Largemouth Bass

freshwater fish · carnivore · North America

Huge hungry mouth. The largemouth bass has a mouth that stretches way back past its eyes, which is why it's called largemouth. This giant mouth lets it eat big prey like other fish, frogs, and even small birds.

Lives in freshwater. Unlike ocean fish, largemouth bass live only in freshwater lakes, rivers, and ponds. They're native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada, and northern Mexico.

America's favorite fish. Largemouth bass are one of the most popular sport fish in America, and people catch them for fun by the millions. Fishers love them because they fight hard and grow quite large.

Ray-finned swimmers. Largemouth bass belong to the same family as sunfish and are ray-finned, meaning their fins are supported by thin bones like rays. This gives them the speed and flexibility they need to hunt.

Many regional names. People call this fish by so many different names around North America that it's hard to keep track, including widemouth bass, bigmouth bass, black bass, bucketmouth, and Florida bass.