Strange and silly question, but...

[Glaucus]

I've seen so many videos of bass eating squirrels, mice, rats, snakes, etc. A bass doesn't have the jaw pressure to kill these things before going down the throat, do they? And they don't have the teeth to chew them up. So my question is, do these critters bite and claw the inside of the bass until they're dead? 

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Digestive enzymes and asphyxiation

[BuzzHudson19c]

1 hour ago, Glaucus said:

So my question is, do these critters bite and claw the inside of the bass until they're dead? 

Pretty much. I mean mammals and birds do drown so it's not like they will be clawing around long.

 

 

[MassYak85]

I imagine a 6+ lb bass probably could crush a mouse with it's jaws. A squirrel would probably put up a decent fight though. I'm not sure if a bass has the mental capacity to plan this out but they could also probably easily grab it's tail and pull it under and drown it. 

[geo g]

They drown first!

[Oregon Native]

It was soooo cool to fish the California Delta many years ago and watch red wing blackbirds dissapear in a splash and a swirl!!!

[All about da bass]

Those bass have teeth on their jaws and their jaws are very powerful. They also have crushers in the back of their mouth before they begin to swallow whatever that's been torn. I have a pet bass (5pounds), I quit hand feeding him because he can hit me and the shad really hard.

[rtwvumtneer6]

It's pretty interesting to see some of the stuff that a bass will leave in a live well. 

 

I've heard of people catching a bass and finding a still living snake that hasn't been fully digested yet.  

 

There are many reasons a bass will "eat" that has nothing to do with it being hungry so not much would surprise me.  

[Bankbeater]

Did you ever have a bass hit a topwater bait and not take it, just to have that bass come right back a few seconds later and swallow it? I read somewhere that bass will try to hurt or drown something swimming on the surface so it doesn't put up fight as it's being eaten.

[sully420]

When you watch bass eat live critters they will bite them and spit them out until they stop moving then eat it. They also do this when they eat off the bottom and draw in silt mud or gravel, they will take it off the bottom and spit it all out then eat the critter.

[BubbaBassin’]

They’re much more powerful than most expect, the primary way of killing its prey for a bass, depending on the area and prey type, are normally crushing the prey or to just inhale them and let their digestive track do the killing. ( But that’s mainly smaller creatures.)

[Rahlow]

I believe LMB have what is called Pharyngeal teeth, sort of in their throat, they use those and stomach muscles to crush prey,,

[the reel ess]

They will crush a crawfish before they swallow it.

[Bluebasser86]

They swallow their prey whole. I've had them throw up still live craws, all sorts of baitfish, a baby turtle, bugs, and a salamander, all from down past their throat far enough that I couldn't see them. They don't have any powerful crushers, you can reach into their stomach to remove plastics they've swallowed, there's videos out there demonstrating how to do it if you look for them. Search pulling senkos out of bass.