Also known as the rockfish or striper, the striped bass is a large predatory fish with dark stripes running along its metallic sides. Part of the Atlantic Coast population lives in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries year round. On average, adult striped bass grow 2 to 3 feet in length and weigh between 10 to 30 pounds, although they can reach a length of six feet and weigh as much as pounds.
Their elongated body varies in color from light or olive green to blue, brown or black, and their metallic sides are striped with seven or eight dark, continuous lines. Their belly is white. They have a dark, forked tail fin and three spines on their anal fin. A deep notch appears on their dorsal fin, and the first part of the dorsal fin has several spines.
Striped bass feed on a variety of small fish and invertebrates, including worms, squid, menhaden, anchovies and crustaceans. Good value, easy to use Humminbird fishfinder. Click here for reviews and best prices on amazon. Therefore, try streams and rivers with fast moving water. Smallmouth can also be found behind brush or other debris and where rocks breach the surface, creating oxygen rich water.
Click here for full review of the Shimano spinning reel. Types of Bass Australian Bass. Our Featured Posts. Striped bass prefer deep water wi. Striped Bass Winter Fishing You'll find excellent fishing opportunities in colder waters.
Striped Bass Spring Fishing Time for surf fishing for stripers. In Spring Striped Bass. Stripers River Feeding Stripers feed aggressively in the spring before moving upstream to spawn. Largemouth Fall Fishing Bass feed on large schools of gizzard shad and minnows living in the same general areas.
Smallmouth Bass Feeding Smallmouths can be caught with a fly rod using a dry or wet fly,. Largemouth Bass Feeding Despite a preference to golden shiners, shad, crawfish and salamanders, bass adapt to the food available in their habitat.
Autumn Fishing for Largemouth. Largemouth in creeks and streams will gorge themselves in preparation for upcoming winter months so give them something to eat like leeches, worms and crayfish. While some may travel as much as miles upstream, most will spawn in the slightly brackish or freshwater sections just above the upper estuaries of large rivers, in waters less than 20 feet deep. Water temperature is the key factor in determining when spawning will occur. Peak spawning activity occurs when the water is about 60 to 65 degrees in temperature.
This generally occurs from mid-April to mid-May in the Mid-Atlantic region. Spawning is usually completed in all regions by the end of June or early July.
Females will release their eggs at or near the surface as nearby males release milt to fertilize them. As they grow older and larger, the number of eggs released also grows. A female rockfish in her first spawning season will release about , eggs. Toward the end of their natural life span, a large, healthy female can distribute 10 times as many, releasing over 4 million eggs in a single season.
Similar to many other types of fish, striped bass release large number of eggs to offset intense predation. During early life stages, they are preyed on by many other species. But striped bass eggs have an additional obstacle to overcome. In order to successfully hatch, they must remain suspended in the water. Since striped bass eggs are slightly heavier than water, they begin to sink slowly as soon as they are laid.
Any eggs, which fall to the bottom, are unlikely to hatch. The eggs depend on sufficient river current and tidal flow to keep them suspended. Each egg contains a yolk sac, which provides nutrition for the developing embryo, and an oil globule, which also feeds the growing fish.
Eggs of striped bass that spawn in slow-moving rivers have a slightly larger oil globule, making them more buoyant and more likely to stay suspended long enough to hatch successfully.
Fertilized Striped Bass eggs need to be carried by water currents until hatching about hours to avoid suffocation. If the egg sinks to the bottom they die. The sediments reduce oxygen exchange between the egg and the surrounding water. This is the most critical period for young stripers. The water current must be strong enough and the river distance long enough to keep the eggs and young from settling to the bottom before the eggs become buoyant.
The hatching time varies from 65 hours at 60 degrees F to 36 hours at 70 degrees F. Studies have shown that greater than 80 percent of the eggs are usually fertilized but egg mortality is high, especially in water temperatures above 70 F. Less than one percent of the eggs will survive the first two months.
The eggs hatch in about two days.
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