Species › North America · Freshwater › White Bass

Freshwater

White Bass

Morone chrysops · sand bass, sandie, silver bass

Water temp
61–72°F
Peak season
Mar–Apr, Jul–Aug
Best light
Dawn · Dusk
IGFA record
6 lb 13 oz (3.09 kg)
White Bass (Morone chrysops white bass fish.jpg)

Photo: Raver Duane, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

OverviewWhere & WhenHow to CatchGearRegulationsRecordsForecastCatches

Overview

White bass are compact, deep-bodied temperate basses with a silver-white body, several faint gray stripes that often break below the lateral line, a single tooth patch on the tongue and a humped back behind the head. They are native to the Mississippi, Ohio, Great Lakes and Gulf Coast drainages and have been stocked into reservoirs across the central and southern United States, from Texas and Oklahoma north to Minnesota and east to the Carolinas. Most fish run 3/4–2 lb and 10–14 in; a 3 lb white bass is a trophy and the species tops out under 7 lb. Hybrids with striped bass, called wipers or palmetto bass, are larger and are stocked widely.

White bass live in open water in big reservoirs and rivers, roaming in large schools that herd shad and shiners to the surface in explosive feeding frenzies, especially at dawn and dusk in summer and fall. Their spring spawning run, when water hits 55–65°F (13–18°C), sends them up tributary rivers and creeks in enormous numbers, and bank anglers line the shoals with small jigs and spinners. They are short-lived but prolific, so limits are generous, and the fast action, hard pull on light tackle and sweet white fillets make them the fish that fills coolers from Texoma to Lake Erie.

Typical size3/4–2 lb (0.3–0.9 kg); 10–14 in
Trophy3 lb+; 4 lb+ is exceptional
Table fareGood — firm white fillets; remove the red lateral meat

Where & when

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The spring spawning run up rivers peaks in March in Texas and April–May in the Midwest, triggered by rising water and 55–65°F (13–18°C) temperatures; a second peak comes in July–September when schools surface-feed on shad at dawn and dusk.

Lake Texoma, TXMassive sand bass schools and spring runs up the Red and WashitaLake Erie (Western Basin), OHMaumee and Sandusky river runs each MayTruman Lake, MOSpring runs up the Osage and Pomme de Terre armsLake Buchanan / Colorado River, TXFamous March white bass run in the river above the lake

How to catch

Small jigs on the spring runCast 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads with 2–3 in curly-tail grubs or small paddle-tails in white, chartreuse or pearl across river shoals and eddies, retrieving steadily just off bottom. Fish stack below riffles and on the inside of bends; when you find one, you have found fifty.
Casting to surfacing schoolsAt dawn in summer, watch for surface explosions and diving gulls, run within casting range and throw small topwaters, 1/4 oz spoons or tail-spinners into the school. Retrieve fast and have a second rod ready; the blitz may last minutes.
Vertical jigging slabsLocate schools on sonar over 15–35 ft humps and channel edges in summer and fall and drop 1/2–3/4 oz slab spoons straight down, ripping them up 3 ft and letting them fall. Fish hit on the drop; a tandem jig above the slab doubles catches.
Trolling small crankbaitsTroll 2–3 in shad-pattern crankbaits or inline spinners at 2–3 mph along points, flats and the old river channel to find scattered schools, then stop and cast once you hook up.

Gear

Rod6'6"–7' medium-light spinning, fast action
Reel2000–2500 spinning
Line6–8 lb monofilament or 10 lb braid with a 6–8 lb fluorocarbon leader

Lures

Curly-tail grubs on jigheadsSlab spoonsTail-spinnersSmall inline spinnersSmall shad-pattern crankbaits

Baits

Live shadMinnowsSmall shiners

Regulations

White bass have generous daily limits, often 25 or more, and in some states a minimum length or a limit on fish over a certain size to protect hybrids and stripers in the same water; a freshwater license is required.

Records

IGFA all-tackle world record: 6 lb 13 oz (3.09 kg) — Tie: Lake Orange, Virginia, July 31, 1989 (Ronald Sprouse) and Amite River, Louisiana, August 27, 2010 (Corey Crochet). State and regional records are kept by each fish & wildlife agency.

Frequently asked

How do you tell a white bass from a hybrid striped bass?

Check the tongue and the stripes. A white bass has a single tooth patch on the tongue and faint stripes that often break up below the lateral line, with a deep, humped body. A hybrid (wiper) has two tooth patches, bolder stripes that are broken and irregular, and a longer, heavier body; a pure striper has two tooth patches and unbroken stripes.

When does the white bass run start?

When the water in tributary rivers reaches the mid-50s°F (about 13°C) and a spring rain raises the flow, typically early March in Texas, late March to April in Oklahoma and Missouri, and late April to May in the Great Lakes region. The run lasts two to four weeks and peaks in the first warm, stable stretch.

Bite forecast — White Bass

Recent catches

Posted by anglers on the live map, filtered to White Bass.

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