That is what people don't understand, to grow a 40 lb striper takes around 30 years. That is why it is important to let the big ones go, if you want a mount, get a replica, if you want to eat, eat a smaller one or a hybrid. Snoot, stripers are very sensitive to warm water. The bigger they are, the more sensitive they become. Once the water reaches 72 ish degrees, the big stripers( 15 lbs or bigger) go deep loking for more comfortable water( even if that means less O2). The problem on Cherokee is there is very little O2 for them at those depths. That is why there is a no fish zone in the summer, There are aerators down by the dam, however they are for downstream water quality. The problem with the fish kill this summer was with the drought, TVA sharply reduced the generation schedule meaning the O2 supply got shut off before the lake was cool enough for the stripers to find cooler oxygenated water. If a 15- 20 lb striper is caught in water over 72 degrees, he has a very slim chance of survival if released, the bigger the fish the lower probability of it's survival in that warm water.