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The largemouth bass ( Micropterus nigricans) is a , , in the (sunfish) family, native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and .

(2025). 9781934874691, American Fisheries Society. .
It is known by a variety of regional names, such as the widemouth bass, bigmouth bass, black bass, largie, Potter's fish, or Florida largemouth, green bass, bucketmouth bass, green trout, growler, Gilsdorf bass, Oswego bass, LMB, and southern largemouth and northern largemouth.

The largemouth bass, as it is known today, was first described by French naturalist in 1828. A recent study concluded that the correct scientific name for the is Micropterus salmoides, while the largemouth bass is Micropterus nigricans. It is the largest species of the , with a maximum recorded length of and an unofficial weight of .

The largemouth bass is the state fish of Georgia and , and the state of and . It is a highly prized among for their vigorous resistance when caught, and have been introduced to many regions due to their popularity in and tolerance to . However, they have become an in some areas, causing the decline, displacement or extinction of through and competition.

Taxonomy
The largemouth bass was first formally described as Labrus salmoides in 1802 by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède with the type locality given as the Carolinas. Lacépède based his description on an illustration of a specimen collected by near Charleston, South Carolina. Recent phylogenomic studies, however, place the type locality given by Lacépède as within the range of the ( M. floridanus) and outside that of the largemouth bass. This study concludes that Lacépède's name is the correct binomial for the Florida bass and that the oldest available binomial for the largemouth bass is Cuvier's Huro nigricans, which has a type locality of Lake Huron which is within the range of the largemouth bass.

Description
The largemouth bass is an olive-green to greenish gray fish, marked by a series of dark, sometimes black, blotches forming a jagged horizontal stripe along each flank. The upper jaw () of a largemouth bass extends beyond the rear margin of the orbit.

The largemouth bass is the largest of the , reaching a maximum recorded overall length of and a maximum unofficial weight of . Sexual dimorphism is found, with the female larger than the male.

Largemouth bass prefer habitats with abundant and generally maintain relatively small in lakes. They have an average lifespan of 10 to 16 years in the wild.

Feeding
largemouth bass consumes mostly small , scuds, , , small , and insects. Adults consume smaller fish (, , , bass), , , , , , , and . In larger lakes and reservoirs, adult bass occupy slightly deeper water than younger fish, and shift to a diet consisting almost entirely of smaller fish like , , ciscoes, , shiners, other , freshwater silversides, and (such as bluegill and ). It also consumes younger members of larger fish species, such as , , , , , and even smaller black bass. Among the crayfish species preyed upon include Faxonius difficilis, F. harrisonii, F. hartfieldi, and Procambarus clarkii. Prey items can be as large as 50% of the bass's body length or larger.

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 . With little or no cover, bass can devastate the prey population and starve or be stunted. Fisheries managers must consider these factors 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 uses its senses of hearing, sight, vibration, and smell to attack and seize its prey. Adult largemouth are generally within their habitat, but they are preyed upon by many animals while young, including great blue herons, larger bass, , , , yellow perch, , northern water snakes, , , and . Multiple species of , , and other /ref> Both the young and adult largemouths are targeted by the .

Notably in the Region, Micropterus nigricans along with many other species of native fish have been known to prey upon the invasive ( Neogobius melanostomus). Remains of said fish have been found inside the stomachs of largemouth bass consistently. This feeding habit may impact the ecosystem positively, but more research must be conducted to verify this. It is illegal to use or possess live Neogobius melanostomus as bait in the Great Lakes Region.

Spawning
Largemouth bass usually reach sexual maturity and begin spawning when they are about a year old. Spawning takes place in the spring season when the water temperature first remains continuously above for a sufficient period of time. In the northern region of the United States and Canada, this usually occurs anywhere from late April until early July. In the southern states, where the largest and healthiest specimens typically inhabit, this process can begin in March and is usually over by June. Males form nests by moving debris from the bottom of the body of water using their tails. These nests are usually about twice the length of the males, although this can vary. Bass prefer sand, muck, or gravel bottoms, but will also use rocky and weedy bottoms where there is cover for their nest, such as roots or twigs. After finishing the nest, the males swim near the nest looking for a female to mate with. After one is found, the two bass swim around the nest together, turning their bodies so that the eggs and sperm that are being released will come in contact on the way down to the nest. Bass will usually spawn twice per spring, with some spawning three or four times, although this is not as common. The male will then guard the nest until the eggs hatch, which can take about two to four days in the southern US and Northern Mexico, and slightly longer in the northern part of its native range. Finally, depending on the water temperature, the male will stay with the nest until the infant bass are ready to swim out on their own, which can be about two more weeks after they hatch. After this, the male, female, and newborns will switch to more of a summer mode, in which they then focus more on feeding.

Angling
Largemouth bass are keenly sought after by and are noted for the excitement of their 'fight', meaning how vigorously the fish resists being hauled into the boat or onto shore after being hooked. The fish will often become airborne in their effort to throw the hook, but many say that their cousin species, the , is even more aggressive. Anglers most often fish for largemouth bass with such as , (and other plastic baits), jigs, , and live bait, such as worms and minnows. A recent trend is the use of large to target trophy bass that often forage on juvenile in California. Fly fishing for largemouth bass may be done using both topwater and worm imitations tied with natural or synthetic materials. Other live baits, such as frogs or , can also be productive. Large are a popular live bait used to catch trophy bass, especially when they are sluggish in the heat of summer or in the cold of winter. Largemouth bass usually hang around big patches of weeds and other shallow water cover. These fish are very capable of surviving in a wide variety of climates and waters. They are perhaps one of the world's most tolerant freshwater fish.

The world record largemouth according to the IGFA is shared by Manabu Kurita and George W. Perry. Kurita's bass was caught from in Japan on July 2, 2009, and weighed . Perry's bass was caught on June 2, 1932, from Montgomery Lake in Georgia and weighed . This record is shared because the IGFA states a new record must beat the old record by at least 2 ounces.

Invasive species
The largemouth bass has been introduced into many other regions and countries due to its popularity as a sport fish and tolerance to urban environments. It causes the decline, displacement or extinctions of species in its new habitat through and competition, for example in . They are also an invasive species in the Canadian province of , and are on the watch list across much of the far northern US and Canada. In colder waters, these fish are often a danger to native fish fry such as and trout. They have also been blamed for the extinction of the Atitlan grebe, a large waterbird which once inhabited Lake Atitlan, .
(2006). 9780313083945, Greenwood Publishing Group. .
In 2011, researchers found that in streams and rivers in the Iberian Peninsula, juvenile largemouth bass were able to demonstrate trophic plasticity, meaning that they were able to adjust their feeding habits to obtain the necessary amount of energy needed to survive. This allows them to be successful as an invasive species in relatively stable aquatic food webs. Similarly, a study done in showed that the introduction of both largemouth bass and bluegill into farm ponds have caused increases in the numbers of organisms, resulting from the predation on fishes, crustaceans, and nymphal odonates by the bass. The largemouth bass has been causing sharp decreases in native fish populations in Japan since 1996, especially in in .

Conservation
To better understand the effects of angling on largemouth bass populations, researchers have studied physiological variation in the largemouth bass. One study found that in areas where was high, there was a significant effect on bass physiology. In stress tests, bass from protected areas had increased responsiveness compared to those in the highly active fisheries. The largemouth bass in Freshwater Protected Areas also had a higher aerobic scope, potentially providing them with more energy for growth, reproduction, and responding to environmental change. Another study found that maternal exposure to the stress hormone cortisol resulted in a lower responsiveness to angling stressors in their . These studies in tandem provide evidence that repeated exposure to stress hormones and high angling pressure can bring out suboptimal phenotypes in largemouth bass populations.

External links
  • Illustration: plate 45 in Cuvier & Valenciennes (circa 1834), illustration by Werner & Smith.

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