Chatahoochee Bass

This member of the redeye bass group has striking bright red coloration on. The soft dorsal, anal, and caudal fins. These fish have a tooth patch and a bronze coloration to their body with 9-11 vertical blotches along their lateral line.

These have been extirpated from many of their historical native streams due to habitat disturbance and hybridization with introduced Alabama bass (M. henshalli). Many of the streams where they are native are also stocked with trout that likely compete with these fish for food and other resources. GADNR has recently surveyed Chattahoochee bass in the upper and middle sections of the Chattahoochee River system and identified a few pure populations that should be protected in order to conserve native biodiversity. Unfortunately, these populations also occur in areas that are popular for recreational dredging for gold operations and introduction of non-native trout.