Morone is of unknown derivation. However, chrysops is Greek meaning golden eye . Again, as with other true basses the dorsal fin is clearly double, separated into spiny and soft-rayed portions. White bass are silvery shading from dark-gray or black on the back to white on the belly. Several incomplete lines or stripes run horizontally on each side of the body.
Adults resemble young striped bass, and the two are often confused.
However, striped bass have two distinct tooth patches on the back of the tongue, and white bass have one tooth patch. Similarly, striped bass have two sharp points on each gill cover, as opposed to white bass which have one, and the second spine on the anal fin is about half the length of the third spine in striped bass, whereas it is about two-thirds the length of the third spine in white bass. Biology White bass are active early spring spawners. Schools of males migrate upstream to spawning areas as much as a month before females. There is no nest preparation.