Fish of the Columbia River

Largemouth Bass

Micropterus salmonoides
Micropterus = small fin
salmonoides = trout-like

Body
Total adult length is generally 10 inches to 25 inches (25.4 cm to 63.5 cm) and weight is usually 1 to 20 pounds 9.5 kg to 9 kg).

Food
The diet of largemouth bass fry is composed principally of small crustaceans (copepods, cladocerans, amphipods, ostracods, and isopods) and insects (nymphs of mayflies, dragonflies, and damselflies). When they reach a length of 3 to 4 inches, they begin to eat fishes, including sculpins and smaller largemouth bass. Fish longer than 4 inches feed primarily on various fish species, including sculpins, minnows, salmonids, as well as crustaceans, crayfish, and insects.

Largemouth bass are typical of weedy, mud-bottomed lakes, sloughs, and other sluggish waters. This species breeds in spring and early summer, constructing shallow nests on gravel bottoms. The male stands guard over the eggs and young fish for some time after hatching. The largemouth bass is one of the most popular sport fishes in the U.S.