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Largemouth Bass
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Family: Centrarchidae Genus: Micropterus Species: M. salmoides
Binomial name
Micropterus salmoides

The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is a species of fish in the sunfish family. It is also known as the black bass, Oswego bass, green trout, bigmouth bass, lineside bass or bucketmouth .^[1]

Largemouth from Lake Columbia, Michigan.

The largemouth is 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. The largemouth is the largest of the black basses, reaching a maximum recorded overall length of 97 cm (38 in), and a maximum recorded weight of 10 kg (22¼ lb). The fish can live as long as 23 years.

The juvenile largemouth bass consumes mostly zooplankton and insects. Adults consume small fish, crayfish, and frogs. Prey items can be as large as 25 to 35% of the bass's body length. Largemouth bass have even been reported to take small birds, small mammals, such as mice and rats and small snakes. Under overhead cover such as overhanging banks, brush, or submerged structure such as weedbeds and drop-offs, the largemouth bass will use its senses of smell, sight, vibration and hearing to attack and seize its prey. It can sometimes hold up to 5 sunfish in its mouth. Adult largemouth generally are apex predators within their habitat but they are preyed upon by many animals while young.

Spawning occurs in shallow areas of lakes and ponds in the spring, at water temperatures of about 18–22°C (64–72°F). Males arrive first, selecting a territory on fine gravel, coarse sand or among sparse vegetation. The male will slightly clear, using his fins, a shallow depression into which he will entice a female to deposit her eggs. Females can lay up to a million eggs during each season. The male guards the embryos until the larvae hatch and then will continue to guard the "fry" until they disperse from the nest. During the guarding period, the male ferociously attacks any potential predators that approach too closely.

A largemouth bass caught and released in Forest Lake, Minnesota.

A large specimen of M. salmoides caught by an angler in Connecticut.

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 escape but many say that their cousin species, the smallmouth bass, can best them pound for pound. Anglers most often fish for largemouth bass with lures such as plastic worms, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Live bait, such as nightcrawlers, minnows, or crawfish, can also be productive.

There is a strong cultural pressure among largemouth bass anglers which encourages the fish's live release, especially the larger specimens. Largemouth bass, if handled with care, respond well to catch and release; many studies have shown specimens which have survived being hooked and released multiple times.

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) officially recognizes the heaviest largemouth bass on record as having been caught by George Perry at Montgomery Lake in Telfair County, Georgia, on June 2, 1932. The fish weighed 10 kg (22¼ lb).

The largemouth bass is the state fish of Alabama^[2] Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida.