Catching Largemouth Bass -
The Elusive Dream?

Where They Live

Largemouth Bass mainly inhabit lakes, ponds and rivers, but can also live in ditches, creeks and canals. Their adaptability allows them to live in water temperatures above 90 degrees F and down to the mid-30s F. The water can be clear, stained or murky. But they prefer non-flowing waters with lots of vegetation or flooded timber. They usually seek out some sort of cover, but can survive without it. Some favorite covers are lily pads, weed beds, docks, stumps, riprap or walls.

Largemouth Bass prefer shallow water to deep and are usually not migratory by nature. Movements usually occur according to season. During the Spring spawn, they will move from the deeper holding areas to the shallow spawning sites.

What They Eat

Largemouth Bass mainly hunt by ambush, hiding under cover and waiting for their meal to swim by. This might be anything from bluegills, shad, shiners and other small fish to crawfish and frogs. They may even eat ducks, snakes and small turtles. The Largemouth Bass has a mouth that opens wide enough to swallow its own head and it will attempt to eat virtually anything it can catch and swallow. Growing to well over 20 pounds, it is much bigger than it's cousin the smallmouth bass. Smaller bass tend to school, and then become more of a loner as they get older.

Largemouth Bass are very popular to fishermen due to their size, aggressive strike and their ability to fight hard. They will chase an amazing variety of artificial lures, even ones that have little or no resemblance to their natural prey. Strategies for catching Largemouth Bass are as varied as the baits. But since they tend to watch their prey for a long time before striking, anglers are wise to cast repeatedly to potential fish-holding spots. A combination of cover and structure will often attract the most and biggest bass. So focus on these areas.

Catching Largemouth Bass

SPRING
Top Baits: Spinnerbaits, crankbaits and plastic worms.Fish shallow to moderate depths as the bass move into the shallows for warmer water, spawning and food source activity. Try shallow-water flippin on cloudy days or in murky water.

SUMMER
Top Baits: Crankbaits, Jigs and plastic worms.Fish shallow in the mornings and evenings and move deeper as the sun rises. "Deep" depends on the overall depth of the lake you are fishing. In some lakes you may need to go as deep as 60 feet while others seldom hold fish below 35 feet.

FALL
Top Baits: Spinnerbaits, crankbaits and spoons.Fish shallow to moderate depths in the mornings and evenings. As the bass move deeper during the day move to outside deep structure and use spoons or jigs.

WINTER
Top Baits: Jigs, pork baits and plastic worms.Try shallow in the mornings then move deeper as the sun rises. Bass are not very active in cold water, so move your bait in a slow, easy to catch manner and fish deep cover and structure. Again, "deep" depends on the overall depth of the lake you are fishing.

Return to Home Page