Striped bass “fights” aren’t knock outs

Even though many North Carolina fishermen have seen striped bass “fights,” this type of activity doesn’t indicate a willingness to eat a lure.

Stripers splashing on a river’s surface actually aren’t fighting. Usually, it’s male stripers are slapping the sides of a female in an attempt to help her release her eggs — part of their reproductive cycle.

When the female striper releases her eggs, the males fertilize them, then the eggs must tumble down a river for at least 14 days, eventually to develop into striper fry by the end of that journey.