Shadow Bass - Geographic Distribution

Geographic Distribution

The shadow bass' native range includes the southeastern United States from the Apalchicola River drainage in Georgia to the lower Mississippi basin in Louisiana. The two isolated populations in the St. Francis, Black Arkansas Red and upper Ouachita River Drainages in Missouri and Arkansas in the Ozark regions (Roe et al. 2008). In Tennessee the Shadow bass can be found in most drainages south of the Tennessee River. Other river drainages that shadow bass inhabit are Blackwater and Chattahoochee rivers in southern Georgia and northern Florida. The apparent absence of shadow bass in Black Belt streams is probably the result of low stream flow and poor water-quality conditions during the late summer when temperatures are high. Channelization is a possible factor in the distribution of the shadow bass in Mississippi river systems but results from Mareska et al. 2000. research proved no difference in the distribution of shadow bass.