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Common name: Striped bass (also commonly known as striper, rockfish, linesider, roller, squidhound and greenhead).
Scientific name: Morone saxatilis
California record: 67 lbs., 8 oz. from O’Neill Forebay on May 7, 1992 by angler hank Ferguson.
Description: The striped bass features a streamlined body shape, with it’s body depth usually less than the head length. The fish has a large mouth with two patches of teeth on its tongue. It’s jaw protrudes backwards below the eye.
Striped bass have two spines on the gill covers. The most anterior of the two dorsal fins has sharp spines. The anal fin has three sharp spines and is as long as the posterior dorsal fin.
Striped bass can appear to be colored light green, olive, steel blue, brown or black. Their upper bodies are usually a dark olive color. Its sides and belly are a white or silver color.
The striped bass get its name from the seven or eight stripes that run along its body from the back of their heads to the base of their tails.
The striped bass is the biggest member of the temperate bass family. They can grow to be 100 lbs. and live up to 40 years. Usually, striped bass weighing more than 50 lbs. are rare. Females are customarily larger than males. Most striped bass weighing 30 lbs. and more are female.
Habitat: Striped bass can be found in both fresh and saltwater. Their habitat stretches from the St. Lawrence River located in Canada to the St. John’s River located in Florida, in Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, and in the open Atlantic waters. Fair concentrations are also found coastally along Central California.
Striped bass are considered to be an anadromous fish. They prefer large bodies of deep clear water as well as rivers, bays, inlets, estuaries and creeks. Most striped bass stay in inshore waters, and are not normally found more than five miles from the coastline. They have been stocked in reservoirs throughout the country including California.
Young striped bass are most likely to be found in estuaries or river systems, which play important roles in spawning as nursery grounds for the fish.
Striped bass prefer a water temperature of around 65 to 70 degrees. Noteworthy changes in habitat can have a potentially negative effect on the life cycle of the striped bass.
Reproduction: Striped bass move to tidal freshwater from the ocean to spawn in late winter. Spawning is marked by an increase in the temperature of the water. It usually occurs during the months of April, May and June. The water temperature is usually around 60 to 68 degrees.
During spawning, a female is surrounded by 7 to 8 males who nudge her to faster currents near the surface of the water. The female releases eggs into the water column as males simultaneously release sperm into the water column to fertilize the eggs. The number of eggs released by the female is directly proportional to the female’s body weight.
The eggs are tossed around in the water current without any further parental protection or attention. The fertilized eggs remain in lower rivers and estuaries because of the need to remain in the water column in order to survive. The eggs that settle to the bottom are usually buried and killed.
The eggs usually hatch in 29 to 80 hours depending on the temperature of the water. The larvae are fed by a large yolk mass inside of the eggs. After hatching, the young striped bass move downstream in search of areas with a higher level of salinity.
Female striped bass reach the age of sexual maturity at 4, while males reach sexual maturity at age 2 or 3.
Eating habit: The diet of the striped bass consists of a large variety of food. Larvae feed on copepods, zooplankton and water fleas. As they grow older they feed on insect larvae, mysids, larval fish, amphipods, small crustaceans and mayflies.
Adult striped bass are fish eaters or piscivorous. They feed primarily on alewives, flounder, sea herring, menhaden, mumminchogs, sand lance, small mussels, annelids, squid, gizzard, threadfin shad and golden shiners.
Striped bass most actively feed during dawn and dusk, although they feed sporadically throughout the day. They can be seen causing “boils” on the surface of the water as they chase bait to the surface. They become less active feeders when the water temperature lowers to 50 degrees.
Fishing methods, tips, and best lures and baits: The best time of day to fish for striped bass is during dusk or dawn when there are strong currents or in turbulent “live” waters. In rivers or reservoirs, anglers should look to get into a channel, or over a deep cove, near a small stream or the outlet of a brook.
Popular baits used to catch striped bass are bloodworms, nightcrawlers, clams, anchovies, eels, bunker/menhaden, chicken livers, sand worms and herring.
Effective artificial baits include large topwater baits, swimbaits, jerk baits, trolling plugs and any other lures that imitate shad and other finfish that stripers feed on.
Stripers fight extremely well and a stout rod and reel, and good line are recommended.
Best times of the year for targeting this species: Stripers can be caught year-round. Spring and fall can be good, and summer is excellent for fishing in the mornings and evenings as they will often be seen chasing schools of bait on the surface. They tend to retreat to deeper, cooler water during the heat of the day. Winter is still an option, although most fishing is done in deep water.
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