 
This species of bass prefers warmer water than smallmouth bass, usually has faster growth rates and attains a larger size than smallmouth bass. However in Trout Lake, habitat restrcitions usually make the average smallmouth bass somewhat larger, and more plentiful than its largemouth cousin. Largemouth bass are often found in shallow weedy bays, basking under lilypads and the like, while smallmouth prefer open water areas, especially underwater cliffs and ridges. Spawning begins in the month and June and goes on, sometimes, into August. Peak spawning usually occurs in mid-June. Males build the nest when water temperatures hit 15.5 C (60 F) and spawning usually begins when temperatures reach 16.7 to 18.3 C (62-65 F). In Trout Lake, largemouth bass spawn a little earlier than smallmouth since the shallow bays that they select for spawning purposes usually warm up a little quicker than the rocky shoals used by smallmouth.
Males reach sexual maturity at age 3-4, whereas females mature at an age of 4-5. Largemouth bass are rarely angled at depths greater than 6 meters, preferring warm weedy bays. In a lake like Trout Lake, where there are few warm weedy bays, largemouth bass are susceptible to being overharvested. This species is almost alwasys associated with muddy, weedy bottoms, lush with emergent and submergent vegetation, particulary water lilies. Smallmouth and largemouth bass are thought not to compete very much for available food because of their habitat preferences, even if both are found in the same lake. In the winter, largemouth head for deeper water, and remain more active than their smallmouth couterparts, sometimes being caught by winter anglers. One interesting note. Largmouth bass tend to canabilize young of its own species. Stomach analyses sometimes show that up to 10% of contents are comprised of young of the year of their own species.This behaviour, coupled with poor reproductive success and limited habitat in Trout Lake, make largemouth bass vulnerable to overhavest. Lifespan is approximately 15 years. Please practice catch-and-release fishing when angling for bass. |
Males choose either a sandy/gravel bottom or a sandy/muddy bottom to make their nests, usually in proximity to weedy areas, which will serve as rearing habitat for the fry. Largemouth like shallow areas (about 1 meter or less) in which to make their nests. Contrary to smallmouths, nests are usually separated by at least 10 meters. It is not uncommon to find smallmouth bass nests 3 meters apart. Spawning behaviour in largemouth bass is not unlike that of the smallmouth, with the female laying her eggs in two or three different spawning bursts, usually on different nests. The male jealously guards his clutch of eggs, aerating the eggs with his tail until they hatch four or five days later. The eggs are quite susceptible to attack by fungi (see photo), which often result in substantial egg mortality.Larval largemouth bass are pale to semi-clear in colour whereas the smallmouth larvae are black. About a week later, the larval bass have absorbed their yolk sack and start swimming up off the bottom. At this time they form a larval school. Their coloration slowly darkens to a pale green. Usually due to a lack of hiding spaces, survival is poorer than for their smallmouth counterparts. Avering nesting hatch is around 5000, but fewer than 10 survive to a length of 25 cm.
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