type of fish

Question

evans bass   QUESTION:  
"I have a fishing buddy that caught this fish and claims that it is a small mouth. I say that it is a large mouth or spot. I also sent a picture of said fish. He said the following.
Look at his mouth. On a largemouth the corner of his mouth comes back to his eye. On a Kentucky his dorsal fin is continuous and not to separate fins and he has a rough tongue which this one did not. I agree the coloring on the photo looks like a largemouth but this was a small mouth."

ANSWER: OK, without actually being there, this picture while it looks like a largemouth, is a smallmouth in my opinion. The large bars on the side are more a smallmouth trait, and normally on a largemouth they are smaller and more uniform sizes. It is a possibility that this is a Meanmouth bass. A cross between a smallmouth and a largemouth. They are rare, but do occur naturally in nature. Waht lake was this fish caught on, and what state would help a lot in my deciding if this might be a meanmouth.  The size of the mouth is too small for a largemouth. The mouth on a Largemouth comes back past the eyes. On a Kentuycky it would be just to the eye and on a smallmouth in front of the eye. I have to take your word on the dorsal fin. IF the mouth is not past the eye then this is most likely a smallmouth or meanmouth. Smallmouth do not always have a brown coloring. It depends on the lake, the type of cover, and many other factors. I have caught many a smallie that was green. Send me info on where caught, what type of cover, and whether the mouth is past the eye or not.
Jim Dicken


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm the guy talked about above.  I caught the 6# 4 oz bass mid lake on a flat off a secondary point in about 5 ft of water at 10 am.  The dorsal fin was not continuous an it tongue was smooth.  The mouth was about the size of a baseball.  The coloring looked like a large mouth, see attached image, but I thought it could not be a largemouth with such a small mouth.     Dick

Answer
Because of the color, and size of the bars on the side, I tend to lean towards a smallmouth. HOWEVER there is a naturally occurring cross of a smallie and a largemouth that this might be. Normally at Watts Bar the smallies are a brownish color, but if you caught it on a mid lake flat where there is vegetation then the green color is not unlikely as they will change their color to mimic the background of the area they are in. That is why most smallies are brown. They tend to live in rocky areas feeding on crawfish, and baitfish. Some do develop a love for weeded areas and tend to a greenish largemouth color.
My bet is that this is a meanmouth. The color and the size of the mouth screams both fish, so the realistic idea is meanmouth. Without actually touching the fish, I am not sure and a biologist at TWRA should be able to help, but he too might want to see it. 6 pounds really? Looked much smaller to me the way it was held out.. but hey, I believe you, you are a fisherman after all. We know fishermen never lie about size. (That is me joking by the way, I believe it was a 6 -4)
Any way try sending the pic to a biologist at TWRA. LM have uniform bars, while smallies tend to have bars on the side that differ in size like the fish shown.
Jim Dicken
PS.. if you ever wanted to go to Alaska to fish, I am working at a lodge this summer. Cost is $849 for a week in a cabin on the Kenai River, and 3 guided fishing trips.  www.alaska-fishing-guide-1.com if you are interested. Talk to George about the trip. We have a lot of openings and airfare is down around $600 round trip to Alaska right now in most places. I can probably get it for you on Priceline cheaper.