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White Bass
Species Information
| Scientific Name: | Morone chrysops |
| Common Names: | white bass, silver bass |
| Environment: | Lake, River |
| Ideal Temp: | 54-68°F (12-20°C) |
About White Bass
The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (Morone chrysops) is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. It is the state fish of Oklahoma.
White bass are distributed widely across the United States, particularly in the Midwest. They are very abundant in Pennsylvania and the area around Lake Erie. Some native ranges of the white bass are the Arkansas River, western Lake Erie, the Detroit River, and Lake Poinsett in South Dakota; they are abundant in the Winnebago lakes system of Wisconsin; and they are also very abundant in Oklahoma. White bass have also been found in rivers that flow to the Mississippi. Native to many northern habitats, they have been introduced in many different waters around the United States, particularly in southern locations. They were also successfully introduced to Manitoba starting in the 1960s, where they have gained importance as a sport fish.
he species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white sides and belly, and with narrow dark stripes running lengthwise on its sides. It has large, rough scales and two dorsal fins. The more anterior dorsal fin is much harder and appears to have spines on them. Although these are not true spines, this type of fin is called a spinous ray. The more posterior of the two dorsal fins is much softer, and is thus called a soft-ray. Because the vertebrae do not extend into the tail, the white bass has what is called a homocercal tail. The body is deep and compressed laterally. Most grow to a length between 10 and 12 inches (25 and 30 cm), though they can reach 17 inches (43 cm) or more. Because the dorsal and ventral portions of its tail angle inward toward a point to create a clear angle, the tail is said to be notched.
The record size for white bass caught on fishing tackle is 6 pounds 13 ounces (3.1 kg) shared by fish caught in 1989 in Orange Lake, Orange, Virginia, and in 2010 in Amite River, Louisiana.
White bass are carnivores. They have four main taxa in their diet: calanoid copepods, cyclopoid copepods, daphnia, and leptodora. They are visual feeders. When not frightened, they will bite readily at live bait such as worms and minnows. Only the largest fish will feed on other fish, and as the summer season progresses, there is an overall trend towards eating fewer fish. Fish that are able to accumulate lipids over the summer are better able to survive cold winters. When looking at midwestern white bass, particularly in South Dakota, diet overlap occurs between the bass and the walleye. As seasons progress through the summer and fall, the amount of diet overlap decreases as a result of both fish increasing in length.
White bass inhabit large reservoirs and rivers. When mating in the spring, they are more often found in shallow rivers, creeks, and streams. White bass are found in high densities in the upstream segment of rivers. This portion of the river becomes the most degraded, as a number of different kinds of fish live in this segment, as well.
White Bass Fishing
| World Record: | 3.09 kg (6 lb 13 oz) Lake Orange, Orange, Virginia, USA 31-Jul-1989 and tied on Amite River, Louisiana, USA 27-Aug-2010 |
| # Fish Caught: | 237540 documented in database. |
| Earliest Record: | 1/1/1830 12:00:00 AM and located at 32.70240, -94.09089. |
| Latest Record: | 6/2/2025 9:44:31 AM and located at 41.56193, -83.65326. |
| Common Techniques: | Bottom Fishing, Casting, Fly, Jigging, Trolling |
| Popular Lure Types: | Bottom Rig, Crankbaits, Flies, Jigs, Plugs, Soft Plastics, Spinnerbaits, Spoons, Topwater, Trolling |
| Fishing Spots: | 41 White Bass fishing spots. |
Latest White Bass Fishing Reports and Spots
White bass are in. Pick up your garbage. Pick any spot on the river Chances are you’ll get a few. If you wanna fish with everybody else Go to (
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The white bass are in. Don’t wait they’re biting today. The weather looks great- little bit of sunshine and even if there’s a chance of showe (
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The river is PACKED with white bass! Morning Bite: Slow. Coming off these 40 degree nights the bass are slow to activate. Midday Bite: As the d (
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Wow look at this beast! Caught while white bass fishing. 8 lb test lead head with a twister tail. – took about 10 min to reel in. Pretty cool (
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Bam! Cooler is full! The bite is on for the white bass! it’s cold last night but when it warms this afternoon they’re going to be hitting hard. (
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The real question is “what’s not biting” Catfish white bass smallmouth bass freshwater drum and even a stray Walleye or two. All access areas a (
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All right all right those white bass are in there getting better as the Week goes on. Been hearing some good reports in the faster water/Rapids (
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Buckets of white bass still in the river. Once we get past this chilly rain on Saturday Sunday and Monday look be to be pretty decent. Faster (
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The water is on its way up a little bit as Indiana Fort Wayne got a little more rain than we did so all that water will make its way down the M (
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Big thank you to all my past clients over the last 23 years! The bass fishing has been great lately. May and June are our best months to bass fi (
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