The smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), often lauded as "pound for pound the best fighting game fish alive," is a popular freshwater species known for its aggressive behavior and sporting qualities. Understanding its diet and feeding habits is crucial for anglers and pond managers alike. This article delves into the intricate details of the smallmouth bass's dietary preferences, seasonal variations in feeding, and effective strategies for both attracting and sustaining healthy populations.
Origin and Distribution
Smallmouth bass are native to eastern central North America. They were widely propagated in hatcheries and planted as early as the mid-1800s. They were first transplanted to Horseshoe Lake near Bigfork in 1914 and are still being introduced in selected locations by the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. While primarily a stream fish, smallmouth bass are also thriving in reservoirs like Fort Peck and Tongue River, where specimens over 5 pounds have been caught. Today, they can be found throughout the lower 48 states and have been introduced in at least 25 additional countries.
Physical Characteristics and Identification
Smallmouth bass closely resemble their cousin, the largemouth bass, but can be identified by looking at the mouth and body color markings. Unlike the largemouth, the upper jaw of a smallmouth bass does not reach beyond the rear edge of the eye. Smallmouth bass have a torpedo- or oval-shaped body that allows them to move quickly through moving water. Their backs have brownish green to gold coloration that lightens down their sides to a yellow to white stomach. The sides have eight to sixteen darker vertical bands or bars with some scattered small dark spots. The coloration and markings of a smallmouth bass can change due to its environment. In clear water, the color will be darker with more contrasting markings and in turbid water, the markings will become duller and hard to identify. The dorsal fins have 9-10 hard spines followed by 16-15 rays, the connection between the spiny and soft dorsal fin being continuous and shallow notched. Scales can be found at the base of the soft dorsal and anal fins. The anal fin has three spines.
Habitat Preferences
Smallmouth bass prefer clear, cool water and rocky substrates in both rivers and lakes. In streams, they favor riffle areas with clean bottoms. They are often found in areas with gravel or rock bottoms near moderate vegetation. They select areas with rock, timber and topographic features.
Spawning Habits
Smallmouth are spring, nest-building spawners. Spawning begins with males moving into littoral zone areas of the waterbody. The littoral zone is defined as the depth where sunlight can penetrate to the bottom sediment and it is controlled primarily by water clarity. During spawning males may develop red eye coloration and females may become darker in coloration. Males mature at 2 to 4 years of age while females mature at 3 to 4 years. Males create nests by sweeping their caudal fin along the bottom sediment to remove silt and expose gravel and hard substrate. The resulting nest will be a shallow depression with a saucer shape. Their preferred spawning site will be near rock or hardwood structure and within 70 to 150 feet of their previous year’s nest. Females will move to the nesting area and be courted by male fish. The spawning process lasts for several hours with multiple egg fertilization attempts. Females can lay between 2,000-16,000 eggs per nest and carry up to 27,000 eggs. The smallmouth bass eggs are larger than other black bass species at .07 to .1 inch. The eggs are fairly transparent with a white to yellow coloration and adhesive. Males provide paternal care constantly using their fins to oxygenate the eggs and remove sediment. Females will move onto another nesting site to continue to spawn immediately. Eggs hatch in 2 to 10 days depending on water temperature, with warming water allowing fry to hatch more quickly. Fry hatch at .15 to 1/4-inch in size. Initially upon hatching they are unable to swim and over 4 to 16 days depending on water temperature they absorb their yolk sack, develop pigment and begin to swim. Fry smallmouth continue to develop and appear adult like at around 1 inch in length. Males have extremely dedicated paternal care resulting often in high nesting success, however their constant care leaves them vulnerable to exhaustion, predation and angling. Once a male is removed from a nest it may not return or can experience higher mortality rates.
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Diet and Feeding Behavior
Smallmouth bass are efficient predators, consuming a wide variety of live prey. They are carnivores consuming insects, crawfish and fishes using both directly hunting and ambushing prey. Smallmouth bass have a fairly large mouth gap, although smaller than other black bass species. They are visual predators, relying on sight with both auditory and olfactory senses being used as secondary locating techniques. Their olfactory senses are used to a great extent compared to other black bass species. Smallmouth bass are opportunistic feeders. Watch their behavior. Key PointsBass eat baitfish like shad, minnows, and bluegill, along with crayfish, frogs, insects, and even smaller bass. Their diet also includes unusual prey like baby birds and rodents when available.
Early Life Stages
Fry feed on zooplankton and small mayflies. In the early stages of life as soon as smallmouth bass develop mouth parts they will consume copepods, water fleas and other zooplankton. At 4 inches they transition into feeding on primarily crawfish, fishes and insects.
Adult Diet
Adults feed heavily on fish, frogs, and aquatic invertebrates. Diet studies continually provide evidence that smallmouth bass consume crawfish at a rate higher than any other forage item. Crawfish can make up 60-to 90-percent of total forage consumption. Once gobies are introduced and become abundant smallmouth bass will transition to a 50- to 60-percent goby diet with a 5- to 10-percent crawfish consumption.
Hunting Strategies
Bass are opportunistic predators that rely on stealth and speed to ambush their prey. They use a combination of keen eyesight, vibration-sensing lateral lines, and quick bursts of power to strike at just the right moment. They often wait near aquatic vegetation, structure, or drop-offs to surprise prey. Reaction bites are common-bass will eat even when not actively feeding, simply because something moves the right way. Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass all show this ambush behavior.
Cannibalism
Other bass often make up a portion of a pond bass’s diet, especially when bait is scarce. This aggressive behavior makes bass fishing more exciting, but also means managing a healthy forage population is critical if you want to catch big bass consistently.
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Seasonal Feeding Patterns
Understanding how bass feed throughout the year is key to maximizing pond performance and planning effective bass fishing strategies. Seasonal shifts in temperature and prey availability affect how largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass hunt and eat.
Spring (Pre-Spawn and Spawn)
As water temperatures rise, bass will eat more to fuel energy for spawning. Crawfish, shad, and small baitfish are top targets, especially in shallow water near structure. Great time to use artificial lures that imitate crayfish or injured minnows.
Summer
Activity spreads out across the water column-bass feed early morning and evening to avoid the heat. They focus on bluegill, frogs, insects, and other small fish. Top lures: soft plastics, crankbaits, and topwater baits near aquatic vegetation.
Fall
Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass follow schools of baitfish, aggressively feeding to bulk up before winter. Spinner baits, swimbaits, and jerkbaits are ideal to mimic fish swimming in open water. Bass can be found chasing prey in both shallow and deeper zones.
Winter
Metabolism slows, and bass become less active. Focus turns to slow, easy-to-catch meals like small minnows and crustaceans. Use jigs, blade baits, or soft jerkbaits fished low and slow.
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Management and Fishing Techniques
Smallmouth bass can be considered habitat generalists that can adapt to both river and lake systems. They have well-defined home ranges that increase in size in the spring and fall. During summer and winter months, smallmouth home ranges shrink and the fish school more tightly together. Adults will migrate moving to littoral zone areas of the fishery for spawning and quickly back to their home range following the spawning season. Fishing for smallmouth bass is an absolute blast. They are aggressive and rambunctious and offer a ton of fight for their size. The will fall for topwaters, spinnerbaits, finesse baits like drop shots, ned rigs, tubes, jigs and more. Most of the best bass lures will fool a smallmouth in certain situations.
Live Bait Strategies
While many pond owners prefer artificial lures, live bait can be extremely effective, especially when trying to catch bass consistently in managed water.
- Bluegill (small to medium-sized) are perfect for targeting larger bass.
- Minnows and shad attract both active feeders and cautious predator fish.
- Frogs are best during warmer months and perform well around weed lines and lily pads.
- Insects like grasshoppers and crickets can trigger strikes near the surface.
Lure Selection
If you’re aiming for skill-based bass fishing or want to target specific sizes of fish, matching their natural diet with the right lures is the way to go.
- Topwater Frogs: Great for use near thick aquatic vegetation in spring and summer.
- Soft-Plastic Worms: Bounce across the bottom using a worm hook for realistic motion.
- Crankbaits and Swimbaits: These mimic fleeing baitfish, especially effective in fall.
- Soft-Plastic Craws: Excellent for working rocky bottoms where crayfish live.
- Creature Baits and Jigs: Imitate a wide variety of prey and work well near structure.
Tips for Anglers
Smallmouth bass are often regarded as one of the sportiest freshwater fish and are known for their stamina and fighting ability. They can be caught on a wide variety of artificial baits, but they generally prefer smaller sizes than largemouth bass. Artificial baits in orange and brown patterns that resemble crayfish are a popular choice. When fishing in moving water with live bait, such as crayfish, minnows or nightcrawlers, cast upstream and let the bait drift into pools and behind boulders and snags that break the current.
Threats and Conservation
Smallmouth bass are slightly vulnerable to nest loss or abandonment, their parental behavior leaves the nest vulnerable as males are the only protection for eggs and fry. Once caught, they have a tendency to abandon their nest or even die due to a lack of feeding during the spawning season. Smallmouth bass will hybridize with many other black bass species causing genetic dilution. Many species of black bass can and will hybridize with smallmouth resulting in a cross that is often referred to as a “Meanmouth”. This can occur with largemouth bass, although it’s rare. More common is a cross with a spotted bass or Alabama bass. The introduction and hybridization with Alabama bass does have a long-term effect that certainly reduces the genetic purity of smallmouth bass in specific fisheries. The Neosho and Ouachita smallmouth are also extremely susceptible to hybridization. Both species have seen reduced home range size due to hybridization with northern smallmouth bass. Recently, smallmouth bass have been found to be infected with Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV) Santee-Cooper ranavirus, Family Iridoviridae. In 2018 the LMBV virus was found to be a cause of young of the year smallmouth death in summer months within the Susquehanna River Basin. Additional positive fish were found shortly after in the Juniata and Allegheny rivers. LMBV positive fish have also been found to have lesions on sides that have secondary bacterial infections of both Aeromonas and Flavobacterium columnare. The lesions are the primary external clinical sign of the virus, additionally LMBV positive fish may have protruding eyes, enlarged internal organs and before death, extreme lethargy. Unfortunately due to the tight-schooling nature of smallmouth bass the LMBV can spread quickly during summer and winter months.