Field guide · 5 species
“Bass” covers two different groups of North American fish. The black basses — largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass — are members of the sunfish family and the most popular freshwater game fish on the continent. Striped bass and white bass belong to a separate family, the temperate basses, and roam open water in big schools, chasing shad.
Telling them apart comes down to a few field marks: whether the jaw reaches past the eye, bronze vertical bars or a dark side stripe, rows of spots on the belly, or crisp horizontal stripes. Here is every bass in the Outdoorsdle guide, side by side.
| Fish | Family | Water | Region | Body shape | Max length | Max weight | Diet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth Bass | Sunfish family | Freshwater | Nationwide | Streamlined | 38 in | 22 lb | Carnivore |
| Smallmouth Bass | Sunfish family | Freshwater | Northern lakes & rivers | Streamlined | 27 in | 12 lb | Carnivore |
| Spotted Bass | Sunfish family | Freshwater | Southern waters | Streamlined | 20 in | 5 lb | Carnivore |
| Striped Bass | Temperate bass | Both | Atlantic Coast | Streamlined | 79 in | 126 lb | Carnivore |
| White Bass | Temperate bass | Freshwater | Nationwide | Streamlined | 18 in | 7 lb | Carnivore |
The largemouth bass is the most popular freshwater game fish in America, the fish behind the bass boat, the pro tournament circuit and an entire industry of soft plastics. It is an ambush predator of weeds, wood and docks that hits topwater lures with a violence few fish can match, and stocking has spread it across the lower 48 and around the world.
Read the full guide →The smallmouth bass is the brawler of the black bass family: a bronze, red-eyed predator of rocky lakes and clear rivers that jumps, digs and refuses to quit. Anglers call them bronzebacks, and from Ozark streams to the Great Lakes, a big smallmouth is one of fresh water's great trophies.
Read the full guide →The spotted bass, or Kentucky bass, is the black bass of southern rivers and deep, rocky reservoirs: a scrappy, schooling fish that looks like a largemouth at a glance but fights more like a smallmouth. It is Kentucky's state fish, and in many southern lakes it is the bass found deepest and farthest from the bank.
Read the full guide →The striped bass is one of North America's great game fish: a powerful, migratory predator that roams the Atlantic coast, spawns in rivers like the Hudson and the Chesapeake Bay's tributaries, and now thrives in reservoirs across the country. Surfcasters, charter captains and inland anglers all chase stripers, and few fish carry more history or more management debate.
Read the full guide →The white bass is a silver, striped schooling fish of big rivers and reservoirs, a close cousin of the striped bass known for two things: spring spawning runs that pack tributaries with fish, and summer 'jumps' when schools drive shad to the surface. It is Oklahoma's state fish and a favorite across the Midwest and South.
Read the full guide →Think you could name them from a few clues? A new mystery fish drops every day.
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