How to recognise it
- Distinct stripes, usually broken, several of them reaching the tail. A striped bass's stripes are unbroken; a white bass's are faint.
- A deep body with a slightly arched back: the body is deeper than 1/3 of its length, unlike the slender striped bass.
- Two tooth patches on the back of the tongue, sometimes close together. A white bass has one.
Habitat: where it lives
- A hatchery-made cross of striped bass and white bass, stocked into reservoirs. It is sterile, so every population depends on stocking.
- An open-water fish that doesn't stay near weeds, stumps or other structure.
- Gathers by the fastest current: below dams while water is being released, at springs, and at creek mouths after heavy rain.
Habits: behavior, spawning and growth
- Roams in schools like "mini wolf packs", slashing into balls of baitfish. Diving birds join in.
- Early in the day it is in shallow water near the bank; later it moves deeper with the baitfish.
- In spring it runs up tributaries with the white bass, though it can't reproduce.
- Typically 7–10 lb, seldom 20.
Where and when
- Open-water schools, most active at dawn and dusk.
- Early morning: topwater near the banks. Midday: follow birds working the water.
- Best in May, during the shad spawn, and in fall. Try windblown points, riprap and dams, and main-lake humps and points.
Bait and lures
Live and natural bait
- 2–4 in live shad or fathead minnows
Lures
- ½ oz lipless crankbaits
- Grubs on 1/8–½ oz jigheads
- ¼–1 oz slabs
- Blade baits
- White or chartreuse marabou jigs in low light
Why these baits work
- Gizzard and threadfin shad are a major food, so shad-like lures and live shad work. Once a school is feeding it bites almost anything.
- It hits hard and can break light line or wreck lures, so use heavier tackle than for white bass.
Rod and reel setups
Grouped by lure fishing (artificial baits) and bait fishing (live or natural bait).
Tips
- Once you find a feeding school they'll bite almost anything. Keep casting to it.
- If nothing's on the surface, jig slabs near the bottom.
On the table: cleaning and cooking
- Considered excellent eating (Missouri Dept. of Conservation).
Step-by-step cleaning, keeping fish fresh and eating safely are in the handbook.
Size and bag limits vary by state, species and lake. Current limits: Texas (TPWD); elsewhere, your state's fish and wildlife agency. Check before you keep a fish.
