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Fishery Bulletin 107(3) 
Table 1 
Summary of published postrelease survival experiments using J, treble, and circle hooks conducted on striped bass (Morone 
saxatilis ) released from the recreational fishery. F=freshwater, S=saltwater followed by the state abbreviation. Hook types are: J 
(straight-shank J hook), C (circle hook), and T (treble hook). For release mortality, estimates are for artificial lures (L), live bait 
(B), J hooks (J), or circle hooks (C). 
Source 
Water type and region 
Season 
Hook 
Bait type or lure 
Release mortality 
Harell (1988) 
F 
Winter, summer 
J 
Live bait, lures 
L: 15.6%, B: 30.7% 
Hysmith et al. (1993) 
F: TX 
Winter, summer 
J 
Live bait, lures 
38% 
Diodati and Richards (1996) 
S: MA 
Summer 
J 
Live bait, lures 
3-26%; mean 9% 
Nelson (1998) 
F: NC 
Spring 
J, T 
Live baits, lures 
6-27%: mean 6.3% 
Bettoli and Osborne (1998) 
F: TN 
Winter, summer 
J , T 
Live baits, lures 
14-67% 
Lukacovic and Uphoff (2002) 
S: MD 
Summer 
J 
Natural baits 
J: 9.1% 
C 
C: 0.8% 
Millard et al. (2003) 
F: NY 
Spring 
J 
Natural baits 
8-18% 
bag and size limits, have resulted in the release of 
over 90% of the striped bass caught by recreational 
anglers (Van Winkle et al., 1988). Current recreational 
postrelease mortality estimates for striped bass range 
between 3% and 67%, and a value of 9% is currently 
used in population assessments for the Chesapeake Bay 
stock (Diodati and Richards, 1996). However, previous 
studies have generally been conducted in fisheries and 
environmental conditions very different from those 
near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay during the winter 
months (Table 1). 
A third goal of this study was to determine habitat 
use by coastal migrant striped bass during the winter 
prespawn aggregation in the coastal sea along Virginia. 
Habitat use by juvenile striped bass within estuarine 
and riverine waters has been fairly well studied (Tupper 
and Able, 2000; McGrath, 2005), as have the move- 
ments of adults during upriver spawning migrations 
(Carmichael et al., 1998). Little is known about the 
depth and temperature use or short-term movements 
of adult striped bass in winter prespawning aggrega- 
tions along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast, despite the 
importance of Chesapeake Bay to the coastal migrant 
population. The Chesapeake Bay stock is thought to be 
the most productive along the Atlantic coast, serving 
as a major source of coastal recruits and accounting 
for >90% of Atlantic coastwide landings in some years 
(Kohlenstein, 1981; Richards and Rago, 1999; Secor, 
2000). Identifying habitat characteristics and patterns 
of habitat use by coastal migrant species in areas of ag- 
gregation are necessary for effective current and future 
management efforts (Carmichael et al., 1998; Conrath 
and Musick, 2008). 
Materials and methods 
The X-tag high rate archival tag (X-tag, Microwave 
Telemetry, Inc., Columbia, MD) used in this study is 
slightly buoyant, and weighs 40 g in air. The body of the 
tag contains a lithium composite battery, a micropro- 
cessor, a pressure sensor, a temperature gauge, a light 
sensor, and a transmitter, all encased within a carbon 
fiber housing. Flotation is provided by a spherical resin 
bulb embedded with buoyant glass beads and the tag can 
withstand pressure equivalent to a depth of 2500 m. This 
tag model was programmed to record and archive a con- 
tinuous time series of temperature, light, and pressure 
(depth) measurements approximately every five minutes 
for 30 days. The tags can transmit depth measurements 
at intervals of approximately 1.3 m and temperature in 
increments of 0.17°C. Not having prior information on 
the time course or range of vertical movements of striped 
bass overwintering off the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, we 
chose not to activate an optional feature that provides 
for early tag release in the case of a mortality which is 
inferred if the tag remains at constant depth (±1.5 m) 
for four days. The X-tags were equipped with Satellite 
in View™ software that increases battery life and data 
recovery by restricting transmissions to times during 
which there is a high likelihood that the Argos satellite 
will pass above the horizon. 
Striking a balance between availability and size of 
striped bass in the winter recreational fishery off the 
mouth of Chesapeake Bay, we arbitrarily set a mini- 
mum length threshold for tagging of 94 cm total length 
(TL). Striped bass in this size range are sexually ma- 
ture coastal migrants (Dorazio et al., 1994) that weigh 
8 kg or more (Secor, 2000) and were considered to be of 
sufficient size to carry the X-tag. 
Striped bass were caught by using live eels (Anguilla 
t'ostrata) as bait on 13.6-kg test sportfishing tackle with 
1.2-m leaders of 36.3-kg test line. Five striped bass 
were caught on J hooks (Gamakatsu Octopus, size 7/0, 
no offset), and five on circle hooks (Gamakatsu Octopus 
Circle, size 7/0, no offset). Fish were netted and brought 
on deck where the hook location was noted, the hook 
removed, total length measured, and the PSAT attached 
before the fish was returned to the water (air exposure 
time less than two minutes). 
PSATs were attached to striped bass by an assembly 
composed of 16 cm of 182-kg test monofilament fishing 
