# Kenny,



## wdbrand (May 24, 2007)

If you get time, can you look back and remember when yall were catching the most stripers. I know some folks always kept diaries/logs and wonder what the water temps were when the heyday was in full swing. Kinda like the best years and when it started to drop off. Gradually or rather quick? Doing a little research and am curious.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

wdbrand said:


> If you get time, can you look back and remember when yall were catching the most stripers. I know some folks always kept diaries/logs and wonder what the water temps were when the heyday was in full swing. Kinda like the best years and when it started to drop off. Gradually or rather quick? Doing a little research and am curious.


 Doug,kept boat diary and still do,but none of the surf or even the planks... Can remember and have it in my boat diary,having caught them in both inlets and as far north as Avon out of the boat,along with some big drum.. Don't fish OI in my boat.. I can remember the year that Tater caught his first on the beach,same year I caught the last one.. It was fairly sudden,just remembering WRI tourneys... I'm thinking they faided in last three years they were here... Still not all the way gone with a fish here and there caught, sparatic bites in the past few years (most n of OI),but the bites were nothing close to what they were..

Cdog could chime in here and let you know when this pic was..











He caught these fish at PI when we were not catching at HI..

This was Tater's first and last from the surf near Rodanthe,I think 08?










Caught my last from the surf the day before..


This was Tater and I walking on Pamlico,completly frozen in 01.










Just a guess,but peak may have been 02or03 with the slide down in 06or07??

Maybe someone with a diary or better memory could help us here as well... :redface:


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## sunburntspike (Oct 4, 2010)

last year according to my logs surf temp at FRP 39 ,stripers being caught as far south as nagshead pier,tho about 2 miles of the beach.todays surf temp is 52 and it has not dropped below 49 at any time this season,plus looking at rutgers shows a large eddy coming off the stream and headed north,already around the point with 59-61.forcast is for 2 more days of ne wind which will probably keep those temps consistent or rising but may push some fish closer to shore up north,even them boys in the mouth of the bay are hit and miss with some surprize hook ups of bluefin tuna inside the EEZ.so in summary it don't look good for this seasons stripers in N.C. waters but it may be the start of an epic bluefin season going right into the return of yellowfin in march.


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## Cdog (Mar 18, 2002)

Drumdum said:


> Doug,kept boat diary and still do,but none of the surf or even the planks... Can remember and have it in my boat diary,having caught them in both inlets and as far north as Avon out of the boat,along with some big drum.. Don't fish OI in my boat.. I can remember the year that Tater caught his first on the beach,same year I caught the last one.. It was fairly sudden,just remembering WRI tourneys... I'm thinking they faided in last three years they were here... Still not all the way gone with a fish here and there caught, sparatic bites in the past few years (most n of OI),but the bites were nothing close to what they were..
> 
> Cdog could chime in here and let you know when this pic was..
> 
> ...


PI striper was Jan 3 04. Tater's striper and yours and mine was Dec 07, bite started the Wed after teh striper tourney. Last beach caught striper for me. 04 was my best year for striper and went down hill fast after that.


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## wdbrand (May 24, 2007)

Ok, when was the heyday? The years when you could almost depend in catching a striper from OI to Hatteras and how long did it last? Was it lean in the mid 80's for several years til they rebuilt when the stripers were regulated?


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## mots reel deal (Aug 11, 2011)

02 and 03 were the best. caught them from oi to hatteras inlet, on some of the most rotten bunker i have ever used lol.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

wdbrand said:


> Ok, when was the heyday? The years when you could almost depend in catching a striper from OI to Hatteras and how long did it last? Was it lean in the mid 80's for several years til they rebuilt when the stripers were regulated?


 Just a guess from what my memory will allow,but 2000 through 06.. Mid 80's?? Not just lean,I would say non-existant... Can remember when I first started fishing planks back in the early to mid 70's,had never seen a striper caught or even heard of one,just pictures fromt the 60's... Late 90's was start of the comeback.. ?


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## wdbrand (May 24, 2007)

This year it's probably all about water temps, but last year that shouldn't have been the case. Wonder if any records exist of stripers being caught from the surf or by some of the rowboats that fished the coast in the late 1800's and early1900's?


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## NCsurffisher (Jun 27, 2004)

I did a blog post on recent striper OBX history, etc. See: http://surffisher.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/a-quiet-relaxing-thanksgiving/

To answer your question directly, I'd say 1999-2004 were the peak years. 

I don't think water temperature is the answer as those early 2000 year featured warm winters much like this one.


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## KB Spot Chaser (Nov 19, 2009)

NCsurffisher said:


> I did a blog post on recent striper OBX history, etc. See: http://surffisher.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/a-quiet-relaxing-thanksgiving/
> 
> To answer your question directly, I'd say 1999-2004 were the peak years.
> 
> I don't think water temperature is the answer as those early 2000 year featured warm winters much like this one.


You are absolutely correct NCsurffisher, it all has to do with the bait.


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## wdbrand (May 24, 2007)

Thanks all. I'll try to put it together and see if there's a common point.


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## hifishing (Dec 22, 2009)

Gonna chime in here...If you look at the ASMFC stock assessment, we have been seeing a steady decline of stripers since the peak population of 2006, pretty much the last time the stripers hit the beach in hatteras on a consistant basis. When the population declines, the extremities of the range feel it first, like Maine and NC. I do believe there is more to it than that.

Bunker have been pretty scarce in NC waters recently, and what bunker there is, aint turning the surf black like they used to. Anyone else notice a correlation between the lack of bunker and the bluefish blitzes of old, or the drum blitzes, or the striper blitzes???

No bait=no fish


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

hifishing said:


> gonna chime in here...if you look at the asmfc stock assessment, we have been seeing a steady decline of stripers since the peak population of 2006, pretty much the last time the stripers hit the beach in hatteras on a consistant basis. When the population declines, the extremities of the range feel it first, like maine and nc. I do believe there is more to it than that.
> 
> Bunker have been pretty scarce in nc waters recently, and what bunker there is, aint turning the surf black like they used to. Anyone else notice a correlation between the lack of bunker and the bluefish blitzes of old, or the drum blitzes, or the striper blitzes???
> 
> No bait=no fish


x2....


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## Cdog (Mar 18, 2002)

hifishing said:


> Gonna chime in here...If you look at the ASMFC stock assessment, we have been seeing a steady decline of stripers since the peak population of 2006, pretty much the last time the stripers hit the beach in hatteras on a consistant basis. When the population declines, the extremities of the range feel it first, like Maine and NC. I do believe there is more to it than that.
> 
> Bunker have been pretty scarce in NC waters recently, and what bunker there is, aint turning the surf black like they used to. Anyone else notice a correlation between the lack of bunker and the bluefish blitzes of old, or the drum blitzes, or the striper blitzes???
> 
> No bait=no fish


Agree but what is keeping it out of the surf? From what I am hearing up here in Va this year the schools of bait are crazy and not baby bunker either, big bunker.


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## drumrun (Dec 5, 2007)

I caught my first one in a drum bite in the fall of 96, my best yr was 99 with 36 beach caught fish.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

drumrun said:


> I caught my first one in a drum bite in the fall of 96, my best yr was 99 with 36 beach caught fish.



Don't remember the year,Randy,but do remember catching stripers and drum together off the planks...


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## hifishing (Dec 22, 2009)

Omega protein.

Also if you look at the stock assessment for menhaden, there is a chart somewhere that shows the historical abundance of these fish. I believe they are at 20% of historic levels. I'll try and dig it up.

But if you ask the ASMFC they will tell you bunker are not overfished and overfishing is not occuring. Its not like ASMFC has a clue on anything.

Also, if you think about it CDOG, I would bet the enitre (or close to it) population of bunker is in or near the lower bay/cape henry area right now.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

hifishing said:


> Omega protein.
> 
> Also if you look at the stock assessment for menhaden, there is a chart somewhere that shows the historical abundance of these fish. I believe they are at 20% of historic levels. I'll try and dig it up.
> 
> ...


 Same as dmf saying that the king population is healthy and thriving.... 

Fatback are what kept n beach drum here in Hatteras in good numbers for so many years.. We had one rush of fatback come through in Oct,best bite in a while.. Then fatback go away after storms in late Oct,needless to say Nov was the worst Nov on record as far as Avon Pier,and n beach as well.. ONE,yes ONE fish was caught on Avon in Nov...

Stripers depend on those fatback to munch on during thier migration,just as drum do.. Find what few fatback are left,stripers are nearby somewhere....


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## drumrun (Dec 5, 2007)

Drumdum said:


> Don't remember the year,Randy,but do remember catching stripers and drum together off the planks...


I remember I was working at frank and Frans, Mike langston and I would close shop and haul butt up to to Rodanthe, we would jig stripers under the lights and catch goldfish off the end. Want to say it was 98. Fun times!!


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## wdbrand (May 24, 2007)

I saw where bunker filter 4 to 6 gallons of water per MINUTE. Anybody wonder why the bays in the shape it's in?


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## drumrun (Dec 5, 2007)

wdbrand said:


> I saw where bunker filter 4 to 6 gallons of water per MINUTE. Anybody wonder why the bays in the shape it's in?


Add that with the lack of oysters and ya get the bay today. I am sure I am off a little bit by the numbers, but as I was once told by a VIMS employee, when the English first settled there were enough oysters, bunker to filter the bay every 3 days now it takes over 550 days!!


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## sunburntspike (Oct 4, 2010)

Drumdum said:


> Same as dmf saying that the king population is healthy and thriving.... yea,healthy.2 kings decked on the north shore piers all season,yea healthy
> 
> Fatback are what kept n beach drum here in Hatteras in good numbers for so many years.. We had one rush of fatback come through in Oct,best bite in a while.. Then fatback go away after storms in late Oct,needless to say Nov was the worst Nov on record as far as Avon Pier,and n beach as well.. ONE,yes ONE fish was caught on Avon in Nov...i'll second nov.and oct. wasn't much better
> 
> Stripers depend on those fatback to munch on during thier migration,just as drum do.. Find what few fatback are left,stripers are nearby somewhere....


ditto the reason jacks have been so scarce,used to be able to time them speed demons when a school of pogies came thru,now you rarely see anything in the small scools if yer lucky enuf to see a school allday as it is


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## hifishing (Dec 22, 2009)

http://savemenhaden.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/menhaden-population-decline-1979-2009/

i like pics with my story, but im a computer idiot, if someone could help?


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Copied it from Cdog,but fully displays what we are up against with menhaden population... Shame of it all is moritorium on them for 2yrs and back to normal,they grow that fast... Can omega take those kinds of regs,or better yet will they ever be implimented??? Short answer,h*ll no....


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

If they would start eating seabass. They'd have an abundance of food down here. Opps, samfc says they are over fished...


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## originalhooker (Nov 26, 2009)

I remember I was working at frank and Frans, Mike langston and I would close shop and haul butt up to to Rodanthe, we would jig stripers under the lights and catch goldfish off the end. Want to say it was 98. Fun times!!

Black jigs near the lights worked well up there.

Yep that's right....they started making a showing in 95' mainly OI & PI, getting better each year, Mike was at F&F 98', I got him to kayak off the point @ night when the "island formed up", stripers & drum were mixed pretty good, had quite a few 20 -30 fish nights. The best number years were 98' - 02', ( you could hit the tides right @OI, PI, north bch or the point and routinely get a half dozen for the day) then they tapered off again to 04' -- been slim pickens since. I recall overall milder trips (nov-dec- begining jan)98', 01', 02' - 99' 00' had some brutally cold nights - especially w/ winds..

Those 4 years absolutely spoiled me,,,didn't respect, or know how to fully appreciate the ease of filling the coolers....or chasing the schools on the beach..I selfishly got an "expected" attitude of catching them..


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## drumchaser (Jan 14, 2003)

I remember 01-02 being specifically nice. Got pictures of the ten of us in our group off ramp 27 hooked up. The striper chowder and fried striper was quite nice that week.


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## OBXPC (Dec 17, 2009)

originalhooker said:


> I remember I was working at frank and Frans, Mike langston and I would close shop and haul butt up to to Rodanthe, we would jig stripers under the lights and catch goldfish off the end. Want to say it was 98. Fun times!!
> 
> Black jigs near the lights worked well up there.
> 
> ...


I agree 98-02 was awesome. Seemed like we got em every time around the week after thanksgiving.
I'll never forget the first night we waded out to the "island". There were schools of bunker all around us in waist deep water. As soon as we got there it was instant hookups on 40" class stripers and an occasional big drum til we ran out of bait. Best i've ever seen.
Catching them at OI on plugs was pretty awesome too but nothing will top the nights on the "island" for me.


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## NCsurffisher (Jun 27, 2004)

originalhooker said:


> I remember I was working at frank and Frans, Mike langston and I would close shop and haul butt up to to Rodanthe, we would jig stripers under the lights and catch goldfish off the end. Want to say it was 98. Fun times!!
> 
> Black jigs near the lights worked well up there.
> 
> ...



Totally agree. I figured it would keep getting better as the protected population grew. Not.


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## drumrun (Dec 5, 2007)

originalhooker said:


> I remember I was working at frank and Frans, Mike langston and I would close shop and haul butt up to to Rodanthe, we would jig stripers under the lights and catch goldfish off the end. Want to say it was 98. Fun times!!
> 
> Black jigs near the lights worked well up there.
> 
> ...


Yep, it was black jigs with black tails. Certain nights ya could cast to the fish ya wanted. It only lasted a couple weeks and the fish never did the same thing at avon. It was fun though!!!!!!!


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

drumrun said:


> Yep, it was black jigs with black tails. Certain nights ya could cast to the fish ya wanted. It only lasted a couple weeks and the fish never did the same thing at avon. It was fun though!!!!!!!


 Gotcha plugs worked also,ask ole Clyde Coltrain...  Saw it a few times off Avon,with topwater a few would get caught on the first t,few caught on gotchas,nothing like what was going on at Rodanthe though.... Can't remember the years,somewhere near 2000 we could catch drum and stripers mixed on bait as well.. When I owned the "other floattube" there were times we smoked em outta Hatteras Inlet and the Point shoals as well..


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