Largemouth bass

Largemouth Bass

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Largemouth bass

The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
of fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
in the sunfish

Centrarchidae

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
. It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass
Black bass

Micropterus , is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is M. dolomieu, the smallmouth bass....
, bucketmouth, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, and southern largemouth. The largemouth bass is the state fish of Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
(official freshwater fish), Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
, Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
, Florida

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
(state freshwater fish), and Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
(official sport fish).

largemouth is marked by a series of dark, sometimes black, blotches forming a jagged horizontal stripe along each flank.

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Physical description

The largemouth is marked by a series of dark, sometimes black, blotches forming a jagged horizontal stripe along each flank. The upper jaw (maxilla

Maxilla

The maxilla is a fusion of two bones along the palate fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible, which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis....
) of a largemouth bass extends beyond the rear margin of the orbit

Orbit (anatomy)

In anatomy, the orbital bone is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its adnexa are situated.It can also mean the skin which surrounds the eye of a bird....
. The largemouth is the largest of the black basses, reaching a maximum recorded overall length of and a maximum recorded weight of . The fish lives 16 years on average.

Forage

The juvenile largemouth bass consumes mostly small bait-fish, scuds, and insect

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s. Adults consume smaller fish, crawdads (crayfish

Crayfish

Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads are fresh water crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related. They breathe through feather-like gills and are found in bodies of water that do not freeze to the bottom; they are also mostly found in brooks and streams where there is fresh water running, and which have shelter ag...
), frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . The name frog derives from Old English language frogga, , cognate with Sanskrit plava , probably deriving from Proto-Indo-European language praw = "to jump"....
s, snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
s, salamander

Salamander

Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by slender bodies, short noses, and long tails....
s, bat

Bat

Bats are mammals in the order Chiroptera. The forelimbs of all bats are developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of sustained flight ....
s and even small water birds, mammal

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s, and baby alligator

Alligator

An Alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The name alligator is an anglicization form of the Spanish language el lagarto , the name by which early Spain explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator....
s. In larger lakes and reservoirs, adult bass occupy deeper water than younger fish, and shift to a diet consisting almost entirely of smaller fish like shad

Shad

The shads or river herrings comprise the genus Alosa, fish related to herring in the family Clupeidae. They are distinct from others in that family by having a deeper body and spawning in rivers....
, trout

Trout

Trout are a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water....
, ciscoes

Cisco (fish)

The ciscoes are salmonid fish of the genus Coregonus that differ from other members of the genus in having upper and lower jaws of approximately equal length and high Ichthyology terms counts....
, shiners

Shiner (fish)

Shiner is a common name used for any of several kinds of small, usually silvery fish, in particular a number of cyprinids, but also e.g. the Shiner Perch ....
, and sunfish

Centrarchidae

The sunfishes are a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus . The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, and crappies....
. Prey items can be as large as 25 to 35% of the bass's body length. Studies of prey utilization by largemouths show that in weedy waters, bass grow more slowly due to difficulty in acquiring prey. Less weed cover allows bass to more easily find and catch prey, but this consists of more open-water baitfish. Paradoxically, with little or no cover, bass can devastate the prey population and starve or get stunted. Fisheries managers need to take all these factors into consideration when designing regulations for specific bodies of water. Under overhead cover such as overhanging banks, brush, or submerged structure such as weedbeds, points, humps, ridges, and drop-offs, the largemouth bass will use its senses of hearing, sight, vibration, and smell to attack and seize its prey. It can sometimes hold up to 5 sunfish in its mouth. Adult largemouth generally are apex predator

Apex predator

Apex predators are predators that, as adults, are not normally preyed upon in the wild by other large animals in significant parts of their range....
s within their habitat, but they are preyed upon by many animals while young.

Angling

Largemouth are keenly sought after by angler

Angling

Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" .The hook is usually attached by a fishing line to a fishing rod. A Float such as a Float is sometimes used....
s 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

Smallmouth bass

The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus. One of the black basses, it is a popular gamefish sought by anglers throughout the temperate zones of North America, and has been spread by stock to many cool-water rivers and lakes in the United States an...
, can beat them pound for pound. Anglers most often fish for largemouth bass with lure

Fishing lure

In terms of recreational fishing, a lure is an object attached to the end of the fishing line and designed to resemble and move like an item of fish prey....
s such as plastic worm

Plastic worm

A plastic worm is a plastic fishing lure, generally made to simulate an earthworm. Plastic worms can carry a variety of shapes, colors and sizes, and are made from a variety of synthetic polymers....
s (and other plastic baits), jigs

Jig (fishing)

Jigging, not to be confused with gigging, is the practice of fishing with a jig.A jig is a type of fishing lure consisting of a lead sinker with a hook molded into it and usually covered by a soft body to attract fish....
, crankbaits and spinnerbait

Spinnerbait

A Spinnerbait refers to any one of a family of fishing lures that get their name from one or more metal blades shaped so as to spin like a propeller when the lure is Spin fishing, creating varying degrees of flash and vibration that mimics small fish....
s. A recent trend is the use of large swimbait

Swimbait

Swimbaits are a loosely defined class of large Fishing_lure that imitate fish and tend to be distinct in design from a typical Crankbait.Swimbaits originated as lures designed to imitate the planted Rainbow_trout in Southern_California Reservoir that Largemouth_bass and Striped_bass fed on....
s to target trophy bass that are used to hunting rainbow trout

Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America as well as much of the central, western, eastern, and especially the northern portions of the United States....
in California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
. Live bait, such as nightcrawlers

Nightcrawlers

Nightcrawlers are a form of earthworm. Prized primarily for use as fishing bait, nightcrawlers are generally known as either Canadian or European ....
, minnows

Cyprinid

The Family Cyprinidae, from the Ancient Greek ??p????? , consists of the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives . They are commonly called cyprinids or carp and minnow family....
, frogs or crawfish, can also be productive. In fact, large golden shiner

Golden shiner

The golden shiner, Notemigonus crysoleucas, is a cyprinid fish native to eastern North America. It is the sole member of its genus. Much used as a bait fish, it is probably the most widely pond-cultured fish in the United States....
s are one of the best things to use to catch trophy bass, especially when they are sluggish in the heat of summer time or in the cold of winter. Largemouth bass is known to take any bait it considers alive.

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

Catch and release

Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing intended as a wikt:technique of Conservation ecology. After capture, the fish are unhooked and returned to the water before experiencing serious exhaustion or injury....
; many studies have shown specimens which have survived being hooked and released multiple times.

The Largemouth Bass has been known to exist in many of the lower 48 states of the U.S. Although it is most popular in the southeastern states, many different varieties of the largemouth bass can be found in the north and western regions.

The International Game Fish Association

International Game Fish Association

The International Game Fish Association is the leading authority on angling pursuits and the keeper of the most current World Record fishing catches by fish categories....
(IGFA) officially recognizes the heaviest largemouth bass on record as having been caught by George Perry at Montgomery Lake in Telfair County

Telfair County, Georgia

Telfair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia . . As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population was 11,794. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 13,366 ....
, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
, on June 2, 1932. The fish weighed 10 kg (22¼ lb). A largemouth bass weighing 25 pounds was caught by Mac Weakley in Escondido, California

California