Release A Breeder Club 2021

ABOUT THE RBC

Welcome to the Stripers Forever 2021 Release A Breeder Club or “RBC”. This program is designed by Stripers Forever to promote the release of large “breeding size” stripers which are mostly female fish. Current striped bass management practices have targeted large striped bass. The result has been a considerable decrease in the number of these large, old fish found in the population. Nature never intended it that way. Striped bass are the top predator in their inshore range, and historically it was not uncommon for individuals to live more than 20 years and spawn each year. This long spawning life is needed because conditions are often not suitable for the production of good year classes. The older fish produce many eggs, and when conditions are favorable to produce young stripers a robust spawning stock biomass insures that the waters will be well seeded with eggs. Even if conditions aren’t good, the long lives of these fish and low natural mortality insure that there will be good spawning potential the next season. Unfortunately for the striped bass we have knocked this system seriously out of balance.

There are two membership categories. The first is for anglers who release a breeder while fishing with or without a guide/captain and displays the anglers name, image of the fish and location/length/date of the breeder released. The second category is for Guides/Charter boat captains who pledge to promote the release of breeders to their clients and displays a image, Captain’s name, location and a link to their website. JOINING IS FREE for both anglers and Guides/Charter boat captains. The rewards are a chance to win great prizes from our sponsors, a individualized membership package, recognition on the RBC membership pages of our website and the knowledge that you are doing your part to turn around the decline in striped bass.

MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

THE MINIMUM SIZE FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE RBC IS 36” TOTAL LENGTH.
THE FISH MUST BE RELEASED ALIVE AND IN GOOD HEALTH.
A PICTURE OF THE FISH THAT CLEARLY INDICATES THE FISH WAS SAFELY HANDLED AND PROPERLY RELEASED.

WE STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU KEEP FISH WET. You can grab a quick picture of your fish while minimizing the impact and undue stress on the fish by keeping them in the water.
DO NOT HOLD FISH VERTICALLY BY THEIR JAW, large Striped Bass must be handled carefully due to their increased body weight and potential for carrying eggs.
USE CIRCLE AND BARBLESS HOOKS to minimize internal damage and time spent unhooking.

(We will expanding on this in the near future with some videos to illustrates how to follow these suggestions in a number of different angling situations, stay tuned.)

By submitting this application you are endorsing the conservation and game fish goals of Stripers Forever and agree to be entered into our membership database.

All applications are FREE and we will list all qualifying fish submitted on the Angler Members page.
A decal and certificate will be sent to the angler for the FIRST fish submitted for the calendar year.
For any angler wishing to receive a decal and certificate for each additional fish submitted, a $10 contribution is required using PayPal on our donate page.
Each submitted application and image will be carefully reviewed. We reserve the right to deny membership if it appears the fish was either not released or handled poorly. The image submitted will be published on the angler members page along with the member’s name, location of catch, length of fish and date of release. By submitting your application you are agreeing to these terms.

BRAND PARTNERS

CONSERVATION PARTNERS

SEASON END PRIZES

PRIZES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON, STAY TUNED!

EVERY ANGLER MEMBER will receive a RBC DECAL & personalized, signed and dated FRAMEABLE CERTIFICATE to commemorate the catch and release of your breeder Striped Bass.

: PERSONALIZED CERTIFICATE

: RBC DECAL

There is no cost for anyone to participate in the program, however individuals will receive only one decal and one certificate per year at no charge. Guides can make unlimited applications for their clients using the angler application. Guides are not eligible to win any prizes. If you are submitting an angler application it should only be for a client, not yourself. Please send all questions to: stripers@stripersforever.org

The RBC logo has been kindly donated by Alan James Robinson.

The RBC artwork has been kindly donated by Dean McKeever.