Largemouth bass

Quick facts

How to identify it

A deep, laterally compressed sunfish with a huge mouth: the upper jaw extends well past the rear edge of the eye when the mouth is closed — the single most reliable feature. The back is olive to dark green, the flanks lighter with a broken, dark horizontal band running from gill cover to tail, and the belly white. The two dorsal fins are joined by a deep notch that nearly separates them. Confusable with the smallmouth bass, which is bronze-brown with vertical bars, a smaller jaw that stops below the eye and a shallow dorsal notch. Small bass may be mistaken for perch, but lack the perch's red fins and bold stripes.

Where it lives

Largemouth bass are warm-water fish of still or slow water: ponds, gravel-pit lakes, reservoirs, oxbows, canals and backwaters of lowland rivers. They are structure-oriented ambush hunters that hold tight to cover — weed beds, lily pads, reed edges, fallen trees, docks, overhanging branches and the shade under boats. Water between 20 and 28 °C is ideal; below about 10 °C they slow down dramatically and sit in the deepest, warmest holes. In Europe they are established mainly in the south and west, with scattered populations in warm lakes and ponds of central Europe and the Balkans, almost always where they were stocked.

Season and behaviour

Spawning takes place in late spring, usually May–June, when water reaches 15–20 °C; the male fans a nest on a sandy or gravel bottom in shallow water and guards the eggs and fry aggressively, which is why many waters close the fishery at that time. Pre-spawn, when fish move shallow and feed heavily, and the weeks right after the spawn are the peak periods; summer fishing is best at dawn, dusk and in shade during the day. Autumn brings a second feeding surge as water cools to 12–18 °C, and fish follow baitfish into bays. In winter bass are lethargic and rarely worth targeting until water warms again in April.

Fishing methods

Lure fishing covers almost everything: a light to medium spinning or baitcasting rod, 6–10 kg braid or 0.25–0.30 mm nylon and a short fluorocarbon leader. Work soft plastics — worms, creature baits and stickbaits — on weedless offset hooks (Texas rig), on a jig head or weightless, dragged slowly along the bottom and through cover. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits cover water fast in pre-spawn and autumn; topwater poppers, walking baits and frogs over weed produce the explosive strikes at dawn and dusk in summer. Bait anglers catch bass on float-fished worms or small live fish next to cover. Bass hit hard and jump, so set the hook firmly and keep the rod low near weed.

Baits and lures

Bass are opportunists that eat fish, crayfish, frogs, large insects and anything that moves, so lures should suggest one of these. Soft plastic worms of 10–15 cm in green-pumpkin, watermelon or black are the universal choice; craw imitations work around rock, and paddle-tail shads mimic roach or bleak in open water. In clear water use natural colours and subtle action, in coloured water go dark or bright with plenty of vibration. On natural baits, a lobworm or a small live fish under a float is hard to beat.

Tips from the bank

1. 01Cast as tight to cover as you can — a bass rarely chases a lure passing a metre from its hiding spot.
2. 02In summer fish the first and last hour of light with topwater lures, then work shade under docks and overhanging branches by day.
3. 03When a plastic worm suddenly feels heavy or the line moves sideways, tighten and set the hook at once — bass spit plastic fast.
4. 04After a cold front slow everything down: smaller lures, slower retrieves, tighter to the weed edge.
5. 05Bass jump and shake their heads, so keep the rod tip low and the line tight when the fish heads for the surface.
6. 06On waters where bass are scarce, find the warmest, weediest bays — almost the whole population will be there.
7. 07Hold the fish by the lower jaw, never the gills, and return it quickly — European bass populations are often small and fragile.

Where to catch Largemouth bass

Waters where Shoalmap's fishing reports list Largemouth bass.

• Veliki bački kanal
• Ohio River
• Thorn Run
• Skenderevo
• Velebitsko jezero
• Harkness Lake
• Winter Haven Lake
• Tombigbee River
• Lake Rhea
• Fosso Vorga
• Veliki bački kanal
• Jackson Branch
• Krivaja
• Arroyo Codosero
• Arroyo de Valbueno
• Lake Okeechobee
• Lake Tibet
• Lake Tohopekaliga

Related species

• Smallmouth bass
  Micropterus dolomieu

  The bronze brawler of clear, rocky rivers — pound for pound the hardest fighter.

• Pumpkinseed
  Lepomis gibbosus

  The dazzling North American sunfish that has colonised Europe's warm shallows.

• European perch
  Perca fluviatilis

  The striped, bold-biting predator of every lake, river and canal in Europe.

• Northern pike
  Esox lucius

  The ambush predator with the biggest teeth in European fresh water.

Frequently asked questions