This a LM or a SM? 2025

Scorcher214 reply :

Title says it. My step dad says it is a smallie because it's mouth doesn't go behind it;s eye, but it has the black stripe along its body. It doesn't Look like any of the other smallmouth I've caught. I always thought they were a darker brown.

skunked_again reply :

evrgladesbasser reply :

Quote
LM

yep

.dsaavedra. reply :

the upper maxillary does go past the eye... definitely a largemouth.

Scorcher214 reply :

THANK GOD. I was pretty sure i was right. Thanks fro the help fellas ;D

Glenn reply :

Beyond a doubt, it's a largemouth. Besides the jawline, the lateral line is clearly visible, plus the tail is "streamlined" and lighter in color (smallmouth tails are "boxy" and very dark).

Scorcher214 reply :

Now that's what i said, the lateral line is clearly visible and i also said the smallie has brown vertical bars. I've caught smallmouth before i know what they look like. I just need to show this thread to my stepdad. He kept saying that I've never caught "north channel" smallmouth. Now just to be sure, what part of the mouth do i have to make sure passes the eye? I just wanna make sure he knows i know my bass. Ya know?

Glenn reply :

You know, I don't even go by that. Just look at the fish I'm holding. THOSE are smallmouth!

.dsaavedra. reply :

Quote
Now just to be sure, what part of the mouth do i have to make sure passes the eye?

Its called the upper maxillary.

Grey Wolf reply :

You're right.

Scorcher214 reply :

Thanks for the help Dave!

CAdeltaLipRipper reply :

largemouth

NateFollmer reply :

Smallies usually look like tigers (haha) smallies will also sometimes have red eyes (SOMETIMES, not always). Another way to tell is smallies mouths look like they bend down a little toward their belly while a largemouths will look like it's straight.

These are just a few more ways to tell, but everyone else posted the obvious ones

WRB reply :

Coloration can vary greatly; smallmouth bass don't have dark lateral line coloration regardless of the region. Also the dorsal fin is connected on smallmouth and separated on largemouths.

Spotted bass can look like largemouth, have dark lateral line, connected dorsal fins and mouth to the center of the eye. The bass pictured could easily be a spotted bass without knowing where it was caught.

New River Fly reply :

A lot of people have been saying they are catching some Largemouth in the in our area of the New this year. I have caught a couple and they are actually Kentucky Bass that have features of both Smallie and Largemouth.

culprit71 reply :

Yeah I had a similar case when I was fishing with my buddies I Think it was Round lake or Little Square Pond or something in the Adirondacks. They told me they were catching smallmouth and since I wanted to catch smallmouth at the time I was anticipating it, but they turned out to be lg mouth. The mouths, though, were not what I see down in NJ. the mouths did not clear the eye ( I didn't know about the upper maxillary) but the mouths were big, the fish were green and had a dark lateral line, no red eyes. Maybe just a different strain, different genes.

Now are you talking Kentucky "Spotted" bass? I've never caught a spotted bass

burce reply :

I've been catching a ton of these little things on a small lake in less than 10 feet of water with senkos. I've never caught a smallie but I'm pretty sure what I'm catching is smallmouth bass. Am I right?

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J Francho reply :

Smallmouth.

Gorgebassman reply :

Large Mouth for sure

timothy_spain reply :

you've probably heard this a millions times -- but it's definitely a largemouth

Hinkle2891 reply :

the markings are tell-tale smallmouth.

Grey Wolf reply :

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I've been catching a ton of these little things on a small lake in less than 10 feet of water with senkos. I've never caught a smallie but I'm pretty sure what I'm catching is smallmouth bass. Am I right?

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Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Yes.

slonezp reply :

Quote
You know, I don't even go by that. Just look at the fish I'm holding. THOSE are smallmouth!

Glenn, Your smallies have well defined markings, as does the original posters LM.

Not all LM or SM have such markings. Especially smaller ones. Early spring on the water I fish when the LM are just moving into the shallows the bass tend to be a light greenish color with little or no lateral line.

And smallies Are tan and don't always have well defined markings like the fish in your pic. Red eyes are also a determiner in species.

So you see there could sometimes be a little confusion.

DocRabbit reply :

Generally, if you caught it in the Adirondacks, its a largemouth. This is because, as I have been told by a fisheries and parks manager and marine biologist friend of my dads, smallmouth compete with pike and not often found in the same area.

burce reply :

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Generally, if you caught it in the Adirondacks, its a largemouth. This is because, as I have been told by a fisheries and parks manager and marine biologist friend of my dads, smallmouth compete with pike and not often found in the same area.

Ha I actually caught mine in mirror lake next to lake placid in new york (adirondacks) but the other poster said it was a smallie and I think so too

D.R.BassSeeker reply :

LM without a doubt

flipinstick88 reply :

For me the easiest way to tell black bass apart is the "bridge" on the dorsal fin.

http://www.tennessee.gov/twra/fish/FishFacts/black_bass_id.jpg

Nice_Bass reply :

Quote
Coloration can vary greatly; smallmouth bass don't have dark lateral line coloration regardless of the region. Also the dorsal fin is connected on smallmouth and separated on largemouths.
Spotted bass can look like largemouth, have dark lateral line, connected dorsal fins and mouth to the center of the eye. The bass pictured could easily be a spotted bass without knowing where it was caught.

Rough spot on tounge should help figure out.

noway reply :

That's RW's 10 pounder, caught with RW's bait in RW's pond.

farmpond1 reply :

There have been a few dissenters but I'm with the majority: Your bass is a largemouth. From where I'm sitting, there's no question about it.

brushhoggin reply :

Quote
That's RW's 10 pounder, caught with RW's bait in RW's pond.

aw come on man, hope you're kidding.

SkeeterDon reply :

spot

bt fisherman reply :

lm by far it has the black stripe on its side

405z06 reply :

It's odd how some people have problems identifying the different black bass species. In this area a lot of people have problems identifying spotted bass (Kentucky bass). And it doesn't necessarily reflect the angler's ability....some people just have a hard time for whatever reason.

Though, to be honest, the difference between a smallie and a largemouth is like the difference between a dog and a cat to my eyes. ;D

culprit71 reply :

Hey thanks flipinstick88 for that nice side by side of the 3 species. Spotted Bass almost look like a combo between the two.

It seems as though this thread diverged a little. The first question was clearly about identifying a largemouth bass then somehwhere halfway through there was another post with a smallie in it and then people started chiming in about the smallie. The original poster was referring to the first picture.

I agree about lg and sm being like cats and dogs. The largemouth is much more elliptical and streamlined "smoother" in shape if you will and it's also more of a silver emerald green

compared to the "boxy" smallmouth with a tannish more yellow green with vertical stripes.

littlejon reply :

looks like a spot to me. a spot is not a lm or a sm. The pic is really too small to see the scales around the eye but the jaw line is a give away.

I must be missing something because I know for a fact that I know less about bass than most on this board.

I found this about spots on another board.

I also noticed an article dealing with spotted bass and a question on how to properly identify the species. Before enacting this regulation, MDC looked at hundreds of black bass (largemouth, spotted, and smallmouth), during our regular spring time sampling, to determine what characteristics could be used to accurately identify the spotted bass.

After analyzing the data, we concluded that three characteristics could be used. When used together, these characteristics provide the angler with over 99% accuracy. The characteristics include:

1. Jaw Bone. As mentioned by a few of web site visitors, the jaw bone of a spotted bass does not extend past the eye.

2. Cheek Scales. Scales around the eye area, cheek, are much smaller than the scales along the length of the body. On largemouth, the scales on the ckeek and the rest of the body are similar in size.

3. Tongue Patch. Spotted bass will have a rough patch on their tongues. It is important not to use this characteristic by itself, because largemouth can have this patch as well.

We found other characteristics, such as color, varied too much under various water clarities and could not be relied upon. Anglers who spend a lot of time on the water have no trouble using coloration, spot patterns, etc. to identify spots while they are still in the water. However, we had to make the identifying simple and accurate enough even for the novices. It would be good to point out now that the Missouri and Arkansas agents are enforcing this regulation based on the above mentioned characteristics.

I also noticed that one of visitors stated that spotted bass are hybrids between largemouth and smallmouth. Actually, they are there own true species and not hybrids. There are occurrences of hybrids such as the spotted & smallmouth, which is referred to as the meanmouth. Also, all three species (largemouth, spotted, and smallmouth) are all black bass.

I hope this is information that will help your clients as well as other anglers visiting your web site. Keep up the good work and if there is any information that I can provide to you and your web site, please let me know. Take care and let's pray for a lot of good rains this spring, Bull Shoals needs it!

P.O. Box 138

West Plains, MO 65775

(417) 256-7161 ext. 277

pratta@mail.conservation.state.mo.us

Triton Jones reply :

Spot

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This a LM or a SM? 2025

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