Smallmouth bass
How to tell a smallmouth bass from the fish it's most often mistaken for, and what you can keep in each BC region.
How to confirm it's a smallmouth bass
- Bronze to brown with faint dark vertical bars
- The upper jaw ends below the eye, not past it
- Red or orange eye
Could it be something else?
Largemouth bass
Largemouth have a dark stripe along the side and a jaw that reaches past the eye.Yellow perch
Yellow perch are yellow with bold bars and have no red eye.
Largemouth have a dark stripe along the side and a jaw that reaches past the eye.Yellow perch
Yellow perch are yellow with bold bars and have no red eye.
Smallmouth bass quotas by region
Each region's quota rule that covers smallmouth bass, in the synopsis' words. Many waters set their own, lower quota or require release; check the water.
Region 1 · Vancouver Island
- Bass: unlimited. Crayfish: 25. Kokanee: 5 (none from streams). White sturgeon: catch and release only. Yellow perch: unlimited. (Haida Gwaii kokanee: 10, none from streams.)
Region 2 · Lower Mainland
- Bass: 20 (excluding Mill Lake). Crappie: 20. Crayfish: 25. Kokanee: 5 (none from streams). Whitefish: 15 (all species combined). White sturgeon: catch and release only.
Region 3 · Thompson-Nicola
- Bass: 0 quota, closed to fishing. Burbot: 2. Crayfish: 25. Kokanee: 5 (none from streams). Whitefish: 15 (all species combined). White sturgeon: catch and release only. Yellow perch: 0 quota, closed to fishing.
Region 4 · Kootenay
- Bass: 0 quota, closed to fishing. Crayfish: 25. Kokanee: 15 (none from streams), no more than 5 over 30 cm. Northern pike, walleye, yellow perch: 0 quota, closed to fishing (see tables for exceptions). White sturgeon: closed to fishing (no exceptions). Whitefish: 15 (all species combined).
Region 5 · Cariboo
- Bass: 0 quota, closed to all fishing. Kokanee: 5 (none from streams). Whitefish: 15 (all species combined). White sturgeon: closed to all fishing in the Fraser River watershed upstream of Williams Lake River; catch and release downstream of and including Williams Lake River; closed in the Fraser River downstream of and including Williams Lake River Sept 15-July 15.
Region 6 · Skeena
- No regional quota listed; see the rules for each water.
Region 7A · Omineca
- No regional quota listed; see the rules for each water.
Region 7B · Peace
- No regional quota listed; see the rules for each water.
Region 8 · Okanagan
- Bass: 0 quota, closed to fishing (see tables for exceptions). Burbot: 2. Crappie: 20. Crayfish: 25. Kokanee: 5 (none from streams). Walleye: 8. Whitefish: 15 (all species combined). Yellow perch: 0 quota, closed to fishing (see tables for exceptions).
Waters with their own smallmouth bass rules
Shawnigan Lake · Elk Lake · Prospect Lake · Spider Lake · Quennell Lake · Kootenay Lake · Columbia River · Wasa Lake · Windermere Lake · Columbia Lake · Jim Smith Lake · Pine River · Okanagan Lake · Skaha Lake · Osoyoos Lake · Vaseux Lake · Christina Lake · Okanagan River