oh ya maybe Bear Run lauch was so packed last year cause the bridge was out at McDaniels. JuSt AsKIn'.......

spooNchucker im not tellin any sob story im just callin it as i see it. like i said earlier numerous times its a beautiful lake for all to enjoy it was once a great striper fishery them days are gone i wish you the best of luck with your hot spots i hope you can keep them to yourself im not here to argue or cry im just making some obvious evaluations you guys are taking it the wrong way a bit defensive maybe idk this is all im trying to say THE WEB HAS IMPACTED THE PRESSURE AT LAKE ARTHUR im not cryin about it. just stating a fact yes you can still catch fish there good numbers and good size i never said you couldn i think its great more ppl are takin advantage of the lake i would much rather have a fishin boat next to me than a sail boat. if the pressure continues to increase  for the next 5 years at the rate it has for the last 5 its goin to be hard to adapt i cant adapt now its just not the same and for the most part it really isnt even the num. of anglers its the mentality of them. 

Pens I caught plenty this year as well, but with the exception of the dinks not nearly as many days gone by. Others to must have been seeing the same thing. Judging the higher number of boat I watched jumping from spot to spot as opposede to siiting tight. It was a down year ( for me at least ) when it came to numbers of 6lb+ fish. Alot of things may be the cause, but as I said. The larger number of smaller fish, tells me the next few years will get better.

Colty,

You make this statement.

"it was once a great striper fishery them days are gone"

Then THIS statement in the same post.

"yes you can still catch fish there good numbers and good size i never said you couldnt"

Which is it?

"and for the most part it really isnt even the num. of anglers its the mentality of them."

I would have to generally agree with this statement.

For anybody that has not fished Arthur for stripers and you are reading this thread, it's 10 times worse on the lake in May-Jun and early July. The fishing was down this year and the pressure was the worst I've ever seen and I've been fishing for stripers for over 20 years just like some of you said. Their are more people keeping fish and their are fisherman that go out that really don't have a clue on what they are doing. It's not hard to catch these fish on SOME nights but if don't take extra care of them on release alot of them die and alot of the new guys on the lake don't know that. The internet, newspapers and tackle shops dying for business are killing the striper fishing. I've never seen a year this bad and think it's gonna be like this for the next 5-10 years, it's not going to change next year these smaller fish started showing up 3 years ago, and 2 years ago I seen even more, and this year it was out of control. Just saying, alot of the bigger fish are gone, 50-100 people saying the same thing every night for 3 months isn't a fluke. And by the way I've ate one of these fish and know other people that have tried them and they are horrible, no matter how you clean them. The way I think about keeping them is, they don't reproduce so I put them all back in, and I wish everyone else would do the same, it would make the fishing way better for all fishing. The stripers are the only fish in that lake that control the bait population bacause they eat so much more then other fish, if the bait gets out of control the rest of the fish are going to be harder to catch with so much bait around.

its not the same fishery it once was and prob never will be. yes you can still catch fish and good ones however its just not like it use to be and the sad thing is the younger guys that didnt have the chance to experience what im talkin about are alot of the ones that ruined it with the web and if you fished the lake back in the day then you know what im talking about im not saying dont help anybody or give any advice im just sayin theres no need to blast it all over the web...and imo the only reason for doing that is the look at me inspiration. stop at the pilot one night after fishin and you will see the guys there showing off their fish then throwing them in the dumpster its a shame and idk how much of that is goin on but ive seen it and im not saying thats the webs fault but the web does bring alot of these guys to the lake. there are alot of guys i know personally that ive helped out and vise versa and i can guarantee if i posted something they taught me they would  nev show me anything ever again and vise versa however if i pass that knowledge on to a friend no harm done its just the way i was brought up i know everybody isnt going to have the same view as i do on the matter i can promise you this tho i would never throw the anchor in casting distance of another boat and i would appreciate the same respect but thats not what we have goin on out there and im talkin areas with just a few boats not the christmas tree out by the island (thats just what i call it because thats what it looks like when you drive over the bridge a christmas tree all lit up) and as i said earlier im not looking for an argument just voicing how i feel 

ORIGINAL: colty

its not the same fishery it once was and prob never will be. yes you can still catch fish and good ones however its just not like it use to be and the sad thing is the younger guys that didnt have the chance to experience what im talkin about are alot of the ones that ruined it with the web and if you fished the lake back in the day then you know what im talking about im not saying dont help anybody or give any advice im just sayin theres no need to blast it all over the web...and imo the only reason for doing that is the look at me inspiration. stop at the pilot one night after fishin and you will see the guys there showing off their fish then throwing them in the dumpster its a shame and idk how much of that is goin on but ive seen it and im not saying thats the webs fault but the web does bring alot of these guys to the lake. there are alot of guys i know personally that ive helped out and vise versa and i can guarantee if i posted something they taught me they would  nev show me anything ever again and vise versa however if i pass that knowledge on to a friend no harm done its just the way i was brought up i know everybody isnt going to have the same view as i do on the matter i can promise you this tho i would never throw the anchor in casting distance of another boat and i would appreciate the same respect but thats not what we have goin on out there and im talkin areas with just a few boats not the christmas tree out by the island (thats just what i call it because thats what it looks like when you drive over the bridge a christmas tree all lit up) and as i said earlier im not looking for an argument just voicing how i feel 

if youre seeing them "throwing them in the dumpster" then you should report it to the authorities as im almost positive thats illegal. crying here doesnt help. just sayin'

ORIGINAL: **commander**

ORIGINAL: colty

ORIGINAL: spoonchucker

Pens,

The previous few years, I haven't found the numbers of "smaller" fish that I have this year. This certainly an indication of poor recruitment from the stocking. Which also explains a decrease in larger fish this year. The poor recruitment, could be a result of predation, or stress from water temps, or quality when they were stocked. Could also be the quality of fish that we are essentially "bumming" from other states. The "smaller" fish I caught this year, fell mostly into two ranges. 10-12 inches, and 18-20 inches. Which tells me we had at least two years of good recuitment, and should see a return of "larger" fish over the next 2-3 years.

not sure how true it is but i have heard alwifes feed on striper fry not sure if its fry they are stocking but the alwife population is a problem of its own

why is it a problem? just askin'

well if its true they eat striper fry and theres alot of them and fry is what they are stocking then this could be a problem and this is just things i have heard dont kno how true any of it is on the plus side if every guy out there throwin a cast net bought a permit then the state is making some serious revenue off them

ORIGINAL: **commander**

ORIGINAL: colty

its not the same fishery it once was and prob never will be. yes you can still catch fish and good ones however its just not like it use to be and the sad thing is the younger guys that didnt have the chance to experience what im talkin about are alot of the ones that ruined it with the web and if you fished the lake back in the day then you know what im talking about im not saying dont help anybody or give any advice im just sayin theres no need to blast it all over the web...and imo the only reason for doing that is the look at me inspiration. stop at the pilot one night after fishin and you will see the guys there showing off their fish then throwing them in the dumpster its a shame and idk how much of that is goin on but ive seen it and im not saying thats the webs fault but the web does bring alot of these guys to the lake. there are alot of guys i know personally that ive helped out and vise versa and i can guarantee if i posted something they taught me they would  nev show me anything ever again and vise versa however if i pass that knowledge on to a friend no harm done its just the way i was brought up i know everybody isnt going to have the same view as i do on the matter i can promise you this tho i would never throw the anchor in casting distance of another boat and i would appreciate the same respect but thats not what we have goin on out there and im talkin areas with just a few boats not the christmas tree out by the island (thats just what i call it because thats what it looks like when you drive over the bridge a christmas tree all lit up) and as i said earlier im not looking for an argument just voicing how i feel 

if youre seeing them "throwing them in the dumpster" then you should report it to the authorities as im almost positive thats illegal. crying here doesnt help. just sayin'

im pretty sure if you keep your limit of legal fish you can do what you wish with them they are yours no where in the regs does it state you must consume the fish that you keep

ORIGINAL: spoonchucker

Colty,

The PF&BC states fingerling. However the one time I was there as they were stocked, they were more fry stage, than fingerling. It could have been just that year though, or sometimes one, sometimes the other. We really ARE at the mercy of what's available from other states. I've made some contacts, and am working on having the PF&BC raise their own, or with a co-op IN Penna.

I really doubt predation from Alewives. As their numbers really aren't any greater that 10-15 years ago. Gizzard shad on the other hand, mat have been a problem. I've noticed their numbers being down the past couple years. And low & behold we have had what appears to be 2-3 years of good Striper recruitment.

im not even certain if they do eat the fry but have heard some talk of it although as mentioned earlier they do have the catfish to elude

ORIGINAL: colty

ORIGINAL: **commander**

ORIGINAL: colty

its not the same fishery it once was and prob never will be. yes you can still catch fish and good ones however its just not like it use to be and the sad thing is the younger guys that didnt have the chance to experience what im talkin about are alot of the ones that ruined it with the web and if you fished the lake back in the day then you know what im talking about im not saying dont help anybody or give any advice im just sayin theres no need to blast it all over the web...and imo the only reason for doing that is the look at me inspiration. stop at the pilot one night after fishin and you will see the guys there showing off their fish then throwing them in the dumpster its a shame and idk how much of that is goin on but ive seen it and im not saying thats the webs fault but the web does bring alot of these guys to the lake. there are alot of guys i know personally that ive helped out and vise versa and i can guarantee if i posted something they taught me they would  nev show me anything ever again and vise versa however if i pass that knowledge on to a friend no harm done its just the way i was brought up i know everybody isnt going to have the same view as i do on the matter i can promise you this tho i would never throw the anchor in casting distance of another boat and i would appreciate the same respect but thats not what we have goin on out there and im talkin areas with just a few boats not the christmas tree out by the island (thats just what i call it because thats what it looks like when you drive over the bridge a christmas tree all lit up) and as i said earlier im not looking for an argument just voicing how i feel 

if youre seeing them "throwing them in the dumpster" then you should report it to the authorities as im almost positive thats illegal. crying here doesnt help. just sayin'

im pretty sure if you keep your limit of legal fish you can do what you wish with them they are yours no where in the regs does it state you must consume the fish that you keep

could be wrong but i think there a law about wasting fish and game in pa.

what did the guys at the pilot say when you told them about what theyre doing does to the fishery. just sayin' just askin'

ORIGINAL: **commander**

ORIGINAL: colty

ORIGINAL: **commander**

ORIGINAL: colty

its not the same fishery it once was and prob never will be. yes you can still catch fish and good ones however its just not like it use to be and the sad thing is the younger guys that didnt have the chance to experience what im talkin about are alot of the ones that ruined it with the web and if you fished the lake back in the day then you know what im talking about im not saying dont help anybody or give any advice im just sayin theres no need to blast it all over the web...and imo the only reason for doing that is the look at me inspiration. stop at the pilot one night after fishin and you will see the guys there showing off their fish then throwing them in the dumpster its a shame and idk how much of that is goin on but ive seen it and im not saying thats the webs fault but the web does bring alot of these guys to the lake. there are alot of guys i know personally that ive helped out and vise versa and i can guarantee if i posted something they taught me they would  nev show me anything ever again and vise versa however if i pass that knowledge on to a friend no harm done its just the way i was brought up i know everybody isnt going to have the same view as i do on the matter i can promise you this tho i would never throw the anchor in casting distance of another boat and i would appreciate the same respect but thats not what we have goin on out there and im talkin areas with just a few boats not the christmas tree out by the island (thats just what i call it because thats what it looks like when you drive over the bridge a christmas tree all lit up) and as i said earlier im not looking for an argument just voicing how i feel 

if youre seeing them "throwing them in the dumpster" then you should report it to the authorities as im almost positive thats illegal. crying here doesnt help. just sayin'

im pretty sure if you keep your limit of legal fish you can do what you wish with them they are yours no where in the regs does it state you must consume the fish that you keep

could be wrong but i think there a law about wasting fish and game in pa.

what did the guys at the pilot say when you told them about what theyre doing does to the fishery. just sayin' just askin'

they said that they usually release the fish but it was deep hooked and didn make it and that they had brought it there to try n give it to somebody but noone wanted it. maybe it was a one time event and i just happen to be there that night at that certain time... if it is illegal maybe i should mention it to the fish police and they can keep an eye out for this type of behavior

ORIGINAL: **commander**

so the alewives might not be a problem, people keeping/throwing fish away might not be a problem, striper fry might not be a problem, etc... perhaps theres not a problem. just sayin'

as i stated numerous times the only point i was trying to make here is THE WEB HAS IMPACTED THE PRESSURE AT LAKE ARTHUR so you can stop trying to twist everything i say and understand the only point im trying to make is THE WEB HAS IMPACTED THE PRESSURE AT LAKE ARTHUR in case you didnt understand what im trying to say  THE WEB HAS IMPACTED THE PRESSURE AT LAKE ARTHUR pm me if you need me to break it down so that you might understand what im trying to say here

sorry for commenting on a subject that i didnt bring up i didnt know i wasnt aloud. i simply stated i heard alwifes eat striper fry and that i did not know if this was true or what was stocked in the lake fry or fingerlings you somehow took it as i feel this is a problem and yes i did say the alwife pop is a problem of its own meaning if this is true it could affect the striper population as i made very clear a subject i do not know much about just throwing something out there that i have heard. as far as ppl keeping the fish to throw them away alot of these ppl wouldnt even kno stripers existed in the lake if it wasn for the web...understand the connection?  spoonchucker stated he doenst feel the alwife population has much affect on  the striper pop. and he is prob right im sure he has way more knowledge on the subject than i do my point being THE WEB HAS IMPACTED THE PRESSURE AT LAKE ARTHUR

at this point it doesnt matter the damage has already been done its time to move on to new waters im just trying to open the eyes of some ppl that are posting a lil more info than they should be imo. in hopes that they may realize what they could of had and what they ended up with and i have to keep saying there is nothing wrong with helping ppl giving some advice etc. but also there is no need to blast it all over the web either. and its like everybody wants to attack me for feeling this way minus a few and ive said over and over im not lookin for an argument here but it sure does seem like alot of guys went on defense mode when the look at me subject was brought up