How old is that bass?

I wonder how long it takes for a bass to grow this big?

These are questions nearly every fisherman asks at some time in their fishing careers. The following table, based on a study conducted in 1957/58, helps answer that question. The study was performed by calculating data derived from the examination of annular rings of scales from striped bass caught in various regions of Chesapeake Bay during that time period.

In the above table male stripers are shown in black. At the start of the third year of age, a female bass is larger than a male bass of the same age. Males apparently do not live as long as females. In this study, very few males over 8 years old were captured and none were found among large fish over 11 years old. Therefore, virtually all "jumbo" or "trophy" striped bass appear to be females.

Although this study is by now over 40 years old it is still the basis for most of our understanding about the growth patterns of the striper.

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