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Legendary Species · Bass, carp, pike and panfish

Smallmouth bass

Micropterus dolomieu[1]

In adult smallmouth the upper jaw reaches only to about the back edge of the eye, not beyond it; in largemouth bass it reaches far behind the eye.[1]

  • 101waters list it
  • 19states and regions
  • 3agency sources
Illustration of a smallmouth bass: bronze-brown body with faint vertical bars and a red eye
Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Artwork: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Identification

  • In adult smallmouth the upper jaw reaches only to about the back edge of the eye, not beyond it; in largemouth bass it reaches far behind the eye.[1]
    What the source says
    “In adults, the upper jaw extends to about the rear margin of the eye; it does not extend beyond the back of the eye (in largemouth bass, the upper jaw extends far behind the back of the eye)”
  • The back and sides are greenish brown with faint dark mottling and bars, and there is no dark horizontal stripe along the side.[1]
    What the source says
    “The back and sides are greenish brown, with faint dark mottling and bars; the belly is whitish, overlain with dusky pigment. There is no dark horizontal stripe, and it lacks rows of dark spots.”
  • Michigan DNR notes the two dorsal fins are joined, the jaw reaches to the middle of the eye, and there are bronze streaks on the cheek.[2]
    What the source says
    “Two dorsal fins with spinous and soft-rayed portions united, body longer than deep, jaw extends to the middle of the eye, bronze streaks in cheek.”

Habitat and range

  • Smallmouth do best in clear streams with silt-free rock or gravel bottoms, holding near riffles but out of the main current.[1]
    What the source says
    “Thrives in clear streams, with silt-free rock or gravel bottoms, near riffles but not in the main current.”
  • Native range covers the St. Lawrence, Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River) and Mississippi basins, from southern Quebec to North Dakota and south to northern Alabama and eastern Oklahoma.[3]
    What the source says
    “Native Range: St. Lawrence and Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River), and Mississippi River basins from southern Quebec to North Dakota and south to northern Alabama and eastern Oklahoma”

Life history

  • In Missouri, spawning starts in early or mid-April once water passes 60 F, can run into June or July, and peaks in May.[1]
    What the source says
    “Smallmouth bass spawn from early or mid-April (when the water temperature exceeds 60 F) and continues well into June or even July. Peak spawning activity is in May.”
  • Smallmouth eat fish, crayfish and large aquatic insects, and often hunt minnows along the shoreline in quite shallow water.[1]
    What the source says
    “Carnivorous, feeding on fish, crayfish, and large aquatic insects. When actively foraging for minnows and other prey, smallmouth bass commonly prowl the shoreline in quite shallow water.”

Status, protections and rules

Legal status and rules as the agency stated them on the date read. Rules change: check the current regulations for the water.

  • In Missouri, smallmouth numbers have fallen in the Moreau River drainage, partly from hybridizing with introduced spotted bass.[1]
    What the source says
    “Populations have declined in the Moreau River drainage partly because of hybridization with an introduced population of the closely related spotted bass.”

Fishing for it: what the agencies say

What agencies and extension services say about catching it, with the source for each line.

  • Missouri's agency names minnows, crayfish and hellgrammites as the best live baits and notes some anglers see fly fishing as the ultimate way to catch smallmouth.[1]
    What the source says
    “The most effective live baits include minnows, crayfish, and hellgrammites. Spinning and casting with the same types of lures used for taking largemouth bass also work. Some people consider fly fishing to be the ultimate sporting method for catching "brownies."”
  • Michigan DNR says bass take all types of flies, and fly anglers often fish streamers that imitate minnows or crayfish below the surface.[2]
    What the source says
    “Similarly, bass can be taken on all types of flies, with fly fishermen often using streamers that imitate minnows or crayfish to take them subsurface.”
General advice (ours, not an agency's)
  • Ask a local shop which flies are working on that lake or river this month.
  • Check the state's size, possession and transport rules before you keep or move a fish.
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Where to fish for smallmouth bass

Our 101 water pages whose agency species list names smallmouth bass (each list links to the agency page it comes from). A species missing from a list does not mean it is absent: many agencies publish no list for a water.

United States 100 waters

Canada 1 water

Destination hubs

Hubs that list one of these waters, or that a water page is near: each has guides, shops, licences and trip planning for the area.

Sources

Every fact on this page is our paraphrase of the page cited beside it, read on the date shown. Rules and seasons change: check the agency's current regulations before you fish.

  1. Smallmouth Bass | Missouri Department of Conservation Missouri Department of Conservation, read Oct 24, 2026.
  2. Smallmouth bass Michigan Department of Natural Resources, read Oct 24, 2026.
  3. Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) - Species Profile U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Program, read Oct 24, 2026.

5 states and regions have a page of smallmouth bass waters of its own (five or more waters).