What Do Bass Eat? The Complete Guide to Bass Diet for Kayak Anglers

I'll never forget the day I watched a 5-pound largemouth demolish a baby duck right next to my kayak on Lake Travis. That moment drove home just how opportunistic these predators really are. After 20 years of kayak fishing for bass, I've seen them eat everything from mice to their own young, and understanding their diet has been the key to my success on the water.

Bass are the ultimate opportunistic feeders, consuming anything from tiny zooplankton as fry to 12-inch gizzard shad as adults. Their diet changes dramatically with the seasons, water temperature, and available forage, making them both predictable and surprising. Whether you're wondering if bass eat at night (spoiler: they absolutely do) or trying to figure out why that big female just ignored your perfect shad imitation, this guide will unlock the mysteries of what bass really eat.

Understanding Bass as Predators

Bass are ambush predators with a feeding style that would make a vacuum cleaner jealous. When they spot prey, they position themselves for the perfect angle, then open their mouths so fast it creates a powerful suction that literally pulls the meal right in. I've watched this happen countless times from my kayak, and it never gets old.

What makes bass such effective predators is their ability to adapt. In clear water, they rely heavily on sight, using those big eyes to track prey from a distance. But in murky water or at night, they switch to their lateral line system - essentially a built-in sonar that detects vibrations and pressure changes in the water. This is why a properly rigged kayak with a fish finder can help you understand where bass are hunting.

The relationship between water temperature and bass metabolism is crucial. When the water hits that sweet spot between 60-80°F, bass become eating machines. Below 50°F, their metabolism slows to a crawl, and they might only feed once every few days. Above 85°F, they seek deeper, cooler water and feed primarily during low-light periods.

Primary Food Sources for Bass

Baitfish: The Main Course

If bass had a favorite food, it would be baitfish - hands down. Threadfin shad are probably the favorite food of largemouth bass, especially in larger reservoirs. I've cleaned bass with bellies so packed with shad they looked like they swallowed a tennis ball.

Shad come in two main varieties:

• Threadfin shad: Smaller (4-5 inches), more abundant, perfect for average-sized bass
• Gizzard shad: Larger (8-14 inches), preferred by trophy bass

Last summer on Lake Fork, I watched schools of shad getting absolutely demolished at dawn. The key to matching this feeding frenzy is understanding that shad spawn on shallow cover in late spring, creating predictable feeding opportunities.

Other common baitfish include:

• Minnows (great for numbers, not size)
• Shiners (especially golden shiners)
• Herring (in deeper reservoirs)
• Small perch and baby bass

Sunfish: The Protein-Packed Meal

There is a reason fish biologists use sunfish as the primary food source for bass when stocking a pond. It's as if bass live to eat them. Bluegill are the most common, but bass will eagerly devour pumpkinseeds, redears, green sunfish, and even small crappie.

What fascinates me about the bass-bluegill relationship is the seasonal dance they do. Compared to other food sources, and depending on the watershed, largemouth can ingest up to 40 percent of their annual diet from sunfish. During the bluegill spawn in late spring, bass patrol the shallows like wolves, picking off any sunfish that ventures too far from cover.

I've found that matching bluegill colors works incredibly well, especially around docks and grass beds. The right kayak setup allows you to sneak into these shallow spawning areas without spooking either predator or prey.

Crawfish: The Bottom-Dwelling Delicacy

Every spring, I know it's crawfish season when I start seeing those telltale mud clouds along rocky banks. Crawfish make up a huge portion of a bass's diet, especially during their molting period when their shells are soft and bass can easily digest them.

The best crawfish action happens in:

• Rocky areas and riprap
• Around docks and pilings
• Shallow flats during spring
• Creek channels with hard bottoms

Pro tip: When the water temperature hits 45-55°F in early spring, crawfish become active before most other prey. This makes crawfish-pattern lures absolutely deadly for pre-spawn bass.

Amphibians and Reptiles

Nothing gets my heart pumping like watching a bass explode on a frog in the lily pads. Bass will eat frogs, lizards, snakes, and pretty much any amphibian or reptile small enough to fit in their mouths.

Summer mornings are prime time for frog fishing. I'll never forget watching a 7-pounder literally beach itself chasing a leopard frog onto a mud bank. The frog escaped, but the bass's commitment was impressive. This aggressive behavior is why topwater frog fishing from a stable fishing kayak can be so exciting.

Insects and Small Prey

While we often think of bass as big-game hunters, they're surprisingly fond of insects. Insects are a vital food source to young bass. Without little bugs, baby bass can't grow into big bass.

Common insects bass eat:

• Dragonflies and damselflies
• Mayflies (during hatches)
• Grasshoppers and crickets
• Water beetles
• Even cicadas during emergence years

I've seen bass gorge themselves on flying ants after a summer rain, sipping them off the surface like trout. This is when small poppers or even dry flies can produce surprising results.

The Unusual Menu Items

Here's where things get wild. Bass will even eat each other. I've personally witnessed:

• A 3-pound bass eating a 10-inch bass
• Bass attacking baby birds fallen from nests
• A largemouth trying to swallow a small muskrat
• Bass eating small turtles and baby alligators

The name of the game is survival, and if a bass has to eat another bass in order to live, he won't think twice about it. This cannibalistic behavior is especially common during the spawn when hungry females eat their own fry.

Seasonal Feeding Patterns

Spring: The Feeding Frenzy

Spring is when bass fishing gets crazy. As water temperatures climb through the 50s and 60s, bass shift from survival mode to feeding mode. During pre-spawn (water temps 48-55°F), they gorge on crawfish and early-moving shad.

The spawn itself (58-72°F) presents unique opportunities. While males guard nests and rarely eat, females will lay thousands of eggs during the spawn, and only 25 to 50 may survive - partly because post-spawn females often eat their own fry.

Summer: Diverse Diet Options

Summer bass have a buffet of options. Early morning and late evening, they hammer shad and bluegill in the shallows. During the day, they retreat to deeper water, feeding on whatever crosses their path.

Key summer patterns:

• Dawn: Shad and baitfish near surface
• Midday: Deep structure, feeding on crawfish
• Dusk: Bluegill around cover
• Night: Active feeding in shallows

Fall: Chasing Shad Schools

Fall is all about the baitfish. As shad schools migrate to creeks and coves, bass follow like guided missiles. This creates some of the most exciting topwater action of the year. I've seen acre-sized schools of shad getting destroyed by bass, with birds diving from above - pure chaos.

Look for:

• Birds working over water
• Shad flipping on surface
• Bass busting in open water
• Creek channel bends where shad stack up

Winter: Selective Feeding

Winter bass are like me before my morning coffee - sluggish and picky. They'll still eat, but meals need to be easy. Dying shad during cold snaps create easy opportunities, and bass will slowly inhale these protein-packed meals with minimal effort.

Best winter foods:

• Dying or sluggish shad
• Slow-moving crawfish
• Small bluegill near warm-water discharges
• Compact meals that don't require chase

Do Bass Eat at Night?

Absolutely! In fact, upwards of 90% of all fish, not just bass, feed predominantly, though not exclusively, at night. This isn't just a summer phenomenon - it happens year-round, though it's most pronounced during hot weather.

As night falls are bass given the freedom to feed on the frogs, shiners, crayfish and small panfish that also become active when the sun fades away. I've had some of my best catches happen after dark, especially during the full moon in summer.

Why bass feed heavily at night:

• Cooler water temperatures increase activity
• Less boat traffic and fishing pressure
• Prey species are more active
• Darkness makes them less afraid to come in close to shore

The key to night fishing is understanding that bass use vibration more than sight. This is why Colorado-blade spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and anything that moves water works so well after dark.

Bass Eating Other Fish Species

Do Bass Eat Crappie?

This question comes up a lot, and the answer might surprise you. While bass certainly can and will eat crappie, it's not as common as you'd think. Crappie are schooling predators and are generally going to be found in open water. A bass would have to expend much more energy to effectively chase down and eat a crappie.

The main issue is habitat separation. Crappie prefer open water, while bass are ambush predators that stick to cover. However, during the crappie spawn when they move shallow, all bets are off. I've caught several bass with small crappie tails sticking out of their throats.

Do Bass Eat Bluegill?

Oh boy, do they ever! Bluegill, also known as sunfish or bream, are a popular food source for bass. The relationship between bass and bluegill is so important that it forms the foundation of most pond management strategies.

What makes bluegill such perfect bass food:

• Abundant and reproduce frequently
• Relatively slow swimmers
• Found in the same habitat as bass
• High protein content
• Available year-round

During my years of kayak fishing, I've noticed bass key on bluegill especially hard during two periods: the bluegill spawn in late spring and again in fall when young-of-year bluegill are the perfect eating size.

Do Bass Eat Smaller Bass?

Cannibalism is more common than most anglers realize. Young bass that are not sexually mature will feast on young bass any chance they get. I once watched a 4-pound largemouth chase a 1-pound bass I was releasing right to my kayak.

Cannibalism does happen a lot, and it's usually more focused on year-old, six- to 10-inch fish predating upon the fingerlings after they hatch. This natural population control actually helps maintain healthy bass populations by preventing stunting.

What Is Bass's Favorite Food?

After decades on the water and countless conversations with biologists, the answer is clear: If they are available, threadfin shad are probably the favorite food of largemouth bass. But here's the thing - bass are adaptable. Their "favorite" food is usually whatever's most abundant and easiest to catch.

In my experience:

• Lakes with shad: Shad dominate diet (60-70%)
• Northern lakes: Perch and panfish rule
• Rivers: Crawfish often top the menu
• Ponds: Bluegill are king
• Florida waters: Golden shiners are candy

What Do Spotted Bass Eat?

Spotted bass are like the middle child between largemouth and smallmouth - not quite as aggressive as largemouth but more versatile than smallies. The spotted bass' diet falls in between the largemouth and smallmouth bass. It isn't nearly as predatory as the largemouth.

Their diet consists mainly of:

• Crayfish (their absolute favorite)
• Small minnows and shad
• Aquatic insects (more than largemouth)
• They also eat small fish such as bluegill

What makes spots unique is their willingness to eat smaller prey items throughout their lives. While a 5-pound largemouth might ignore anything under 3 inches, spotted bass of the same size happily munch on tiny mayflies during a hatch.

What Eats Largemouth Bass?

It's easy to think of bass as apex predators, but they have their share of enemies too. Adult largemouth are generally apex predators within their habitat, but they are preyed upon by many animals while young.

Young bass face threats from:

• Larger bass (including parents)
• Northern pike and muskellunge
• Great blue herons
• Snapping turtles
• Walleye
• Large catfish
• Water snakes

Even adult bass aren't completely safe:

• Alligators (in southern waters)
• Otters
• Ospreys and eagles
• Cormorants
• And of course, anglers like us!

What Do Baby Bass Eat?

Baby bass, called fry, start life with a very different menu than their parents. All baby fish start out by eating plankton and the largemouth is no exception.

The progression goes like this:

1. First week: Microscopic zooplankton
2. 2-4 weeks: Small water fleas and copepods
3. 1-2 months: Aquatic insects and larvae
4. 2-3 inches: They switch to the bombastic carnivores they are and begin feeding on other fish

What amazes me is how quickly they become predators. I've seen 2-inch bass fry attacking minnows nearly their own size. It's this aggressive feeding behavior that separates the survivors from the statistics.

Feeding Behavior and Patterns

Understanding how bass feed is just as important as knowing what they eat. Bass use different hunting strategies depending on conditions:

Ambush Feeding: The classic bass move. They hide near cover - logs, rocks, weed edges, docks - and wait for prey to swim by. This is why accurate casts from a stable kayak are so important.

Schooling Behavior: When bass find schools of shad in open water, they often hunt in groups. I've seen 20-30 bass working together to corral shad against the surface. It's like watching a pack of wolves.

Bottom Feeding: Don't think bass only look up. They regularly feed on bottom-dwelling prey like crawfish, gobies, and even freshwater mussels. This is especially true in cooler water.

Surface Feeding: The most exciting to watch! Bass will blast through the surface chasing prey, especially during low-light periods. Nothing beats the explosion of a bass crushing a frog in the pads.

Tips for Matching Bass Diet with Lures

After years of studying what bass eat and matching it with successful lures, here's what works:

Match the Hatch Basics:

• Size matters more than perfect color matches
• Movement patterns are crucial
• Sound and vibration often trigger strikes
• Seasonal patterns dictate lure choice

Seasonal Lure Selection:

• Spring: Crawfish patterns (reds/browns), lipless cranks for pre-spawn shad
• Summer: Topwater frogs, shad-colored swimbaits, bluegill-pattern swim jigs
• Fall: Shad-imitating spinnerbaits, walking baits, jerkbaits
• Winter: Slow-sinking suspending jerkbaits, blade baits for dying shad

My Go-To Matches:

• Shad = White/silver spinnerbait or swimbait
• Bluegill = Green pumpkin jig with blue trailer
• Crawfish = Red/brown crankbait or jig
• Frogs = Hollow-body frog or buzzbait
• Baby bass = Perch-pattern crankbait

FAQ

Can bass see what they're eating at night?

Not really. Bass have excellent senses that extend beyond vision, and the night actually gives them an ambush advantage. They rely primarily on their lateral line system to detect vibrations and movement in the dark. This is why noisy lures like buzzbaits and Colorado-blade spinnerbaits work so well at night.

Do bass eat every day?

Not necessarily. Biologists tell us that bass feed somewhere around 10 hours of every 24, but this varies greatly with water temperature. In optimal conditions (65-80°F), bass may feed multiple times daily. In cold water, they might only feed every few days.

What percentage of their body weight can bass eat?

Studies show that bass will eat prey that is as much as 60 percent of their own body size. I've seen bass with bluegill tails sticking out of their mouths because they bit off more than they could chew!

Do all bass in a lake eat the same things?

Not exactly. While the available forage determines the menu, individual bass can develop preferences. I've caught bass from the same spot where one was packed with shad and another full of crawfish. Location, time of day, and individual hunting success all play roles.

Will bass eat dead bait?

Generally, no. Bass are predators that prefer live or recently killed prey. However, during extreme cold when shad die-offs occur, bass will eat freshly dead shad. The key is "freshly" - they won't touch anything that's been dead for long.

Do bass digest everything they eat?

Almost! Their stomach acid is incredibly strong. Hooks disintegrate in the stomach thanks to the strong acid that helps digest food. However, they do regurgitate indigestible items like crayfish shells and fish scales.

How do I know what bass are eating in my lake?

The best method is observation. Watch for:

• Baitfish activity (shad flicking, bluegill spawning)
• Birds diving (indicates baitfish schools)
• Crawfish shells on bank (molting season)
• Stomach contents of caught bass (if keeping any)
• Local bait shop intel

What's the weirdest thing bass eat?

He's found eels, snakes and baby ducks in bass stomachs. Personally, the strangest thing I've seen was a bass that ate a baby muskrat. Bass are true opportunists and will try to eat almost anything that moves!

The Bottom Line

Understanding what bass eat transforms you from someone who just casts lures to someone who truly fishes. Every time I slide my kayak into the water, I'm thinking about what's on the bass's menu that day. Is it a shad fest in the main lake? Are bluegill spawning in the shallows? Did last night's rain wash crawfish from their hiding spots?

This knowledge, combined with the stealth and access a kayak provides, has helped me consistently find and catch bass when others struggle. Remember, bass are survivors because they're adaptable. They'll eat whatever gives them the best chance of making it another day, whether that's a tiny mayfly or a 10-inch trout.

The next time you're out on the water, take a moment to observe what's happening below the surface. Watch for baitfish, notice what insects are hatching, flip a few rocks to see if crawfish are active. The more you understand about what bass eat, the better angler you'll become.

Now get out there and put this knowledge to work. The bass are waiting, and they're hungry!

Want to take your bass fishing to the next level? Check out our guide to the best fish finders for kayak fishing to help you locate both predator and prey. And if you're just getting started, our beginner's guide to kayaking will help you get on the water safely and confidently.