RI Mass bass from the Chesapeake or Hudson

[dannyplug1]

Was doing some bass reading and the author claimed that the bass that migrate up to Mass and Ri are bred in the Hudson river as opposed to being Chesapeake fish. Is this true? I was allways thought that the Chesy contributed 80-90% of the stripers and that the delaware and hudson made up the rest. With the problems in the bay I would be curious about the make up of the bass that visit us in RI and Mass. Thanks Charlie

[JohnR]

Both, my understanding. Also by my understanding the RI resident fish tend to be Hudson fish but the Cape fish tend to be Chesapeake.

[striperman36]

Jackk may know where to find more

[onecastmike2003]

The gray fish are Hudsons and they don't have a nice green tan like there cousins in Va
Old timer told me this
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[Nebe]

LOL!! However you can tell in Rhode Island in the fall when you catch a cape bass because he is been spending time over bright sand in the shallows and is very light in color.
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[Saltheart]

If I remember correctly , Bob Pond used to say that we had a mix of fish in the area. mostly chesepeake , some Hudson and even a few Ct River spawned fish. I think he also treid to establish spawning populations in other rivers in the area by transporting fish and puuting them in likely rivers. As far as I know that was not too successful but who knows , maybe some seeds were planted that will yield greater results in the future.

[Nebe]

Bass reproduce in the ct and the housatonic (sp?)
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[Stewie]

The Chesapeake bass have a twangier accent when they thank you for taking the pointy hooks out of their faces.

The Hudson bass smell a little like diesel fuel from having to pass under the George Washington bridge.

[Hardcore]

Originally Posted by Nebe

Bass reproduce in the ct and the housatonic (sp?)
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I've caught 5" stripers there while fishing for LMB. I'm positive they breed here. I mentioned it to a local DEP agent and he said they hadn't seen any evidence of it
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[Nebe]

I think bass breed in more places that we could ever imagine.. It's just a matter of having the right conditions to nurture egg growth and juvenile prosperity.
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[striperman36]

old timers used to talk about stripers spawning in the Westport River

[lamigsb1]

Many local rivers have winter hold overs or local bass. Id only immagine that theese also have spawning populations.
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[MakoMike]

I've caught tagged bass from both locations in RI. Most local rivers do not support a spawn, because they are damned up too far downriver to allow the bass to get to the freshwater they need to spawn.

[basswipe]

Got this off Canada's fisheries and ocean site:

There is historical evidence of striped bass spawning in five rivers of Eastern Canada: the St. Lawrence Estuary, the Miramichi River in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Saint John, Annapolis and Shubenacadie rivers, which all drain into the Bay of Fundy. Striped bass still spawn in the Miramichi (southern Gulf) and Shubenacadie (Bay of Fundy) rivers. The Bay of Fundy is also frequented by striped bass that breed in rivers in the United States.

Not that this has much to do with bass in RI but they do spawn all up and down the eastern seaboard.

[tlapinski]

Originally Posted by Nebe

Bass reproduce in the ct and the housatonic (sp?)
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I have long figured this to be true as well. I got into a discussion with a guy from the DEEP a few years back about it after seeing some very small SB in late summer while diving in Enfield on the CT River. He stated that the rivers of CT do not have the conditions required for a successful SB spawn and they had no evidence of it taking place. My response was 1) fish evolve and while your standard list of requirements may not be met, who is to say evolution has not spawned a strain of bass capable of spawning here? and 2) just because you don't have evidence today does not mean it is impossible. The reason I have never pursued confirming it is that I do not want the rivers to be designated as official spawning grounds as that will likely lead to closed and/or modified seasons like takes place in other places.

[rizzo]

Originally Posted by tlapinski

I have long figured this to be true as well. I got into a discussion with a guy from the DEEP a few years back about it after seeing some very small SB in late summer while diving in Enfield on the CT River. He stated that the rivers of CT do not have the conditions required for a successful SB spawn and they had no evidence of it taking place. My response was 1) fish evolve and while your standard list of requirements may not be met, who is to say evolution has not spawned a strain of bass capable of spawning here?

Same deal here, when I used to fish there a lot we got some small ones like 5". Many fish were milting when we caught them, so they were definitely trying to spawn at least. CT and Thames both have similar stretches to other "defined" spawning grounds. They're a pretty tough fish, if atlantic salmon can still reproduce not doubt they they can too.

[MakoMike]

Small stripers over winter in many rivers where Successful spawning is not possible. Look at the winter fishery in the Thames for a perfect example. The eggs need completely fresh water to hatch, so although some fish may be trying, they won't be successful.

5 inches is just about the right size for yearling hatched further south to be wintering over in a CT river.

[rizzo]

The upper section of the CT below the Holyoke dam is completely freshwater - it's like 100 miles from the ocean, so it's possible?
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[tlapinski]

Originally Posted by rizzo

The upper section of the CT below the Holyoke dam is completely freshwater - it's like 100 miles from the ocean, so it's possible?
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Of the roughly 400+ total miles of the Connecticut River, only the first 60 (up to Windsor Locks) is tidal and I am sure the saltwater intrusion ends much closer to the coast than that. Striped bass have been lifted over the dams as far inland as the Turners Falls dam (120 miles upriver). The fish I saw while diving were smaller than 5 inches and were in the Windsor Locks area in August. To say that a school of juvenile fish swam down the Hudson, up Long Island Sound and then up the CT River is less believable to me than it is to think a small population of SB have evolved so that they can successfully reproduce in the conditions provided by this river.

[djlesco]

Haven't seem many tagged in the past few years... use to catch Hudson taked fish in EG alot..
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[Clammer]

I have my own thoughts //But they don,t matter .


A few years back a Friend that,s also a fisherman asked me to take someone that @ the time was tagging stripers in a big way ........... on a holdover fishing trip because he was neck & neck in RISSA,s tagging contest ?????

tagged 158 stripers that day & quit because he ran out of tags ......... He told me that these fish were Hudson river fish & I [Think] he said something like they will holdover if there are too many in the hudson ..........I asked him about the eggs & he told me they could hold them 2 -3 seasons & still be fertile when they get to the Hudson .

Just passing it along ><><>