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Hit the Susquehanna flats this afternoon. Got on the water around 2:00 and trolled around the area that produced well a few weeks ago. Over two hours and not a single bite. Used crystal minnows, XR-12, and XR-10. Saw a few breaking the surface and tried throwing topwater, but nothing doing. Didn't see much action from the other boats in the area but I decided to mix in with them. Casted a white 1/2 oz. bucktail with a white gulp around for a while with only one bump. Then a boat with 4 guys pulled within 50 meters of me and immediately started hooking up. I switched to a yellow jighead with the same gulp and quickly got a 15 incher but then nothing else. Cast the same XR-10 I trolled earlier and finally felt a decent fish on the other end. Went 25 1/2" which is a personal best so far (only my 4th time on the bay). Seems the incoming tide got them going but I was out of time and tired so I called it quits.
Brought it home and filleted and it turned out she was full of eggs. It honestly didn't cross my mind at the time as I thought spawning was pretty much done (again, new to the bay and striped bass), but being a conservation biologist (working primarily with reptiles and amphibians), I'm wondering what the best practice would be. I know protecting the big cows is most important, but would any of you have let this fish go if you knew it still had eggs?
Brought it home and filleted and it turned out she was full of eggs. It honestly didn't cross my mind at the time as I thought spawning was pretty much done (again, new to the bay and striped bass), but being a conservation biologist (working primarily with reptiles and amphibians), I'm wondering what the best practice would be. I know protecting the big cows is most important, but would any of you have let this fish go if you knew it still had eggs?