LARGEMOUTH BASS

The largemouth bass is also known as the black bass, Florida bass, Florida largemouth,

green bass, southern largemouth, bigmouth, bucketmouth, linesides, Oswego bass and green trout. It is the largest member of the sunfish family and can grow to impressive sizes. It generally has light greenish to brownish sides with a dark lateral line which tends to break into blotches towards the tail. It is easily distinguishable from other sunfish bass members because the upper jaw extends beyond the rear edge of the eye. Another distinguishable characteristic of the largemouth is that its first and second dorsal fins are almost separated by an obvious deep dip, and there are no scales on the soft-rayed second dorsal fin or on the anal fin.

The world record for Largemouth Bass is 22 pounds, 4 ounces. This record bass was caught in Montgomery Lake, Georgia in 1932.

The largemouth bass is one of the most popular freshwater game fish today due to its aggressive attitude and willingness to strike a lure or bait with explosive force. The largemouth bass will strike almost any kind of artificial lure or live bait, but most are taken on plastic worms, surface plugs, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, bass bugs and shiner minnows. The value of the largemouth as a sport fish has prompted most anglers to practice a catch-and-release fishing policy.

The largemouth bass prefers clear, non-flowing waters with aquatic vegetation where food and cover are available. Largemouth bass will occupy brackish to freshwater habitats, including upper estuaries, rivers, lakes, reservoirs and ponds. They can tolerate a wide range of water clarities, temperatures and bottoms. The preferred water temperature for theses bass is 65 to 85 degrees. They are usually found at depths less than 20 feet especially when water temperatures are in the preferred range.

The original habitat of the largemouth bass was the eastern US, northern Mexico and southern Canada. It has since been transplanted by man to all 50 US states, all of Mexico, all of Central America and too some other countries. Pure northern largemouth bass are still not found in Florida.

Spawning can occur from December through May according to locale and when the water temperatures range from 58 to 65 degrees. The male largemouth bass will build a saucer-shaped nest 20 to 30 inches in diameter by placing its lower jaw near the bottom and rotating around this pivot point. Bass prefer to build nests in hard-bottom areas along shallow shorelines or in protected areas such as coves. The female largemouth can lay up to 100,000 eggs depending on her size, which are then fertilized by the male as they settle into the nest. After the 5 to 10 day spawning cycle is complete the male will guard the nest and eggs. The female largemouth bass stays near the nest or may swim a short distance and remain listless for up to a day after dropping her eggs. After hatching, the fry swim in tight schools, disbanding when the small fish reach a length of about one inch. Male largemouth bass will also guard the newly hatched fry attacking anything that approaches the nest.

Determining the male or female largemouth bass based on external characteristics is very difficult, except during spawning season. During the spawn a milky substance (milt) can be extruded from the vent of males and a few greenish colored eggs may appear at the vent of females. Females do however grow significantly larger than males making virtually all bass over eight pounds female.

Growth rates of the largemouth bass are highly variable with differences attributed mainly to their food supply and length of growing season. Female bass live longer than males and are much more likely to reach trophy size. By age two or three, females grow much faster than male bass. Males seldom exceed 16 inches, while females frequently surpass 22 inches. At five years of age females may be twice the weight of males. In the southern US a one-year old largemouth bass averages about seven inches in length and can grow to an adult size of 10 inches in about 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 years. Generally trophy sized largemouth bass (10 pounds and larger) are about 10 years old.

Largemouth bass diets change with their size. Young fish feed on microscopic animals (zooplankton) and small crustaceans such as grass shrimp and crayfish. Fingerling bass feed on insects, crayfish, and small fishes. Adult bass will eat whatever is available, including fish, crayfish, crabs, frogs, salamanders, snakes, mice, turtles and even birds.

Subspecies of the largemouth are the northern and Florida largemouth. They both look much the same. One way to distinguish a Florida strain largemouth from the northern is the scales along the lateral line. The Florida has 69-73 scales while the northern will have less than this.

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