Rago got em again on the Super Raptor. 5 for over 125 lb's

http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/5330-Jerry_Rago_44.jpg


http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/5331-Jerry_Rago_40.jpg

Very Nice. What does the big fish weigh?...40?

-Shane

gj on the release

Well if he thinks he'll catch them forever that big he is dead wrong. A few years from know when he or people in general ask the q, why aren't they as big as before?hmmmm x( ... and I'm speaking through and education in fisheries management/Bio....if eveyone did that well, you know

Nice fish BTW :)

Jerry has been catching stripers like this for years, yes years. How long have these fish been there? How many fish has he released, I know how many and it is a lot. Early this year Jerry caught a 50lb+ striper at Willow Beach and released it and was called a liar by another bait maker on his website. Jerry and I caught some good Stripers during ICAST and released all but two that did not make it after a long time trying to revive them. when the pics were posted, again he called us both liars. These fish went to the marina for one reason and now you know why.
David Conway

I totally see where both sides are coming from. Frankly Jerry has the right
to do what he wants with the fish he’s catching as all of us are. I know what’s
going on with the “other” lure maker. I’ve been put in the same situation.

Friends have told me that the stress a bigger striper experiences during the fight will almost guarantee it will die unless immediately released. Even though they may swim off the damage has been done. They say it’s like catching and releasing White Seabass. I’m sure you’ve all heard the fighting that goes on over that. I personally make sure I get a picture of all bigger fish which means that they cannot be immediately released. I also enjoy a striper dinner every now and then…. I cannot stand store bought fish.

If people jump on Guys every time they post a report or picture that shows a dead striper I’m sure the pictures and post will stop and then everyone will loose out.

Just my 2 cents
-Shane

Shane WOW, I can't believe someone actually took the chance to speak the truth. You sound like you have been there before. Guys that have caught these big Stripers know they fight themselves to the end sometimes. We have released some of these fish right away and followed them down stream, only to have them roll over and die miles down stream. Luckily they come back to the surface. How many guys can say they have taken the time to do that, so stop the bashing. Shane I appreciate your post, but I should expect it from someone that puts his real name behind his screen name. You are also right about people not posting because of the bashing. I know lots of guys that are reluctant to post pictures, including myself and like you said we all loose than. This is the imformation super highway.
David

I’ve learned a lot about big stripers over the past few years.
Anyone who has ever put a striper in a live well no-matter
what size it is should know how fast they die. I know what
your saying about the floaters. We let some 10 pound fish go
immediately after being caught and they floated. The swim bladders
in those bigger fish blow up and stay that way for some reason.

I appreciate you and Jerry taking the time to post. As far as
the other lure maker goes…Jerry doesn’t have to hold his fish
at arms length to make them look bigger. The last couple of pictures
I’ve seen in the Western outdoor news of that guy made me wonder if
he has super strength. I know how much a 40 plus pound striper weighs
and I don’t know too many people that can hold 40 pounds of fish
straight out like he does. This is just something I’ve observed. The lure
business sure is getting ugly.....that’s for sure.
-Shane

Question for you guys who fish for landlocked stripers in Southern CA: do your reservoir stripers naturally reproduce down there? If not, then all the hooha over people keeping 'em is for nothing. If they were planted as a "put and take" fishery where the populations aren't self-sustaining (ie, those big fish are going to die there without the opportunity to spread their genes anyway), what's the big deal?

Stripers do spawn successfully in lakes with no major rivers. San Antonio reservoir (central coast) is an example of this. No stripers have been stocked there for years and yet there are all sizes in the lake. There is a river that comes in to the lake but it does not flow year round. I've talked with people more knowledgeable than me on this subject and they told me that stripers can spawn in the thermocline. I'm not a biologist, this is just what I have heard.

Wow, the "spawning in the thermocline" theory is pretty interesting. I didn't know San Antonio has a reproducing striper population. New Hogan Reservoir up in the foothills also has a self-sustaining population. They were originally planted there as a "put and take" fishery but it was later discovered that they're able to spawn up in the Calaveras River arm--it was discovered too late of course, and the stripers decimated the trout population that New Hogan was known for. Now the lake is overrun with stunted stripers (hardly anything over 4-5 pounds) so there's no minimum size limit and a maximum bag of ten fish. The evening topwater striper bite there can be wfo and is a lot of fun on light gear...

Our Stripers do reproduce in the reservoirs that have some sort of current. I just think the guys that haven't caught a big striper are in fear that there won't be any to catch. It's not really an issue in the reservoirs where I live since they are basically being over-run. The issue is in the Colorado River above Davis Dam.
There are a lot of big fish still left up there. People make an issue out of some guy with a rod and reel keeping a fish. I talk to the local game warden and he tells me about these a-hole’s he's been catching with gill nets. And I'm not talking about a small net. He said the last time he busted the poachers there were 4 or 5 people
Stretching it across the aqueduct. They also get the guys that spread them across an entire cove point to point. And these are just the guys that they have caught.

-Shane

Very interesting--thanks...

You know, it's true. I don't even fish stripers that often, and I know we have self-reproducing populations down here in So Cal. The amounts of smaller stripers are enormous this year at Castaic and the other lakes, as Shane will tell you. An they just keep stockin' the trout and the shad are booming, so the harvest of larger fish is not really a problem right now. The growth rates for keeper stripers is rocketing and taking bigger fish is probably doing some good.
On the death issue with bigger fish.... two words. Lactic acid. Shane was right about the swim bladders and all but bigger fish simply can't recover from lactic acid quick enough. Just like when you run a lot, your body builds up lactic acid that causes muscle cramps. So does a large striper. Stripers fight so hard and spend so much energy, they are exhausted to their maximum level by the time we get them in the boat. The fish build up absolute tons of acid when they fight and it basically paralyzes their systems when we go to release them. The larger a fish is, the more buildup it's going to have. So while a big striper will swim off, the results from lactic acid are going to kill it anyway in most instances. Just my 2cents

Personally I don't care if people keep a couple big fish, but I'd like to hear it first hand that those fish rolled and not that someone forgot the camera in the truck and needed some kind of proof.

I'm pretty sure these guys have enough meat in the fridge from the previous 50lbers.

125lbs of fish = what 30-45 lbs of meat....

Jerry doesn't have anything to prove, we know his baits kill em, so I can't figure this pic out. Kind of depressing.

As for the landlocked stripers there should be no limit on fish under 25" or whatever and 2 fish over ("XX")

believe it or not people can wipe out even a striper fishery.. I should know, I live 15min. from one that used to be limit style 7-12lbers and now on a goooood day (non-inlet bite) you get two to four 4-6lbers working major structure. With the occasional exceptions during trout stockings, in which the Live trout trollers decide its fun to kill 5-10 fish over 15lbs. :(

I'm used to the rapeage so do whatever you want at the river, it's your go to spot, just don't come to mine when it finally makes a comeback in a few years.

So Shane did all 10 of those stripers you killed at Castaic die? or was that just your excuse?

I guess you did not read all the posts in this thread. Jerry and I were tired of being called liars, so these fish went to the marina. These fish did not go to waist, but they did prove a point. Again read all the posts and you will see why they went to the marina. Today Jerry was 750 miles away and got a 16lb bt and released it. Wait till you see this picture.
David

Baiter,

Those 10 fish your talking about came on the
wide open chovie bite we had at Castaic 2 or
3 years ago in June. I know…. shame on me
for keeping Ten 8 pounders. The 30 other fish
I caught that day and released don’t count right?
I’ll make sure and have my in-laws regurgitate
the fish they ate so that I can put them back for you.

Castaic isn’t like your lake (Sounds like Skinner to me)
The Stripers go through cycles about every 6 years if I remember
correctly. Castaic is very healthy. Maybe your lake is just on
the down side of the cycle. We had a giant Striper spawn 4 years
ago.As a result we have had a healthy Striper population.

To tell you the truth me and the rest of the guys at Castaic care more
about the Largemouth fishery than the Stripers. So we will continue
to help out and eat Stripers…..sorry!

Don’t ever go to the after bay cleaning station and see the massive
Pile of fillet Stripers. It might up-set you. :7

-Shane

"I know…. shame on me
for keeping Ten 8 pounders. The 30 other fish
I caught that day and released don’t count right?"

You sure you released them because you wanted to, or you already had your limit?

As for the marina deal with Jerry, it still kinda sucks. But, if someone called me a liar and I knew I was slayin good fish, I'd just smile and say yup I'm a liar and I have no idea where the fish are.

Get a video camera!

Anyways it all just boils down to people trying to justify taking so many fish because their morals have gone to crap: "It's my right", "I'm helping the LMB population", "someone called me a liar"???

It's my right as a husband to have as many kids as I want. Correct? But I would choose to have 1 kid because I'm not a selfish person, knowing full well the population problems we have in CA.

I guess it all depends on what kind of person you are.

good luck 10 years from now.

edit: btw nice pencil popper

Baiter,

We can go back and forth on this till were dead.
I understand what you are saying. But if you had any idea
how many Stripers me and my buddies release each year
you wouldn't have that mindset about me that you do.



Regardless of what anyone believes about the condition of our So. Cal reservoirs I know people that still catch fish over 30 pounds out of each one that holds Stripers. Just because you don't hear about it doesn't mean the lake sucks. I know of one lake everyone thinks only holds schoolies that put out three fish in the last year that went 45 to 54 lbs. But they keep it quiet.

-Shane

The next Striper I catch I'll dedicate the release in your name.
Just out of curiosity do you eat fish?

you just don't get it, so I guess I have to say it again. Another bait maker calls Jerry and I, liars on his website. It is business and personal and legally stupid. these fish went to the marina because of negative posting on these websites. Just like you are doing and have done in the past. I get it, you have a problem with Jerry. because of the negative posts guys don't post their fish or lakes or techniques and that is what these websites are for. Look at this thread, the first reply is yours "gj on the release" I was on your lake wed. and I did not keep a fish, but I did see a guy at the launch fillet 20 stripers, most were 1 1/2 pounders and a couple 7 and 8's.
Jerry drove 6 hours to test a new bait, fished for 3 hours and then drove for 6 hours home. He could of kept fishing but he didn't, he could of taken more fish, he wasn't the only one in the boat. So he drove for 6 hours home thinking about what he caught and the great new bait he came up with, that he will sell to all of you, so you can go out and catch the fish of your lifetime or just dinner.
Stop the negative so more guys will post information on these sites, we could all learn a new trick or two.
David

David,

I don’t know if your last response was towards me
cause it shouldn’t. I understood exactly your
side of the picture. My last couple of responses
are to Baiter for his initial commit on the take of
a big Striper. This thread has gotten away from you
and Jerry and is between him and me.

I usually don’t get involved in the B.S. on this site but I felt
the other guy was wrong for the commit towards Jerry.
I know Allan Cole called you guy’s liars so you just made sure
he couldn’t do that this time. I’m pissed because Baiter is
trying to make me look like a meat fisherman. I’ve been
tournament fishing for the past two years and when I’ve had a chance
to go striper fishing and its wide open I’ll keep my limit
and have a family BBQ. I see a handful of guys from this site up
at Castaic Striper fishing and I don’t know why they haven’t
made a commit on baiters statements. I see everyone keeping stripers.

I just went through the thread and discovered that I made a mistake.
I thought Baiter made the commit but it was Bigfish2....Sorry Baiter

-Shane

Shane, I only eat stripers that die. (80 degree water temps are no good)

I'm not saying the lakes suck, Most of them don't. The problem is consistency. (if you don't troll) I'm the idiot casting all day long.

"I get it, you have a problem with Jerry."

Not true, the guy knows his stuff and can hang with the best of them. I'm just a stickler and I guess it's my mistake to care about fish handling and C&R ;(

And Conway I do get it. 5 Very nice fish were killed because of bait-maker wars. (Enlighten me if that's incorrect) Neither Jerry nor the other guy (Cole?) have anything to prove, both their baits catch fish; Granted Jerry's baits are way freakin better (Performance, realism, quality). There's no contest there, hopefully you guys don't have to prove yourselves at the expense of the stripers anymore. I'm not sure why i even give a crap, but i do.

Wait till the stripers at diamond take off in a few (3-5+) years. That place can handle the pressure and has the food supply. So i won't worry so much.

where's the close up pics of the new raptor anyways.

edit: Shane I never called you a meat fisherman. Maybe you hit a good day and were having a big party the next day, i wouldn't know. I know some people who do fish for meat, which really makes no sense because they aren't starving. Sorry for the misunderstanding on that.

I just think the big fish should be released, if it dies, keep it. No big deal.

If people take limits of small fish, it doesn't bother me.

I just wanted to clear up the confusion
of me having a problem with Jerry.....
I don't know how this came up but I don't have
any personal issues with Jerry or anyone on this
site for that matter. I think that when I mentioned
someone having pictures of fish that they claimed were
over 40 pounds in the Western Outdoor News...I was
referring to Allen Cole not Jerry. I didn't want
to mention any names but now I've got to. So David
and Baiter I hope this issue is all good now.

-Shane

Shane, see what happens in these negative threads. I knew who you were talking about, but unlike him I haven't named any names. I am smarter than that, I don't want to be sued for slander. We are all good! baiter, like I said before 59 degree water temp and 118 degree air temp and these fish fighting themselves to the end don't mix. The 3 biggest Striper Jerry and I caught this year were released. These fish died and could not be released, so like I said they went to the marina for the point I stated, not the other way around. So as your last post stated it sounds like we are good also. Now lets get back to what this is all about, the pursuit of that tug on the line.
David
The close up of the bait has already been on this site

>"These fish died and could not be released"

That's all I wanted to know :-)

Nice fish Jerry, those are slugs!

Dave... You should post those pics on the "other Guys" website. I'd love to hear what he has to say then. Should be a good topic ofo conversation over there.

I concure with Rob.... Dem ur Nyc'uns.

SOOO is the Super Raptor gonna be available at the Bass-A-Thon? Cause I'm gonna be there! }(

BTW nice stripers! ;) I think A.C. got nothing on that! }( }( }( ...yes I said it! }(


Josh D.

KILL EM ALL

Shane...

I'm right there with you brother. Stripers are yummie and everyone I catch feeds the family. Castaic needs a few thousand less Stripers anyways.

David, Don't let these guys get under your skin. Jerry's reputation as a lure maker and angler speaks for itself. I also want to say that PLEASE don't stop sharing pictures as you get them. Thats one of the reasons why I enjoy this site and others from people sharing their experiences.

Keep up the great work!

Mike Bucca
aka Triton Mike