Saving Stripers: What a New Study at Smith Mountain Lake Could Uncover

MONETA, Va. (WFXR) — The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) will conduct a catch-and-release mortality study of striped bass this summer at Smith Mountain Lake. Understanding mortality rates during warmer months will help fisheries biologists better manage the resource.

“It’ll help us a lot in management to work through how people fish in the summer and what happens to what they catch in the summer, said DWR Fisheries Biologist Dan Wilson. “It’ll give us a lot of insight for better management.”

Past research has shown many striped bass caught during warm weather months on southern reservoirs do not survive after being released. Because of striped bass physiology, lactic acid can build up to dangerous levels in the fish when they fight while being landed. Warm water temperatures and a lack of oxygen at cooler lake levels then mean the fish have little chance of survival.

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That is why there is no size regulation on striped bass harvest at Smith Mountain Lake from June 1 to October 31.

However, there is evidence to suggest Smith Mountain Lake may be different from other southern reservoirs. It is deeper, cooler, and oxygen levels remain higher at great depths. The DWR wants to know if those factors have an impact on striped bass catch-and-release mortality.

This summer a team from the DWR will catch striped bass, attach them with radio tags, and then follow them to see if they survive. The findings could lead to harvest regulation changes at Smith Mountain Lake.

“It will help to answer a lot of questions the anglers have had,” Wilson said. “We will wait to see what the results of the study tell us. Then, if there’s something we need to do differently in our management because of the additional information we have, we can do that.”

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