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Bass (White)

SPECIES INFORMATION

  • The White Bass is also popularly known as the Silver Bass or the Sand Bass. It is native to the central US and the west of the Appalachians. It is also found in the Great Lakes and in the river systems in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. The species is native to the Red River drainage in Texas. The freshwater fish is a member of the temperate bass family and is the state fish of Oklahoma. The adults prefer to stay in deep waters.
  • The temperate bass family includes the Yellow Bass, the Striped Bass, and the White Perch too. The White Bass is an open water fish and the majority of their lives are spent in chasing the shad, which is also their favorite food. The White Bass can be distinguished from the Hybrid Striped Bass and Striped Bass because of the singular tooth patch that it has on its tongue. The Striped and the Hybrid Striped Bass have two tooth patches on the tongue.
  • In the winter month’s, small spoons that are jigged near the bottom helps to catch the fish. A threadfin shad or a live shiner will also help to catch the White Bass. In the spring months, the White Bass will head up to the running rivers. This is where one may use spinners and small spoons for casting the small bucket jigs. It is good to fish under the bridge in the day and night time during the summer and spring months. Casting small topwater baits also helps to fish the species.

SIZE

Most of the White Bass grow to a length of 10 and 12 inches that is approximately equal to 25 to 30 cms. There are rare cases of a White Bass reaching 17 inches that are equal to 43 cms.

The record weight of the White Bass is 6 pounds and 13 ounces, which is approximately 3.1 kgs. The White Bass lives for around 9 years.

RANGE

The White Bass is distributed widely through North America. It is also found in Manitoba, Quebec, and the Hudson Bay in Canada. The White Bass is found in Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, which is the border between the United States and Canada. The White Bass ranges from the Mississippi River Basin to Louisiana in the US to the Rio Grande River which is in Texas and then to New Mexico.

HABITAT

The White Bass is found in the ponds, lakes, and pools of small and large rivers. The fish species do not like to live in muddy areas where there are many plants. The White Bass can reproduce when the water temperatures are approximately 57.2 degrees Fahrenheit or 14 degrees Celsius.

DIET

The White Bass is carnivorous and they have four major taxa in their diet. This includes cyclopoid copepods, calanoid copepods, leptodora, and daphnia. The younger ones feed on midge larvae and small crustaceans that fall into the category of small invertebrate. The adult White Bass will feed on fish species like silversides and shad, as they are piscivorous. They may also, at times, feed on the young sunfish.

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