02-28-2008, 06:10 PM
When the summer winds down, many anglers put their fishing gear away. Those who know better head for the Potomac River's striper grounds.
By Mark Fike
In the 1970s, fishing for Potomac River striped bass (or rockfish, as they are locally known) was a big sport, both in terms of the number of anglers and the number of stripers it involved.
During the 1980s, however, anglers, commercial fishermen and fisheries biologists were alarmed as the number and size of rockfish plummeted on the Potomac River and in the Chesapeake Bay. Anglers began pointing fingers at the commercial fishermen, and commercial fishermen pointed their fingers at pollution and natural cycles as being the culprits. The truth of the matter is that there were a variety of factors in the decline in the striper fishery.
Luckily, the Potomac striper fishery is rebounding, thanks in part to protective measures such as creel limits and size limits, and today the fishery is back and very strong once again.
Continue this article at:
http://www.virginiagameandfish.com/fishi...index.html
By Mark Fike
In the 1970s, fishing for Potomac River striped bass (or rockfish, as they are locally known) was a big sport, both in terms of the number of anglers and the number of stripers it involved.
During the 1980s, however, anglers, commercial fishermen and fisheries biologists were alarmed as the number and size of rockfish plummeted on the Potomac River and in the Chesapeake Bay. Anglers began pointing fingers at the commercial fishermen, and commercial fishermen pointed their fingers at pollution and natural cycles as being the culprits. The truth of the matter is that there were a variety of factors in the decline in the striper fishery.
Luckily, the Potomac striper fishery is rebounding, thanks in part to protective measures such as creel limits and size limits, and today the fishery is back and very strong once again.
Continue this article at:
http://www.virginiagameandfish.com/fishi...index.html