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Largemouth Bass
Species Information
| Scientific Name: | Micropterus salmoides |
| Common Names: | largemouth, largemouth bass, black bass, widemouth bass, bigmouth, bucketmouth, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, gilsdorf bass, Oswego bass, southern largemouth, northern largemouth, large mouth bass |
| Environment: | Lake, River, Stream |
| Ideal Temp: | 65-75°F (18-24°C) |
About Largemouth Bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America. It is also known as the widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, gilsdorf bass, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth and northern largemouth. The largemouth bass is the state fish of Alabama (official freshwater fish), Georgia, Mississippi, Florida (state freshwater fish), and Tennessee (official sport fish).
The largemouth is an olive green fish, marked by a series of dark, sometimes black, blotches forming a jagged horizontal stripe along each flank. The upper jaw (maxilla) of a largemouth bass extends beyond the rear margin of the orbit. In comparison to age, a female bass is larger than a male. The largemouth is the largest of the black basses, reaching a maximum recorded overall length of 29.5 in (75 cm). The fish lives 16 years on average.
They prefer locations with lots of structure, such as submerged vegetation, brush piles, stumps, boat docks and standing timber. Underwater points, humps, drop-offs, bridge pilings and old road beds are also favored haunts, particularly in reservoirs.
Research indicates that the largemouth bass is also the most intelligent freshwater fish, able to distinguish and avoid a particular type of lure after only one encounter with it.
Largemouth are keenly sought after by anglers and are noted for the excitement of their fight. The fish will often become airborne in their effort to throw the hook, but many say that their cousin species, the smallmouth bass, can beat them pound for pound. Anglers most often fish for largemouth bass with lures such as plastic worms (and other plastic baits), jigs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. A recent trend is the use of large swimbaits to target trophy bass that often forage on juvenile rainbow trout in California. Live bait, such as nightcrawlers, minnows, frogs, or crawfish can also be productive. In fact, large golden shiners are one of the best baits to use to catch trophy bass, especially when they are sluggish in the heat of summer or in the cold of winter. They are the most popular freshwater game fish. Casting lures and plugs during dawn and dusk hours around cattails and sunken logs will give you the best chance to land one of the lunkers.
Largemouth Bass Fishing
| World Record: | 10.12 kg (22 lb 4 oz) Lake Biwa, Shiga, Japan |
| # Fish Caught: | 438715 documented in database. |
| Earliest Record: | 1/1/1800 12:00:00 AM and located at 45.96527, -95.35821. |
| Latest Record: | 7/3/2024 5:43:42 PM and located at 30.42717, -95.59752. |
| Common Techniques: | Casting, Fly, Jigging, Trolling |
| Popular Lure Types: | Crankbaits, Flies, Jigs, Plugs, Soft Plastics, Spinnerbaits, Spoons, Topwater, Trolling |
| Fishing Spots: | 44880 Largemouth Bass fishing spots. |
Latest Largemouth Bass Fishing Reports and Spots
Jul 3 2024 GOOD. Water slightly stained; 89 degrees; 0.65 feet above pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of J (
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Jun 26 2024 GOOD. Water stained; 87 degrees; 0.41 feet above pool. Largemouth bass offshore bite has been slow when there is no wind but there (
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Jun 19 2024 GOOD. Water stained; 82 degrees; 0.41 feet above pool. Largemouth bass can be found near bluegill beds and under deep docks but a l (
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Jun 12 2024 GOOD. Water stained; 82 degrees; 0.05 feet above pool. Largemouth bass can be found near bluegill beds but a large majority are off (
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DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE BAIT SHOP FOR ALL THE SUMMER TACKLE I USE June is one of my favorite months out here. Smith Mountain can set up t (
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Ken Penrod’s Fishing Reports 44-Years. Captain Ken Penrod; Captain Dave Kerrigan; Captain Brian Barnes; Zak Marinkov Ken Enshrined into Nationa (
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Penrod’s Fishing Reports 44-Years. Captain Ken Penrod; Captain Dave Kerrigan; Captain Brian Barnes; Zak Marinkov Ken Enshrined into National Fr (
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Largemouth Bass (
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