Are Indiana Striped Bass Vulnerable?
By Dwight Scifres- President Indiana Striped Bass Association

     Over the last couple of weeks this is a subject that I have given quite a bit of thought to. I have been reading articles and research on this subject, as well as talking to anglers in Indiana about this issue. Right now the state of the Striped bass in Indiana is very good. We have three lakes, Brookville, Patoka, and Cecil Harden that currently have good healthy populations of stripers. Also there is another lake in Indiana, Hardy lake, that is currently being stocked with Stripers and should come on as an excellent fishery in the next few years. So what do I mean when I pose the question, “ Are Indiana Striped Bass vulnerable?

    I see the Striped bass fishery in Indiana facing several challenges in the years to come. First of all since freshwater stripers are unable to reproduce naturally in Indiana waters, stocking efforts must be maintained for the fishery to continue. We must not take that for granted. Stocking costs money, and in this day and age of tight government funds, the limited funds that the DNR receives are needed for many different projects that compete for the same dollars. Although the DNR strives to make decisions based on sound scientific data, they are a government entity, and therefore are subject to the political process. Public opinion is a powerful force when it comes to the decision making process for any government agency, and fish stocking is no different. Scientific data gathered over the years has proven conclusively that the striper feeds primarily on shad in freshwater reservoirs. One of the main reason they are stocked is to maintain the balance in lakes that have an overabundance of shad. Since largemouth bass in the 12-14 inch range make up the largest segment of the adult largemouth bass population in any given lake, and they rarely feed on shad over 6 inches long. Any shad that grow past this, quickly become a problem and sooner or later without another larger predator fish in the system to keep them in check, cause the shad population to overtake the lake. Stripers prevent this from happening, keeping the system in balance, and actually help the largemouth population. Many fishermen who are not aware of the actual data provided by these studies, naturally conclude that stripers hurt the fishery for their favorite species, whether it be largemouth, bluegills, or crappie. In the past in different states sometimes this public opinion has come to threaten the efforts of the respective state agencies in their striper management efforts. Groups have approached their lawmakers and tried to get striper stocking stopped.  We must be aware that this could happen here in Indiana. Just yesterday I was told by a largemouth bass fisherman that he hated stripers. I inquired why he felt that way. He responded that stripers were killing the largemouth’s. I took the time to explain the facts of the matter to him as kindly as I could, but I don’t know that I convinced him. Regardless, it reinforced my belief that we very well may face challenges to striper stocking here in Indiana sometime in the not so distant future.

     Also Striped bass are a fish that require a relatively high oxygen content to survive. Water quality must be high enough to sustain them. Pollution as a general rule, lowers the ability of water to hold oxygen. All of the striper reservoirs here in Indiana are watershed projects. In other words the reservoirs are fed by creeks and streams that drain the surrounding land. That means agriculture practices, industrial practices and other factors have a direct impact on the water quality in our reservoirs. We must be vigilant to protect the quality of the waters we fish.

     Since stripers are a “put and take” fish, and do not reproduce naturally, they are highly susceptible to negative impact from over harvest. When we remove a striper from a lake, that’s it, it is gone forever. Unless someone puts another striper in to replace the one we took out, that is one less striper in that particular lake. Now when you multiply that by all the fishermen on a lake in a years time, and if everyone kept every striper they caught, you can correctly draw the conclusion that the impact on the fishery could be significant in a relatively short time. Right now there are relatively few fishermen in Indiana that are truly skilled at catching stripers. This will change as more fishermen come to appreciate the opportunity that stripers provide. They will educate themselves and become more skilled at putting stripers in the boat. They will pass this information on to others and the pressure put on the fish will increase  exponentially. This means that education will become vital as we proceed in the coming years. Fishermen need to be aware of how their actions individually and as a group affect the fishery. Proper catch and release procedures must be learned and practiced. Right now relatively very few fishermen are aware of how difficult it is for an adult striper to survive the stress of being caught, even when released immediately. Also the warmer the water is the harder it is for the fish to survive. Well meaning fishermen may catch stripers and release them, but they are unaware they are releasing fish that will die within the next 24-48 hrs. During warm water conditions, almost all stripers of any significant size that are caught and released will die. If a fisherman continues to fish past his legal limit, he is just killing more then he is legally entitled to keep for that day. Although he may think he is being conservation minded, the negative impact on the lake is the same as if he had exceeded the limit. This makes it clear that fishermen need to be educated to the needs of the striper.

     Fish identification. Juvenile stripers often will mingle with their cousin the white bass. The limit for white bass is relatively high. Many fisherman target white bass as they are great table fair, and are spunky fighters on light tackle. It is difficult for the untrained person to tell the difference between a white bass and a juvenile striper. Unfortunately many times juvenile stripers end up in the live well with the white bass. The fisherman unwittingly exceeds the limit for stripers as well has a negative impact on the striper fishery in the lake. Again education is the key.

     Striper are a great fish. They are fantastic fighters, fill a needed niche in our lakes helping to maintain balance, and are very good to eat. Although I know I have not covered every challenge that may be faced by the striper fishery and striper fishermen here in Indiana, I think I have answered the initial question. Are Indiana Striped bass vulnerable? Yes they are, but with a proactive approach to facing these and other challenges, we can make a positive impact.  I think maybe I have covered enough to make us realize they are not a resource that we can take for granted. Proper management and stocking practices are needed. Education for fishermen regardless of the species they like to target is key. As not only striper fishermen, but as conservation minded sportsmen we have a responsibility to be active in this arena. I think that is the most important reason we have for starting an organization such as the Indiana Striped Bass Association, taking the leadership role in the stewardship of striped bass fisheries here in our great home in Indiana.  

Dwight Scifres aka “ The Striper Sniper”