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Striped Bass (also known as Rockfish)- Morone saxatilis
The purpose of this site is to provide useful information about fishing for stripers in Virginia. We want to help make your striper fishing trips in Virginia more successful. Stripers will take almost anything that will fit in their mouths as prey. As a schooling fish which can grow to considerable size, they can devour a school of baitfish in very short order. If you catch one, you can be sure there are others nearby.
Stripers are found in the Atlantic from Canada to Florida and some parts of the Gulf of Mexico. Stripers are abundant year round residents of the Chesapeake Bay estuary system. During summer and winter they move to the deeper channels of the Bay. Also during the summer, many mature fish will migrate north as far as southern Canada, returning in fall and winter. They spawn in freshwater but move to saltwater as adults. The tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay are the primary spawning areas for striped bass along the mid-Atlantic coast.
The fishing season is segmented in the Chesapeake Bay area. April through June the numbers in the Bay go up as the fish head toward the tributaries to spawn. July through September the big fish are scarce, but smaller ones are catchable. October through December the huge schools move from the northern Bay toward the Atlantic. January through March the hottest action is just off shore in Virginia Beach. Huge schools of very large fish concentrate within the three-mile offshore limit.
The 2010 Winter Season has started! - Click here for charter info.
NOAA National Saltwater Angler Registry Opens. Click here for info.
If you catch a striper with mycobacteriosis:
- return any fish with skin lesions to the water
- wear gloves when handling striped bass
- infected fish are safe to eat if cooked thoroughly
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