Roger's Angling Pages
The Large-mouth Bass Micropterus salmoides		Bass family Centrarchidae

This fish was imported into Germany almost a hundred years ago, but did not fulfil the expectations of European breeders. It has also been introduced into Britain. In its homeland in central America it is a valuable sporting fish, commonly found in many lakes and rivers. The body is brown-green and its wide mouth with overlapping lower jaw shows that it is a predator. It thrives in warm reservoirs with clear water and plenty of water plants.

The Large-mouth Bass breeds in May and June, when the female lays about 10,000 eggs in a prepared spot. They are subsequently looked after by the male. It looks for its food near the bottom. The largest Bass prey on shoals of small fishes, particularly in the evening, when, in pursuit of food, they rise to the surface. During the day the fish stays in deeper waters. In its native land it sometimes weighs over 11 lb, but in Europe the average is 1 lb.

This fish provides excellent sport and its fighting spirit can be compared to that of the Salmon family. It is caught on metal lures, artificial rubber fishes, small wooden plugs, artificial worms and frogs, flies, bunches of small worms, small live fishes, trailed dead fishes or tadpoles. When hooked it resists ferociously, leaping high out of the water as it tries to get rid of the lure or other bait. It is a gregarious fish that lives in shoals and so it is sometimes possible to catch several small fishes in the same spot. The largest specimens like to take advantage of various hiding places, such as clumps of vegetation, flooded bushes and rocky places.