Largemouth Bass

🗺️ Habitat

Lakes, ponds, reservoirs, and slow-moving rivers across North America. Prefers shallow, vegetated areas near structures like logs, rocks, and aquatic weeds.

🔍 How to Identify Largemouth Bass

• 1Large mouth that extends past the rear of the eye when closed
• 2Horizontal dark stripe running along the lateral line from head to tail
• 3Olive-green to dark green body with lighter belly
• 4Two dorsal fins — front spiny, rear soft-rayed — with a notch between them
• 5No scales on the lower part of the cheek (unlike smallmouth bass)

🍽️ Diet

Carnivore — eats crayfish, frogs, insects, small fish, and even small birds or mammals near the water surface

💡 Fun Facts About Largemouth Bass

• ★The largemouth bass can detect vibrations through its lateral line system
• ★Bass are aggressive nest guarders — males protect eggs and fry from predators
• ★They can inhale prey by rapidly expanding their large mouth, creating suction
• ★The world record largemouth bass was 22 lbs 4 oz, caught in 1932 in Georgia
• ★Largemouth bass are the state fish of Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida

🛡️ Conservation Status

Least Concern — widely abundant and managed through catch-and-release fishing programs

🔗 Related Species