Rock Bass

Rock Bass are one of the most aggressive panfish. They will strike a variety of baits and lures and they will hit your bait
extremely hard at times. These fish prefer rocky bottoms, but you can find them in weedy or brushy areas, along weed lines and around wood also. Like most sunfish, rock bass rarely exceed 2 pounds. Rock bass as big as 3 pounds have been caught, but most fish are in the 6 to 9 inch range. Known as a very strong fish, they are very fun to catch for younger anglers. For experienced anglers, rock bass can annoy them because they are so aggressive that they will continue to eat their baits while they are fishing for other fish.

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Striped Bass, White Bass, and Hybrids

Striped bass, also called stripers, are silver with 7 or 8 dark horizontal stripes
that are not broken. Their body is longer than white bass and they have 2 patches of teeth on the tongue. White bass are also silver, but they have horizontal black stripes that are unbroken above the lateral line. The lines below the lateral line are barely visible and irregular. The horizontal stripes on a white bass usually stop just short ofthe tail.

The hybrids, a combination of the striped bass and white
bass, have silvery sides with broken horizontal stripes that
are unbroken above and below the lateral line.

Stripers and white bass are very similar. They both
migrate up rivers and streams in the spring. They thrive
in large bodies of water, especially reservoirs. They
primarily feed in schools in open water. Fishermen will
often see schools of bait fish surfacing in open water.
Stripers and white bass will target these large schools of
bait fish and scare them to the top where feeding is fast
and furious.

Striped bass are the largest with many fish being caught
over 30 pounds. White bass in the 1 to 2 pound range
are good-sized fish with few fish
exceeding 3 pounds. Hybrids are bigger than white bass,
but smaller than stripers. Hybrids in the 10 to 15 pound
range are not uncommon, but fish in the 5 to 10 pound
range are considered quality-sized fish.

Striped bass are located mostly on the east coast and in
the south. White bass are found in the south, midwest
and throughout some of the plains states.

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Smallmouth bass

The smallmouth bass is one of
the most exciting gamefish.
Some anglers argue that they
are the strongest fish of all
pound for pound.

Smallmouth bass are slightly smaller than largemouth, but
they make up for it in other ways. They are known for
their excellent leaping ability; sometimes 4 or 5 jumps
while winding them in. Smallmouth will strike lures so
violent that make you think it is a bigger fish on the end of
the line. They are very aggressive, which makes them
easy to get to bite, but not necessarily easy to catch. You
have to know how to fight these fish to keep from losing a
lot of smallmouth bass. Good anglers can keep them from
jumping, which makes them easier to catch.

Smallmouth can be caught in many lakes, streams and
rivers. They thrive the best in the cleanest and clearest
waters available, however, they can be found in murky
water also. Some rivers are very murky and these rivers
produce some excellent smallmouth bass fishing.

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Largemouth Bass

The largemouth bass is the most
popular freshwater fish among
millions of anglers. Largemouth
bass provide explosive strikes
and jumps that make any day on

the water an exciting one. They are found in every state
in the United States because of excellent stocking
programs.

There are 2 subspecies of largemouth bass: the Florida
largemouth and the northern largemouth. The Florida
strain of largemouth existed in Florida originally, but with
stocking programs, they are now found in most of the
south and they are very prevalent in California and
Texas. Florida strain largemouth don't live as long as
northern strain largemouths, but they grow much faster
and bigger. The typical florida strain largemouth should
get up to 10 to 12 pounds compared to 6 to 8 pounds for
the northern strain largemouth. If the waters provide
good structure, with a good food supply and a long
growing season, florida strain largemouth bass can weigh
over 20 pounds whereas, the northern strain largemouth
rarely exceeds 10 pounds.

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