Every year in the late fall, migratory striped bass (Morone saxatilis)—rockfish—make a trip into the Chesapeake Bay on the way from their summer home off New England to their winter grounds off the capes of Virginia and North Carolina. Their move south is triggered by, among other parameters, falling water temperatures.
Rockfish are a favorite of seafood lovers and recreational and commercial anglers alike. To date, while fishermen report that they have had success catching the “resident” striped bass (which spend the entire year in the Bay, rather than migrating up and down the East Coast), the stock of big, migratory striped bass haven’t yet made their move into the Chesapeake. Anglers patiently await their arrival for their last shot at a Chesapeake Bay trophy striped bass for 2013.
In 2012, these big fish didn’t arrive in the Bay, where they often swim north to the middle of the Bay, until after Thanksgiving. As a reference, the graph below shows that water temperatures at Gooses Reef last fall first hit 55 degrees on November 4.
This year, water temperature at the same location first dipped below 55 degrees on November 13—a little later than last season—as shown in the second graph. Does this mean the migratory fish will be even later to the Bay this year? Time will tell, and many other things influence the movement of these fish. Visit CBIBS on Facebook and let us know what you see and catch!
