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Striped Bass Quick Facts

Description

The striped bass is a member of the seas bass family, while smallmouth and largemouth bass are members of the sunfish family. The sea bass family is also often referred to as the temperate or true bass family. 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. Younger striped fish can often resemble white bass. But striped bass have two distinct tooth patches on the back of the tongue while white bass have one tooth patch. The second difference is that striped bass have two sharp points on each gill cover, while white bass have one.

History

Unlike smallmouth and largemouth bass striped bass can live in both freshwater and saltwater environments. In coastal populations, striped bass can travel upstream up to 100 miles inland to spawn. Spawning begins in the spring when water temperatures approach 60°F. Stripers can reach a size of 10 to 12 inches in their first year of life. Males are generally mature in two years, and females in three to four. Adult fish feed predominantly on gizzard shad and threadfin shad. Alewife and glut herring are also utilized in the northern states.

Distribution

The striped bass is a coastal species that moves far upstream during spawning migrations in coastal rivers. The native range is along the Atlantic coast east of the Appalachian Mountains from New Brunswick south to Florida and west into Louisiana. The species has been introduced at scattered locations throughout the central US. There have also been introductions as far west as the Colorado River in Arizona, and at various sites in California. Although not native to Texas, the species has been stocked in a number of reservoirs. Because stream flow is required for a successful hatch, most reservoir populations are not self-sustaining and must be maintained through stocking.

Fishing Techniques

Stripers are often caught using artificial lures that imitate small fish, such as silver spoons. Deep running lures can also be effective. Live bait and cut bait will also take striped bass.