Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations How long do hybrid striped bass live?

I ask for two reasons. One, I have HSB that were stocked in 2018 and would like to know how much longer they will be around. Two, from what I can tell there seems to be little agreement on the subject, even among experts.

Three to five years, says one. Five years, another. Five to six years. Five to seven years. At least eight years. And, my favorite, a Florida site claims THIRTY years!

Of course, I know the easy answer: It depends. Depends on what, exactly? Temperatures? Do HSB north of the Mason-Dixon line live longer due to less summer heat stress? Or does forage play a role? How about alkalinity? Availability of open water? Availability of deep water?

Tried sites which discussed how HSB are raised commercially, but couldn't find any info on natural lifespan there, either.

Will get some info and post. I think the reference to 30 years was in error and should have stated Striped Bass not HSB.

IIRC the max life span is 8 years. We all know that stress effects longevity. If any of the common pond stressors (like what you listed) is severe and long term fish will suffer.

From SRAC (university fishery scientists) Fact Sheet 300

Hybrid striped bass grow when
water temperatures are above 15° C.
However, optimum growing conditions occur when water temperatures are 25 to 27 C. Hybrids grow
rapidly during their first two years of
life. Growth to 275 to 375 mm in
length and 225 to 350 grams in the
first year and 450 to 550 mm in
length and 1 to 1.5 kg in the second
year is common. Growth rate
declines rapidly with increasing age
and is similar in males and females.
Maximum reported weight for a
hybrid striped bass is approximately
10 kg. The typical size of hybrids
caught by fishermen generally ranges from 2 to 5 pounds, but fish in
the 10 to 15 pound range are not uncommon. The usual life span of
hybrid striped bass is 5 to 6 years--
more similar to white bass than to
striped bass (30 to 40 years).

Thanks! Sounds like some of my 70 HSB 2018 stockers still have some life left in them, but not more than a year or two. Also stocked 25 in 2020 which are still growing. Think I'll wait until next year to stock replacements as the 2018 crew die off.

Wonderful fish, incredible fighters!

Bob Lusk said 10 to 12 years max life in his podcast tonight.

Well now we know who is a "made" man on the forum. You post a question on the forum and Lusk answers it on his podcast!

He took pity on my ignorance!

By the way, we now have even more answers: 3-5 years, 5 years, 5-6, 5-7, at least 8, and 10-12. I'm not gonna count the thirty, which must be a mistake.

Perhaps your pond will be a significant additional data point.

You could tag or fin clip any of the large ones you catch now from your known age class. If they are ever caught again, or found dead floating, then you would be able to readily report their age. (You need to mark the later age class differently, and perhaps mark any new ones you add during your next HSB stocking.)

The other option is to test the otoliths if you catch a really big one a decade from now and determine its true age.

(Do we have anyone on the forum that could do that if you minimally prepared the sample correctly?)

anthro - do you have a link to that Lusk Podcast where he mentions the life span of HSB? I can't find that podcast. PBoss home page is not up to date on listing Lusk's podcasts.

Bill, it was about at the halfway point in Bob's broadcast last evening. Will try to find it.

35 minute mark of last evening's presentation. I saw it on Facebook, didn't find it on YouTube but maybe it's available there as well.

Cody Note: Thanks for the info about Lusk on Facebook. Yes notes about HSB was at 35 min mark. IMO Life span depends on types of foods eaten, and mainly living conditions. In northern Ohio I seen them live a verified 21 years. Again foods eaten and living conditions esp water quality.

Twenty-one years!

Of course, that's an outlier, rather like a 114 year old human. Still, it's a far cry from the 3 to 5 I saw on a (Texas?) website.

I'm guessing that HSB generally live longer in cooler climates, such as NW Ohio. Less stress. Don't know how feeding would affect lifespan, would be an interesting study.

To be honest, I'd be delighted if they last 8 years at my place. Terrific fighters, though it means I have to replace lines (and sometimes reels) pretty often.

IMO at this point, the type (brand), protein content , and amount of pellet feeding has a big influence on life span. Those few 21 yr HSB were only fed pellets sporadically. Water clarity was good and usually around 4-7ft. The HSB ate mostly yellow perch, mutt FX HBG - mostly close to GSF genetics and likely some small SMB. .

I can pour mold and inspect cut otoliths, but they have to be extracted pretty cleanly.

I guarantee I DO NOT know how to extract them cleanly.

Is it possible to just cut off the fish head, pack it in dry ice, and ship it to the examiner?

I like the fish head idea, as it is something harder for me to mess up! Very worthwhile data possible in a few years. I do know that many of my large HSB (8 lbs and up) have survived about 5.5 years so far. The 2020 stockers range up to about 5 lbs, so there's a clear differentiation.

Think we can safely conclude that many HSB at my place survive longer than 3 or 4 years. Beyond that, who knows?

The otolith cavity is right behind the head in close proximity to what would be the beginning of the spinal cavity. It's a position about straight up from aft reach of outer gill plate in most fish.