More on "Striper Scars"

As you can see from this picture, this striper got me good, and the short-lived scar looked great the next morning. Perhaps you have questions about these mysterious "striper scars." Why do we want them? Does it hurt? Can it get infected? Is the fish biting out of self defense? These are all good questions and I'll answer them now.
Why do we want striper scars? This is simple. If you have striper scars, your fishing stories are recieved a lot better when you tell people about it in the morning. It is always nice to have some sort of "show & tell" when telling fishing stories, especially to people who don't fish.
2. Does it hurt? Only briefly. The striper mouth feels kind of like a sharp sand paper to me.
3. Can it get infected? Most of the time, it doesn't reall cut the skin, but sometimes, like in the picture above it does. I think this is when you will need to worry about infection but I don't think it is likely.
4. Is the fish biting out of self defense? The striper doesn't really bite. The scar comes from holding the fish's weight by its mouth. The fish bites down one time, if you release it properly. You should always revive a striper in the water by running water back and forth over its gills. Usually when the fish is revived, he or she will give one big "chomp" and then swim to it's little fishy home. That is when a particuarly good scar can occur.