Bass Facts

Height
Female- 22+ inches Male- 16 inches

Weight
Weight can range from 10-20 pounds depending on where the fish lives.

Food
Food sources for young largemouth bass consist of tiny crustaceans, and then as they mature, insects, crayfish, frogs, and fish are added to their diet. Feeding drops off in the late fall and throughout the winter as cold water slows their metabolism. As water temperatures start to warm during the spring months, heavy feeding patterns resume once again.

Life Span
The average lifespan is 5 to 6 years.

Reproduction
The male builds the nest generally in sandy or rocky bottoms, and then the female lays between 2000-7000 eggs. After the eggs are laid, the male watches over them until they are hatched about a week later.

Colors
The largemouth bass is black to greenish and wears a dark horizontal band from head to tail.

Habitat
The largemouth bass thrives in shallow, weedy lakes or in river backwaters. These bass prefer a weedy habitat, not only because their food supply is abundant in these areas, but also aquatic vegetation and sunken debris provide the bass with suitable protection. They are usually found in waters less than twenty feet deep, and will seldom move beyond areas where vegetation is present.

Interesting Facts
Largemouth Bass were originally found only east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes in the continental United States. But as their popularity grew, so did stocking programs in many states. Largemouth bass are now caught in waters throughout the continental United States and Hawaii, in addition to southern Canada and most of Mexico. The Largemouth has also been introduced in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.

Bass have steadily become the most popular freshwater sport fish in the United States.

Fry, baby largemouth, swim up about 7 days after hatching and begin feeding on zooplankton. They remain in a school for two or three more days before dispersing.