Species of the Month

May’s article written by Nick Nagtegaal, Co-Op Student - Hamilton District Christian High School

Swimming through the bodies of water all around us, you will most likely find Largemouth Bass. Largemouth bass generally like to live in ponds, clear lakes, and slow-moving rivers, in weed patches, and in rocky or sandy areas. They often inhabit heavily weeded or wooded areas to ambush their prey. Largemouth bass are carnivores and what they eat varies on their location, but some things that make up their diet include small fish, frogs, crayfish, and even some baby turtles. Largemouth bass are aggressive eaters so almost anything that passes by them will be eaten. Before winter they fatten up eating large amounts of food so that when ice freezes and water temperatures drop they can move around as little as possible to conserve energy.

Largemouth bass get their name from their large mouth. They are similar to smallmouth bass so it can be difficult to identify them from each other. They can be identified by looking for characteristics like their mouth extending past their eye, a horizontal stripe along their side, green sides, and white or yellow belly. Largemouth bass spawn in early May to late June when the water temperatures reach about 16℃ to when the temperatures reach 26.5℃. They spawn in water up to 3ft deep on sandy or gravelled surfaces. Female bass can lay anywhere from 2000 to 25000 eggs, which the mails protect until the fry grows to around an inch in length. Largemouth bass are a common species targeted by recreational anglers, and they are a fun fish to catch. If you ever decide to try your hand at fishing make sure to check to check regulations and open seasons.