Chesapeake Bay Striper Fishing

Morone saxatilis
(Rockfish, Rock, Striper)

Chesapeake Bay Stripers are a silvery fish that gets its name from the dark, stripes along both sides of its body.
The body of the fish is stocky.
The Dorsal fins are separated,
Caudal fin is , green, blue, or black.

Striped bass range from the St. Lawrence River, Canada to Florida, although they are mostly from Maine to North Carolina.
Striped bass move north to costal waters of New England during the summer time , and south to the North Carolina during the winter.
The Chesapeake Bay Striper is part of the 3 migratory populations - Hudson, Chesapeake, and Roanoke.
The Chesapeake Bay Striper
- Stripers within Chesapeake Bay are composed of pre-migratory fish and coastal migratory striped bass which range in age from 2 to more than 30 years of age.
- Mature resident and migratory Chesapeake Striped Bass striped move into freshwater in early spring to spawn.
- After spawning, Chesapeake Bay Stripers return to the ocean.
- They spend the summer and autumn months in New England in shallow waters.
- During the late fall and winter months, striped bass migrate south to North Carolina.

Chesapeake Bay Stripped bass live in coastal waters and are commonly found in bays but may enter rivers in the spring to spawn.
There are also some landlocked Striped Bass.

Female striped bass mature at about age 4; but usually they don't start spawning until 8 years of age
2 year old males are considered mature.
Spawning occurs in April, May and June in Chesapeake Bay.
After they arrive in the tidal areas they mature into juveniles.
They usually remain in Chesapeake Bay for two to five years, then migrate into the Ocean.
When the water temperatures warm in the spring, mature fish begin their spawning runs in freshwater.
Chesapeake Bay Stripes make up 70-90% of the Atlantic coast stocks of striped bass.

Chesapeake Striped bass (Rock Fish) is Maryland's state fish.
Stripers are Maryland's most popular recreational sports fish.
The Atlantic striped bass management program has grown from about 20 million pounds to an historic high of 160 million pounds.
The record for Chesapeake Bay striped bass is 67 pounds, 8 ounces.
The largest striped bass was a 125 pound female caught on the North Carolina coast in 1891.
The current Maryland Chesapeake Bay Bay striped bass is 67 lbs., 8 oz.

Striped Bass Family: Moronidae

Order: Perciformes

Class: Actinopterygii

Book your trip now