Species
Largemouth Bass
Micropterus salmoides · family Centrarchidae
Live · updated
Most popular gamefish in MD non-tidal waters. Ambush predator around cover — lily pads, submerged timber, docks, grass edges. Hits plastics, spinnerbaits, jigs, and topwater across the season.
Preferred conditions
- Water temp
- 55–85°F (ideal 72°F)
- Tide
- either
- Moon
- either
- Depth
- 3–25 ft
- Active months
- Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov
Best largemouth bass conditions today
Deep Creek Lake
Choptank River — Cambridge
Blackwater NWR — Fishing Area
Friendship Farm Park
Chapel Point State Park
Jennings Randolph Lake
Prettyboy Reservoir
Monocacy River — Buckeystown
Potomac River — Point of Rocks
Jug Bay — Patuxent River
Occoquan Regional Park
Riverbend Park — Upper Potomac
Mariner Point Park
Chapman State Park
Betterton Beach
Fort Smallwood Park
Downs Park
Rock Hall Beach
North East Community Park
Louisa Lane Park (Charlestown Beach)
Dundee Creek Marina (Gunpowder Falls SP)
Miami Beach Park
Cox's Point Park
Rolph's Wharf
Clear Lake
New River (Thurmond Gorge)
Rocky Gap State Park — Lake Habeeb
Evitts Creek Ponds
Lake Koon
Lake Gordon
Piney Reservoir
Potomac River — Williamsport
Conococheague Creek — Williamsport
Loch Raven Reservoir
Liberty Reservoir
Triadelphia Reservoir
Seneca Creek State Park — Clopper Lake
Lums Pond State Park
Burke Lake Park
Lake Anna State Park
Greenbrier State Park
Broadford Lake Park
Shawnee State Park
Raystown Lake — Seven Points Beach
Laurel Hill State Park
Cowans Gap State Park
Prince Gallitzin State Park
Gifford Pinchot State Park
Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Yellow Creek State Park
Tuscarora State Park
Cacapon Resort State Park
Lake Travis
Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Lake Lanier
West Point Lake
Roosevelt Lake
Saguaro Lake
Chickamauga Lake
Tims Ford Lake
Jordan Lake
Falls Lake
Lake Moultrie
Lake Minnetonka
Wheeler Lake
Smith Mountain Lake
Kerr Lake (Buggs Island)
Claytor Lake
Lake Pueblo
Cherry Creek Reservoir
Chatfield Reservoir
Horsetooth Reservoir
Boyd Lake
Lake Coeur d’Alene
Lake Champlain (Burlington)
West Okoboji Lake
Summersville Lake
Cheat Lake
Navajo Lake
Santee Cooper (Lake Marion)
Dale Hollow Lake
Lake Seminole
Lake Amistad
Pickwick Lake
Lake Gaston
Susquehanna Flats
Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Okeechobee
Shasta Lake
Lake Powell (Bullfrog)
Lake Hartwell
Clarks Hill Lake (J. Strom Thurmond)
Lake Guntersville
Lake Champlain
Lewis Smith Lake
Lake Wylie
Mason Neck State Park
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Leesylvania State Park
Folsom Lake
J. Percy Priest Lake
Table Rock Lake
Broken Bow Lake
Leech Lake
Lake Texoma
Lake Pleasant
Kentucky Lake
Grand Lake o' the Cherokees
Lake Eufaula
Lake Ouachita
Lake Mead (Hemenway Harbor)
Falcon Lake (Falcon International Reservoir)
California Delta (Sacramento–San Joaquin)
Flying Point Park
Lake Marion
Lake Havasu
Lake Cumberland
Lake Norman
Lake George
Weiss Lake
Lake Murray
Lake Conroe
Lake Tohopekaliga
Oneida Lake
Cayuga Lake
Elephant Butte Reservoir
Lake Monroe
O.H. Ivie Reservoir
Lake Fork Reservoir
Lake Berryessa
Lake of the Ozarks
Truman Lake
Kentucky Lake
Lake Barkley
Bull Shoals Lake
Toledo Bend Reservoir
Carlyle Lake
Rend Lake
Beaver Lake
No locations match that filter.
Regulations by jurisdiction
Maryland (non-tidal)
Stale: last verified 140 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 12"
- Creel
- 5
Non-tidal MD: 12-inch minimum, 5 per day in aggregate with smallmouth bass. Harvest season is June 16 through the last day of February. March 1–June 15 is catch-and-release only to protect the spawn. Some waters have special regulations (slot limits, lower creel) — check the water-specific page.
Source · verified 2026-04-22
Delaware (tidal)
Stale: last verified 140 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 12"
- Creel
- 6
Delaware non-tidal waters: 12-inch minimum, 6 per day — distinctly looser than MD (5/day aggregate with smallmouth) and no March–June 15 catch-and-release closure. Becks Pond (New Castle County) has a stricter 15-inch minimum and 2/day creel. No aggregate rule with smallmouth.
Source · verified 2026-04-22
Virginia (non-tidal — VDWR)
Stale: last verified 140 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 5
Non-tidal VA: 5 per day in aggregate with smallmouth bass (can't combine to exceed 5 total). No statewide minimum size. Numerous water-specific exceptions: James River (Jackson/Cowpasture to Richmond fall line) has a 14–22 inch protected slot with only 1 fish/day over 22 in; New River (Fields Dam to VA-WV line) has the same slot; Shenandoah River (all forks) has an 11–14 inch protected slot; Lake Moomaw requires 12-inch minimum; Briery Creek has no 16-inch fish allowed. Check water-specific rules before keeping any fish.
Source · verified 2026-04-22
Stale: last verified 12 days ago.
non tidal-trout
- Creel
- 5
Virginia largemouth + smallmouth share a combined 5/day statewide limit; no statewide length limit. Trout special-regulation status does not change bass limits, though a specific river may add its own slot.
Source · verified 2026-08-28
Potomac main stem (PRFC)
Stale: last verified 140 days ago.
tidal potomac
- Min size
- 12"
- Creel
- 5
Potomac River main stem (PRFC): 12-inch minimum most of the year, stepping UP to 15-inch minimum March 1–June 15 to protect the spawn. 5 per day. Circle hooks not required. The tidal Potomac is a legendary bass fishery (Fletchers Cove up to Great Falls, Mattawoman, Pomonkey). Distinct from MD non-tidal rules (which have a full March–June 15 C&R closure).
Source · verified 2026-04-22
PA
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 12"
- Creel
- 6
12" minimum, 6/day (combined with smallmouth). Catch-and-release only mid-Apr–mid-Jun spawning period.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
WV
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 6
6 black bass/day in aggregate (12" minimum on many waters — check the water-specific rule).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
TX
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 14"
- Creel
- 5
14" minimum, 5/day (black bass in aggregate). Some lakes have special slot rules.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
GA
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 14"
- Creel
- 5
14" minimum, 5/day (black bass in aggregate).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
FL
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 5
No minimum length, 5/day (only one over 16"). Trophy-bass waters may differ.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
CA
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 12"
- Creel
- 5
12" minimum, 5/day in lakes/reservoirs (no size limit in rivers/streams).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
AZ
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 6
6/day, no statewide minimum length.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
TN
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- no daily limit
No statewide creel or length limit; only one over 18" may be kept per day.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
NC
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 5
5/day; many reservoirs carry a 14" minimum — confirm the water-specific rule.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
SC
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 14"
- Creel
- 5
14" minimum, 5/day (Santee Cooper and most reservoirs).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
MO
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 15"
- Creel
- 6
15" minimum, 6/day (largemouth & smallmouth combined; 12 black bass in total).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
MN
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 6
6/day (bass combined).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
OK
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 6
6/day, only one over 16"; 14" minimum in rivers and streams.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
AL
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 15"
- Creel
- 10
10 black bass/day (no more than 5 smallmouth); 15" minimum on Guntersville and many reservoirs.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
KY
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 15"
- Creel
- 5
5 black bass/day (no more than 2 smallmouth); 15" largemouth minimum.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
AR
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 15"
- Creel
- 6
15" minimum, 6/day on the big highland reservoirs (Bull Shoals, Beaver, Norfork).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
NY
Stale: last verified 103 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 12"
- Creel
- 5
12" minimum, 5/day (black bass in aggregate).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
NTCO
Stale: last verified 100 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 15"
- Creel
- 5
Largemouth and smallmouth in aggregate: 5/day, 15" minimum statewide.
Source · verified 2026-06-01
NTUT
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 5
Lake Powell: 5 largemouth/day.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTNV
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 13"
- Creel
- 6
Lake Mead: 6 black bass/day (largemouth and smallmouth combined), 13" minimum.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTND
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 5
North Dakota: 5 bass/day, no statewide size limit.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTSD
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 5
South Dakota: 5 bass/day (largemouth and smallmouth combined).
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTNE
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 15"
- Creel
- 5
Nebraska: 5 black bass/day, 15" minimum on most reservoirs.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTLA
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 8
Louisiana: 8 black bass/day. No statewide minimum length on most waters; the Texas side of shared Toledo Bend imposes a 14" minimum — confirm which side you fish.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTVT
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 12"
- Creel
- 5
Lake Champlain: 5 bass/day (largemouth + smallmouth combined), 12" minimum.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTNH
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 12"
- Creel
- 5
New Hampshire: 5 bass/day, 12" minimum.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTIA
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 15"
- Creel
- 3
Iowa public lakes: 3 black bass/day, 15" minimum (6 in possession).
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTKS
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 15"
- Creel
- 5
Kansas: 5 black bass/day, 15" minimum on most reservoirs.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
IL
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 12"
- Creel
- 6
Illinois statewide: 6 black bass/day, 12" minimum; many large reservoirs (Carlyle, Rend) raise it to a 14" minimum. Confirm the water.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTNM
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 5
New Mexico: 5 black bass/day; 14" minimum on designated Trophy Bass Waters. Confirm the water.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
IN
Stale: last verified 98 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 14"
- Creel
- 5
Indiana: 5 black bass/day, 14" minimum on most lakes (Lake Monroe and the reservoirs).
Source · verified 2026-06-03
Maryland (tidal)
Stale: last verified 12 days ago.
tidal bay
- Min size
- 12"
- Creel
- 5
Tidal black bass: 12" minimum (a 15" minimum applies March 1–June 15 during the spawn), 5/day in aggregate with smallmouth. Open year-round.
Source · verified 2026-08-28
NTID
Stale: last verified 12 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 6
Idaho general limit: 6 bass, largemouth and smallmouth COMBINED. No statewide minimum size (some regions add one under general rules). Open year-round; many waters have special rules.
Source · verified 2026-08-28