smallmouthadj.n.

1880 13th Ann. Rep. Ohio State Hort. Soc. 136 Both species of the black bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacepeke) Gill, the small mouth bass, and Micropterus pallidus (Rafinesque) Gill and Jordan, the large-mouthed black bass (Oswego bass), are remarkably active.

1909 Daily Chron. 22 Sept. 1/6 Bass of the small mouth variety live better in fresh water.

c1978 Rep. No. 34 (S. Afr. Dept. Nature & Environmental Conservation) 55 Recently attention has been given to the culture of the small-mouth yellowfish.

1998 E. Shevick Air Sci. Sci. Action Labs 21 Obtain a tall small-mouth jar, similar to a milk bottle.

2002 F. R. Gehlbach Messages from Wild 155 Smallmouth salamander is another autumn breeder that takes advantage of less-used resources.

1880 D. W. Cross Fifty Years with Gun & Rod xii. 122 The big-mouth bass is clearly and properly described by Fred. Mather, (as is also the small-mouth,) by signs and terms so clear, that hereafter no sportsman will be justified in confounding them.

1884 G. B. Goode in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 401 The Small-mouth shares with the Large-mouth in the Southern States the names ‘Jumper’, ‘Perch’, and ‘Trout’.

1950 Boys' Life May 6 I consider a Heddon ‘Pal’ Rod and ‘River Runt Spook’ the most effective combination for smallmouths.

2002 Outdoor Life Feb. 95/1 Try to save a weekday for spring trout, smallmouths and a few pickerel.

1884 G. B. Goode in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 401 The Big-mouth Black Bass,..and the Small-mouth Black Bass, micropterus dolomiei.

1959 Boys' Life Apr. 16 Explorers brought along nets to seine for minnows, a favorite food of the smallmouth bass.

2009 W. J. Vande Kopple Release 55 His line snapped up taut, his rod bent into a capital C, and a smallmouth bass—better than a foot long—blasted out of the water.

1880 Frank Leslie's Pop. Monthly May 153 (caption) Small-mouth Black Bass.

1929 Ecology 10 325 Only one fish of any size was taken, this being a small mouth black bass.

2008 A. Taim Almaguin Chrons. x. 110 (caption) Here is a vintage scene from Loring and nearby Deer Lake, showing a range of fish from smallmouth black bass to speckled trout.