Supporting striped bass research

Through citizen science on the GotOne app

Contribute to striped bass research with your GotOne app!

GotOne is helping to support research by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to improve our understanding of catch and release handling of striped bass. If you are enrolled in MA DMF’s citizen science project, you have the opportunity to share additional data about your striped bass catch with scientists through GotOne.

The additional data you’ll be asked to provide includes information such as the condition of the fish, landing and release time, whether it was released or kept, and hook types and location. When we share your data with MA DMF, the location of your catches will be generalize to a multi-mile region to protect your fishing spots.

Results from the study are available via the MA DMF dashboard, and as results from research on striped bass become available, we will share them with GotOne anglers here on our website and in our newsletter!

Photo courtesy American Saltwater Guides Association

Identifying Striped Bass

Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) are renowned for their distinct 7 black lateral stripes, and a gray silver back. The body can be long but is quite round and bulky with a round stomach and wide broom tail.

Juveniles are generally found in estuaries and are smaller in size, but adult striped bass can grow quite large, often exceeding 40 inches in length and weighing upwards of 50 pounds. The biggest ever recorded was slightly greater than 81 pounds!

Photo courtesy American Saltwater Guides Association

How to accurately record the length of a striped bass

When recording the length of your Striped Bass you should use the total length (versus fork length) of the fish to the nearest inch. Measure in a straight line from the tip of the snout to the extreme tip of the tail fin. Adjust the tail by rotating or squeezing to obtain the maximum length of the fish.

Recording additional data about your striped bass catch

When sharing your striped bass catch data with our research partners, in addition to the total length of the fish, you’ll be asked to record the following information. You do NOT have to fill out all the data if you are unable to do so.

Air temperature:

GotOne will fill in this value for you using data from the nearest weather station. However, if you have a thermometer to record the actual measured air temperature at your location, you can override the default reading.

Water temperature:

GotOne will fill in this value for you using data from a nearby marine observation station. However, if you have a thermometer to record the actual measured water temperature at your location, you can override the default reading.

Caught from:

Record whether the fish was caught from a boat, or from the shore.

Fight time:

Record the fight time between hook-up and landing. Make a mental note of that time and record in min:sec format. Tip: Start the timer right after hooking the fish.

Time to release:

Record the time that the fish was out of the water. Stop timer after the fish is released. Tip: If you are using your phone’s stopwatch, or a physical stopwatch, you can use the Lap button to record both fight time and release time. If you don’t have a Lap function, or you aren’t using a stopwatch, you can simply track total time, and estimate fight versus release time.

Hook 1, 2 location:

Record where the hooks were embedded in the fish by selecting from the following values:

  • Mouth: Hooked in the lip, jaw, or anywhere inside the mouth

  • Body (foul): Hooked anywhere on the body (eye, gill plate, fins, etc.), outside of the mouth

  • Esophagus: Hooked in the esophagus (hint: hook is still visible, but at the back of the throat)

  • Stomach (cut line): Hook is swallowed (hint: you can’t see the hook; in this case, just cut the line)

  • Gill: Hooked in the gills (hint: red parts under the gill plate)

Blood:

Examine the fish for signs of bleeding from the hooking site or gills and record one of the following values:

  • None: No blood visible

  • Little: A small amount of blood was visible

  • A lot: Fish was bleeding heavily

Swim ability:

Observe the fish right you release it and record one of the following values:

  • Can’t swim: the fish was not able to swim

  • Weak: the fish swam away weakly

  • Strong: the fish swam away strongly

Lure type:

If using an artificial lure, record one of the following options that best matches the type of lure used:

  • Surface: a surface lure (e.g., popper, spook, etc.)

  • Mid-water lure: a mid-water lure (e.g., swimming plug, metal lip, etc.)

  • Bottom: a bottom lure (e.g., bucktail jig)

  • Fly

Lure size:

Record the length of the lure body, to the nearest inch.

# single hooks:

Record the number of single hooks on the lure.

# treble hooks:

Record the number of treble hooks on the lure.

Bait species:

Record the species when using natural bait by selecting one of the available values.

Live or dead:

If natural bait was used, record whether the bait was live or dead.