Blog|Sign In|Create account
FishOSGet started

Fish guide

Striped Bass

Morone saxatilis. Also called Striper, Bass, Linesider, Rockfish, Schoolie, Cow.

A striped bass with its dark lengthwise stripes swimming over a sandy bottom

Showing the fish for Delaware, Maryland and Virginia ocean coast.

Season in Delmarva

Peak months: Apr, May, Nov.

JFMAMJJASOND

Virginia citations from the Eastern Shore ocean side (Assateague, Assawoman, barrier islands) cluster in April (6) and May (16) and a few in December, 2024 to 2025. Delaware surf: late fall, usually a 1 to 2 day blitz on an east wind (The Fisherman). Ocean City Inlet: stripers on bucktails at the jetty tips and the south jetty drop-off. Summer months L from Delaware's July-August tributary size rule and inlet reports. (Our inference)

Season by region

Long Island
JFMAMJJASOND
Maine
JFMAMJJASOND
New Hampshire
JFMAMJJASOND
North Shore MA
JFMAMJJASOND
Cape Cod
JFMAMJJASOND
Rhode Island
JFMAMJJASOND
Connecticut
JFMAMJJASOND
North Jersey
JFMAMJJASOND
South Jersey
JFMAMJJASOND
Delmarva
JFMAMJJASOND
Virginia Beach
JFMAMJJASOND
Outer Banks
JFMAMJJASOND

Where to find them

Indian River Inlet rocks and sidewalk on the incoming tide (sand fleas drifted in the rocks, bucktails, shads), Ocean City jetty tips and the south jetty drop-off on the outgoing tide, the Delaware and Assateague surf during a late-fall east-wind blitz.

From the wash out past the bar; spring and fall blitzes on bunker, sand eels and small bait.

What to look for

Bunker schools being pushed, birds over sand eels or rainbait, rips and drop-offs where waves make turbulence, inlet current at night.

What to throw

Bucktail or jighead with a 4 to 5 in paddle tail1/2 to 1 oz, 4 to 5 in tail. Slow hops along the bottom: lift, drop, let it touch, repeat.
Soft-plastic eel or stickbait (Slug-Go, GT Eel style)Weightless, or 3/8 to 3/4 oz jighead oz, 9 to 13.5 in. Weightless on top when fish are active or at first light; weighted versions drifted through rips, twitched through boulders or dead-sticked near bottom.
Swimming minnow plug (Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow style)3/4 to 1 oz, 4 to 5 in. Steady medium retrieve with occasional twitches and pauses.
Pencil popper1 to 5 oz, Sized to the bait, from silversides to adult bunker. Slow and deliberate, speeding up when a fish shows interest; or hold the rod tip and bounce it hard while barely advancing the plug so it churns in place.

Bait

Live eels, Live bunker (menhaden), Live mackerel, Bunker or mackerel chunks, Cut squid, herring, crabs, Live spot (summer, North Shore). Fish-finder with a pyramid sinker and a long leader, with a float near the hook to keep the bait off the bottom away from crabs and skates. Use a circle hook with bait..

Leader

NY Sea Grant: light (6 to 12 lb) to medium (20 lb) line on a spinning rod; heavier surf outfits for big fish around rocks.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving bait on the bottom for crabs and skates (NY Sea Grant floats it up)
  • Using a J hook with bait instead of a circle hook
  • Fishing mid-day flat calm when the fish feed after dark and at dawn

Landing

Let a wave carry it up the beach; release fish should stay in the water.

Handling

  • Sharp dorsal spines
  • Sharp gill cover edges

Keep released fish in the water, support the belly, and use a circle hook with bait. ASMFC estimates about 9 percent of released stripers die, so handle quickly.

Keep or release

Delaware, Maryland and Virginia each set their own striped bass rules; check the state you stand in. Delaware requires inline circle hooks with bait.

Recipes for striped bass

Typical: 28 to 45 in in Delaware Bay and on the coast. Large: unknown. Delaware record 52 lb (2012).

Limits

FishOS has not checked the DE and MD and VA limits yet. Check the size, bag and season rules with the Delaware DNREC Fish and Wildlife before you keep a fish.

Sources

All the fish of Delmarva

Is striped bass worth it today?

The planner rates it for your exact time with the live tide, weather and water temperature.

Create your account
Striped Bass: season, lures and limits | FishOS