Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations another fish ID needed

Sorry I could not get a better picture. I do a lot of night fishing for crappie and from time to time this kind of fish will bite. Some people call these white bass and some call these white perch. I think it's a white perch. This is NOT a crappie. Can anyone help ID this fish?
Thanks!

Looks like a white bass to me. Down South a white perch and a crappie are the same thing.

That's a white perch. Morone americana

DO NOT TRANSPORT THIS FISH.

This fish is costing some major North American watersheds millions of dollars in management headaches and renovations.

In Texas we call these "Sand Bass" or "White Bass".

That is not a sand/white bass. They have several longitudinal lines. The white perch is an invasive east coast fish.

Sorry, fishinglth. Although very similar, that is not a sand bass or white bass. It is a very close cousin "Morone americana" or white perch. To the biologist or even the casual pondmeister however there is a very big difference in their biology, life history, and impact.

Read this thread.

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=000473;p=1

Thanks for the education Bruce. It doesn�t look like something we would want in Texas.

Unfortunately for many, this very invasive fish has already reached both Nebraska ana Kansas in big numbers. The white perch readily stunts, voraciously eats more desirable fish in their larval and fingerling stages, competes heavily for zooplankton resources and generally supplants walleye, white bass and largemouth bass biomass. Needless to say, all to the fisheries biologist's chagrin.

Interestingly, but maybe not surprisingly, they aren't such a problem in their native East Coast region. They predator prey relationships keep Morone americana's numbers more in check and some areas enjoy good white perch fishing with fish sometimes reaching 2+ pounds. In the right situation they can be good sport and have table quality similar to white bass or striped bass. They can even be crossed with striped bass, but the offspring isn't as usefull as the white bass/striped bass hybrid.

In Kansas and Nebraska they end up in stupendous schools of 3-5 inch fish while walleye and white bass numbers plummet. Hopefully they don't become an issue in Texas.

Ya'll are right that many southerners mistakenly call crappie.. white perch. That's all I ever heard them called growing up in Miss. Now I think crappie or 'crappy' is used more.

Here's another really good link..

http://www.iisgcp.org/EXOTICSP/white_perch.htm




Here's the most recent map on Morone americana distribution. Looks like Texas is spared. I do see North Carolina in there.

Thanks for all the help guys!