Species: Morone chrysops, White Bass

Morone chrysops (Rafinesque, 1820)

White Bass

Body oblong, slightly compressed; upper profile of head distinctly arched; mouth large, lower jaw projecting, top jawbone wide at rear and mostly exposed when mouth is closed; jaws with bands of small conical teeth, no canines; bands of small simple teeth on sides and front of roof of mouth; tongue with teeth along sides and an oval (sometimes slightly divided) patch in center; membranes under gills join well forward; gill rakers 19-29; rear edge of opercle with 2 flat points; preopercle rounded, finely serrated; dorsal fin notched to its base between spiny and soft parts, IX + I, 12-14; tail fin forked, heavily scaled on its base; anal fin III, 9-12, its origin well behind origin of soft dorsal fin, second spine slightly thickened and shorter than length of anal fin base when depressed, 3rd spine is 50-75% of fin length; head and body covered with small, rough scales; lateral line continuous, with 54-58 scales.

Bluish, dark green or grey above; silvery below; ~7 dark olive stripes along body, lowermost as rows of elongate dark dashes; dorsal, anal and tail fins have bluey grey outer part, pale inner part; paired fins milky white.

Reaches 45 cm; current IGFA world record 3.1 kg.

Freshwater primarily, but enters brackish water.

Depth range: 0-15 m.

Drainages of the Great Lakes, Mississippi and W to the Rio Grande.