Is it a smallmouth

Comment

Comment by John Sikkila on June 8, 2011 at 4:53am

A largemouth for sure....Coloration totally different than a smallie....Head is different also...Bet he was fun to catch!

Comment by Keith Owen on June 7, 2011 at 11:46pm

Hey Jen,

 

It's a Spotted Bass. Some folks call them Ketuckies or Kentucky Bass. Back of the jaw-hinge even with the back of the eye-ball, connected dorsal fin and the three colored tail (in smaller ones anyway) are all a dead give away.

 

As has been said, a Largemouth Bass will have the back of the jaw-hinge behind (or posterior for the science geeks like me) to the back of the eye and a Small-mouth Bass will have the jaw-hinge terminate posterior to the pupil but not the eye itself. There are other ways to tell all three apart by looking at tooth patches on the tounge, but that's tough to do on the smaller fish.

 

If the spot in the background is Pawhuska Lake, I'm not suprised. I have caught Large-mouth, Spotteds and Small-mouth all three in one day there.

 

If you want a challenge, go for the Pawhuska Sunfish Slam (Bluegill, Red-ear, Greenie, Long-ear and Warmouth) AND the Pawhuska Bass Slam (Large-mouth, Spotted and Small-mouth) both in the same day! If ya want extra honors, catch a Crappie and a Trout as well. The Super, Ultra, Mega Slam is catching everything on the SAME FLY PATTERN.

 

My wife and I have both had days where we caught every species all on the same fly. It was pretty ratty at the end of the day though.

 

Best Fishes,

Keith

Comment by Greg McWilliams on June 6, 2011 at 5:48pm

Jen, Tweek its Cheek and check the eyes, Little Kentuckies will have a red eye!!!! Their are a lot of kentucks in the streams and lakes round here!!!!!

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on June 5, 2011 at 6:24am

Id call is a small, large mouth and let it go at that. But it does seem to have the look of a Kentucky Bass. If those are a bunch of black spots below the lateral line, I'd say it could very well be one....

Comment by Lord of the Fly , Rods on June 4, 2011 at 9:01pm

just another method to id kentuckys, jaw hinged under eye is best.

Comment by Jen Nayfly on June 4, 2011 at 10:49am

So you're saying, I need to tweek it's cheek to find out?

Comment by Lord of the Fly , Rods on June 4, 2011 at 8:49am

 It's not a smallmouth, if it a Spotted Bass" Kentucky" it's scales on its cheeks are smaller than it's scales on it's body, and jaw is hinged below eye, a Largemouth's jaw is hinged behind the eye.

Comment by Derrick Bustle on June 4, 2011 at 8:23am

iT VERY WEL COULD BE ..ARE THERE ANY IN THAT LAKE..BUT WHEN YOU LOOKED AT IT WHEN THE MOUTH WAS CLOSED DID THE JAW HINGE END BEHIND THE EYES.

Comment by Jen Nayfly on June 4, 2011 at 8:10am

Someone else told me it was a kentucky bass

Comment by Derrick Bustle on June 4, 2011 at 7:55am

Its a Largemouth..