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The Hidden World of the Largemouth Bass



A documentary on the life of the largemouth bass. Learn about bass behavior, see where they live (habitat), learn what they eat, and why some fishing lures work, and some lures don’t. And learn why the bluegill is one of the best live baits to use for catching big largemouth bass. Plus, information on water temperatures, where and when they spawn, and a look at baby bass.

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Fujifilm XP 140 Waterproof camera
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47 Comments

  1. Thanks for this. What a beautiful fish.

    I used to dive and spearfish, and this sort of experience is what led to me actually becoming vegan. I mean, I don't identify as a vegan, it isn't something I push on others or wear t-shirts to let others know, but fish are very near and dear to that change in my life.

    The realization that these animals are curious, intelligent, and so keenly aware of their environment was an absolutely paradigm shift for me. I'd lived all of my life conveniently believing they were practically vessels of meat, but no, what I was seeing around me was something entirely different.

    If you can dive in the Pacific North West, you might find Greenling are quite similar to these bass in some regards. They're far from apex predators (they tend to nip at baby crabs, shrimp, worms, and juvenile fish), but their tendency to get comfortable with your presence, become curious, and even follow you around is very similar to these bass. I'd never seen such an curiosity driven creature in the ocean, and it was so incredibly eye-opening. I'm grateful for it.

    The other eye-opener was how absurdly weary and cognizant of their environment some fish can be. Hunting them was impossible unless I had extremely ideal opportunities, and even then, they were so wily and quick to catch on. There is no way a dumb creature could observe its environment and respond with such sophistication. The variety of ways they hide, how quickly, how early they respond to threats based on their surroundings… They're seriously crunching data in those brains, and as you mentioned, I think it absolutely has to be memory/experientially driven. The bigger ones are super, super sharp. Good luck getting anywhere near them. They know you're looking at them from 40-50 feet away… You can sometimes see their eyes or bodies twitch and go into fight/flight as soon as you spot them. Incredible stuff.

    Also, as soon as I stopped bringing the spear gun and behaving like a predator, what happened? More fish started checking me out. Many of them are incredible at identifying threats. Even threats their ancestors almost certainly never saw, like a rubber band powered spear gun.

    Thanks again. I love this kind of content.

  2. Largemouth bass are awesome fish for both fishing and aquarium hobbyists. I caught two little baby largemouth bass in an aquarium net at a lake. I have them in an aquarium with a small crawdad. The other day my mom was cooking snapper & mahi that we caught in Florida and she gave me a small piece of fillet and gave some to my bass. I saw the bigger one of 1 inch trying to eat a piece of snapper fillet bigger than his head so I decided to name him Snapper (Snap for short). The smaller one I named after my brother who died two years ago at the age of only 11 (along with my dad from carbon monoxide poisoning on a boat; Iโ€™m 15 now) because one time when it was him, my dad, and I, he asked my dad โ€œif I was a fish, what type would I be?โ€ Both my dad and I answered at the same time, โ€œbigmouth[largemouth] bassโ€ because he was such a bigmouth and would snitch on me all the time ๐Ÿ˜†. Theyโ€™re very social fish and hang out together. They approach the glass whenever I go up to them (most likely because they think theyโ€™re getting fed, but itโ€™s still cute).
    Largemouth bass are very fun to catch, as every angler knows. The only other freshwater fish that are more fun to catch than largemouths are trout and salmon. Catfish are unless theyโ€™re big though. The bass in Florida are supposed to be like 4x the size of decent size bass here in Ohio. Thanks for reading that was a lot.

  3. I'm watching this video not first time. It always gives me peace . Immersive feeling, Amanda the Lady Bass steals the show ! I can watch her more and more.
    Memory of fish is so fascinating topic, much underestimated. Many species have really good memory and intelect. Perhaps is it chance for amateur fish lovers to study it and describe? The issue is, it will be neglected by "we know best, what crazy amateurs know " scientists.
    I see that basses yawn so often, l always like watch yawning fish, perhaps I feel deep underconcious primordial connection – union of species.

  4. Your channel is wonderful. I just started diving in my local lake as a workout, and to find and identify the wildlife. Whenever I've tried to look for a catalog or something, it's all about fishing and doesn't get as personal as id like. Your channel is exactly what I needed. Thank you!

  5. this is why America is so great – Citizen science (motivated by passion rather than profit or career) like this is what built the world. Modern theoretical/labratory sciences (typically relying on private funding) are not at all reminiscent of what Einstein and Tesla did in their free-time.

    As I grow older and continue reading the great thinkers of mankind, I've begun to realize I'm not the individual I believed I was – I am a sovereign individual human, but my actions, even the smallest of them, have great ripple effects throughout the natural world around me.

    Fishing and hunting has turned me into a Conservationist – I feel like our generation is at an important point in the fight to protect wild lands and animals, not unlike where things were in Aldo Leopold's time.

  6. i looked up carp because goldfish are so smart. (theres some good goldfish training videos.) i kept getting hunting videos until i found this, it hit the spot. i dig the relaxed speaking style. /// i bonded with my roommates goldfish and would hang out with him everyday. it felt like having a dog or cat.

  7. Fabulous documentary. I can't help but feel like your bass ladyfriend wanted to establish a kind of domination of the space around you, much like my cat – perhaps she wants the status boost of associating herself with you, the biggest animal in the lake, and monopolizing this association by chasing away other fish. My cat is equally possessive of my lap, and likes to show off our friendship via aggressively defending the spot.

  8. Loved this video!!!thank You! It made me sad tho bcus at the lake i fish at they constantly have BassTournaments and when they go in to weight the bass and go to return them many of them dont survive they usually die on the banks instead of swimming back in. Big beautiful bass just thrown back in to die bcus most i guess get gut hooked and when they pull the line they sorta rip them out its terrible ive seen them catch 10lbers and when thrown back in they just float and dont make it sometime u can even see hooks left inside them it sucks.

  9. Awesome video. When my young sons miss on a hit and say โ€œI hope it wasnโ€™t a big oneโ€ I say big ones donโ€™t miss. Thatโ€™s how they get big.

  10. ๐Ÿ”ฑ In 1994, we temporarily placed a small largemouth bass of roughly 9" and 1/2lb into a 45 gallon fish tank. We lived in a split level house, and the tank was placed in a location against a narrow wall, where it could be seen from the kitchen, dining room and attached den, and the front door & staircase. So the bass could see out of the tank into every nearby room. The only reason i mention that, is because it always kept an eye out for us.

    It followed us as we walked around the area. We assumed it was just because it was hungry, but it would watch and follow us even after it was completely full. It ate out of our hands from day 2, and it got excited whenever we came over to pay attention to it. It seemed to like being lightly "petted". It was like an aquatic puppy!

    After that experience, i lost all interest in jabbing hooks through the faces of bass, so i dont fish for them anymore. Btw, bluegills proved to be equally curious and intelligent, but i cant say the same for the white perch & pickerel that we temporarily kept in the tank. All fish were kept alone or with just 1 other fish of the same species.

  11. it's always pretty neat to see something like this in the wild… the fact she is protective of you is quite intriguing. whether it's just innate curiosity or she's possessive by nature, it still must feel pretty special to know you have a guardian who is constantly looking out for you while you're there, and looking for you while you're away.

    wholesome stuff.

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