Striped Bass

Morone saxatilis

The striped bass, or rockfish, is a large predator fish with an elongated body that varies in color from light or olive green to blue, brown or black, with a white belly. Adults have:

• Seven to eight dark continuous stripes across their silvery sides.
• A forked, dark-colored tail fin.

Striped bass usually grow to approximately 20 inches and weigh about 30 pounds, but can be as long as 6 feet and weigh as much as 125 pounds.

Where do striped bass live?

Striped bass are found year-round throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. In spring they move upstream to spawn, and in summer and winter they are found in the Bay's deep channels.

What do striped bass eat?

Striped bass are voracious predators of a variety of small fish and invertebrates, including worms, squids, menhaden, anchovies and crustaceans.

How do striped bass reproduce?

Striped bass are considered "halfway anadromous," since most do not travel all the way from the ocean to their spawning grounds in the Chesapeake Bay's tidal tributaries. They spawn from March through early May, when water temperatures warm to 55 to 68 degrees.

• Several male striped bass will court a single female, who lays her eggs in fresh to brackish waters near the shore.
• After spawning, adult striped bass swim back downstream to the Bay. Some of the fish will continue on to the ocean.
• After hatching, striped bass larvae move slowly downstream as they grow. Juveniles live in the shallows throughout the summer, feeding on small planktonic crustaceans.
• Most juvenile striped bass remain in their natal tributaries for the first two years of life.

Other facts about striped bass:

• Striped bass are more commonly known as "rockfish" or "stripers."
• The striped bass is Maryland's state fish.
• Striped bass can live from 10 to 30 years.
• The Chesapeake Bay record striped bass was caught in 1995 at Bloody Point, just south of Kent Island, Maryland, and weighed 67.5 pounds.
• The Chesapeake Bay is the largest striped bass nursery area on the Atlantic coast. Seventy to 90 percent of the Atlantic striped bass population uses the Bay to spawn.