# West Branch Striper



## MuskieWolverine (May 16, 2012)

Took my Dad out fishing tonight, and hooked into this beast...completely unexpected:








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## monte39 (Nov 24, 2011)

Nice fish i was wondering if there were any stripers left in there.


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## MuskieWolverine (May 16, 2012)

This is the first one I've seen in a long time.....definitely caught us off guard since we weren't fishing for striper. I don't think there are a ton in there, but who knows.


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## SPLMAX SAM (Jul 10, 2010)

Awesome fish


Composed and sent from a tiny cell phone keyboard


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## mike003 (Sep 8, 2007)

That's great. Dad looks happy!!!


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## Bantam3x (Sep 12, 2010)

Great catch. Very nice fish!!


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## Rod Hawg (Jan 13, 2011)

WOW!!!!! Thats an awesome fish! I bet that was a surprise! They still stocked in there?


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## westbranchbob (Jan 1, 2011)

no they are not still stocked wich begs the question just how old is that fish?????? Also, not the size I would expect for how old it "should" be,but definately not a wiper so whats up with that!


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## Steelhead Fever (Dec 31, 2009)

beautiful fish! congrats on that awesome catch!


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

Sweet catch! And yes that thing is OLD. I have got one there but it was not that big. Mine looked on the decline but that pig looks healthy. They love Tuff Shads


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## triton175 (Feb 21, 2006)

Very nice fish! That thing could probably eat a 4lb bass, its mouth is huge!


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## keepinitreel (Apr 11, 2004)

That is an awesome catch! Congrats! Just curious, what did you use to catch her? Any story behind the catch? I know when I caught a musky or large cat from WB,I was secretly hoping it was one of those monster stripers.


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

I beleive they quit stocking stripers in the late 80's , don't know fro sure. I'd email ODNR and ask them to to accurate.


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## crestliner TS (Jun 8, 2012)

Used to catch an occasional one many years back. Have not seen one in a while. Thats awesome!


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## armyMOSfishin (Mar 19, 2009)

Nice fish! Did you keep her? What other lakes in Ohio stock stripers?


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## sonar (Mar 20, 2005)

That's A BEAUT!! & way to go DAD,& MuskyWolverine!! The last one I saw was 3 yrs. ago on Memorial Day weekend, My Friend Dave,(AKA,Downtown DAVE) got one at least that big,,right next to Gilbert Rd. ramp ,, then,,,, in my boat my Friend ,,Gar hooked one the following eve.,same area,at 11:30pm,, got one to the boat on a vibE, so they are there,'cause Mom Nature says so !! Some how they still exist ,I don't know why,,but they do!!! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Can only be described as truly amazing!! Get a weight and measurement? I'm guessing 25# and 40"! That has to be 20 or more yrs old.


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## promag (Aug 21, 2011)

Nice! I always wondered if they were still being caught up there.

promag


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## fakebait (Jun 18, 2006)

That's what makes fishing so amazing. When you set that hook you do not know what is on the other end until the battle begins. awesome fish!


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## Tokugawa (Apr 29, 2008)

That thing looks like it came from the California delta!! Excellent fish...and that had to be a crazy fight.


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## fishngolf (Jul 18, 2009)

Those I heard are very tasty fish, did you keep it? Nice catch wow.


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## papangler (Apr 5, 2008)

nice fish .great to know,there are still some 
in there. hooked one couple years back , snapped my 6lb line by the boat .would have liked to have gotten it out of the water ,but I believe I would have let it go in the end . thanks for the pic.


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## MuskieWolverine (May 16, 2012)

No...we let it go. It wasn't doing well, so we didn't waste time with a good measurement. It was definitely over 30" though. It hit a 10" Jake lure....but I wouldn't suggest using that often lol


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## eyecatchum2 (Mar 30, 2010)

Did you find your lure from the other day? Great catch!


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## Dan44149 (Apr 12, 2011)

Man you are rippin' some lips MW!!! Nice catch! Your boat is on fire this year!


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## MuskieWolverine (May 16, 2012)

I did not find my lure...or my fish. I will be hunting for that fish for the next 20 years I'm sure!

Dan: Thanks! Let's hope my boat stays on fire....it's been a bit slow lately out there. Water temps are dropping fast though..all good news!


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## BigDaddy300 (Nov 1, 2004)

MuskieWolverine said:


> I did not find my lure...or my fish. I will be hunting for that fish for the next 20 years I'm sure!
> 
> Dan: Thanks! Let's hope my boat stays on fire....it's been a bit slow lately out there. Water temps are dropping fast though..all good news!


Temps will be back on the rise this week for sure!


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## kobra03 (Jun 28, 2012)

Beautiful fish. Glad you let it go. Hopefully one of us on here we get to catch this fish again.


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## MadMac (May 2, 2005)

westbranchbob said:


> no they are not still stocked wich begs the question just how old is that fish?????? Also, not the size I would expect for how old it "should" be,but definately not a wiper so whats up with that!


We got one in 2010 that was 36" and I was wondering the same thing. Maybe one of the guys that used to fish for them made a little hatchery of his own?


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## westbranchbob (Jan 1, 2011)

MadMac said:


> We got one in 2010 that was 36" and I was wondering the same thing. Maybe one of the guys that used to fish for them made a little hatchery of his own?



I did find out through some investigation that over the last 10 to 15 years the state has allowed some "private" organizations to stock fish in the lake, however no records were kept of these due to the fact that they were small numbers of fish.


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