Fish Identification

Rock Bass

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Fish image provided under agreement from Windsor Nature Discovery, LLC. Fish image created by Ron Pittard.

Common Name: Rock Bass

Scientific Name: Ambloplites Rupestris

Fish Family: Centrarchidae

Other Names: black perch, goggle-eye, red-eye, rock sunfish, goggle-eye perch: French: crapet de roche

Rock Bass Photos:

For more Rock Bass photos visit Lake-Link's Photo Gallery.

Identification:

Dorsal region of head, back, and upper sides brown to olive; ventral region lighter. Eyes bright red to orange. All fins pigmented; vertical fins with dis- tinct white spots posteriorly. Each scale pocket below lateral line with a prominent black spot, forming 8-10 horizontal rows of spots. In young up to 51 mm, sides variably marbled in black and white. Breeding males blackish, with eye color intensified.

Distribution:

In Wisconsin, the rock bass occurs in the Mississippi River, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior drainage basins. It is present in the shallow waters of the Lakes, and in many of the softwater lakes in northern Wisconsin, but it is less common in lakes southward. The rock bass is common in medium to large streams and in lakes throughout Wisconsin, except in the southwestern quarter, where it is rare.

Spawning:

Spawning takes place in water from a few cen- timeters deep to more than 1.0 m deep, in circular, dish-shaped nests. The male builds the nest by fan- ning out sand and debris over a bottom of coarse sand or gravel to create a depression of 20-25 cm (8-10 in) diam.

State Rock Bass Records:

Illinois State Record:
1 lbs 10 ozs caught by George Nielson caught on Aux Sable Creek on May 5, 1987.
Indiana State Record:
3 lbs 0 ozs caught by David Thomas caught on Sugar Creek on January 1, 1969.
Iowa State Record:
1 lbs 8 ozs caught by Jim Driscoll caught on Mississippi River on June 1, 1973.
Michigan State Record:
3 lbs 9 ozs caught by Edward Arnold caught on Holoway Reservoir on January 1, 1965.
Minnesota State Record:
2 lbs 0 ozs caught on Osakis Lake on May 10, 1998.
Wisconsin State Record:
2 lbs 15 ozs caught on Shadow Lake, Waupaca County on June 2, 1990.

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