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Legendary Species · Illinois

Smallmouth bass in Illinois

Micropterus dolomieu[1]

10 Illinois waters whose agency species list names smallmouth bass. Each links to its water page (gauge, regulations, access map, guides and shops) and to the agency list it comes from.

  • 10waters list it
  • 0destination hubs
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

Illinois waters

Most fished first. A species missing from an agency list does not mean it is absent; this page lists only waters whose list names it (at least 5 are needed for a page).

All Illinois watersSmallmouth bass: every state

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.”

More on identifying smallmouth bass

Status, protections and rules

As each agency stated them on the date read; a rule applies only where its agency says so. Check the current regulations for the water before you fish.

  • 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.”

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.