Ask A Scientist Zoology Archive

name         Robin G.
status       educator
age          20s

Question -   How do you tell the difference between male and female 
bass fish?
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Generally, it can only be told by inspecting the anal opening during mating 
season.  Also, the males, when nesting, tend to turn slightly more pale and 
may have red eyes.  Females may be bulging with eggs.

Females grow larger than males.  The largest male is known to be about 8 
pounds, where females can be larger than 22 pounds.

----Nathan A. Unterman
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Robin,

Your question has one big problem!  There are three dozen different fresh and salt 
water "bass" species [The Temperate Bass Family] common in and around North America.
Some are dimorphic and others can only be sexed by behavior or genetial during spawning.
Both sexes can assume different general sizes depending on the time of year.

Steve Sample
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