If I catch a walleye it sauger, it is usually an "accident." I don't target them except during one season a year, and if I catch a trophy (10+ lb walleye, or 5+ lb sauger) it's going back, but not because I think it's the "right" thing to do, but because smaller specimens taste better.
Walleye and sauger are highly touted table fare, and are capable of reproducing successfully enough to sustain their populations...striper are neither. Stripers are prized for their size and fight here in TN, which is why releasing big ones is advantageous over eating them. The smaller, more numerous stripers are fine to eat as they taste ok. I don't care for them compared to walleye/sauger/crappie, so I don't eat them. The bigger stripers, though, deserve a different standard. Just like largemouth, keeping a few smaller (but legal) bass for the table is not hurting anything, but taking home every 7+ lber is something most bass guys would frown at.
Feel free to eat the smaller ones, but leave the trophies for everyone to enjoy.
Chris
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