Largemouth Bass
Freshwater game fish · Micropterus salmoides
The most-targeted freshwater gamefish in North America. An ambush predator that lives against cover, feeds hardest between 65 and 75 degrees, and will eat almost anything that fits in its mouth.
Identification
Olive-green to brassy along the back, fading to a pale belly, with a dark horizontal blotch running the length of the flank. That lateral stripe stays visible on most fish and is the fastest field mark.
The reliable tell is the jaw. On a largemouth, the rear of the upper jaw extends past the back of the eye. On a smallmouth or spotted bass it stops at or before the eye.
Anglers in the southern United States still call them green trout, and bucketmouth shows up anywhere the fish get big. Neither name refers to a different fish.
Where to find them
Largemouth relate to cover, not open water. Look for laydowns, standing timber, dock pilings, hydrilla and milfoil edges, riprap seams, and the first sharp drop off a flat.
They tolerate warm, low-oxygen, stained water far better than most gamefish, which is why they thrive in farm ponds, backwater sloughs, and reservoirs that trout cannot survive.
Behavior and seasons
Spring. As water climbs through the mid-50s bass stage on the first drop outside spawning flats. Between roughly 60 and 65 degrees they move up and bed.
Summer. Post-spawn fish recover, then set up on deeper structure and heavy shade. Feeding peaks early and late.
Fall. Cooling water pulls baitfish into creek arms and the bass follow. This is the most predictable feeding window of the year.
Winter. Below about 50 degrees metabolism drops hard. Bass go deep, group up, and feed infrequently.
Top rated lures
from LureGuruWhat anglers say actually catches this fish, ranked by votes.
- 1Green pumpkin soft-plastic worm
- 2Chartreuse-white spinnerbait
- 3Black-blue jig with craw trailer
- 4Hollow-body frog
Placeholder. Lure data pipes in from LureGuru; nominating and voting need accounts, which ship with the forum. Counts shown are not real.
People also ask
Bedding begins when water holds between roughly 60 and 65 degrees, which happens as early as February in Florida and as late as June in the upper Midwest. Males fan nests in hard bottom, usually two to six feet down.
Look at the jaw. On a largemouth the upper jaw extends past the rear of the eye; on a smallmouth it stops short of it. Largemouth are green with a dark lateral stripe, smallmouth are bronze with vertical bars.
22 pounds 4 ounces. George Perry set it in Georgia in 1932 and Manabu Kurita tied it in Japan in 2009. It is one of the longest-standing records in fishing.
Yes, but rarely and softly. Below about 50 degrees their metabolism drops sharply. They group up in deep water and feed infrequently, so the presentation has to be slow and the strike is easy to miss.