The smallmouth bass is a popular game fish with a green-bronze body and a powerful tail. It’s smaller than its cousin the largemouth bass, but it’s got more attitude than size—it puts up a great fight when you try to catch it!
Native to the eastern U.S., but now found in many parts of the West, including California. It’s been introduced to new waters where it doesn’t always belong.
It lives in rivers and lakes with clean, cool water and likes to hang out around rocks and logs. It eats just about anything that moves: insects, small fish, and crayfish.
In places where it’s not native,
smallmouth bass eat native fish and amphibians.
They can outcompete local species,
especially in small lakes and streams.
They’re fun for fishing and tasty to eat, but in the wrong place, smallmouth bass can hurt local wildlife. It’s a good example of how something that seems helpful in one place can cause trouble somewhere else.
