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Canada Striped Bass Fishing
Stripers in Prince Edward Island - New Brunswick and Novia Scotia

Recreational angling is permitted year round in the tidal waters of the Bay of Fundy and along the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia. For inland waters, angling is permitted during set summer months, except for those waters draining into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait where angling for striped bass is not permitted.
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/act-loi/fishing-peche-eng.htm

If you do accidentally catch a fish you know to be protected under SARA, return it to the water.   

What this means is that the fishery is closed in all waters (rivers) that empty in the Gulf of St Lawrence (including Northumberland Strait ). The Gulf salt waters are indeed closed too.In New Brunswick, striped bass fishing is only open in the rivers emptying in the Bay of Fundy, or in the Bay of Fundy itself.

 Frédéric Butruille
Communications Advisor, Corporate Services

Conseiller en communications, services corporatifs
Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Gulf Region | Région du Golfe
Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada
Email | Courriel : [email protected]
Phone | Téléphone : 506-851-7218
Fax | Télécopieur : 506-851-2435
http://www.glf.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

The Canadian record striped bass was caught in Nova Scotia by Gordon Strong - Mira River, Cape Breton Co. 1994. The fish weighted 54.06 lb.

That record stood up until September of 2008 when it when it was eclipsed by a 16 year old Christian Lavatte. Christian caught the fish from the surf on 20 pound test with a magnum rapala, in Bras D'or lakes in Cape Breton Island, It was 49 inches long with a girth of 33 inches weighing 57.9 pounds. Its has been registered here in Canada but international Game and Sport fishing Assocoiation in Florida wasn't able to certify the fish in their records because it wasnt weighed in the U.S. Christian got word in October 2008 that the fish is now officially recognized as world junior record by the IGFA.

This 57.8 pound Record striper was caught in the Bras D'or lakes in Cape Breton Island by
16 year old Christian Levatte and it broke the old record of 54 pounds. Ken is on the left and Christian is on the right holding their trophy bass.

"A striped bass weighing 28.6 kg (62.9 lb) was caught near Reversing Falls in the Saint John River, New Brunswick, in 1979".

Before anyone else emails me about this If a fish wasnt caught by rod and reel and / or wasnt officially weighed its not a record. [email protected]
Nova Scotia Canada fisheries and Aquaculture

Tides Currents and Water Levels for North Eastern Canada 
Regulations and Licensing
Nova Scotia Boat Ramps
Graphical and text versions

Spawning

In Canada, spawning occurs in May and June in fresh water, usually just above the head of tide when sea water warms to 15-18 oC. Eggs and milt are released directly into the water column, and after about 72 hours fertilized eggs hatch into free-swimming yolk-sac larvae. The duration of spawning is brief, lasting about two weeks, after which time spent fish return to sea. During summer and fall, adult and juvenile fish undertake wide ranging feeding migrations along the coast, often traveling several hundred kilometers beyond their natal rivers. In late fall Striped Bass ascend the rivers to over-winter in fresh water, in order to avoid low lethal marine temperatures. Site selection for over-wintering sites appears to be unrelated to spawning sites, and may be opportunistic, dependent on the geographic location of the fish at the onset of winter. In other words, Striped Bass do not necessarily over-winter in their spawning rivers. Males generally spawn for the first time at about age three or four, females at age four or five

Five self-sustaining (i.e. spawning) populations of Striped Bass are known to have existed in Canadian waters. Four of these were in Atlantic Canada, with documented spawning activity on the Northwest Miramichi and Saint John rivers in New Brunswick and on the Shubenacadie and Annapolis Rivers in Nova Scotia. The fifth population spawned in the St. Lawrence River, Québec. Self-sustaining Striped Bass populations from the Annapolis, the Saint John, and the St. Lawrence rivers are believed to be extirpated. ( a wildlife species that no longer exists in the wild in Canada, but exists elsewhere in the wild.) There are currently only two sites in Atlantic Canada where Striped Bass reproduce, the Northwest Miramichi River estuary (this is the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence stock) and the Shubenacadie-Stewiacke River estuary (this is the Inner Bay of Fundy stock). These two populations are genetically distinct and both are genetically distinct from Striped Bass found in US waters (Bradford et al 1999).

Although Striped Bass still occur widely in Atlantic Canadian waters, some of the fish that are present are likely migrants from populations that spawn in US waters. The following S-ranks for both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick refer to the status of the two remaining spawning populations in those provinces, both of which are of some conservation concern.

Currently in New Brunswick, a spawning population of Striped Bass exists only in the Northwest Miramichi River, representing the northern-most self-sustaining population of Striped Bass in North America. The home range of the Miramichi-spawning population extends throughout the entire southern Gulf of St Lawrence from Percé, Québec to the Margaree River, Nova Scotia. This southern Gulf/Miramichi-spawning population remains at low abundance and the population has declined from a high of 50,000 spawning fish in 1995 to about 4,000 during 1998 to 2000 (Douglas et al 2001). This population exhibits large annual fluctuations that are attributed to overfishing and year-class failures caused by adverse environmental conditions (Bradford and Chaput 1997). The commercial fishery for Striped Bass was closed in 1996 but they are still taken as bycatch in a number of fixed-gear commercial fisheries in the Miramichi system. The southern Gulf of St. Lawrence stock has persisted, however, in spite of high harvest mortality over many decades (Bradford et al 1999).

There has been no evidence of spawning on the Saint John River since 1979; surveys conducted in 1992 and 1994 were unsuccessful in collecting eggs, larvae or juveniles (Jessop 1995). Adult Striped Bass still occur in the Saint John River and throughout the Bay of Fundy, however these are seasonal migrants that originate from rivers in the eastern US or from the Shubenacadie River (Bradford et al 1999). Habitat degradation and loss is believed responsible for the extinction of the Saint John River Striped Bass spawning population. Construction of the Mactaquac Dam, with subsequent impediment of access to spawning grounds, and unnatural fluctuations in water velocity and volume spilled from the dam, is considered to be the greatest factor leading to extirpation of the spawning population in the Saint John River.

The Annapolis River spawning stock of Striped Bass is believed to be extirpated, since viable spawning activity has not been reliably documented since 1976. A remnant population of adult fish greater than 20 years of age may still be extant in the Annapolis River, as Striped Bass are quite long lived. These fish may spawn but survival beyond the egg stage in the Annapolis River is very low or negligible (Jessop 1990). The failure of naturally spawned eggs to yield viable offspring may be a result of poor water quality or alterations to the physical circulation of the estuary, probably due to impacts from tidal power development and agricultural runoff (Bradford et al 1999).

The Shubenacadie-Stewiacke population of Striped Bass has not been formally assessed, although sampling with icthyoplankton nets and beach seines suggests that Striped Bass spawn annually in the Shubenacadie - Stewiacke River system (DFO 1999). The spawning, rearing and habitat requirements of Shubenacadie Striped Bass have been fully determined and their home range is virtually unknown, and may extend beyond the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine to the northeastern US. Though limited retention of Striped Bass as bycatch from fisheries in the Inner Bay of Fundy is permitted, precise levels of exploitation of the Shubenacadie spawning stock in Canadian and US waters cannot be determined (Bradford et al 1999).

Striped Bass in Prince Edward Island reflects the fact that a non-breeding population occurs in the province. Bass occur occasionally in a number of Prince Edward Island Rivers, including the Hillsborough, Dunk and Morell, where they are often taken as bycatch in the Gaspereau fishery. However, as seine sampling in Prince Edward Island has failed to demonstrate the presence of juvenile bass, the Prince Edward Island Striped Bass population is considered to be from external origin, most likely from Miramichi spawning stock.

Facts About Striped Bass

§ A striped bass weighing 28.6 kg (62.9 lb) was caught near Reversing Falls in the Saint John River, New Brunswick, in 1979.

§ The world record (angling) striped bass weighing 35.6 kg (78 lb) was caught at Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1982. The record Canadian striped bass was caught in Nova Scotia in 1994. It weighted 54.06 lb.

§ A striped bass tagged and released in the Saint John River, New Brunswick was recaptured 36 days later in Rhode Island, U.S.A., 805 km (503 mi) away! (22.4 km/day or 14 mi/day)

§ Surveys show the average striped bass angler on the Annapolis River, Nova Scotia, spends about 50 hours for each fish caught.

§ Striped bass have been introduced to parts of Europe and Asia.

Nova Scotia fishing.com they also represent the Nova Scotia striped Bass Association

Stripers and Salmon fishing in Nova Scotia

Gaspereau striped bass fishing

Shubenacadie River and Lake, and the Annapolis River are waters on the Canadian shores of the canadian Gulf where the striper attracts attention as a game fish, anglers visiting the St. John are far more interested in salmon.

Neils Harbor N.S. Ckick to enlarge

*Data on the spawn courtesy of the Atlantic Canada Conservation Centre

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