What types of fish do the Bass tend to prey on?

There are a few things here to keep in mind about the diet of a bass. Location, type of bass, season, maturity, and even what type of hiding spot the bass has found are all factors that will change the answer we find. Even though many “bass” are technically members of the Sunfish family and not even bass at all, these are the most common fish that most people think of when referring to bass fishing: The Largemouth bass will start out feeding on small prey such as insects and plankton, then move on to various types of small fish in the area, crayfish, and even frogs. Some large adults have been known to feast on small birds, rodents, and even baby alligators. The Spotted bass tends to feed much like the Largemouth bass, yet with a less ambition. The Smallmouth bass begins in much the same way, except on a smaller scale. The Smallmouth begin life by feeding on small zooplankton and very small insects before moving up to large insects, smaller fish and crayfish as adults. Striped bass also start off on zooplankton, but soon move up to insect larvae, small larval fish, crustaceans, and mayflies. As adults, they tend to go after small fish of virtually any type, squid, and crabs. Young European sea bass tend to primarily eat invertabrates and very small fish, and adults tend to go after sand-eels, crustaceans, squid, sprats, sardines, and sand smelts, but will go after anything smaller that is in the area at the time. Patagonian Toothfish may eat krill, other crustaceans, small fish, or a combination of such depending on where they are located. The Giant sea bass relies on bottom-feeding prey, such as skate, flounder, rays, sand dabs, other flatfish, mantis shrimp, sand bass, kelp bass, and even lobsters. The Black sea bass tends to feast on herring, worms, molusks, anchovies, crustaceans, and small fish. Australian bass tend to have a diet consisting of insects, shrimp, prawn, flathead gudgeon, lizards, frogs, and even mice. The thing to keep in mind, really, is that the bass, whatever type it is, will eat just about anything that it can! Think of bass as a sort of goat of the water. If using the bass diet to find new resourceful fishing techniques, keep in mind that you should never use salmon or trout as bait as they can spread whirling disease. Also, many of the species mentioned here may be illegal to hunt, such as the Giant sea bass and the Patagonian Toothfish. If you are unsure about the type of fish or the area you are looking to fish, be sure and check on local regulations to be certain.

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