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How Old Is Your Fish?

Using age estimates for fish of known length, fish biologists develop what is known as an age-length key. An age-length key describes the relationship between a fish's age and length - meaning we can estimate the age of a fish by its length. Use our keys below to find out the age of your catch!

Bluefish  |  Black Sea Bass  |  Summer Flounder (Fluke)  |  Winter Flounder  |  Tautog (Blackfish)  |  Scup (Porgy)  |  Weakfish  |  Hickory Shad  |  Striped Bass

Bluefish
Age (years) Length (inches) 
 1  7
 2  14
 3  20
 4  26
 5  30
 6  34
 7  35
 8  36
 9  37
 10  38

 

Black Sea Bass
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 5
2 10
3 12
4 13.5
5 15
6 17
7 18.5
8 19
9 20
10 21

 

Summer Flounder (Fluke)
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 12
2 16
3 18
4 21
5 22
6 23.5
7 25
8 26
9 27
10 28
11  29
12  30

 

Winter Flounder
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 5
2 8
3 11
4 12
5 13
6 14
7 15
8 16
9 17
10 18
11 19
12 20

 

Tautog (Blackfish)
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 3
2 6
3 9
4 11
5 13
6 15
7 17
8 19
9 21
10 22
11 23
12 24

 

Scup (Porgy)
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 4
2 6
3 8
4 10
5 11
6 12
7 13
8 14
9 15
10 16

 

Weakfish
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 8
2 15
3 18
4 22
5 25
6 26
7 27
8 28
9 29
10 30
11 31
12 32

 

Hickory Shad
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 4
2 8
3 12
4 14
5 16
6 17
7 18
8 19
9 20
10 21

 

Striped Bass
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 8
2 16
3 18
4 21
5 23
6 25
7 27
8 29
9 31
10 34
11 36
12 37
13 38
14 39
15 40
16 41
17 42
18 43
19 44
20 45

 

Content last updated March 2020