striper in Galveston Bay

I recently received a photo of an angler with 2 nice striper caught in Galveston Bay. Does anyone know how often people are catching striper in the Bay? Since I have never heard about striper in the bay, I did a little research. The only article I found made a statement that "biologists" suggested that, "striper have escaped from Lake Livingston and Toledo Bend Reservoir, followed rivers to salt water, and have established a small population in upper Texas coast bays."

Anyone have additional information? Just curious…

JP

[This message has been edited by J.P. Greeson (edited 10-20-2003).]

JP-- are you still in the Keys?
There are quite a few stripers caught
in the Sabine river where it flows into
Sabine lake. It would be cool if a reproducing population could be established
in the gulf. The big three could be the
big four, reds, specks , flounder and striper.
There is a gulf race of stripers( endangered ) that still reproduce in some
florida rivers. TPWD needs to get some of
those fish and stock in texas rivers/bays.
Good luck MO

A few years back when I lived in Houston it was pretty common to here of Stripers caught in Trinity Bay. The tailrace below Livingston Dam is well known for striper fishing or at least it used to be. The guys had raised deck barge type boats anchored out from the dam and would use long rods to cast several hundred feet to the dam.

Stripers were at once naturally occuring in the Gulf.

Here is an excerp from an article.

HISTORICAL RANGE
Striped bass were once common in the rivers and estuarine environment of the northern Gulf coast. They were found from Texas to the Suwannee river, Florida, and inland to St. Louis, Missouri on the Mississippi River. Historical reports indicate the fish were landed commercially from the late 1800's through the early 1960's. Except for a remnant population of Gulf race striped bass in the Apalachicola River system in northwest Florida and infrequent catch reports in a few other river systems, they are no longer common throughout their range.

LIFE HISTORY
Gulf race striped bass are considered anadromous but for the most part are riverine in nature. When water temperatures start to rise (mid-February in Florida) mature males begin spawning runs up freshwater rivers and streams. The females follow and when they arrive at selected areas, usually spawn with several males. Semi-buoyant eggs are deposited directly into the water, as is the sperm. The eggs, if fertilized, hatch after 36-42 hours under normal conditions. This is the most crucial period for young stripers. The water current must be strong enough, and the river distance long enough to keep the eggs and young from settling to the river bottom, where silt would smother them. This period lasts several days and the correct amount of clean, flowing water is essential.

After the spring spawning run, the fish disperse downstream seeking cool water springs where they spend the hot summer months.

THREATS TO SURVIVAL
The reasons for the decline of native striped bass along the northern Gulf coast are speculative. Environmental alterations in the form of water control structures and extensive channelization may have prevented successful reproduction. Dams not only prohibit migration upstream eliminating prime spawning habitat, but also reduce access to cool water springs which are crucial for large striped bass to survive the hot summer months. Industrial and agricultural pollution have also been implicated as probable causes of the drastic decline of striped bass.

There have been quite a few Striper taken in cold weather from the HPL discharge in Trinity bay. It has to be real cold to draw them up. A 28 pound striper taken from there is the current state saltwater record. At the turn of the century there was a commercial catch from Aransas Bay as well as Galveston bay. Pollution, rising estuary temperatures and low water saltwater enchroachment dams on the Brazos, Sabine and Colorado pretty much did them in. The migration of the Gulf strain stripers went from Texas up the coast to Florida/Georgia/Alabama where the largest specimens were taken in the past. Almost all of the Gulf strain has so interbred with the East coast strain that biologically /genetically the Gulf Strain may become extinct. Having fished the Sabine below Toledo as well as the Trinity below Livingston, there is no doubt that some are escaping to the gulf. I doubt that there will ever again be a self sustaining population in our bays due to the afore mentioned dams as well as poor water quality from urban runoff.

My son-in-law was stationed in Galveston when he was in the Coast Guard. They fished that area quite a bit and he tells me it was not uncommon to catch stripers on Norton Sand Eels. But, he said they never caught one over 5 pounds.

Here's the photo...



Shawn Singh caught these last month in Galveston Bay on live shrimp.

I lived in Baytown the entire eighties decade and if I remember, in the late eighties, there were some stockings of stripers in Trinity Bay. I kept in touch with a few people from that area for a while and have had them tell me they were fishing the birds and many times they thought they would be on trout only to find a school of small stripers. I do know that the state record for saltwater was caught at the HL&P discharge on Trinity Bay as mentioned earlier.