South African Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu

The Popular Strong Fighting Smallmouth Bass

South Africa is home to many freshwater fish species, both indigenous and introduced... The Smallmouth Bass belongs to the second group (Introduced) and were put into our local waters in 1937. The aim of this experiment was to enhance river fishing below the trout zone, especially in the Western Cape, and to control the numbers of Whitefish. The Smallmouth Bass has, unfortunately, had a severe impact on all our local fish species where this type of Bass was introduced. Nature conservation authorities no longer produce or stock this fish and in many cases the Small Mouth Bass is being eradicated from streams and rivers where they have had a big impact on local indigenous South African fish species.

The Smallmouth Bass is one of three established Bass species in South African waters, the other 2 being the Large Mouth Bass and the Spotted Bass. The Smallmouth Bass is a great fighting fish and popular amongst anglers world wide. The South African angling record is just under 3 kilograms and the world record for this Bass is just under 6 kilograms. The Small Mouth Bass naturally occurs in North America but has been introduced to many dams, rivers and lakes in Southern Africa, mainly in the Highveld, KwaZulu Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. They prefer flowing water and occur abundantly around submerged rocky areas. The Smallmouth Bass breeds in South Africa in Spring and early Summer when the water temperature is around 16 degrees Celsius. Their life span is roughly 14-16 years.

How To Catch The Smallmouth Bass In South Africa

The Smallmouth Bass is a popular angling species amongst fisherman in South Africa and is mainly pursued on lure, although they can be caught on dead or live baits. The more common lures used to catch Smallmouth Bass include hard plastics such as crank baits, poppers, deep divers and stckbaits. Soft plastic baits such as frog imitations, worms, grubs and fish imitations are used. Spinnerbaits, small spoons and normal spinners are also used to lure the Smallmouth Bass into an aggressive strike.

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