Editor's Note: Below is an article originally published in 2019. Since then, the Young of Year index for striped bass in Maryland waters has remained utterly horrible. It has been as low or lower than 2019 every spring and in 2023 hit a shockingly abysmal worst-ever 1.0. We generally delete news items from this website as they become irrelevant, however, choose to let this one remain (with updates; see the latest at the bottom of the page) as a reminder to anyone looking into current striped bass population numbers.

We hate sounding pessimistic, folks, but there’s just no way to put a positive spin on this one. The young-of-year surveys are in and the results are not good for striped bass. The Maryland DNR announced that in the state’s waters the striped bass index for 2019 is 3.4. That’s a far cry from the average of 11.6. Virginia waters seem to have fared a bit better, with their index hitting 9.54, which is slightly above the historic VA average of 7.77. These surveys are performed with 132 samples taken via 100-foot sein nets at 22 stations in Maryland, and approximately 110 samples in Virginia from 18 index stations and 22 auxiliary sites.

striped bass spawning success
The striped bass young-of-year survey for 2019: not good.

If there’s any good news in here beyond the Virginia striper spawn at least holding the line, it’s that these indexes can fluctuate wildly from year to year. The 2018 Maryland index, for example, was 14.8, yet in 2016 it was a mere 2.2 and in 2015 it was 24.2. Weather and riverine waterflows play a huge role in any give year’s success or lack thereof, and while scientists haven’t yet announced a determination as to why this years’ spawning success was so lackluster, considering the monsoons of last winter and early spring an off-year doesn’t seem too terrifically surprising. Also down from last year were yellow perch, white perch, and herring, while menhaden were up slightly.

We're all quite familiar with the current stock assessments for striper populations, and we know darn well that tightened regulations are coming. The spawn of 2019 can't possibly help, in either regard.

Added for anyone interested, the latest chart showing striper YOY:

2023 striped bass young of year results
The striped bass young of year results have not gotten better since 2019. In fact, they've become worse. Let's hope the number come out better for 2024.

Editor's note: This article was last updated in May of 2024.