Largemouth Bass

The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is a species of fish in the sunfish family. It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, and southern largemouth.[1] The largemouth bass is the state fish of Alabama[2](official freshwater fish), Georgia,[3] Mississippi,[4] Florida[5](state freshwater fish), and Tennessee[6](official sport fish).

The largemouth is marked by a series of dark, sometimes black, blotches forming a jagged horizontal stripe along each flank. The upper jaw (maxilla) of a largemouth bass extends beyond the rear margin of the orbit. The largemouth is the largest of the black basses, reaching a maximum recorded overall length of (38 in/97 cm)[citation needed] and a maximum recorded weight of 25 pounds (11.3 kg).[citation needed] The fish lives 16 years on average.[7]