Striped Bass of Lake Mead

 In the last 40 years, there have been two major recurring topics of conversation surrounding Lake Mead. The first is the drought and the constant lowering of water levels in the lake. The second is centered around the introduction of Striped Bass and the impact it had on the resident fish populations. To be fair, I have only spent the last two years fishing the banks of Lake Mead. Thus, I am probably not the best judge of either of these issues, but this is what I think.

The thing that intrigues me most is how Striped Bass has changed these waters. I have heard tales from older gentlemen about how good the fishing was back in the days. The lake had Lake Trout and Rainbow Trout, with the latter’s numbers being boosted with the annual winter stocking of trout. Some even talk about big, five-pound bass being the norm. Historically, both Striped Bass and trout were introduced in 1969, but the stripers won the race for dominance by 1983.

So, how then does the Striped Bass population change the water? Threadfin shad were introduced in 1954 to feed the largemouth bass. In 2007, Gizzard shad was discovered in the lake. Both are excellent food sources for the stripers. More food thus meant an explosion in the numbers of Striped Bass. Being at the top of the food chain means that only people could remove these fish and restore the balance. However, only the big fish were removed, leaving nothing to feed on the bigger Gizzard shad. Many species of fish now compete for the small baitfish, and in doing so, all of them are starving and staying small.

I love catching Striped Bass; it is a different, exciting fish to target. And to add some icing on the cake, they are really good eating-fish too. The average-sized striper seems to be in the two-pound range, maybe more if these fish weren’t so skinny. There are no regulations on the small fish, you can keep as many as you desire. There is, however, a 20-fish limit on fish of 20 inches or over. To, me that seems like a good start, but a crazy limit to have. Have a one- or five-fish limit for the big fish, or better yet, release the bigger fish to grow even bigger. We need the big fish to keep the balance to ensure sustainable fishing. When catching that big fish, ask yourself: do you really need it more than the lake does?