Scientific Name
Morone americana
Other Common Names
stiffback, silver perch
Identification
Not really a perch, but a member of the temperate bass family along with white and striped bass. Averages 8 to 10 inches but reaches up to 2 lbs. Silver gray above, fading to silvery-white below with no longitudinal lines. Has a deep notch between spiny dorsal and soft-rayed dorsal. No teeth on tongue.
Best Fishing
Lakes: Western Branch, Whitehurst, Gaston, Buggs Island, Motts Run, Occoquan, Anna, Waller Mill Reservoir, Harwoods Mill Reservoir, and Back Bay. Rivers: Tidal rivers (Pamunkey, James, Rappahannock, Chickahominy, Mattaponi, North Landing, Northwest and Potomac) and most of their tributary creeks.
Fishing Techniques
Live bait such as minnows, grass shrimp and blood worms, plus artificials such as small spinnerbaits and jigs. Fish near structure such as old wharves, pilings, and sunken logs, on a falling tide, which moves baitfish and shrimp out of cover.
Feeding Habits
Favored natural baits include mummichogs, mud minnows and other small fishes, insect larvae and grass shrimp. They are school fish throughout the seasons, tending to spend daylight hours in deep water, moving into the shallows at dusk to feed.
Habitat
Brackish tidal rivers and streams and freshwater impoundments of formerly tidal waters. Can overpopulate quickly.
Spawning Habits
Spawns March through early May, running up rivers to spawn over gravel and rocky areas where eggs are broadcast randomly. Lake-locked fish will spawn over similar areas in impoundments.