Largemouth Bass
Black bassMicropterus salmoides · also called bucketmouth, black bass
The most sought-after freshwater gamefish in North America. Two features separate it from smallmouth and spotted bass, and both are checkable in a second while the fish is still in your hand.
Quick facts
- Appearance
- Olive-green to dark green above with a ragged dark horizontal band running the length of the flank, breaking into blotches. The dorsal fin is almost divided into two by a deep notch.
- Typical size
- 1–8 lb
- Waters
- lake, pond, reservoir, river
- Regulations
- Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass often have different size limits and slot rules in the same water, and some states count them together while others do not. Check your state regulations before keeping any.
How to confirm it
- Close the mouth: the upper jaw extends past the rear edge of the eye. On a smallmouth it stops at or before the eye.
- The dorsal fin is deeply notched, almost separating into two fins.
- A ragged dark horizontal stripe along the side, not vertical bars.
- No rows of dark spots below the lateral line, which distinguishes it from spotted bass.
What it is confused with
One check settles each of these.
Jaw length. Largemouth upper jaw extends past the eye; smallmouth stops at or before it. Smallmouth also has vertical bars, not a horizontal stripe.
Spotted bass has rows of small dark spots below the lateral line and a rough tooth patch on the tongue.
Why this matters beyond curiosity
- Look-alike species often carry different limits. Walleye and sauger, black and white crappie, pike and muskie, blue and channel catfish — each pair can have different sizes, seasons and daily limits in the same water.
- Check it before the fish goes in the livewell. Most of the tests on this site take seconds and are far easier on a fish you are still holding.
- If you cannot tell, release it. That is the answer that is never wrong, and it is the one a warden will not argue with.
- Regulations are set by your state or province and change annually. This site identifies fish; it does not tell you the rules. Check the current regulations for the water you are on.