The dominant food items in striped bass,Morone saxatillis (Walbaum), less than 70 mm in fork length were mysids in the York River samples and insects in those from the James River. Stomach contents from larger striped bass were dominated by fish (Rork River) and decapod shrimp (James River). The primary physical difference between collecting sites in these two rivers was salinity. Most James River collections were taken from salinities of less than 5 ‰, whereas the majority of York River stations exceeded 10 ‰. The food of Rappahannock River striped bass was more diverse than that of York and James populations, containing items in common with both. Salinities at Rappahannock stations ranged from 1.5 to 14.5‰