In April the Commonwealth of Massachusetts announced that they had change the legal method of measuring a striped bass this season which involves pinching the tail. While this ’25 rule change in Massachusetts may have confused a few anglers in New Jersey, it really shouldn’t have; it’s always been the method of measurement here!
According to the new ruling in Massachusetts, all size limits for striped bass are in total length with the total length measured as the greatest straight-line length (not over the curve of the body) in inches from the anterior most tip of the jaw or snout, with the fish’s mouth closed, to the farthest extremity of the tail, with the tail squeezed together.
According to the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), fishermen in the past could either pinch the tail or leave it fanned out when measuring the length of a striped bass. “Requiring the tail to be pinched establishes a clear and consistent technique for measuring striped bass for compliance with both minimum and maximum size limits,” DMF stated in the new announcement of regulatory change, adding “Data collected by the Division indicates that manipulating the tail can alter the measured length of a striped bass by over an inch.”
The New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife (DFW) will be releasing copies of the 2025 Marine Fisheries Digest very soon, but as per page 14 of the 2024 digest the method for angler measurement of striped bass has also been total length from tip of the snout to the “longest part of the tail” which means pinching of the tail.
For a copy of the DFW’s marine fisheries digest for New Jersey, as the 2025 copy becomes available, go to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection online.
