SPRINGS FIELD GUIDE

sunshine bass

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FISH PROFILE

COMMON NAME

Sunshine Bass

Scientific name

Morone chrysops x Morone saxatilis

FAMILY

Moronidae family

LENGTH

12-20 inches

DIET

Small fish

Play Video

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.