Food habits and growth of young-of-year striped bass in Norris Reservoir, Tennessee

Of 187,000 striped bass fingerlings stocked in 1979, only 13 were recovered. Two hundred twenty-nine young-of-year striped bass were collected in 1980 from the initial stocking of 180,000. Crustacea and chironomids were the dominant food items ingested by striped bass under 15.0 cm in total length. Striped bass were 12.5 cm in length when fish became important in the diet; however, striped bass as small as 7.5 cm would occasionally utilize fish as a food source. Striped, white, and black bass food habits were compared. Striped and white bass utilized both benthic and open-water food sources. Striped bass were almost always collected over soft substrate types of clay or silt or a combination of the two.

Striped bass fingerlings stocked in July 1980 at an average length of approximately 4 cm grew to an average length of 19.7 cm by December 1980.