16 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



Tt will be iioticod from Table 1 tliat most of tlie striped bass were 

 ta^-^cd ill one general locality, Suisun ]>ay and adjacent Avaters. This 

 was due to tlie fact tliat fish -were more ])lentifnl or at least easier to 

 catch in this refjion. However, about 80 fish Avere tafrfied in Napa 

 River, one fish in San Pablo liay and about 70 in liroad Slou<rh. All 

 fish ta{i<ied Avere caught by hook and line, the sportsmen usually 

 ta<rjrin<i: those that were below the size limit, whereas the Division 

 tagrjifed all fish cau<>ht exce])t the very small ones under seven inches. 



Table TT shows the sizes tafi<;ed durinp; the first year and those 

 tagged in October and November of the second year of the work. 



The greatest number of fish tagged between September, 1932, and 

 September, 1933, were 11 inches in length, the smallest fish was 5 inches, 

 and the largest 41 inches. There are two groups of sizes, those between 

 8 and 12 inches and those between 14 and 18 inches, and possibly a 

 third group around 19 and 20 inches. The 8 to 12 inch group is in 

 the main composed of 2 year old fish,* the 14 to 18 inch group 3 year 

 old fish, and the 19 to 20 inch group 4 year old fish. The same groups 

 are also apparent in the fish tagged in October and November of 1933. 

 but the majority tagged were of a slightly smaller size. The proportion 

 of each groiq) to the whole in the fish caught and tagged by the 

 Division in October and November, 1933, is : for the first group about 

 75 per cent, the second about 23 ])er cent, and the remainder about 2 

 per cent. Tf this proportion re]')resents the true condition of the striped 

 bass population in the bay, and it may, although the material is much 

 too scanty to hazard definite opinion, it is not welcome news for the 

 continuation of good striped bass fishing. Tf the anglers are drawing 

 heavily on fish from 12 to 18 inches in size and not allowing sufhcient 

 numbers to reach maturity at 4 to 5 years of age, the population in a 

 short time may fall alarmingly. Now' these "ifs" may or may not be 

 true. There is very little evidence to support them, yet there is some 

 basis as shown by the catch of tagged fish, which were caught with 

 various sizes of hooks and of bait. It is food for thought. 



As yet, ver}^ little iiirnnnation about striped bass movements is 

 apjiarent. As said before, 42 tagged bass were recovered, which is 6 

 ])er cent of the amount tagged, within a little more than a year's time. 

 A great many of the recoveries were made ver^- near the vicinity where 

 the fish were tagged and liberated. There is no evidence as yet that 

 there is a definite movement of the bass in any direction ; the bass that 

 moved any distance moved from theii- tagging s])ot in all directions. 

 No conclusions of striped bass movements can be made until more bass 

 are tagged and recovered. The longest movement known was that of 

 two bass which were tagged on the Middle Ground in Suisun Bay and 

 recovered in the ]\Tokelumne River. One bass tagged in Soutliamiiton 

 Bay, Carquinez Strait, Avas recovered at Antioch Bridge. Another 

 recovery was made in San Pablo Bay from the ]\Iiddle Ground, Suisun 

 Bay. Still another from Napa River was recovered at Toland Landing, 

 Sacramento I^iver. 



Table III shows the recovered fish, tag numbers, date and locality 

 of recovery, date tagged, place tagged, size when tagged, and number 

 of days between tagging and capture. 



• Scofleld, E. C. The striped bass of California. Calif. Div. Fish & Game, Fish 

 Bull., No. 29, 1931. 



