Bass Stocking Explained: Where Largemouth and Smallmouth Get Planted

Montana's stocking records show largemouth bass planted in 850 different waters — more bass water than any other state this site tracks, and roughly ten times Utah's count. Bass rarely headline a state's stocking program the way trout do, but the records show real, ongoing programs in Montana and Utah, plus a smaller, now-dormant one in Washington. Here's what the numbers actually show for largemouth and smallmouth bass.

Key takeaways

• Montana stocks largemouth bass in 850 waters and smallmouth bass in 89 — both far more waters than Utah or Washington.
• Montana's largemouth bass program is still active in 2025; its smallmouth bass program was last recorded in 2020.
• Utah's bass stocking is smaller and more concentrated, led by Hyrum Reservoir and Cottonwood Reservoir.
• Washington's bass records run only from 1995–2008 — the state's bass fisheries today are sustained by natural reproduction, not ongoing stocking.
• Smallmouth bass prefer cooler, rockier water than largemouth; that split shows up in which waters each species gets stocked into.

Largemouth vs. Smallmouth: Different Fish, Different Water

Largemouth and smallmouth bass are both members of the sunfish family, but they're stocked into different kinds of water for a reason. Largemouth bass do best in warm, weedy, slow-moving water — coves, ponds, and reservoir shallows. Smallmouth bass prefer cooler, rockier, clearer water — lakes and moderate-current rivers. That habitat split shows up clearly in the stocking records: Montana's smallmouth program includes rivers like the Bighorn, while its largemouth program is concentrated in reservoirs and ponds.

Montana: The Widest Bass Program by Far

Montana's bass stocking dwarfs the other states in sheer number of waters. For largemouth bass, ranked by total fish recorded:

• Lake Elmo — 30 recorded stockings totaling nearly 395,000 largemouth bass, most recently in 2025.
• Lake Helena — 16 recorded stockings totaling over 300,000 largemouth bass, most recently in 1991.
• Blanchard Lake — 21 recorded stockings totaling over 265,000 largemouth bass, most recently in 2024.

For smallmouth bass, the top Montana waters look different — rivers show up alongside reservoirs:

• Bighorn River — 16 recorded stockings totaling nearly 588,000 smallmouth bass.
• Fort Peck Lake — 21 recorded stockings totaling over 413,000 smallmouth bass, most recently in 2012.

Montana's largemouth program (850 waters, 2,654 records, still active in 2025) is clearly the larger and more current of the two — smallmouth stocking is smaller in scale and hasn't been recorded since 2020.

Utah: A Smaller, More Concentrated Program

Utah stocks bass in far fewer waters than Montana — 86 for largemouth, 19 for smallmouth — but with some individually large releases:

• Hyrum Reservoir — 4 recorded stockings totaling over 206,000 largemouth bass, the largest single Utah bass program on record, last stocked in 1991.
• Cottonwood Reservoir — a single stocking of over 176,000 largemouth bass in 1989.
• Kaysville Stake Pond — 8 recorded stockings totaling nearly 103,000 largemouth bass, the most recent in 2015.

Utah's bass records skew older than its trout program — most of the largest bass stockings on file happened between the late 1980s and 2015, which suggests these fisheries are now largely self-sustaining rather than dependent on continued stocking.

Washington: A Historical Program, Not an Active One

Washington's bass stocking records run from 1995 to 2008 for both largemouth and smallmouth bass, with nothing recorded since. As with Washington's walleye program, that doesn't necessarily mean the fisheries are gone — largemouth and smallmouth bass reproduce readily on their own once established, and Washington's warmwater lakes largely sustain their bass populations naturally today rather than through agency stocking.

How to Fish for Stocked Bass

• Largemouth bass: work weedlines, docks, and shallow cover with soft plastics, topwater lures, or spinnerbaits, especially early and late in the day.
• Smallmouth bass: target rocky points, drop-offs, and current seams with crayfish-imitating jigs and tubes — smallmouth relate to structure more than vegetation.
• Both species are ambush predators, so working a lure past visible cover — rather than open water — is usually the higher-percentage approach.

For a broader look at how family-friendly stocked waters work, including which species are easiest for new anglers, see our guide to family fishing at stocked waters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which state stocks the most bass?

By number of waters, Montana stocks bass far more widely than Utah or Washington — 850 waters for largemouth bass and 89 for smallmouth, versus fewer than 90 combined in Utah and none currently active in Washington.

Is Washington's bass fishery still active?

The stocking records tracked here run only from 1995 to 2008. Washington's largemouth and smallmouth bass populations are largely self-sustaining today, so the absence of recent stocking records doesn't mean the fisheries disappeared — it likely means they no longer need supplemental stocking.

What's the difference between largemouth and smallmouth bass habitat?

Largemouth bass favor warm, weedy, slower water like ponds and reservoir coves. Smallmouth bass prefer cooler, clearer, rockier water — lakes and rivers with moderate current, like Montana's Bighorn River.

Do stocked bass reproduce on their own?

Yes, unlike put-and-take trout, bass readily reproduce in the wild once established in suitable habitat. That's part of why bass stocking records in every state tracked here are much smaller than trout stocking — a single introduction can sustain a fishery for decades.