Largemouth Bass

The largemouth bass, a member of the black bass (Micropterus) genus, is a popular carnivorous freshwater fish native to North America. However, it has spread as an invasive species throughout the world. Largemouth bass are not a big part of commercial fishing, as their meat is mushy and not that good. They are a very popular catch among game fishermen, though, because of their challenging, aggressive behavior.

3 Largemouth Bass Fun Facts

• Although the largemouth bass is native to Eastern North America, it is considered invasive elsewhere around the world, where overzealous game fishers have introduced it.
• Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida all claim the largemouth bass as the state fish or state freshwater fish.
• Largemouth bass are polyandrous. That means that the male mates only once, while the female mates multiple times after they reach sexual maturity.

Classification and Scientific Name

Largemouth bass are game fish from the Micropterus genus, commonly known as “black bass.” This genus is part of the Centrarchidae, or sunfish, family. The scientific name of the largemouth bass is Micropterus salmoides. There are two subspecies, the Florida largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides floridanus) and the Northern largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides salmoides), which is slightly smaller than its Florida counterpart.

Appearance 

The largemouth bass has an elongated appearance. It can be a combination of gray, green, or light brown if it is in darker water. The top of the fish has an olive-colored camouflage pattern, while its side has a broad, broken pattern of black stripes with green-tinged black spots on its scales. The rounded tail or caudal fin can have a black-tinged edge, especially in younger fish. Its large mouth has a long upper jaw that reaches behind the eye and a rough line of teeth on both the top and the bottom jaws. It has ten hard dorsal spines in a concave configuration, 11-14 soft dorsal rays, a pair of pelvic fins, and an anal fin with three spines and 10-12 rays. The female is larger than the male.

Distribution, Population, and Habitat

Native to Eastern North America, including Canada, the United States, and Northern Mexico, the original distribution of M. salmoides was within the river basins of the Mississippi, St. Lawrence (Great Lakes), and Red River (Hudson Bay). They also live in Atlantic Slope drainages (from North Carolina to Florida) and Gulf Coast drainages (from Southern Florida to Northern Mexico). Largemouth bass have been introduced worldwide in Europe, Asia, and Africa, where they have damaged various habitats and are considered an invasive species.

The IUCN has listed the status of the largemouth bass as “least concern“. There is a large species population worldwide, and considering the generational trends over the last ten years, it is considered stable as of 2015.

Largemouth bass thrive in warm, freshwater bodies of water. They like to live by shallow vegetation-covered shorelines where there are a variety of submerged shelters, such as rocks and logs. Since they hunt by sight, they prefer clear waters where they can see well, rather than murky or cloudy bodies of water. They will eat any prey that can fit in their mouths, severely impacting other fish populations. In order to nest, males require a floor with a soft or impressionable composition where they can carve out a space for eggs with their tails.

Predators and Prey

What Eats Largemouth Bass?

Although they are efficient predators themselves, several other fish, such as northern pike, larger bass, crappie, walleye, yellow perch, carp, channel catfish, eels, and muskellunge, as well as shore birds, such as herons, kingfishers, and bitterns, prey upon young largemouth bass. The bald eagle even preys upon adult bass. Apart from these, the chief predators of the largemouth bass are humans.

What Does Largemouth Bass Eat?

As previously mentioned, largemouth bass will eat almost any prey that will fit into their mouths that they use as “vacuum cleaners.” That means that younger bass will limit themselves to smaller prey, like small shrimp, bait fish, water fleas, insects, and microscopic crustaceans. Adult bass eat small fish, crustaceans, frogs, bats, worms, snakes, crawfish, younger offspring of larger fish, and salamanders. They will even eat small birds, mammals, and turtle, and alligator hatchlings. They can move to deeper waters in larger lakes to pursue their prey.

Reproduction and Lifespan

Largemouth bass are polyandrous. That means that the male mates once, while the female mates multiple times after they reach about one year of age. Largemouth bass mate in the late winter or early spring from March to July, depending on the latitude and the temperature of the water, which needs to be at least a consistent 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

The male uses its tail to dig a nest in the bottom of the water body while the female waits in deeper water. Once the nest is complete, the male guides the female over the nest and keeps it there by swimming in circles around it. It then prods the female to release its eggs, releasing sperm that mixes with the eggs as they settle into the nest. The male will guard the nest until the eggs hatch in a few days, after which it will guard the fry until they are ready to leave the nest, which will be about 10 days to two weeks. During that time, the male may eat a number of fry as he gets hungry. After a couple of weeks, the parents and the young fish will begin to focus on feeding.

In the wild, largemouth bass live from 15 to 23 years. They live from eight to 12 years in captivity.

Fishing and Cooking 

Angling enthusiasts prize largemouth bass due to their fighting nature. They will struggle against the line once hooked, including jumping out of the water to free themselves. Anglers will use a variety of lures and some forms of live bait, such as worms or minnows, to coax bass out of the shallow cover of vegetation, logs, or overhangs. It is popular among sportsmen to use the catch-and-release method to fish, especially releasing larger fish, as they tend to be females and contribute to the stock. As long as the hook is not too deep or swallowed, largemouth bass have a high survival rate after being hooked and released.

The meat of the largemouth bass tends to be white and tender, with few bones in the fillets. The taste is mild and slightly fishy. Removal of the skin and the bloodline can improve the taste, reducing fishiness. People tend to immediately like or dislike it, with more people preferring the flavor of smallmouth bass. The FDA regulates the safety and labeling of largemouth bass sold in interstate commerce, but because the fish are sourced from many different streams and farms, quality can vary. Higher-quality meat can be found on younger bass measuring under 12 inches. Commercial farming of largemouth bass is expanding, with increasing demand in both the United States and Asian markets.