Black bass

Family: Centrarchidae (Freshwater sunfish)

Black bass (also known as black trout) is a common name used for a variety of similar species of fish within the sunfish family. These freshwater fishes all share the same genus, Micropterus, and include the redeye bass (M. coosae), spotted bass (M. punctulatus), smallmouth bass (M. dolomieu) and largemouth bass (M. salmoides). All species are native to warmer fresh waters east of the Rockies in North America, but have since been introduced into waters throughout the United States, and in some cases (the largemouth bass especially) they have been introduced throughout the world.

These fish are well known as strong fighters, and are fished recreationally. Their meat is eaten, being quite edible and firm. The males build nests in which the eggs are deposited by a female and then fertilized. The male continues to guard the eggs and fry until they leave the nest. All species have a dull green base coloring with dark patterns on the sides.

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Most of this information was taken from the following source:
Freshwater Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland & Delaware by F.C Rohde, R.G. Arndt, D.G. Lindquist, & J.F. Parnell. 1994. University of North Carolina Press. 222 pp.