Florida's State Freshwater Fish: The Florida Bass

In today’s episode we’re talking about Florida’s state freshwater fish, the Florida bass. We will discuss why it’s no longer called the largemouth bass, where they can be found, how they survive and support our freshwater ecosystems and more.  

Learn More: 

• Florida Bass/Largemouth Bass - https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/freshwater/largemouth-bass/  

• State Freshwater Fish - https://dos.fl.gov/florida-facts/florida-state-symbols/state-freshwater-fish/  

• Florida Bass Research - https://myfwc.com/research/freshwater/sport-fishes/florida-bass/  

How You Can Help:  

• Encourage aquatic plant management in your community, if you have natural lakes. Diverse, abundant submerged aquatic plants help with water clarity. A goal of 50% submerged lake bottom coverage by native plant species is highly correlated with higher water clarity and less algae.  

• Get a fishing license or one of specialty license plates - https://myfwc.com/license/recreational/freshwater-fishing/  

• Learn about the Trophy Catch program - https://license.gooutdoorsflorida.com/Angler/Home  

Sources: 

• Phylogenomics and species delimitation of the economically important Black Basses (Micropterus) - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9170712/  

• Aging: Biologists use otiliths to determine the age of fish - https://myfwc.com/research/freshwater/fisheries-resources/techniques/aging/  

• Trophic state indicators are a better predictor of Florida bass condition compared to temperature in Florida’s freshwater bodies - https://klwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/trophic-state-predicts-bass-condition-boucek-et-al-2017.pdf  

• The largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (Lacepe`de, 1802): impacts of a powerful freshwater fish predator outside of its native range - https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11160-019-09570-2.pdf