Instagram user @backyrdbassin called upon the Lord in a recent social media video that has earned more than 4 million views and might have bass anglers rethinking their lure selection.
In the clip the young fisherman from Upstate New York is working to unhook a decent-sized bass that fell for his swimbait. As he’s attempting to free the hook, the head of a garter snake pops out of the fish’s gullet. The kid drops the fish in surprise and a snake about as long as the fish slithers free.
“Oh my God, oh my God bro. There’s a f-ing snake crawling out of the fish’s mouth bro. Oh my Jesus,” he says.
But @backyrdbassin probably shouldn’t have been so surprised. Largemouth are aggressive and opportunistic predators. They’re known to eat snakes, lizards, mice, ducklings, and even baby alligators.
“There’s credence to all of it. Ducklings might not be frequent [prey] but that absolutely happens,” Todd Driscoll a district fisheries biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department told OL in 2023. “There’s also no reason why a seven- to eight-pound bass wouldn’t try to eat a baby alligator. When they’re ready to eat, they’re gonna eat whatever presents itself and is small enough that they can digest. It’s really just that simple.”
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As a testament to the largemouth’s aggressive nature, Savage Gear makes a 12-inch topwater snake lure. While I wouldn’t consider this one of the best bass lures on the market, I’m sure that under the right circumstances it can work.
Realistically, aggressively feeding bass are probably not identifying their target before they strike. They sense surface activity through their lateral line, see that the critter can (probably) fit in their mouth, and then strike. It doesn’t matter all that much if it’s a frog, mouse, or snake.
A prey animal can stay alive inside a bass because of the way largemouth feed. Bass have small, sandpaper-like teeth that are meant for gripping, not slicing. They swallow their prey whole and then use pharyngeal teeth (or crushers) in their throat to push the meal into the esophagus, where the critter dies and becomes digested. Unless it somehow gets a lucky break — like the snake in this video — and slithers free.
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