Here you will find the most popular types of bass and general information about them!

Largemouth bass!

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Micropterus salmoides

CHARACTERISTICS: The largemouth bass is a heavy-bodied fish with 56 to 70 lateral line scales and a large mouth, with the upper jaw usually extending past the rear margin of the eye. The area between the spiny and soft dorsal fin is deeply notched; the anterior part contains nine to 11 spines, the posterior part 12 to 14 rays. The anal fin has three spines and 10 to 12 rays. Dorsal and anal fin bases are usually scaleless or only marginally scaled. The tongue lacks teeth. The back is olive green to brown, and the greenish sides are marked with a broad black band composed of somewhat oval blotches connected by shorter blotches. The venter is white, and between it and the lateral stripe are several rows of scales with darkened center, giving the fish a striped appearance. The dorsal, caudal, and pectoral fins are varying shades of green; pelvic and anal fins are clear to white.

Redeye Bass

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Micropterus coosae

CHARACTERISTICS: The redeye or Coosa bass is an elongate, slender fish with a large mouth that extends to or slightly behind the rear margin of the eye. The dorsal fin contains nine to 11 (usually 10) spines and 11 to 13 (usually 12) rays, and the area between the two is only slightly notched. The anal fin contains three spines and nine to 11 (usually 10) rays. The complete lateral line has from 63 to 74 scales. Scales above the lateral line number 12 or 13. A small tooth patch is present on the tongue. The back and sides are generally olive to brown with darker brown mottling. Adults have several horizontal rows of dark spots on the lower sides and venter. Breeding males have a light bluish green color on the lower head and throat. On juveniles, the sides of the body usually have 10 to 12 dark blotches that do not join to form a lateral stripe. The upper and lower margins of the caudal fin are edged in white, a useful feature for separating redeye bass from both smallmouth bass and shoal bass.

Smallmouth Bass

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Micropterus dolomieu

CHARACTERISTICS: The dorsal fin on the smallmouth bass is distinctly separated and contains nine to 11 spines and 13 to 15 rays. The anal fin has three spines and 10 or 11 rays. The bases of the soft dorsal and anal fins are covered with scales. The complete lateral line has 68 to 80 scales. The mouth is relatively large, with the upper jaw almost reaching the rear margin of the eye. The eye may have a reddish tint. Smallmouth bass lack the characteristic black stripe or jointed, lateral black blotches found on largemouth and spotted bass. Instead, the back and sides are bronze to olive green, with many irregularly spaced dark spots. The venter is generally white in small individuals, becoming dusky with age. Young smallmouth bass have several vertically oriented dark blotches along their sides that usually fade with age.

Spotted Bass

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Micropterus punctatus

CHARACTERISTICS: Also known as Kentucky bass, the spotted bass is a slender fish with black blotches along the middle of the body; with age, these join to form an irregular band. Hubbs and Bailey (1940) recognize two subspecies in Alabama. Micropterus punctulatus punctulatus occurs in the Tennessee River and has 58 to 71 lateral line scales and 22 to 27 scales around the caudal peduncle. Micropterus p. henshalli is limited to the upper Mobile basin and has 68 to 77 lateral line scales and 26 to 29 caudal peduncle scales. Intergrades are distributed below the Fall Line in the Mobile basin. Both subspecies and their intergrades have a large mouth, the upper jaw extending almost to the rear margin of the eye. A rectangular tooth patch on the tongue distinguishes this species from largemouth bass. The dorsal fin has nine to 11 (usually 10) spines and 11 to 13 rays that are broadly joined. The anal fin has three spines and nine to 11 rays. The body is olive green on the back with scattered dark mottling. The sides below the lateral blotches are light gray; many scales have dark spots forming horizontal rows. The venter is white. Juveniles have a black spot in the middle of the caudal fin base bordered by bright orange areas. The eyes are usually reddish but not as bright as those of redeye bass.

Striped Bass

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Morone saxatilis

CHARACTERISTICS: The striped bass has an elongate, compressed body and a relatively small head with an acute snout and a large, gaping mouth. Maximum body depth goes three or more times into standard length. The first dorsal fin has nine spines, the second fin has one spine and 12 soft rays. The front of the anal fin has three spines that are graduated in length. Two elongate median tooth patches are located on the back of the tongue. The lateral line is complete, with 57 to 68 scales. The back is dark gray to green: the sides are light green grading to silver with several continuous black stripes, and the venter is white to cream. Young striped bass have dusky vertical bars along the sides of the body.

White Bass

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Morone chrysops

CHARACTERISTICS: At first glance, white bass resemble small striped bass with faint lateral stripes. But the two can be distinguished by tooth patches on the tongue (one on white bass and two on striped bass). The head on the white bass is fairly small and pointed. The first and second dorsal fins are entirely separate. The first dorsal fin has nine spines, and the second has one spine and 13 to 15 soft rays. The anal fin has three progressively lengthening spines and 11 to 13 soft rays. The back is blue-gray, the sides are silver with six to 10 longitudinal (sometimes faint) stripes, and the venter is white to cream. The dorsal, caudal, and anal fins range from white to dusky. The pectoral and pelvic fins are usually clear, although the latter may have light iridescent blue margins.

Hybrid Bass

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Morone chrysops x saxatilis

CHARACTERISTICS: The palmetto bass, also called hybrid bass, is not a naturally occurring species. Individuals are produced by artificially spawning a male white bass with a female striped bass. Offspring usually exhibit a wide variety of color patterns which can be confusing when trying to separate them from the young of either parent species. A hybrid bass can usually be distinguished from a striped bass by its broken lateral stripes along the lower sides of the body (continuous on striped bass) and a distinctively shorter, thicker, and deeper body form. Hybrid bass can be distinguished from white bass by its two tooth patches on the tongue, as opposed to only one tooth patch on the white bass. As they grow older, hybrid bass become thicker and deeper-bodied, giving them a distinctive short and stocky appearance.

Yellow Bass

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Morone mississippiensis

CHARACTERISTICS: The yellow bass is named for its characteristic yellowish gold body and eye. Black longitudinal stripes occur as continuous lines along the back, but the lower three or four along the sides and venter are distinctly broken. The lateral line is complete with 50 to 55 scales. The tongue lacks the distinctive tooth patch found on other members of this group. See Eigenmann (1887) for original description.

Shoal Bass

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Micropterus cataractae

CHARACTERISTICS: The shoal bass and the redeye bass are easily confused, even thought the two have nonoverlapping ranges. Redeye bass have white margins on the upper and lower edges of the caudal fin; white fin margins are absent on shoal bass. Whereas redeye bass have teeth on the tongue, shoal bass do not. Additionally, Page and Burr (1991) report that redeye bass have slightly larger scales, resulting in lower lateral line counts (64 to 73, compared to 70 to 79 in shoal bass) and lower number of scale rows around the caudal peduncle (26 to 30, compared to 29 to 34). Adult shoal bass are olive green on the back and white on the venter. Several rows of darkened scales form distinct parallel lines along the lower sides of the body. Small individuals have along their sides several vertical, dark blotches that fade somewhat with age.