Ontario-Great Lakes Area Fact Sheets

Largemouth Bass

General Description

The largemouth bass is a member of the sunfish family and it has the following characteristics:

• a robust body, less laterally compressed than the smallmouth bass;
• a large, long, head with a deep wide dorsal surface;
• a long, blunt snout not as deep as in smallmouth bass;
• a large, wide lower jaw slightly longer than the upper jaw;
• two joined dorsal fins, but separation more obvious than in smallmouth bass;
• the back and top of the head are bright green to olive and the sides are almost as dark in the largest fish to lighter green or golden green;
• the sides of the head are olive to golden green with some scattered black pigment and the underside is milk-white to yellow;
• the dorsal and caudal fins are opaque, green to olive; the anal and pelvic fins are green to olive with some white; and the pectoral fins are amber and clear;
• populations in clear, weedy water are darker and the black pigment is more obvious than those in darker, turbid water which are a pale green colour overall.

Distribution

The largemouth bass is a freshwater fish that has a distribution similar to the smallmouth bass in Canada, although it is not found in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, or Prince Edward Island and probably not in Newfoundland. It is probably best known in the Kawartha and Rideau Lakes in Ontario.

Habitat and Life History

The habitat of largemouth bass is the upper levels of the warm water of small, shallow lakes and shallow bays of larger lakes. It is almost always found close to soft bottoms, stumps, and extensive growths of a variety of emergent and sub-emergent vegetation, especially waterlilies, cattails, and other pondweeds. Because it is rarely found in rocky situations characteristic of the smallmouth bass, the habitats of the largemouth and smallmouth basses seldom overlap even though the two species often occur in the same lake.

The largemouth bass spawns from late spring to mid- summer, with the peak spawning usually early to mid-June. Spawning grounds vary from gravelly sand to marl and soft mud in reeds, bullrushes or waterlilies. The male sweeps clean an area 61 - 91 cm (2 - 3 feet) in diameter usually in 30 - 122 cm (1 - 4 feet). Often the bottom of the nest includes the exposed roots of emergent vegetation. The eggs are laid over the bottom and lip of the nest. After spawning, the male guards the nest and fans the eggs. The eggs hatch in approximately 3 - 5 days and the young are about 3 mm in length. After 6 or 7 days, the young begin to leave the nest but may remain in a brood as long as 31 days, during which time they are guarded by the male.

Food Habits

Adult largemouth bass are largely fish-eating predators, but food type changes as they grow from plankton, to insects, to fish, crayfish and frogs. The largemouth bass is a sight feeder and takes food from the surface, in the water column, and off the bottom. It often feeds in schools near shore, close to vegetation.

Economic Importance

The largemouth bass is an important commercial, recreational and sport fish. Like the smallmouth bass, it is one of the major sport fishes in eastern Canada.
The largemouth bass is an excellent food fish, marketed fresh and frozen.

Fishing Facts

The sunfish family includes some of the most highly coloured and attractive North American warm-water fishes.

Further Information

For further information, please contact your local DFO office: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans-habitat/habitat/aboutus-apropos/regions/arctic-arctique_e.asp?#1