Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Striped bass The striped bass , also called Atlantic striped
bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and New
Hampshire. They are also found in the Minas Basin and Gaspereau River in Nova Scotia,
Canada and the Miramichi River in New Brunswick, Canada.
Morphology and lifespan The striped bass is a typical member of the
Moronidae family in shape, having a streamlined, silvery body marked with longitudinal dark
stripes running from behind the gills to the base of the tail. The maximum scientifically
recorded weight is 57 kg (125 lb). Common mature size is 120 cm (3.9 ft). Striped
bass are believed to live for up to 30 years. The maximum length is 1.8 m (6 ft). The
average size is about 67–100 cm (2.2-3.3 ft) and 4.5-14.5 kg (10-32 lb).
Distribution Natural distribution
Striped bass are native to the Atlantic coastline of North America from the St. Lawrence River
into the Gulf of Mexico to approximately Louisiana. They are anadromous fish that migrate between
fresh and salt water. Spawning takes place in fresh water.
Introductions outside their natural range Striped bass have been introduced to the Pacific
Coast of North America and into many of the large reservoir impoundments across the United
States by state game and fish commissions for the purposes of recreational fishing and
as a predator to control populations of gizzard shad. These include: Elephant Butte Lake in
New Mexico; Lake Ouachita, Lake Norman in North Carolina, Lake Norfork, Beaver Lake
and Lake Hamilton in Arkansas; Lake Powell, Lake Pleasant, and Lake Havasu in Arizona;
Castaic Lake and Lake George in Florida, Pyramid Lake, Silverwood Lake, Diamond Valley Lake,
Lewis Smith Lake in Alabama, Lake Cumberland, and Lake Murray in California; Lake Lanier
in Georgia; Watts Bar Lake, Tennessee; and Lake Mead, Nevada; Lake Texoma, Lake Tawakoni,
Lake Whitney, Possum Kingdom Lake, and Lake Buchanan in Texas; Raystown Lake in Pennsylvania;
and in Virginia's Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake.
Striped bass have also been introduced into waters in Ecuador, Iran, Latvia, Mexico, Russia,
South Africa, and Turkey, primarily for sport fishing and aquaculture.
Environmental factors The spawning success of striped bass has been
studied in the San Francisco Bay-Delta water system, with a finding that high total dissolved
solids (TDS) reduce spawning. At levels as low as 200 mg/l TDS, an observable diminution
of spawning productivity occurs. They can be found in lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands.
Former President of the United States George W. Bush, in Executive Order 13449 of October
20, 2007, designated the striped bass as a protected game fish. Further, he directed
executive agencies to use existing legal authorities, to the extent possible, to prohibit the sale
of striped bass caught in Federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
Life cycle Striped bass spawn in fresh water, and although
they have been successfully adapted to freshwater habitat, they naturally spend their adult
lives in saltwater (i.e., it is anadromous). Four important bodies of water with breeding
stocks of striped bass are: Chesapeake Bay, Massachusetts Bay/Cape Cod, Hudson River and
Delaware River. It is believed that many of the rivers and tributaries that emptied into
the Atlantic, had at one time, breeding stock of striped bass. One of the largest breeding
areas is the Chesapeake Bay, where populations from Chesapeake and Delaware bays have intermingled.
The very few successful spawning populations of freshwater striped bass include Lake Texoma,
the Colorado River and its reservoirs downstream from and including Lake Powell, and the Arkansas
River, as well as Lake Marion (South Carolina) that retained a landlocked breeding population
when the dam was built; other freshwater fisheries must be restocked with hatchery-produced fish
annually. Stocking of striped bass was discontinued at Lake Mead in 1973 once natural reproduction
was verified. Hybrids with other bass
Striped bass have also been hybridized with white bass to produce hybrid striped bass
also known as wiper. These hybrids have been stocked in many freshwater areas across the
US. Fishing for striped bass
Striped bass are of significant value for sport fishing, and have been introduced to
many waterways outside their natural range. A variety of angling methods are used, including
trolling and surf casting, with topwater lures a good pick for surf casting. Striped bass
will take a number of live and fresh baits, including bunker, clams, eels, sandworms,
herring, bloodworms, mackerel, and shad, with the last being an excellent bait for freshwater
fishing. The largest striped bass ever taken by angling
was an 81.88-lb (37.14-kg) specimen taken from a boat in Long Island Sound, near the
Outer Southwest Reef, off the coast of Westbrook, Connecticut. The all-tackle world record fish
was taken by Gregory Myerson on the night of August 4, 2011. The fish took a drifted
live eel bait, and fought for 20 minutes before being boated by Myerson. A second hook and
leader was discovered in the fish's mouth when it was boated, indicating it had been
previously hooked by another angler. The fish measured 54 in length and had a girth of
36 in. The International Game Fish Association declared Myerson's catch the new all-tackle
world record striped bass on October 19, 2011. In addition to now holding the All-Tackle
record, Meyerson’s catch also landed him the new IGFA men’s 37-kg (80-lb) line class
record for striped bass, which previously stood at 70 lb. The previous all-tackle world
record fish was a 78.5-lb (35.6-kg) specimen taken in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September
21, 1982 by Albert McReynolds, who fought the fish from the beach for 1:20 after it
took his Rebel artificial lure. McReynolds' all-tackle world record stood for 29 years.
Recreational bag limits vary by state and province.
Landlocked striped bass Striped bass are an anadromous fish, so their
spawning ritual of traveling up rivers to spawn led some of them to become landlocked
during lake dam constructions. The first area where they became landlocked was documented
to be in the Santee-Cooper River during the construction of the two dams that impounded
Lakes Moultrie and Marion, and because of this, the state game fish of South Carolina
is the striped bass. Recently, biologists came to believe that
striped bass stayed in rivers for long periods of time, with some not returning to sea unless
temperature changes forced migration. Once fishermen and biologists caught on to rising
striped bass populations, many state natural resources departments started stocking striped
bass in local lakes. Striped bass still continue the natural spawn run in freshwater lakes,
traveling up river and blocked at the next dam, which is why they are landlocked. Landlocked
stripers have a hard time reproducing naturally, and one of the few and most successful rivers
they have been documented reproducing successfully is the Coosa River in Alabama and Georgia.
A 70.6-lb (32.0-kg) bass landlocked bass was caught in February 2013 by James Bramlett
on the Warrior River in Alabama, a current world record. This fish had a length of 44
inches (112 cm) and a girth of 37.75 inches (96 cm).
One of the only landlocked striped bass populations in Canada is located in the Grand Lake, Nova
Scotia. They migrate out in early April into the Shubencadie River to spawn. These bass
also spawn in the Stewiacke River (a tributary of the Shubencadie ). The Shubencadie River
system is one of five known spawning areas in Canada for striped bass, with the others
being the St. Lawerence River, Miramichi River, Saint John River, Annapolis River
and Shubencadie/Stewiacke Rivers. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/species-especes/stripedbass-Fundy-barraye-eng.htm Management
The striped bass population declined to less than 5 million by 1982, but efforts by fishermen
and management programs to rebuild the stock proved successful, and in 2007, there were
nearly 56 million fish, including all ages. Recreational anglers and commercial fisherman
caught an unprecedented 3.8 million fish in 2006. The management of the species includes
size limits, commercial quotas, and biological reference points for the health of the species.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission states that striped bass are "not overfished
and overfishing is not occurring." Notes
^ a b Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2007). "Morone saxatilis" in FishBase. March
2007 version. ^ National Audubon Society (May 2001). National
Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fishes. Knopf, Rev Sub edition (May 21, 2002).
ISBN 0375412247. ^ Striped Bass Management Plan retrieved on
10 June 2007. ^ Pennsylvania State Fish & Boat Commission,
Gallery of Pennsylvania Fishes, Chapter 21. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
^ Indiana Fish and Wildlife, Evaluation of Striped Bass Stockings at Harden Reservoir.
Retrieved 10 June 2007. ^ http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=122
^ http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=77 ^ Kaiser Engineers, California, Final Report
to the State of California, San Francisco Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Program, State
of California, Sacramento, CA (1969) ^ "Executive Order 13449: Protection of Striped
Bass and Red Drum Fish Populations". Office of the Federal Register. October 20, 2007.
Retrieved October 24, 2007. ^ Chesapeake Bay Program, Striped Bass
^ Wilde, G. R. and L.J. Paulson. 1989. Food habits of subadult striped bass in Lake Mead
Arizona-Nevada. The Southwestern Naturalist 34(1) 118-123.
^ Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Status of the Striped Bass/Hybrid Bass Bass
Fishery March 2006 retrieved 10 June 2007. ^ Pennsylvania State Fish & Boat Commission,
Gallery of Pennsylvania Fishes, Chapter 21. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
^ Greg Myerson's World Record Striper Official Website
^ IGFA all-tackle world record striped bass ^ New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
^ David DiBendetto, On The Run, An Angler's Journey Down the Striper Coast, page 195
^ "History of Freshwater Striped Bass". Retrieved 2010-03-01.
^ "Striped Bass in River Systems". Retrieved 2010-03-01.
^ "Word Record Landlocked Bass". Retrieved 2013-05-21.
^ "Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: Striped Bass". Retrieved 2009-07-02.
Other references Atlantic striped bass NOAA FishWatch. Retrieved
5 November 2012. External links
Striped bass on the Open Directory Project