet.

This guy can do no wrong, in my eyes. :fishing:
But he did make a slight error, he innocently neglected to post Finchaser's big bass in that thread. :beatin:


So, to give credit and recognition to a great surf caught striped bass catch, I'm posting it here.
This bass was caught by Finchaser at a time when there were no bunker blitzes. :scared: :eek:

You had to go out and work for each and every fish. And when you got a fish that was close to 50, that really meant something, because there weren't that many of them around. :clapping: Contrast that to today when you will have a blitz where 4 fish at or close to the 50 mark can be surf caught in one day. :bigeyes:

Back then, that was unheard of.
Bob and others from JCAA worked hard to lobby to restrict the bunker boats from coming as close as they were and taking all the bunker. As a direct result, we today have the trememdous May and June NJ jetty fising that we have.

Bob and others of the Stevens Surfsters and different clubs would spend days at a time fishin when the bite was hot. In some cases it cost these guys their marriages or relationships with their girlfriends. The best of the best usually excel at catching fish, but if you want to be in that group many other areas of your life ultimately suffer. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png


Anyway, that's a well-known fact among guys who fish a lot and put up big numbers of fish. It's the price some are willing to pay. They know when the fish are there, you have to be on them immediately, or you miss out. The fish wait for no one.










Here's the original weigh in statement:
"On this date in history, May 23 1986, Bob Caracozzo weighed in a 47 1/2 pound striped bass.

Bob was an original charter member of the Steven's Surfsters Fishing Club."





Congrats Bob for a true trophy fish, bagged in the middle of the night, after many nights of hard fishin. You must have been exhausted from lack of sleep when ya landed that fish. I know the story, ya told me. Maybe someday when ya feel like it., you'll tell the members here how ya did it. Many congrats!!! :clapping::clapping::clapping: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[baitstealer]

47 1/2 lb bass, and you did not catch it in the bunker blitzes? Now that is a true cow and an achievement worth being proud of. Good job.

[bababooey]

:thumbsup:25 years later, congratulations finchaser. Would love to hear the story of that fish someday.:drool:

[BassBuddah]

I would also love to hear that story FC. Great catch. Did you save any pics?

[finchaser]

thanks I'll try and post the newspaper article and a picture if that doesn't work i'll post a picture of the mount.That was the last big fish I killed.

[storminsteve]

^I can see why you are now so up on conservation. The hype to get the big fish today is crazy. I was talking to some guys on the jetties this morning and some of the stories they told me I was disgusted by. Throwing back a 25lb striper dead, just because you are in a contest and want to bring a bigger one in.

There is something called the striper cup now, apparently all the clubs participate in it. The one who kills the biggest fish gets bragging rights. What a stupid tourney! I'll bet some of these guys are responsible for the dead fish guys told me about washing up around the jetties.http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon13.png

Look forward to seeing that story about your fish, Finchaser!

[Monty]

^I can see why you are now so up on conservation. The hype to get the big fish today is crazy. I was talking to some guys on the jetties this morning and some of the stories they told me I was disgusted by. Throwing back a 25lb striper dead, just because you are in a contest and want to bring a bigger one in.
It should be noted if someone sees someone doing this, take a picture of the guy and post it on these surf fishing sites. Maybe the sites can start publicizing clubs and people who kill excessive bass, people who are caught culling. Party and charter boats that limit out 3 bass per person (make it a negative that these people are negatively impacting our sport).

[jonthepain]

great idea.

[paco33]

It should be noted if someone sees someone doing this, take a picture of the guy and post it on these surf fishing sites. Maybe the sites can start publicizing clubs and people who kill excessive bass, people who are caught culling. Party and charter boats that limit out 3 bass per person (make it a negative that these people are negatively impacting our sport).



I would love to see someone who has the balls to do this. The same with litterers. If they stood to be shamed in public they might act a little better.