The big three, everywhere
Across almost every water we cover, largemouth diet concentrates on three menus: shad (open-water calories, the schooling driver), crawfish (the bottom protein, biggest in spring and fall), and bluegill/sunfish (the dock-and-grass staple all summer). Regional guests join: herring in blueback lakes, hitch in California, gobies up north: but master imitating the big three and you are dangerous anywhere.
Late winter and pre-spawn: crawfish first
Cold-water bass want slow, big and bottom: crawfish emerge on the first warm rock banks (reds and oranges early, greens later), and the pre-spawn females shadow them. Hence the eternal late-winter money baits: red lipless cranks over grass flats, craw-colored jigs on rock 45s, slow wobbling crankbaits. Water 45-58F: think craw until the shallows pass 60.
Spawn and post-spawn: defense, then bluegill revenge
Bedding fish strike intruders: bluegill, salamanders, craws: not from hunger but security: hence creature baits and lizards in the nests. The moment fry appear, roles reverse: bluegill raid bass fry, and post-spawn females ambush the raiders. Bluegill-pattern squarebills, swim jigs and topwater around spawning-bank cover cash that revenge window for weeks.
Early summer: the shad spawn sprint
At 68-74F, threadfin shad spawn at dawn on hard edges: riprap, seawalls, grass lines: and bass strap on the feed bag for the best 90 minutes of the season. Silver moving baits (spinnerbaits, swim jigs, flukes) burned along the spawn banks at first light: when the flicker stops, the window closed: go find the bluegill beds.
High summer: follow the oxygen and the bait balls
Summer diets split by lake type: shad lakes go offshore (schools tracking bait over structure: your electronics find dinner first), grass lakes stay shallow on bluegill (frogs and swim jigs in the salad), and river fish eat whatever the current delivers. Match the forage's size honestly: midsummer shad run small: downsizing outfishes ego.
Fall: the migration buffet
Cooling water sends shad up the creeks and bass follow in the year's most pattern-able feed: white moving baits from creek mouths to the backs, gorging on every flat. On craw lakes, the second molt colors jigs orange again. Fall is imitation at its purest: find bait flickers, throw the flicker's twin, repeat until winter.
Common questions
What do bass eat the most?
Across most US waters: shad in open water, crawfish on bottom structure, and bluegill around cover: with regional additions like herring or gobies. Season decides which menu leads.
What should I throw when nothing is working?
Match the dominant forage smaller and slower: a finesse worm on bluegill lakes, a small silver fluke on shad lakes, a craw jig on rock. When in doubt, downsize before changing spots.