Largemouth bass are another major sportfish in New York State. While they are not the spectacular fighters their cousins the smallmouth are, largemouths can be just as challenging and exciting to land because of the habitat they prefer.

Largemouths thrive best in warm, shallow, well-vegetated areas of ponds and sluggish streams. They are rather solitary fish, preferring to stay among dense aquatic vegetation or close to submerged cover, such as stumps, logs, or dock pilings.

Largemouth bass are primarily fish-eating predators. They lie in wait in the cover of weeds and ambush prey as it swims by. Crayfish, frogs, and small animals, such as mice, are also eaten by this large sunfish.