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Largemouth bass, also known as largies and bucket mouths, can be further categorized into Northern Largemouth, Florida Largemouth, and H1 Hybrids—-the mix of the two sub species produces the biggest largemouth in the world, which happens to be over 22lbs, shared by two anglers in Georgia and CHINA.
The largemouth is probably the most widespread among the bass species, found in neighborhood ponds, natural lakes, rivers, creeks, reservoirs, all 50 states, and literally around the globe!
Largemouth bass can be identified by their color and markings, BUT the most identifiable trait is its mouth. When its mouth is closed, the jaw will extend past the eyeball, hints the name LARGE MOUTH.
Smallmouth bass, also known as smallies and footballs, tend to be more curious and aggressive than largemouth and are known as being the hardest fighting of the bass species, sometimes jumping 5ft in the air and literally NEVER giving up.
While they may be more aggressive than largemouth, they don’t grow as big, with the World Record coming in at 11lbs 15oz. There are also sub species of smallmouth bass which include northern smallmouth and southern smallmouth.
Smallmouth can be found in different bodies of water, but they tend to thrive in creeks, natural lakes in the North, and clear water reservoirs. They can be identified by their brown color, vertical bars, and when their mouth is closed, the jaw will NOT extend past the eyeball, obviously why it is named smallmouth.
Spotted bass, also known as Spots and Kentucky bass, also have many subspecies including Kentucky spotted bass and Alabama Spotted Bass.
Spots can thrive in very clear water reservoirs, as well as heavily stained river systems. The biggest smallmouth ever caught was 11lbs 4oz.
Although they look similar to a largemouth bass in color, Spots tend to have an extremely dark and blotchy lateral line, with dark spots occurring just above and just below. Their jaw will not extend past the eyeball, and there is a very recognizable rough patch on their tongue that feels like sandpaper.
While these three species are the most targeted bass, it should also be known that there are other bass species like Shoal bass and Meanmouth which is a cross between bass species.
Interestingly enough all of these bass species actually fall under the SUNFISH Family, while fish species like striped bass and white bass fall under the BASS Family.
In order to catch largemouth, smallmouth or spotted bass you might think that lure selection is the most important element? While this is very important and we will discuss it shortly, the most IMPORTANT element of bass fishing is knowing WHERE bass are located!
There are two categories of lures, horizontal lures and vertical lures. Horizontal lures are meant to be worked horizontally in the water column, these are lures like, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits, etc.
Vertical lures are baits that you cast out and let sink vertically to the bottom, where then they can be worked across the bottom, like texas rigs, jigs, ned rigs, shaky heads, etc.
NOW Some vertical lures can also be fished horizontally like a jig, aka a swim jig, so when we talk about lure selection keep that in mind.
Selecting a lure comes down to “matching the bait profile” and selecting the “right color.”
Matching the bait profile is exactly what it sounds like. You want to choose a lure that best represents the bait or food that the bass is eating in your body of water. Maybe you are fishing a pond or lake where the main forage is bluegill. In that case, a chatterbait or a jig can really match the bluegill profile perfectly. Or maybe you are trying to match a crawfish, in that case a ned rig or a crankbait reeled across the bottom can really mimic a crawfish well.
BassFishingHQ is dedicated to teaching people how to catch more and bigger bass. I will go over different bass fishing tips & techniques that will put more fish in the boat or on the shore. Whether you are just starting out or a seasoned tournament angler, my goal is to help you catch more bass.
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