By Alex McCrickard/DWR
It’s easy to understand why striped bass are known as “everyman’s fish.” They’re fun to catch and are one of the most accessible fish for anglers to target. Add on the variety of different methods you can use to successfully catch striped bass—live bait, trolling, bottom fishing, artificial lures, and fly fishing—it’s easy to understand why they are referred to as “everyman’s fish.”
Migratory, marine striped bass in Virginia (those in the Chesapeake Bay, its tidal tributaries, and along the Atlantic Coast) are managed by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission in collaboration with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. In addition to the migratory striped bass stock, Virginia boasts some of the best inland, land-locked striped bass opportunities you can find in the east in lakes and reservoirs that are managed by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Whether you are fishing in fresh or saltwater, striped bass are incredibly popular in the culinary industry. In fact, all our inland striped bass fisheries in Virginia are managed for some level of angler harvest. Eating a fish that you have just caught on rod and reel can be one of the most satisfying accomplishments an angler can have. However, many anglers prefer to practice catch and release to promote conservation of the resource. Catch and release is even required by regulations in many instances if the fish you have caught does not meet a slot or minimum length requirement or perhaps you have already caught your limit.
The best available science shows us that catch-and-release mortality averages 9 percent for striped bass fisheries. This means that on average, 9 percent of striped bass that are released after being caught succumb to post-release mortality.
Some of the major variables that influence catch-and-release mortality include air temperature, water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentrations, and salinity. Studies have shown that in cold water with high salinity levels, such as the lower Chesapeake Bay in December and January, when water temperatures are between 40- and 45-degrees Fahrenheit, that percentage drops significantly.
Conversely, studies have shown that when water temperatures exceed 70 degrees Fahrenheit and its entirely freshwater, such as the James River in Richmond in late May and June or an inland Virginia striped bass reservoir in the summer months, that percentage increases significantly above 9 percent. Water temperature is a major driver for dissolved oxygen concentrations. Colder water with higher concentrations of dissolved oxygen improves striped bass catch-and-release success. In warm water scenarios with lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen, stressed striped bass are at higher risk of succumbing to post-release mortality.
Many anglers fishing for striped bass during the summer months in Virginia’s reservoirs focus on catching their limit of striped bass and then either quit fishing or focus on other species such as largemouth bass. “A no-cull ethic during the warm, summer months is essential to reduce mortality due to handling stress when water temperatures are high,” said Dan Michaelson, DWR fisheries biologist. “Impoundments like Smith Mountain Lake and Buggs Island Lake even have different harvest regulations during the summer months to encourage anglers to keep the first few striped bass they catch and then quit for the day.”
VMRC Regulation Updates
Additionally, with the Atlantic striped bass stock currently considered “overfished” by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), catch and release is being more heavily embraced by striped bass anglers for conservation and even required in a lot of instances, with tighter slot limits coastwide.