Striped Bass, (Morone - saxatilis,) Also known as Stripers and Rockfish.
Striped Bass get their name from the seven or eight dark, continuous stripes along the side of its body. Dorsal fins are well separated. There is a magical world surrounding the history of the striped bass an atmosphere of exhilaration that is the Striped Bass. For anglers who have caught them there is no disputing the Striped Bass is a superstar among freshwater fish. Striped Bass have been one of the most sought-after commercial and recreational fish since colonial times. The unique angling qualities of the striped Bass and its adaptability to fresh water environments have led to a major North American range expansion. Striped Bass fisheries have been developed in 31 states by stocking the striped bass into lakes and reservoirs.
Striped Bass Fishing is the fastest growing segment in fresh water sport fishing.
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Everyday anglers discover the thrill of the challenging experience of Deep Sea Style fishing in freshwater reservoirs and lakes in their home state. No other Bass in Fresh Water can grow to exceed 60 pounds and offer the adrenaline rush that comes when one of these striped torpedoes hits your bait and takes off like its tied to back of your chevy truck.
Striped Bass are the largest member of the sea bass family, often called
"temperate" or "true" bass to distinguish it from species such as
largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass which are actually members of the sunfish family
Centrarchidae.
Like other true bass, the dorsal (top) fin is separated into spiny and soft-rayed
portions. Striped bass are silvery, shading to olive-green on the back and white on the
belly, with seven or eight uninterrupted horizontal stripes on each side of the body with
two distinct tooth patches on the back of the tongue and two sharp points on each gill
cover.
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Trophy Striped Bass are known for their size and fighting ability they've been known to reach 100 pounds and nearly five feet in length.
The Striped Bass is a different breed having very little in
common with the Largemouth or Smallmouth Bass.
Striped Bass grow faster and larger than a Largemouth Bass. The Striped bass
occupy a different habitat that the Largemouth Bass. Striped Bass prefer the
open.
The Largemouth Bass is a species that thrives on weed lines as well as
standing and fallen timber. The Striped Bass does not require or prefer
these things.
Striped Bass are a schooling fish, even when they reach larger sizes.
You will often find large schools of very large fish. If you are discreet in
your approach you can often catch quite a few large fish once you have found
a school of them. This is more the case in spring and fall when they feed
closer to the surface. When the water temperatures are higher for the bulk
of the year they feed at much deeper depths.
Striped Bass can be found in Alabama, Arizona,
Arkansas,
California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Navajo Nation,
Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific.
Striped Bass have been
Introduced to:
Br. Columbia - Canada , Ecuador, Iran, Mexico,
Russian Fed, South Africa
Native to: Can Maritims, Quebec - Canada
Striped Bass stocking and management in inland fresh waters started in the 50's following discovery of reproducing Striped Bass in Santee-Cooper Reservoir in South Carolina.
Originally thought to be strictly a sea fish that swam up fresh water rivers to spawn. (Anadromous).
It was believed that the Santee-Cooper population of Striped Bass had
become landlocked because of the construction of two dams that impounded Lake Moultrie and
Lake Marion
trapping the Striped Bass where they thrived, thus starting the stocking of
Striped Bass
into Lakes and reservoirs across the nation.
The current belief is the Santee-Cooper Striped Bass population was entirely
a freshwater population. This is being supported by current research.
(Campbell, Striped White & Hybrid Bass in South Carolina).
Striped Bass benefits other game fish such as largemouth bass and crappie. The
striper seeks out fish such as gizzard shad for its main food supply, thus eliminating
fish
that would compete with wanted game fish.
(Davis, John. “River
Stripers.” South Carolina Wildlife. May-June, 1973.Pages 24-27).
Spawning Habits
- Striped bass spawn in water
of 61 to 69 degrees from April through mid-June preferably in flowing
water.
The female brodcast eggs into the water column where they are
fertilized by the male without affording any protection or
parental care.
During spawning, seven or eight smaller males surround a single, large, female and bump her to swifter currents at the water surface. Ripe eggs are discharged and scattered in the water as males release sperm. This period can last several days. - Female striped bass may spawn as early as age 4, but a year class may not reach complete sexual maturity until age 8 or older. By contrast, most male stripers reach sexual maturity at age 2 or 3.
Incubation, Hatching and Larval Stages
- Striped bass eggs hatch 29 to 80 hours after fertilization, depending on the water temperature. Larvae at this point have an average size of 3.1 mm.
- The mouth forms in two to four days, and the eyes are unpigmented.
- The larvae are nourished by a large yolk mass. Eggs produced by female stripers weighing 10 pounds or more contain greater amounts of yolk and oil reserve and have a greater probability of hatching.
- The larvae's survival depends primarily upon events during
the first three weeks of life.
- Typically striped bass larvae begin feeding about five days after hatching, depending on water temperature.
- Eggs and newly hatched larvae require sufficient turbulence to remain suspended in the water column; otherwise, they will settle to the bottom and be smothered.
- As the larvae grow, they can be found at progressively deeper levels of the water column.
Habitat
- Striped Bass do not successfully spawn in fresh water reservoirs but will make spawning runs.
- Natural reproduction will occur in Rivers such as the Arkansas River.
- Mature stripers in Fresh water Reservoirs use river and creek channels as migrations routes moving out to flats and points to feed.
Food
- Striped bass larvae feed primarily on copepods (crustaceans) in both larval and mature stages, and cladocerans (water fleas).
- Juvenile stripers eat insect larvae, larval fish, mysids (shrimplike crustaceans) and amphipods (tiny scavenging crustaceans that lack a carapace and have laterally flattened bodies).
- Adult Stripers are piscivorous, or fish-eaters. In summer and fall, stripers diet consist of Shad and other soft scale fish of the herring family as well as crawfish.
Growth
-
The age of striped bass can be calculated on the scales by a series of growth marks. The winter is a period of slow growth, during which a series of closely spaced rings form around the edge of each scale. The age of an individual Striped Bass can be determined by examining a scale under a microscope and counting the number of such closely spaced bands of rings, called annuli.
On average, Striped Bass are four to five inches long at the end of the first year,
11 inches at the end of the second, 16 inches at the end of the third, and 20 inches at the end of the fourth year.
A striped bass that is 36 inches long normally is about 12 years old. A bass 48 inches long, and weighing over 50 pounds, is probably over 20 years old.
The largest striped bass on record weighed 125 pounds and was caught in a seine net in North Carolina in 1891.
Another very large one, weighing 112 pounds, was caught in Massachusetts many years ago.
A 92 pound striped bass was netted in Maryland more recently.
Dismissing Myths About
Striped Bass:
Tips for
Catching Striped Bass.
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