Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - View Single Post - New Report

Sweetwater · 05-24-2009, 04:08 PM

I'm not sure where the 3-year study was done, or what time(s) of year the fish were sampled. But I do know this. Striped bass are highly opportunistic feeders and are also able to feed on a wide variety of forage. This is one reason that when spawning grounds are kept free of pollution and obstruction, the species will flourish as the number and availability of different forage species varies from place to place and year to year. Also, feeding behavior will vary depending on the size of the striped bass.

I would imagine that to get an accurate picture of a striper's "preferred" forage one would have to sample a very large number of fish, of sizes ranging from "school" bass to 50 lb'ers, during all four seasons, for several years, and cover the entire eastern shore from NC to Maine including bays, estuaries, and river mouths. I doubt the study being referenced was this broad. In these parts we regular see bass feeding naturally on herring, menhaden, "sand eels," hickory shad, mackerel, crabs, lobster, small fluke, spearing, scup and more.

05-24-2009, 04:08 PM	#4
Sweetwater Ruled only by the tide iTrader: (0) Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Truro Posts: 801	I'm not sure where the 3-year study was done, or what time(s) of year the fish were sampled. But I do know this. Striped bass are highly opportunistic feeders and are also able to feed on a wide variety of forage. This is one reason that when spawning grounds are kept free of pollution and obstruction, the species will flourish as the number and availability of different forage species varies from place to place and year to year. Also, feeding behavior will vary depending on the size of the striped bass. I would imagine that to get an accurate picture of a striper's "preferred" forage one would have to sample a very large number of fish, of sizes ranging from "school" bass to 50 lb'ers, during all four seasons, for several years, and cover the entire eastern shore from NC to Maine including bays, estuaries, and river mouths. I doubt the study being referenced was this broad. In these parts we regular see bass feeding naturally on herring, menhaden, "sand eels," hickory shad, mackerel, crabs, lobster, small fluke, spearing, scup and more.
	Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn.