The Primary Species of Bass Fished For In North America

In North America, black bass are the primary species of game fish targeted by bass anglers. Bass are members of the sunfish family and are known by many different names across the country.

Some of the names for black bass can be quite misleading, such as the less common use of “black trout”. A confusing name for the game fish as trout more accurately refers to fish of the salmonid family, which includes the popularly fished rainbow trout, steelhead, and salmon.

While there are numerous species of bass in North America, most anglers target specifically largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass. To try and minimize information overload, this article will focus on helping new bass anglers fish for the three. While fishing for other species of bass may require some different tactics, the fundamentals you'll learn for large, small, and spotted bass will overlap with most species of bass.