VA · White bass
Virginia white bass limits
Virginia's statewide white bass limit is 5 a day with no length limit. Lake Gaston and Buggs Island Lake (Kerr Reservoir), with the Staunton (Roanoke) River up to Leesville Dam and the Dan River up to Danville's Union Street Dam, allow 10 a day but nothing under 14 inches. South Holston Reservoir is catch-and-release only for white bass.
Verified 2026-11-03Limits at a glance
Regulation period: January 2026 through Dec. 31, 2026.
Daily limit
5 per day
DatesOpen all year
Size ruleNo statewide length limit
Daily limit
10 per day
DatesOpen all year
ReleaseMay keep
Size ruleMinimum length 14 inches
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Daily limit
None: no harvest or possession
Size ruleCatch and release only; every white bass must be releasedSouth Holston straddles the Tennessee line. A Virginia or Tennessee resident license plus the South Holston Reservoir License (currently $21 a year) lets you fish both states' impounded waters there, and the reservoir's own creel table repeats that every white bass must be released.
Watch for
- White bass are separate from striped bass and the striped bass x white bass hybrids, which have their own 4-a-day, 20-inch statewide rule and several reservoir exceptions in the same table.
- The 14-inch rule is not only for the two lakes: it also covers the Staunton River up to Leesville Dam and the Dan River up to the Union Street Dam, where DWR says white bass are caught during the spawning run.
- White bass are a Virginia game fish. It is unlawful to have more than the daily creel limit in possession while afield or on the water, and fish kept alive count toward it.
- DWR's species guide names Buggs Island, Smith Mountain, Claytor and Leesville lakes and the New River, plus the Dan and Staunton during spawning, as the best white bass waters. A white bass of 16 inches or 2 pounds earns a Trophy Fish Award; the state record is 6 lb 13 oz from Lake Orange (July 31, 1989).
- These figures come from the 2026 digest, which runs to Dec. 31, 2026. We will re-check this page when the 2027 digest is published.
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Virginia · White bass
Quick answers
What is the daily limit for white bass in Virginia?
Statewide (waters with no listed exception): 5 per day. Size rule: No statewide length limit. Other waters and date windows have different rules; see the table. Verify with Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
Which regulations do these Virginia figures come from?
January 2026 through Dec. 31, 2026, as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Last verified 2026-11-03.