SPRINGS FIELD GUIDE
sunshine bass
FISH PROFILE
COMMON NAME
Sunshine Bass
Scientific name
Morone chrysops x Morone saxatilis
FAMILY
Moronidae family
LENGTH
12-20 inches
DIET
Small fish
FISH PROFILE
COMMON NAME
Sunshine Bass
Scientific name
Morone chrysops x Morone saxatilis
FAMILY
Moronidae (temperate basses) family
LENGTH
12-20 inches
DIET
Small fish
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
Sunshine bass were produced in Florida state hatcheries and are a hybrid of a female white bass and a male striped bass. As a result, these fish have rows of broken stripes along the front half of their body and continuous lines along the second half.
RANGE, HABITAT, BEHAVIOR, AND dIET
Florida Fish and Wildlife have stocked sunshine bass in many states across the southeastern U.S., including Mississippi, Texas, Florida, and the Carolinas. These fish are typically a schooling fish. As for diet, young sunshine bass begin eating insects but will switch to fish as early as possible, often when they reach 4 inches long. The adults are considered voracious feeders, eating any species of smaller fish.
FUN FACTS
These fish are an artificially spawned cross between a male Striped Bass and a female White Bass, produced in Florida hatcheries for stocking as a gamefish and to control Gizzard Shad. They are known for their strong fight and their tender white meat.
Sunshine bass famously congregate in Silver Glen Springs in the Ocala National Forest during the summers. The schools of bass seen in Silver Glen likely have a mix of both striped and sunshine bass.