Smallmouth Bass

Micropterus dolomieu

Natural-history illustration of a bronze smallmouth bass with vertical bars and a red eye
Reviewed species illustration. Confirm your catch with current state identification resources before keeping fish.

Smallmouth bass are pound-for-pound one of the hardest-fighting freshwater fish in North America. Found in clear, rocky rivers and cool lakes, smallmouth are prized for their aerial acrobatics — they jump repeatedly when hooked and fight far above their weight class. Bronze sides with vertical dark bars distinguish them from largemouth. They're a true indicator species: smallmouth waters are clean, cold, and well-oxygenated.

Catching Tips

Tubes, drop-shot rigs, and shad-imitating swimbaits excel for smallmouth. In rivers, drift natural-colored crawfish imitations along rocky runs and eddies. Surface poppers fished in early morning over shallow shoals produce savage strikes. Ned rigs are deadly in late summer on finicky, pressured fish.

World Record

11.94 lbs
Weight
Dale Hollow Lake, Kentucky
Location
1955
Year

No stocking events recorded yet for Smallmouth Bass.