Then they start moving upstream in huge concentrations that continue for several weeks. In virtually every instance the fish get stopped by dams, and when they do, they gather in ever-increasing numbers until the conditions are right for spawning. Unlike the largemouth bass that constructs a nest and then guards both eggs and fry, the female white bass sends her eggs out into the open water. The eggs are fertilized by the male as they settle. Some attach to rocks and gravel, while current and waves begin washing others downstream.
Hatching occurs in two to three days, but overall survival is relatively low.
Although as many as a million eggs may be laid, only about 20 to 30 percent will usually survive and grow to adulthood. A century ago white bass were found only in scattered watersheds across the eastern and midwestern regions of America, but today they have spread throughout most of the nation. In Texas the fish were native only to Caddo Lake, but in 1932 biologists took 13 brood fish from Caddo to Lake Lewisville north of Dallas, and now white bass swim in river systems across the state. The young fry grow rapidly as they feed on zoo-plankton and other microscopic organisms. Soon their diet begins to include tiny insects and eventually other small fish.