Identification

[Old plug]

Mitch ----- There is a very good steak house on hwy 5 called the branding iron they got a big bar as well. I am sire wrench would love to take us all there. He is really a good fella and would enjoy doing it.

Where was that fish caught and what time of the year.

[bfishn]

Can anyone properly identify this fish?

Stella!

[jdmidwest]

Don't know, been so long since I have seen one. It does not look like the park trout that I have been addicted to lately.

[Al Agnew]

Hybrid for sure. You CAN go by the combination of color and pattern. Color says smallmouth, but pattern has plenty of characteristics of spotted bass that pure smallmouth never have. In particular, the darker, broken band running horizontally down the middle of the side (it only follows the lateral line toward the tail half), and the rows of spots, one on each scale, below that dark band. Pure smallmouth NEVER have those two characteristics.

However...it could be that Chief is trying to trick us. If the fish was caught in the Ozarks, what I just said above is true. But if it was caught in the Southeast, it could very well be a shoal bass. They can have a very similar coloration and pattern, especially the rows of spots along the lower sides.

[ColdWaterFshr]

Spallmouth

[Mitch f]

Where was that fish caught and what time of the year.

Old Plug, don't know, it was Chief who caught it

[Chief Grey Bear]

Different fish same water same day.

Hybrid?

[Guest]

deleted.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Same river.

Now in the first pic, there seems to be a lat line.

Pic #2 has what could be a very, very faint lat line.

Pic#3 has distinctive markings.

The question is are these just faint differences in the same fish?

I'm sure Al would agree that there can be great differences in same species. Take the Shadow bass for example.

Even Largemouth and Spots can very from time of year and quality of water.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Still same river