Striped Bass thread

[7deadlyplugs]

STRIPED BASS
(Morone saxatilis)


Common Names - striper, rockfish, rock, linesides.

Description - The striper is the largest member of the temperate bass family. Body coloration is olive-green to blue-gray on the back with silvery to brassy sides and white on the belly. It is easily recognized by the seven or eight prominent black uninterrupted horizontal stripes along the sides. The stripes are often interrupted or broken and are usually absent on young fish of less than six inches. The striper is longer and sleeker and has a larger head than its close and similar looking relative, the white bass, which rarely exceeds three pounds.



Subspecies - There are no recognized subspecies.
Range - The striper on the Atlantic Coast has a range from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, N.Y. to the St. Johns River in northern Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from western Florida to Louisiana.


Habitat - All Florida populations of striped bass are river dwellers rather than anadromous (normally living in salt or brackish waters, but entering freshwater streams to spawn). The species has been widely introduced in numerous lakes, rivers and impoundments throughout the world. Stripers prefer relatively clear water with a good supply of open-water baitfish. Their preferred water temperature range is 65 to 70 degrees.


Spawning Habits - Spawns in March, April and May when water temperatures reach 60 to 68 degrees.

Stripers are river spawners that broadcast millions of eggs in the water currents 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. At ovulation, ripe eggs are discharged and scattered in the water as males release sperm. Fertilized eggs must be carried by river currents until hatching (about 48 hours) to avoid suffocation. Fry and fingerlings spend most of their time in lower rivers and estuaries. Because striped bass eggs must remain suspended in a current until hatching, impoundments are unsuitable for natural reproduction. Freshwater populations have been maintained by stocking fingerlings, and, despite initial difficulties in hatchery procedures for obtaining females with freely flowing eggs, a modern technique of inducing ovulation with the use of a hormone has been successful.


Feeding Habits - Stripers are voracious feeders and consume any kind of small fish and a variety of invertebrates. Preferred foods for adults mainly consist of gizzard and threadfin shad, golden shiners and minnows. Younger fish prefer to feed on amphipods and mayflies. Very small stripers feed on zooplankton. Like other temperate bass, they move in schools, and all members of the school tend to feed at the same time. Heaviest feeding is in early morning and in evening, but they feed sporadically throughout the day, especially when skies are overcast. Feeding slows when water temperatures drop below 50 degrees but does not stop completely.



Age and Growth - Stripers are fast-growing and long-lived and have reached weights of over 40 pounds in Florida. Sexual maturity occurs at about two years of age for male stripers and at four years of age for females. They can reach a size of 10 to 12 inches the first year.
Sporting Quality - The striper tends to be an underrated trophy sport fish among many Florida anglers. However, for fishermen who have caught this species there is no disputing the striper is a superstar among freshwater fishes. Live shad and eels are excellent baits for catching big stripers. Other popular baits include white or yellow bucktail jigs, spoons, deep running crankbaits and a spinner with plastic worm rig. Popping plugs are best when stripers are schooling at the surface. As a sport fish, specific bag and size limit regulations apply, and you can register a qualifying catch as part of the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission's "Big Catch" program.



Eating Quality - Stripers are excellent eating fish and may be prepared in may ways. Smaller fish are usually fried and larger ones are baked.

World Record (landlocked) - 66 pounds, caught in O'Neill Forebay, California, in 1988.

World Record - 78 pounds, 8 ounces, caught in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1982.
State Record - 42 pounds, 4 ounces, caught in the Apalachicola River, in 1993. (Please check link for updates)

[basshunter]

Was doing some searching about striped bass and saw these facts which I thought might be useful here:

Interesting and Useful Facts About Striped Bass


Striped Bass are the most popular saltwater game fish on the East Coast

• Striped bass tolerate both salt and fresh water.
• Striped bass live in the ocean but spawn in fresh water rivers.
• Atlantic Ocean stripers have been transplanted successfully to the Pacific Ocean.
• Stripers accidentally landlocked thrive in deep fresh water impoundments.
• Hybrid striped bass, resulting from crossing striped bass with white bass, now inhabit many fresh water lakes.
• In the Chesapeake Bay area Striped Bass are called Rockfish.
• In the Spring stripers migrate north from deep waters off the Virginia and North Carolina coast to New England waters. In the Fall they migrate back down to the south.
• Stripers mainly stay in the vicinity of the coastline.
• Stripers swim fast, but not the fastest, so they don't always chase down prey like blue fish. However, they have large tails and can maneuver well, and they can swim with control in fast moving turbulent waters. Stripers prefer to ambush prey, that are stirred up and disoriented, by turbulent water.
• Striped bass have a preferred temperature range of from 55° F to 68° F.
• In the spring stripers are seldom caught until the temperature reaches 50° F.
• In the fall they can still be caught until the temperature falls below 44° F.
• Stripers are most active in the fall and early spring.
• Striper peak feeding times are the hour before sunrise and at dusk.
• Striped bass don't have eyelids. When the sun comes up they will retreat to deeper water to avoid the bright light.
• Striper fishing is mainly a nighttime activity in the warmer months.
• Stripers will eat almost anything, but favorites are bunker and clams.
• Older, large female stripers are called "Cows". Younger, smaller stripers are called schoolies or shorts.
• Female striped bass grow larger than the males. If you catch a striped bass over 15 pounds it is probably a female, with the potential for producing a million eggs for each 10 pounds of body each spring. Don't take her out of circulation. Gently release her.

[skinner]

The Elusive Striped Bass

Striped bass, or “stripers,” are among the most sought after fish by bass anglers. Striped bass breed in fresh water, but spend their adult lives in salt water. They are also able to live exclusively in fresh water in some inland water bodies. Four important areas with breeding stocks of striped bass are Chesapeake Bay, Cape Cod, the Hudson River and the Delaware river. All these areas are popular for bass fishing, especially the Chesapeake, which is one of the largest breeding areas. Striped bass have been introduced by state game and fish commissions into many reservoirs to the delight of anglers. These choice fish have also been hybridized with other kinds of bass to produce specialized sport fish such as the sunshine bass and paradise bass.

Striped bass can be finicky about what baits they will take. Many baits are used in bass fishing for stripers, including clams, eels, small fish, night crawlers, chicken livers, and other insects. These fish can grow up to four feet long and weigh as much as fifty pounds. A seventy-eight pound striper was caught in Atlantic City in 1982. and the largest striped bass on record was a 125 pound female caught in 1891. Striped bass have been known to swim up rivers for more than one hundred miles. They can be found all along the Atlantic coast, from Florida to Nova Scotia, and on the West coast around San Francisco Bay. Although striped bass suffered a decline in the 1970s and 1980s, their numbers in the wild are climbing, and they are regularly stocked in legal fishing areas for the pleasure of anglers.

Surfcasting with rod and reel is a popular way to catch striped bass for those anglers who don’t own a boat. These fisherman cast into the surf while standing in the ocean, hoping to catch the elusive striper. Surfcasting gear usually involves 8-12 foot rods using 15-30 pound test monofilament or braid line. Live bait can be very effective in catching striped bass from the surf, but plastic lures can also work. Anglers who are surfcasting often use lead shot to anchor their bait to the ocean floor.

Another method of catching striped bass often employed by amateurs is trolling. A strong hand line, usually with artificial bait is drawn through the water, often behind a boat. Since bass will try to eat almost anything that moves, even inexperienced anglers can often easily catch a striper this way. Boats practicing this technique require a special trolling motor, to keep the bait moving slowly enough through the water.

Trolling Striped Bass - Some Facts You Need To Know

When it comes to trolling striped bass, there really are but a few important facts to remember everything else is basic know how and standard trolling techniques that can be used. When you are trolling striped bass, you will want to maintain a trolling speed of between 2 and 4 miles per hour. This will keep the bass from being startled, yet will allow you to keep a good pace and entice the bass to hit your line. Should you be using a tube and worm rig in a rip or glacial esker, it would be most advisable for you to troll even slower than the 2 to 4 mile per hour recommendation.

Rips are a wonderful place when it comes to trolling bass, the waters are chilly and it is a great place for the bass to intercept baitfish as they lie in wait. This makes it an ideal location, especially for someone new to trolling all together. With all of the breaks, ridges, and cliffs that the rips entail, this area makes for a great staging ground for bass to collect and congregate. Should you encounter such a rip, more than likely you will receive many strikes on your line provided you are using the right bait.

Many anglers tolling bass use combinations when it comes to the bait that they are using. There really is no right lure, or wrong lure when it comes to trolling striped bass. It all comes down to what they like, or want an a particular day. The lure that you used yesterday, or last week may not be what will be successful this time around. Many of the best anglers use Shad Umbrella rigs, or large tube lures and spoons. All of these lures have been successful in the past, finding the right day to get lucky while trolling striped bass is clearly a matter of experimentation.

What is most important when it comes to trolling striped bass however would have to be having a strong durable rod. When trolling, you will need a rod that is capable of casting at a great distance, and should be strong enough to allow you to pull in a fish that is around 60-80 pounds. This will ensure that once you have snagged the striped bass while trolling, you will be able to bring the fish in without compromising the rod that you are using.

http://myfishinggoods.com/striped_bass_fishing.html

[DarkSkies]

Some members looking for threads to respond to, here ya go.

Post up anything you want to about striped bass, facts, figures, pics, anything at all you feel like throwing up here.

If whatever you quoted comes from a published or copyrighted source, please add the link. Thanks.

[DarkSkies]

• The total recreational harvest of striped bass along the east coast for 2000
was estimated at 1,904,198 fish. The total recreational catch was
18,057,487 striped bass.

• The State of New Jersey spends more money on striped bass research than any other single marine species.

• A six year old, 7 pound female striper can produce approximately 500,000 eggs while a 17 year old, 50 pound bass can produce 3 million eggs.

• The continent’s first public school was financed in 1669 by profits from the sale of striped bass.

• The world record striped bass (recreational) was caught on September 21,1982 by Al McReynolds off a jetty in Atlantic City. The fish weighed78 1/2 pounds!!! and measured 53 inches in length with a girth of 34 inches.

• A 24-inch striper is 4 to 6 years old while a 28-inch bass is from 5 to 8 years old.

• In the 1890’s, striped bass were collected in the Navesink River,
Monmouth County, and shipped by rail to California.

• The overall record striped bass was 125 pounds caught in 1891 by a commercial fisherman in North Carolina.

• If you are an avid striped bass angler and are interested in tagging the fish you release, call the American Littoral Society (732-291-0055).

• Striped bass are anadromous, migrating to brackish/freshwater to spawn.

.
• In 1991, legislation was passed declaring striped bass a game fish in New Jersey.

• A 23-inch striper, tagged in Delaware Bay on 3/28/89 was recaptured on 9/16/00 in Massachusetts Bay measuring 47 inches and weighing 36 pounds.

• Stock assessment scientists recently estimated the Atlantic Coast population of striped bass, ages 3 to 15, to be approximately 40 million fish.

[jimbob]

The Striped Bass season opened in New York's marine district today. I managed to catch 2 Stripers 25" and 26". I had a big Fish swirl on a Zara spook.

[jimbob]

pics

[DarkSkies]

Hey Jimbob, somehow I missed this report, great way to start the season, wtg! Those saltwater spooks are simple pieces of plastic, but they catch!! I am never without one on my plug bag, it's usually the first thing I throw to see if there are any fish around. Nice report, congrats! (and check your PM's, top right hand corner of your screen)

[DarkSkies]

Feel free to put in anything you can find from scientific sources here guys, or just talk about your own experience as to differences in the spawning cycles.

I guess a general question here would be: In your experience, when does the spawn begin, when does it generally end, and what do you think has happened in the years when you notice it's a little different than others?

I realize answers will vary by region, but it would be nice to have some general answers here for the new guys who are worried about what they catch and what they take home. thanks, guys.

[DarkSkies]

Here's some generic info from laterallineco. Anyone who has any different thoughts about how it happens in the region you live in, let's hear it.

Spawning Striped Bass along the Atlantic Coast and Chesapeake Bay/Striped Bass Migration
The migratory behaviors of coastal striped bass are more complex than those of most other anadromous fish, which spend most of their adult lives in the ocean but migrate up rivers and streams to spawn. Striped Bass seasonal movements depend upon the age, sex, degree of maturity and the river in which they were born. At one time the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries were responsible for as much as 90% of the spawning ground for the Atlantic Striped Bass population. While the Chesapeake Bay remains the primary location for spawning activity and nursery area for the east coast Striped Bass population (scientists estimate the Chesapeake Region accounts for between 70-90%), spawning activity also occurs in the Roanoke River/Albemarle Sound watershed in North Carolina and the Hudson River in New York.

Some spawning activity has been witnessed in the Delaware River and several smaller river systems along the east coast. It is widely believed that these river systems, as long as pollution is kept to a minimum, will continue to expand in spawning areas. In late winter mature striped bass begin to move from the Atlantic Ocean into tidal freshwater to spawn. Spawning is triggered by an increase in water temperature as well as salinity levels and generally occurs in April, May and early June in the Chesapeake Bay tributaries, Roanoke River and Hudson River.

Scientists believe that young striped bass do best at a salinity of about 0.6 to 11 parts per thousand, compared to full strength seawater which has a salinity of about 34 parts per thousand. Striped Bass have an innate sense of finding the right water before spawning.

Shortly after spawning, mature fish return to the coast. Most spend summer and early fall months in middle New England near-shore waters. In late fall and early winter they migrate south to the North Carolina and Virginia capes.



**************************************
^^ This tells me that some fish spawn in the Newark Bay and Hackensack River areas. I have trapped and netted quite a few baby stripers in these areas when netting baitfish over the years, so that's my experience as it relates to this area.

[DarkSkies]

Habitat and Food Web
After spawning, the eggs are transported downstream; the bass larvae require adequate turbulence, provided by moving water, to enable them to remain suspended in the oxygen-rich region of the water column.

Without the moving water, sinking to the bottom, the egg is rendered non-vital by sediments, which deprives them of the oxygen exchange necessary for survival. There is therefore no natural reproduction in reservoirs and lakes; state fishery departments stock the fish in these waters.

The larvae feed primarily on zooplankton and water fleas. After the hatch, the quarter-inch fish are attached to a heavy yolk sac, which provides them necessary nourishment for four or five days.

The fry then begin to feed on small crustaceans. As they grow, their diet expands to include insect larvae, other larval fish, mysids, and amphipods. Adults are piscivorous, existing primarily on shad.

Striped Bass have been known to eat anything that swims, crawls or floats, even its own kind.

Mature Striped Bass prefer Menhaden, Silversides, and Anchovies and during the summer months in the Chesapeake Bay they focus on Spot and Croaker. Approximately 95 percent of the Striped Bass diet comes from other finfish. The optimal feeding range is 55 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, but feeding occurs between 40 and 75 degrees.

http://www.laterallineco.com/fishing...n_pattern.html

[wish4fish]

i think its hard to tell dark i got fish in june once that still had eggs in them. so I don't know if they didn't spawn or spawn late but i think u will always have a few that are late.

[lostatsea]

We were at the marina this weekend and someone told me this story so I decided to research it. Thought it was pretty neat.



California Striped Bass and Striped Bass Fishing

In 1879, 132 fingerling striped bass were introduced into the San Francisco Bay, after surviving a long train ride across the US from the Navesink River in NJ.

These did well, and an additional 300 fingerling made the same train ride three years later.

The fish prospered, as the San Francisco Bay is a large estuary incorporating an extensive delta which is formed where the Sacremento and San Joaquin rivers empty into the Bay.
By 1889 striped bass were being caught in sufficient numbers that a commercial fishery began. The commercial fishery was later determined to be detrimental to the maintenance of a strong recreational sport fishery. Commercial fishing was stopped in 1935 when the striped bass was declared to be a game fish.
Early San Francisco Bay Stripers

Most Pacific stripers spend summers feeding on anchovies in the ocean along the Pacific Coast. Many wander along the coast. Significant populations of striped bass have developed in Oregon; particularly in Coos Bay and the Umpaqua River.
Along the California Coast most stripers
re-enter the San Francisco Bay in fall and winter, and locate throughout the Bay and delta system. In spring the stripers head up the Sacremento and San Joaquin rivers to spawn. They travel as much as 124 miles upstream in the Sacremento River and also go into the Feather River.
In the delta region, the water is mildly salty where the river and bay waters mix. Striped bass linger there, adjusting to the difference in salinity before they transit up the rivers to spawn, and again when they return to the Bay.
Some stripers inhabit the San Francisco Bay area year round. Many stripers, however, head back to the Pacific Ocean after spawning.

Hank Ferguson and his
record freshwater striped bass

A major threat to maintaining a large striper population in the Bay area is the significant number of freshwater diversion projects in the rivers. Increasing amounts of freshwater are being diverted to agricultural projects and the California Aqueduct System. Besides reducing the amount of freshwater available for spawning, the pumps associated with these projects often suck up striper larvae and fingerling stripers.
Surprisingly, some stripers survive their diversion, and even prosper. The current California sport record striped bass is a 67½ pound fish, caught by Hank Ferguson in O'Neill Forebay on May 7, 1992. In fact, many freshwater lakes and impoundments in California that are fed by the aqueduct system now contain significant populations of striped bass.

http://www.striperspace.com/california_stripers.html

[buckethead]

Striped Bass Surf Casting

A Brief History


Long before the Europeans set foot in America, the striped bass was the most prolific fish on the Atlantic seacoast. Upon entering Chesapeake Bay in the early 1600's Capt. John Smith noted their abundance, stating that "one could walk drishod across the bay upon their backs". The Pilgrims found striped bass to be a great resource and used funds generated from the sale of striped bass to England to build the first school in New England.

The Pilgrims were also the first to use the now famous method of surf casting from beaches to catch them. The size, abundance, availability, and close proximity to the shore inspired fishermen from all walks of life to pursue this beautiful yet elusive fish. The striped bass was so popular it was introduced to many freshwater lakes and in the 1800's transported to the Pacific coast where it thrives today.
Throughout the years, however, the striped bass was overfished producing serious declines in it's numbers. Great efforts were made to preserve the striped bass. Restrictions in the number and size of striped bass caught helped bring the species back from the brink of extinction. So effective, and so dedicated were those efforts that the striped bass is back in great numbers.

[Frankiesurf]

I'll bet those damned Pilgrims kept everything they caught too. So that's who we should blame for the steadily decreasing stocks from the 1600's to now. B*stards.

I wonder what they used to catch them from the shore?

That was an interesting little tidbit, thanks Buckethead.

[stripermania]

According to this they had abundant fish. How do you think it got depleted over the years? No regulations, everyone took what they needed plus more.


On the Waterfront: Plymouth’s Maritime History PILGRIMS ON THE SHORE

In late autumn, 1620, the Mayflower, a ship of 180 tons —its draft too deep for the relatively shallow harbor— lay at anchor over a mile from Plymouth’s shore. At high tide a smaller vessel of 70-80 tons might have approached the shore. Initial explorations of the area were accomplished in the ship’s longboat. A shallop (a vessel that could be rowed or sailed) had been carried on the Mayflower partially dismantled and used for extra sleeping quarters for the overflow of passengers.
The shallop required 16-17 days to make ready for use on the water and afterwards remained in constant use. The harbor provided food for the colonists from the first. Edward Winslow described the bounty in a letter to George Morton in England

For fish and fowl we have great abundance; fresh cod in the summer is but coarse meat with us; our bay is full of lobsters all the summer and affordeth variety of other fish, in September we can take a hogshead of eels in a night….

Indeed, the abundant cod and mackerel provided a good living, and sometimes wealth, to uncounted Plymoutheans through the ensuing centuries. By the 1770s, Plymouth boasted 75 fishing vessels with crews of 7 or 8 men. In 1832 James Thacher described provisions needed for a typical fishing voyage

To fit a vessel of 70 tons, carrying 8 men, for a fishing voyage of 4 months, it requires…800 bushels of salt…20 barrels of clam bait, 35-40 barrels of water, 20 lbs. of candles, 2 gallons of sperm oil….After these articles [and the stone ballast and clothes for the men who salt the fish] are paid for, the profits are divided …3/8 to the owners and 5/8 to the crew. If he furnishes his own provisions, each man carries 30-50 lbs. ship bread, 3-6 gallons molasses, 14-28 lbs. of flour, some butter, lard, vinegar, and [traditionally] 2-6 gallons of rum….Each man carries 6 codlines…4 lead weights of 5 lbs. each…24 codhooks, one pair large boots reaching above the knees…a piece of leather or oil-cloth to defend his breast against the wet…[also paid for by each man] 2 cords wood, a barrel of beef, 1 bushel beans, 20 of potatoes, 3 of meal….The fish are brought home in the salt, and after being washed are spread on flakes to dry.

Thacher, History of the Town of Plymouth, 3rd. ed.,
1972, p. 314-317

http://www.pilgrimhall.org/Waterfront2.htm

[CharlieTuna]

I can only imagine how abundant the fish were back then. I bet they used handlines to bring in 70+lb bass. I wonder if they livelined pogies, or just threw out the chunks?

[DarkSkies]

Something I posted today about spawning:

Anyone know what percentage of eggs will actually survive to reach maturity? I have to think more than 3 mature fish are produce from 5 million eggs......
Anyone know what it is?

1.First of all, I think it's too optimistic to use 5 million eggs, although I realize you were probably using that number to simplify things. The way I understand females dumping their eggs, is that if a female is carrying 5 million, she might not dump all of them during the spawn. To carry 5 million, she would (theoretically) have to be in the 40 or 50lb class. The females in that size class can behave differently when compared to the females in the size class from 30-38". (More on this when I get a chance to come back here and go into more detail.)


2. To try to specifically answer your question, what % of bass make it to maturity from an original spawn? it's pretty difficult, and even scientists have slight disagreements.
Generally, the research papers I've read claim that about 0-20% of the eggs let loose from a fertile female, will make it to the fry stage.

Some have defined this stage as when the bass is 45-52 days old after hatching. At that point many environmental hazards, and bulk of things that snack on these eggs like a quick protein shake are eliminated. Remember it's up to 20% (only in optimal cases, most likely less).

What is left from then on is bigger fish of all species as predators. --
Out of that number, some studies have shown that at least 3/4 of the remainder will not make it to adulthood to join in the breeding cycle again (about 4 years)....


3. So, your point about a small % of bass making it to adulthood, is a good one, and probably very close to reality. You could use a number of less than 10% survivability, and that could be pretty accurate.
(Could even be 1% or less as you suggested.....)

**You could use a range of 10% down to 1%, or less that will survive.

A. Assuming a 30 lb bass containing 3 million eggs, if all eggs were dumped out at one time, even with the worst case scenario assuming only 1% of the eggs survived to become adult bass,
that is 30,000 bass from one 30 lb breeding female that will make it to adulthood..

B. If you take a pessimistic view and assume only half that amount,
that is 15,000 bass coming from one 30 lb breeding female, that will make it to adulthood.

**Remember that the above figures are subject to a lot more variables than I have explained here.
The question of what that % is, can vary from year to year.
Something I could come back and go into detail on, if anyone wants to hear it.

[robmedina]

http://new.coolclassroom.org/adventures/explore/fish/10 may be elementary for most here but I found it a good read when you get up in the pages around the twenties.

[cowherder]

Thanks for posting rob. Good info about how to interpret sea surface temperature too