Sex(not what you think)

[garry77]

  Is there a visual way to determine the sex of a bass(other than females being bigger.)

   Just one of those questions I often wondered about but was afraid to ask. :-/

[Speckled Bass]

Is there a visual way to determine the sex of a bass(other than females being bigger.)

Just one of those questions I often wondered about but was afraid to ask. :-/

Sexing bass during the spawning season it is pretty straightforward. The mature females will have noticeably extended bellies (filled with eggs) or sunken bellies (eggs have been laid). Most of these females will also have an 'ovipositor' (small, tube-like structure that is usually red) extending from their 'urogenital opening' (the opening on their underside where they also discharge wastes). The other bass we assume are mature males, at least the largest ones. The smaller bass are a mix of immature females and males, but we don't know how to tell them apart without cutting them open to look for eggs or milt. During the rest of the year it is the same problem.

There is no guaranteed way to know if a bass is a female or male by just looking at them. I asked my tournament friends who handle bass all the time and they agree that it is not possible to accurately sex a bass from looks alone.

Hope this helps.

[BASS fisherman]

Jimmy Houston claims that when you go to kiss a bass, a female will pucker up.  That's how you can tell the sex of a bass. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[jemackinnon83]

Jimmy Houston claims that when you go to kiss a bass, a female will pucker up.  That's how you can tell the sex of a bass. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Unless you get ahold of a homosexual one

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Short answer- no, but it can be discerned through an autopsy.

As for judging by size during spawn, while certainly a good judge, don't be fooled.  Fluke was working a 4-5 lb bedded fish at Fork last yr. ..........................................then the female came up to the bed : :o :

[Raul]

Females can be sexed, males can be sexed too, females have three openings in the genital papilae, males have two. It 's done by dyeing the anus with methilene blue and rinsing away the dye after a few seconds to show the openings.

Not easy, takes a lot of practice and the help during the process of learning on how to do it of someone with experience. I used to be pretty good at it when I worked at SEPESCA but still I wasn 't 100% accurate on the first run.

[Big-O]

Great info but I haven't cared about the sex of a bass for a long time. I'm in my 70's.

[farmpond1]

oooooooh, it's so difficult not to write what I want to write!  But this is a family forum so I must refrain...... ;D

[paulheelsc]

The easiest way to sex them, and the way hatcheries do it, is by turning the bass upsode down and gently sqeezing the belly towards the back fin.  If white stuff comes out it is a male, if yellow comes out it is a female.  There are times when poop comes out and it tricks you.  Worked at a hatchery some and this is how we sexed all the bass.  Though after bedding season this does not work to well.