Customer Reviews

The Striped Bass

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is filled with both great information on
fishing, but also some fairly technical information on
the striped bass fishery, its history, the physiogomy
of the striper and the current state of the striped bass
as game fish. Very well compiled and presented.

This is a book for the serious striped bass fisherman. It covers everything from the history of striped bass fishing to migration patterns to tackle and techniques. It can be a little tedious at times with the amount of technical detail and history provided; however, it is required reading for someone who really wants to understand everything about the striped bass.

Karas has made a bold attempt at laying out the history and biology of the striped bass as well as a guide for the avid striper fishermen. However, by the end of the first chapter it is evident the book needs a good editing job. Not being sarcastic, the sentence structure (or lack thereof) and grammatical/spelling errors make reading more a chore than anything else. It is certainly a surprise given that this is the second edition of the volume. The work contains a lot of good information and is a great primer about the fish, but desperately needs an attentive eye for detail. The section on the biology and management of the species also abounds with Karas' personal opinions, many of which may not be appropriate or well-founded. Karas holds a great love for the fish and often allows that love to cloud his thinking in relation to the environment and natural systems in which the fish resides. The world does not revolve around stripers, much as we would like it too. All in all, a good starter if you are a very patient reader.

This book is very complete and, though the editing is not the best, it can be overlooked and read fairly easy. Actually has a pretty good freshwater section, which is the reason I bought this book. Almost all striper books focus entirely on saltwater fishing, which is fine if you fish saltwater, but for us landlocked guys, we appreciate a little bit of information on freshwater. The sections involving the biology and other scientific aspects of the striped bass and its relatives is very interesting and informative. I thumb through this book all the time and use it for reference regularly. I will say this though, I did not learn any new techniques from this book, especially since I am an artificial fisherman and nothing I did not know already was in this book. Great book for beginners and a great reference book for seasoned veterans.