Smallmouth Bass

What it looks like

• medium-sized, deep-bodied fish
• green to olive back and sides
• yellow to white belly
• body often has dark vertical broken bars
• 9 to 11 dorsal fin spines
• shallow notch between dorsal fins
• upper jaw does not extend beyond eye

Size

• length: 25-50 centimetres (10-20 inches)
• weight: 0.5-1.6 kilograms (1-3.5 pounds)
• Ontario record: 4.5 kilograms (9.8 pounds)

Similar fish

• Largemouth Bass
• Rock Bass

Where it is found

Range

• Great Lakes watershed, St. Lawrence River and northward beyond Lake Nipissing
• introduced into many areas of Northwestern Ontario
• use Fish ON-Line, an interactive mapping tool, to find specific lakes and rivers

Habitat

• clear, rocky lakes and rivers
• shoreline rocks and points, offshore shoals, deep water
• similar to trout habitat but with a wider range of temperatures

Find a fishing spot with Fish ON-Line

Angling tips

• best fishing in the early morning and late evening
• look near deep underwater points, rocky shoals, submerged islands, weed edges
• when fish aren’t biting, change your lure and your tactic
• use a light to medium action spinning rod and 6 to 10 pound test line
• bass season opens the 4th Saturday in June in most of Ontario

Common baits

• soft plastic lures such as crayfish imitations, twister tails and small worms or tubes
• jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits
• top-water plugs
• small, deep-diving plugs and lures
• surface lures (in early morning and evening)
• leeches, minnows, crayfish