At Marshall’s request, I asked for another clarification of Chapter 13 relating to the hot month angling for striped bass on Lake Murray.
Here is the answer:
In Chapter 13 take is defined as : “Take” means to catch, capture, gather, wound, kill, harvest, or remove, but does not include a catch and immediate release.
The Murray law says: (E) On Lake Murray and the middle reach of the Saluda River it is unlawful to possess more than five striped bass a day. From June first through September thirtieth, it is unlawful to take, attempt to take, or possess more than five striped bass a day.
Under the law take does not include catch and immediate release. However the intent and spirit of the Lake Murray statute section was to minimize summer time mortality associated with catch and release of striped bass in the summer months. The spirit of the law was intended to to have anglers catch five striped bass and stop in order to attempt to manage the summer time mortality. The letter of the law appears to me to not require this in that catch and immediate release is not included in the definition of take.
The limit for stripers on Lake Murray are not a biological driven restriction but is a social resource allocation driven limit. Those anglers who want to protect the fishery to the extent possible to assist the fishery to support larger more desirable stripers then the spirit of the law should be embraced and followed. However the letter of the law does not explicitly prohibit the catch and immediate release of striped bass.</font id=“size3”></font id=“maroon”>
Ross L. Self
Chief, Freshwater Fisheries
SCDNR, PO Box 167
Columbia, SC 29202
803-734-3808
</font id=“size3”></font id=“maroon”>Ross implies, simply put, you can throw fish back (i.e. immediate release), but if you are observed taking or attempting to take more than 5 striped bass in one da
No you can only catch 5 fish period. Keep or release its still five fish landed per person. So if you land 5 fish and your partner only has caught 3 fish you can’t catch fish towards his count. Studies have show that there is a 90% mortality when pulling fish out of the warmer months. They simply are too stressed to get down to oxygen rich waters so you mind as well keep the fish. However with the introduction of reviving a fish in a striper tube I wonder if that rate would be lower.
I believe the reason it is illegal to even catch and release after 5 fish is because, even though “take” does not include immediate catch and release, they also specify that you can not “attempt to take” more than 5 per person, which is technically what you would be doing once you caught your 5.
If you look at the law for the lower Saluda for the summer months, you cannot “take” any stripers. However, since “take” does not include immediate catch and release and there is no mention of not being able to “attempt to take” on the lower Saluda, you are allowed to “attempt to take” stripers on the lower Saluda even though you can not “take” them.
Wonder how much they paid in lawyer fees to say “catch and release is permitted on the lower Saluda during the summer”.
The 90% mortality people are citing was done with fish held for a period of time in tubes. There is no viable option to collect such data on fish “immediately” released. I have made it clear in the past that I have issues with conclusions drawn on releasing stripers immediately when the original purpose of the study was to test the efficacy of tubes in hot water. They are obviously not effective in 80+ degree water…
Follow the law and find ways to make 5-and-done fun!
Also, in my interpretation of Ross’ answer, if you catch and release after the 5th fish, you are still “capturing” the animal and therefore “taking.” After reeling in a 5th fish, the individual is done. Period.
I agree Fog. And if we go back to the beginning of this entire scenario, the 5 & done was proposed as a direct result of our (MSC’s) request that something be done about summertime HOOKING mortality in addition to summertime lake rollovers (inversions) and the resulting fish kills. It was us who pointed to the abundance of dead, dying, floating stripers, near the towers in particular. As I’ve often said in the past…we have what we asked for so let’s give it a few seasons and then revisit the law with DNR. DNR has already said they would entertain a revision in the future after we at least give this a chance.
What we did NOT ask for was the fourth month (June). That was purely the result of one guide, Randy Saliga, who wanted two fish smaller than 21 inches included in one’s creel all year long. He went to his legislators AFTER agreeing to 3 months (Jul, Aug & Sep) during the study/public input phase of the Chapter 13 reorganization. He sat on the panel with me, with Warren Turner and with folks from Santee and Lake Thurmond. The only way we got anything done was to concede the month of June to appease him and his legislator.
Ironically, Randy no longer guides on Lake Murray. And, as I’ve said so many times before, the whole process of fish & game regulation is in the hands of legislators, not DNR where it belongs. It shows that one man, reaching the right legislator, can derail what public committees appointed to make recommendations work for months to accomplish. Sucks. Regulatory authority should rest with the professionals employed by the state…but power hungry legislators won’t allow them to do their jobs.
I could not agree with your post more. Randy has moved to MD, and the sole purpose of his including June was to make it easier for him to fill his limit for his clients and go home!
It is hard to believe that one person could influence the regulations that much.
I hope we can get June eliminated from the 5 and done rule, soon.
Though I don’t agree with the science behind it, I have come to terms with 5-and-done and am having a ball fishing the lake! My trips are shorter, leaving more time to get things done around the house and yard, and my whole approach is ultra-low stress. I usually take out 1 down rod per person onboard, a big spoon combo, and a large swimbait combo for “climbing the ladder.” Also, I leisurely take the time to shop around with my electronics for the best possible school. To me, that has become the fishing part. The rest is catching:sunglasses:
Yesterday, Vanman fished with me early and we had our limit with some good ones by 9ish. Jennifer, my 2 boys, and nephew joined me after Van left and they boxed 11 more. 14 out of 21 fish were good legit keepers to 28 inches. My nephew, who has been living with us since November, caught his first 4 stripers with the 1st one being a nice 26 incher! He’s ready to go again. Largemouth and bream don’t compare:smiley:
We ran out of bait and went for a picnic lunch and some water play at Sandy Beach.
That’s what it’s all about. Get out there and have some fun folks!
