Bass (smallmouth / largemouth)
Know your fish
Bass (smallmouth, largemouth)
Micropterus spp.
Typical size:28–50 cm, 0.5–2.5 kg
- Smallmouth: bronze with vertical bars; jaw ends below the eye; red-brown eye
- Largemouth: green with a dark horizontal band; jaw extends past the eye
- Spiny front dorsal joined to the soft rear dorsal
Looks like: Rock bass is small with red eyes and spots in rows.
0255075100125150
cm
OK to keep
- Provincial rules; Ontario has closed seasons in spring (spawning)
Must release
- Nesting males in spring
Best months
May, June, July, August, September
Fishing licences across Canada
Rig to tie
- 1Main line 20–30 lb braid
- 2Swivel Size 4 barrel swivel
- 3Leader 20 lb fluorocarbon, 60 cm
- 4Jig head 1–2 oz round head, 3/0 hook (1/2–1 oz for greenling)
- 5Soft plastic 4–5 in curl tail or paddle tail, dark, motor oil or white
How to tie and fish it
Tie it:Tie braid to swivel with a Palomar. Tie leader to swivel and to the jig head with an improved clinch. Thread the plastic straight so it does not spin.
Fish it:Cast to the kelp edge or boulder seam, let it hit bottom, lift 30 cm and drop. Hits come on the drop. Set hard and lift the fish off the rocks immediately.