Smallmouth (The Gamest Fish)

Smallmouth Bass

Unlike its largemouth cousin, the smallmouth prefers clean rocky bottoms and swifter water. Lake dwelling smallmouth often school up, which means that if you catch one, you can catch a bunch. In rivers and streams they are more solitary. 

Similar to the largemouth, smallmouth are opportunistic feeders, they do love crayfish though. 

Unlike the largemouth, smallmouth have a series of dark vertical bands along its flanks. The dorsal fin is marked with a shallow notch between the spiny part and the softer part. The upper jaw does not extend backwards beyond the eye. The mouth of a smallmouth isn't really that small.

Under ideal conditions a smallmouth can grow upward of 12 pounds.