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White Bass (Morone chrysops) is a member of the temperate sunfish family and is known for travelling in schools. It is a freshwater fish found in rivers and lakes across the United States and is known for its spunky fighting ability and its merits as a culinary fish.
It is an important game fish in much of North America below the Mason Dixon line in the United States. It’s a small fish, but despite their moderate size, they are known for their fighting ability. The largest white bass ever caught weighed in at just over six pounds.
Above: Mason Dixon line as it was originally drawn out. The line later extended west, though there is a lot of history behind this famous latitude
Striped Bass Confusion
Adults resemble young striped bass with the two are often confused. However, striped bass have two distinct tooth patches on the back of the tongue and white bass have one tooth patch. Moreover, striped bass grow much bigger so the confusion does not last long.
Above: Striped bass
Largemouth Bass have two sharp points on each gill cover, as opposed to white bass which have one, and the second spine on the anal fin is about half the length of the third spine in striped bass, whereas it is about two-thirds the length of the third spine in white bass.
Many of the behavioural patterns and tendencies of the whiterock bass are essentially the same as the parent species. Spawning activities, for example, and angling techniques are very similar if not the sane. For additional detail beyond this page, please refer to the white bass and striped bass pages.
State Fish
The white bass is state fish of Oklahoma. White bass provides a boost to Oklahoma's economy with an estimated one and a half million pounds of white bass are harvested annually.
There are no fishing limits placed on them due to their short life span and high reproductive capacity. A good White Bass fishing tip is to look for circling and diving gulls as sure signs of schooling shad, which is one of their top prey fish.
Above: The state of Oklahoma is highlighted in red.
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Body Profile
White bass are generally thicker, stouter fish compared to their striper and white bass parents. Bass are known for their fighting ability and white bass are no different. They are strong fish that grow large in comparison to the striped and white bass, which is another reason that they are so popular among anglers as a sport fish.
Their size, also makes them a natural predator, and wipers are known to wander to deeper waters to forage for stray bait fish that find their way out of their normal routines. Some will argue that this assists in maintaining the natural balance of the ecosystem, while others will put forth the argument that competition for forage, especially with reference to the Largemouth Bass, is made more difficult by the more aggressive wiper.
We've mentioned that the wiper is generally a stockier, stouter hybrid, however, with this comes a shorter length and a greater birth. Colouring is very similar to that of the striped bass as well as the white bass. White bass resemble small striped bass with faint lateral stripes with the exception of the striped bass being a much larger fish.
Above: While similar, striped bass grow much larger. This striped bass weighed in at 50 pounds.
However, other than size, they can be differentiated by tooth patches on the tongue. The white bass has one tooth patch while the striped bass has two patches. The white bass head is fairly small and pointed and the first and second dorsal fins are entirely separate. The first dorsal fin has nine spines with the second dorsal fin has one spine with 13 to 15 soft rays. The anal fin is stronger with three progressively lengthening spines and 11 to 13 soft rays.
The back is bluish grey with the sides being silver with six to ten faint longitudinal stripes. The dorsal, caudal and anal fins range from white to muddy with the pectoral and pelvic fins are usually clear, although the latter may have light iridescent blue margins.
Size
White Bass average between a half and two pounds with the record white bass being six pounds, 13 ounces and was caught in Virginia. The maximum size to date is 18 inches with the average white bass being just under a foot at 11 inches.
Above: White bass
Their growth rates vary in that the white bass in the south grow at faster rates that those in the north, with the northern white bass living longer as a consequence. However, with a top age of five years, there is not a big difference between long lived and short lived white bass.
Sexual Maturity
The males become sexually mature at the end of their first year and the females reaching sexual maturity after year two. The average length of sexually mature males at the end of year one is nine inches, with the average length of females reaching 13 inches.
The small size of these bass often has them overlooked by many anglers. However, they are great fighters and offer up a great fight making them fun to catch for both experienced and novice anglers of all ages. This is also a great bass for young children as their size helps them prepare for large fish species and gives them a taste of great fighting fish.
Above: BBQ white bass in a tomatoes sauce
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