Rock Bass

Rock bass, also called goggle-eye or red eye, are a freshwater fish species in the sunfish family. They’re similar in appearance to smallmouth bass but are usually smaller in size with the average rock bass being from 6 inches to 10 inches in length although some have been found as large as 12 inches. They also rarely are over a pound in weight.

Fishing with live bait such as nightcrawlers has been found to be effective for catching rock bass, although they have often been caught with bass lures by those fishing for other type of bass.

The rock bass prefers clear, rocky, and vegetated streams with slow to moderate currents, stream pools and large lakes with rocky bottoms. They often are found in the same habitats as smallmouth bass.

It is carnivorous with a diet consisting mostly of smaller fish, insects, and crustaceans.

Rock bass are native to the St Lawrence River and Great Lakes system, the upper and middle Mississippi River basin in North America from Québec to Saskatchewan in the north down to Missouri and Arkansas, and throughout the eastern U.S. from New York through Kentucky and Tennessee to the northern portions of Alabama and Georgia in the south.