Stripers weigh 15 to 20 lbs in average, but some fish can reach as much as 100 lbs, according to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. The maximum length of the striper is 6.5 feet, but average body length is about 4 feet. The sand bass is a smaller fish, weighing 1.5 to 2 lbs and measuring 18 to 20 inches in length.
The sand bass is a freshwater fish; while stripers live in saltwater, brackish estuaries and also fresh water. The largest populations of sand bass in North America are in the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Stripers are native to the Atlantic coast, mainly found in areas from the St. Lawrence River to Florida and in the Minas Basin and Gaspereau River, in Canada. Although a saltwater species, stripers travel to fresh water to spawn.
Stripers have olive-green to blue-gray dark backs. The belly is white and the sides are silvery to pale silvery-green. Seven to eight dark stripes are found on the side of the body of adult animals. Young stripers have dusky bars instead of dark stripes. The sand bass has a gray back, with silvery-white sides, with four to seven stripes, much lighter in color than those present on the striper. The sand bass also shows a yellow tinge on the lower part of its sides.
Sand bass are school fish, unlike stripers. Sand bass spawn, travel and feed in compact groups; while stripers do not show the same behavior. In the spring, sand bass females can release 25,000 to one million eggs; while striper females release about 65,000 eggs. Male stripers are sexually mature at two years of age, but females become mature when they are 4-years-old. Both male and female sand bass reach sexual maturity in the first to second year of life.