So is there a reason you didn't post a picture guide for a hybrid?
And yes the jaw will go back farther but it still wouldn't break the plane dropped from the back of they eye.
Mean Mouth Bass?
- Thread starter wcgunns
- Start date
And yes the jaw will go back farther but it still wouldn't break the plane dropped from the back of they eye.
Thank you for provide the pictures, but I'm still seeing the jaws extend past the eye.
If I were to try and use deductive reasoning (all I can do without genetic testing) I would say that the overall body shape does not appear to be like the football shape associated with the smallmouth so cannot be 100% smallie. Since the the jaw clearly does not extend past the eye I can say it is at least not 100% LMB. Typically a spotted bass has a dark spot at the caudal peduncle. This is evident even in hybrids meaning I don't think this fish has and spotted bass in it. This leaves my guess as a smb X lmb. The only problem with this is how rare that cross is. The spotted bass is the #1 culprit for hybridizing. It often crosses with smallie a and guadalupes. However it does cross with lmb's more often than smallie's do. All that to say "dunno". Lol. This is a confusing fish. Honestly it looks a whole lot like the shoal bass at the Alabama/Georgia line. But it can't be.
All I know is I've fished and kept natives for over 30 years and I've never caught one like that one. I fish bass tournaments and the regulations are different for different species. The tournament officials said that if I would have caught that fish in a tournament I would've been fine because of the length but they didn't have an answer for the species either. Game Warden is saying it's a hybrid bass and most likely a spot x smallie cross. Thanks for all the discussion on my weird bass.
