Growth cycle

[ronaultmtd]

This question is probably for Bill, since he is our resident fish scientist- with all the undersized redfish being caught by so many this year we have gotten a lot of information about how fast they grow- my last trip out I caught a 17 3/4 inch striper and a 21 inch striper- the first fish was just a hair off being a legal "keeper".

So the question- how old was it? How long does it take for a striped bass to grow 18 inches long?

[archeryrob]

Google, Ron, Google. I'll guess, 3 years.

http://www.stripersurf.com/ageweight.html

[DOGFISH]

My guess is three years also. All of these smaller stripers are last years spawn. It was like a record spawn for the bay. In an article about last years spawn, one of the striper guys was talking about how good the fishing would be in three to four years.


http://chesapeakebay.noaa.gov/fish-facts/striped-bass

[ictalurus]

Here's a graphical answer to your question (near the bottom of the page):
http://www.odu.edu/sci/cqfe/Research...ped%20bass.htm

Old Dominion University does most of the marine fish aging for Virginia. There's lots of good info on their site.

Looks like it could be as young as 2 (maybe) or as old as 6. Three to 4 is a good guess based on my experience. Striped bass scales are usually easy to read, but they often provide an underestimate of the fish's age. Anyway, grab a scale from under the pectoral fin or from along the back, i.e. somewhere relatively protected. Hold it up to the light. You might need a magnifying glass, but there are distinct bands. Here's a pic (page 7): http://www.odu.edu/sci/cqfe/PDF%20&%...s%20update.pdf As long as the fish isn't too old, you'll be in the ballpark. It works for a number of species as long as they aren't too old. The younger and faster growing they are, the easier it'll be to read the scales.

The second link also has a pic of a sectioned striped bass otolith (ear stone, located in the head) for comparison, which is the preferred way to estimate a fish's age. Sectioning an otolith requires a jeweler's diamond saw, which is like a small table saw that uses a diamond crusted blade. My avatar is a sectioned otolith from a big blue cat. You can read the otoliths of some fish, like largemouth bass, by cracking them in half and shining a light on them. I haven't tried that with a striper, but it might be worth a shot because they have similar sized and shaped otoliths as LMB.

[surfdog]

i saw a chart on the growth of red drum cant remember where but a 14" fish is 18 months old if i remember correctly