Striped Bass

Morone saxatilis

The striped bass, or rockfish, has 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.
• Usually grow to about 20 inches and weigh about 30 pounds, but can be as long as 6 feet and weigh as much as 125 pounds.

Where does the striped bass live?

Striped bass are found year-round throughout the 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 does the striped bass eat?

Striped bass are voracious predators on a variety of small fish and invertebrates, including:

• Worms
• Crustaceans
• Squids
• Menhaden
• Bay anchovies

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 Bay's tidal tributaries. They spawn from March through early May, when water temperatures warm to 55 to 68 degrees.

• Several males will court a single female, who lays her eggs in fresh to brackish nearshore waters.
• After spawning, adult striped bass swim back downstream to the Bay. A portion migrates back to the coastal ocean after spawning.
• After hatching, larvae move slowly downstream as they grow. Juveniles live in the shallows throughout the summer, feeding on small planktonic crustaceans. Most juveniles remain in their natal tributaries for the first two years of life.

Other facts about the striped bass:

• Maryland's state fish.
• Can live from 10 to 30 years.
• The Bay record striped bass was caught in 1995 at Bloody Point, just south of Kent Island, Maryland, and weighed 67.5 pounds.
• The Bay is the largest nursery on the Atlantic coast for juvenile striped bass. Seventy to 90 percent of the Atlantic population uses the Bay as spawning and nursery grounds.