History lesson on striped bass in California

[jimbob]

Striped Bass History

For those of you just getting started in the thrill of striper fishing, a few facts from the Department of Fish and Game: Two small plants of striped bass from the East Coast were made in California. The first release of 132 small fish was made near Martinez in 1879 and in 1882 an additional 300 were released in lower Suisun Bay. Within 10 years a commercial fishery had developed and did well until it was closed in 1935 in an effort to build up the sport fishery.

Habits

Striped bass appear to depend rather strongly on an anadromous existence. Although planted fish will often grow well in fresh water, most attempts to establish breeding landlocked populations have been failures. Landlocked striped bass succeed in breeding only in situations where there are rivers long enough and with sufficient flow to keep the eggs suspended until they hatch [http://striper-csba](about two days). An outstanding success has been in Santee – Cooper Reservoir in South Carolina. Other successes have been in Millerton Lake near Fresno and the Colorado River system in California. San Luis Reservoir in western Merced County has a large population of striped bass but there is not satisfactory way to determine if any of the young fish there were actually spawned in the lake. The water for the reservoir is pumped via canal from the San Joaquin Delta, and, every spawning season, large numbers of very small striped bass pass through the fish screens and pumps and arrive at the reservoir. The stripers in Lake Mendocino and San Antonio Reservoir were planted there and provide fishing, but have not shown any evidence of successful reproduction.


Reproduction

Striped bass begin spawning in the spring when the water temperature reaches 58F. Most spawning occurs between 61 and 69F, and the spawning period usually extends from April to mid June. They spawn in fresh water where there is moderate to swift current. The section of the San Joaquin River between the Antioch Bridge and the mouth of Middle River, together with the other channels in this area, is one very important spawning ground. Another is the Sacramento River from Courtland to Colusa.
Female striped bass usually spawn for the first time when they are about 5 years old and 24 inches long. Many males mature when two years old and only about 11 inches long. Most males are mature at age three. A 5-lb female spawns about 200,000 eggs in one season and a 12-lb fish is capable of producing up to about one million eggs. The eggs are quite small when in the fish – about 1/25 inch in diameter – but after being spawned they absorb water, triple their diameter, and become transparent and very hard to see. This is a good safety measure. That which is not seen is less likely to be eaten. The eggs are only slightly heavier than water. With moderate current they are held suspended while developing. Without any water movement they sink to the bottom and die. The larval bass are hatched in about two days, the length of time depending upon the temperature. Warmer water causes faster development.

Survival of Young

The abundance of legal sized striped bass in the Sacramento – San Joaquin Estuary appears to be largely determined by survival in the first months of life. Variation in survival of young bass ( less than 1 ½ inches long) is affected by the magnitude of water diversion from the estuary and magnitude of river flows passing through the Delta. Diversions remove many young during the first few months of life (May, June and July) and river flow probably affects survival, at least in part by controlling the transport of young bass to suitable nursery areas. It takes stripers three years to reach legal length (18 inches) so good fishing depends upon precipitation and upon water management several years earlier.

Growth

Striped bass are only about 1/6 inch long at hatching and average about 4 inches at a year, 10 inches at two years, 16 inches at three, and 20 inches at four. A 20-year-old striper will be about 48 inches long and weigh about 40 lb.
Food

Striped bass feed on many forms of animal matter. Crustaceans and fish make up the bulk of their diet. Small bass consume large quantities of Neomysis, a small opossum shrimp which is abundant throughout the Delta. As they grow, the bass start adding larger items to their diet. Anchovies, shiner perch, shrimp, and herring are among the items taken in quantity. In the up river areas, the young of their own kind, and threadfin shad, are often taken.

Striped Bass Problems

State and Federal Water Projects In 1960ish state and Federal water projects were installed that pumped large quantities of water from the Delta. Coinciding with the large water diversion projects, the population of striped bass began declining dramatically. In the early 1960’s the striped bass population was approximately 3 million adult fish and by the early 1990’s the striped bass population was approximately 775 thousand adult fish. Approximately 30% of these fish were hatchery reared. Most recent estimates of the striped bass population is approximately 300 thousand adult fish.



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[jimbob]

History

There were originally no striped bass in California. They were introduced from the East Coast, where they are found from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Alabama. The initial introduction took place in 1879, when 132 small bass were brought successfully to California by rail from the Navesink River in New Jersey and released near Martinez. Fish from this lot were caught within a year near Sausalito, Alameda, and Monterey, and others were caught occasionally at scattered places for several years afterwards. There was much concern by the Fish and Game Commission that such a small number of bass might fail to establish the species, so a second introduction of about 300 stripers was made in lower Suisun Bay in 1882.

In a few years, striped bass were being caught in California in large numbers. By 1889, a decade after the first lot of eastern fish had been released, bass were being sold in San Francisco markets. In another 10 years, the commercial net catch alone was averaging well over a million pounds a year. In 1935, however, all commercial fishing for striped bass was stopped in the belief that this would enhance the sport fishery.

  



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