Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris)
The Rock Bass also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is native to Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. This red-eyed bass is in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae)
The Rock Bass is mainly a sedentary and inactive fish, spending much of its activity hiding in the shadows of underwater structures.
Spawning matches that of Smallmouth Bass. Spawning starts when the water temperature is 65 to 75 degrees, usually in May and June. Males build nests over gravel and sand bottoms where the females lay several thousand eggs.
Rock bass prefer clear, vegetated and rocky lake margins and stream pools. Their favorite habitat is clear, cool to warm waters, with gravel or rocky bottoms, and some vegetation.
You can harvest bass, but Rock Bass are not usually targeted for eating, there are better options for eating fish. Rock Bass are native species and smaller than Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass.
Rock bass are native to the St Lawrence River and Great Lakes system including Michigan, Superior, and Huron, the upper and middle Mississippi River basin.
Health : Local waters have PCBs, dioxin, mercury, PFOS, and other chemicals that can be found in fish and stay in our environment for a very long time.
Be aware of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services – The Eat Safe Fish Guide (ESF Guide)
Wisconsin has the a health guide for eating fish in Wisconsin – Choose Wisely Contaminate Advisories for Wisconsin
