White bass

Identification and biology

White bass are silvery with several faint, often broken dark lines along the sides and a single tooth patch at the rear of the tongue; the striped bass has two separate patches, two points on the gill cover instead of one and a slimmer body. Missouri gives 9 to 15 inches and a quarter-pound to 1¼ pounds as usual and about 5 pounds as the maximum; Georgia's record is 5 pounds 1 ounce. They grow fast, up to eight or nine inches in the first year according to TPWD, but rarely live beyond four years. They are native to the middle of the country, from the Great Lakes through the Ohio and Mississippi valleys; populations in Missouri's Ozark reservoirs and in South Carolina, starting with Lake Wylie in 1954, came from stocking.

Runs and schools

The year has two fishing peaks. In spring, schools of males move up tributaries as much as a month before the females, and spawning in any one place is done within 5 to 10 days (MDC); in Missouri they enter the streams in March, and South Carolina describes the run in March and April as the water reaches 55°F. Eggs are scattered over gravel or rock in current and stick to the bottom. From summer into fall they feed in schools at dawn and dusk, often near the surface, and Missouri describes compact schools driving shad until the baitfish leap from the water. In big Ozark reservoirs their numbers rise and fall with the gizzard shad they eat.

The mistakes that cost fish

Missing the run: the spawn in a given stretch can be over in about a week, so watch the water temperature rather than the calendar date. Staying put after a school moves on: Missouri notes they gather where food is plentiful and move when it is gone. And skipping the night bite: Texas Parks and Wildlife reports good success bottom fishing with live bait after dark.

Tackle setups

Playbook by water temperature

Month by month

Best waters for white bass

215 waters we report on where this species is one of the main fish, each with a daily report.

Common questions