Largemouth Bass

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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

October 2nd Guntersville bass fishing report - 10/2/2024 3:11:23 PM

There is a 1 million $$$ bass swimming around in guntersville lake and the fishing is incredible. The water is cooling off and the current is (View)

Largemouth Bass - 9/6/2024 5:02:13 PM

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Largemouth Bass - 8/22/2024 7:44:44 AM

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August 19th Guntersville bass fishing report - 8/19/2024 11:37:05 AM

Wow!!! The big fish showed up this week. One of my trips landed a best 5 over 24lbs. The rain,cooler nights and shorter days have the big fish (View)

Fishing Report - 8/7/2024 8:22:00 AM

Aug 7 2024 GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 0.02 feet above pool. Thermocline is around 30 feet of water. Catfish are good on baited holes and (View)

Fishing Report - 7/10/2024 8:49:00 AM

Jul 10 2024 GOOD. Water slightly stained; 89 degrees; 0.15 feet above pool. Largemouth bass fishing is good flipping under docks and around blu (View)

Fishing Report - 7/24/2024 8:34:32 PM

Jul 24 2024 GOOD. Water slightly stained; 89 degrees; 0.24 feet above pool. Largemouth bass fishing is good fishing offshore structure with bru (View)

Fishing Report - 7/3/2024 5:43:42 PM

Jul 3 2024 GOOD. Water slightly stained; 89 degrees; 0.65 feet above pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of J (View)

Largemouth Bass - 6/30/2024 1:41:12 PM

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Fishing Report - 6/26/2024 11:22:00 AM

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 (View)