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Largemouth or Smallmouth

Started by Guest_donkeyman876_* , Jul 25 2010 06:37 PM

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13 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_donkeyman876_*

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Posted 25 July 2010 - 06:37 PM

Are these largemouth or smallmouth bass, both are in the lake (Lake Whittaker, Belmont, Ontario) When I caught it I though it was a smallmouth but the photos are making me reconsider. What do you think?

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#2 Guest_Alex95_*

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Posted 25 July 2010 - 07:17 PM

laregmouth

Edited by Alex95, 25 July 2010 - 07:17 PM.

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#3 Guest_donkeyman876_*

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Posted 25 July 2010 - 07:29 PM

laregmouth

thanks, welcome to the forum!!

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#4 Guest_NVCichlids_*

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Posted 25 July 2010 - 08:26 PM

JUst as an easy ID, not brown and no red eye. Definately would be a largemouth not a smallie.

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#5 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 25 July 2010 - 09:35 PM

I think he's just trying to show off his catch (nice BTW).
If not, he seriously needs to drop 12 bucks and get a field guide.

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#6 Guest_FirstChAoS_*

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Posted 25 July 2010 - 09:45 PM

JUst as an easy ID, not brown and no red eye. Definately would be a largemouth not a smallie.

Not all smallmouth are brown, not all have stripes, some colorations are regional.

blackish green

Posted Image

green

brown

also they may or may not have stripes. All my local ones vary from green to blackish green and no adults i seen locally have ever had stripes. I wonder what factors contribute to their coloration.

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#7 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 25 July 2010 - 10:16 PM

In my experience Smallmouth from turbid water usually lack any bars and young fish often have a green hue. Smallmouth from clear lakes most often are strongly barred and I've yet to see with a greenish hue. I believe water turbidity alone accounts for this difference since the same rivers when clear will produce Smallmouth with bars.

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#8 Guest_panfisherteen_*

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Posted 25 July 2010 - 11:02 PM

the easiest way for me to tell between the two is whether there are those markings that follow the lateral line, very indicitave of largemouth (at least up here it is)

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#9 Guest_FirstChAoS_*

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Posted 26 July 2010 - 01:36 AM

the easiest way for me to tell between the two is whether there are those markings that follow the lateral line, very indicitave of largemouth (at least up here it is)

the opfficial way in most books i read is the largemouths mouth extends beyond the eye while the smallmouths doesn't. But the black bar heading horizontally along the side of a largemouth is an easy identification point if the bass has a stripe like that.

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#10 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 26 July 2010 - 08:54 AM

JUst as an easy ID, not brown and no red eye. Definately would be a largemouth not a smallie.

I wouldn't use the eye color as an identifying characteristic for Smallmouth Bass. I have a friend who recently caught (in January 2010) a Largemouth Bass with some eyes that were red as can be.

Posted Image

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#11 Guest_donkeyman876_*

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Posted 26 July 2010 - 11:50 AM

I think the mouth is the only sure-fire way to tell.

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#12 Guest_dmarkley_*

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Posted 26 July 2010 - 12:38 PM

I think the mouth is the only sure-fire way to tell.

I believe you can also tell from the dorsal fin. A largemouth has a separated pair while a smallmouth has what looks like two but they are really joined.

Dean

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#13 Guest_NVCichlids_*

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Posted 26 July 2010 - 12:38 PM

Are we looking for a way to ID 100% of the time scientifically or just as a general rule of thumb. I have never seen a smallmouth that didn't have a golden brown color to it. Even with your green hue'd one pictured above, the fish clearly looks brown to me (and my color vision is supposedly superb.)

Now that red-eyed largemouth does throw a wrench in it, but agian, it isn't brown so my "General" ID'ing method works. It isn't 100% accurate, but if your catching an annomolly fish, your going to be questioning it anyways.

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#14 Guest_az9_*

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Posted 05 August 2010 - 11:55 PM

Are we looking for a way to ID 100% of the time scientifically or just as a general rule of thumb. I have never seen a smallmouth that didn't have a golden brown color to it. Even with your green hue'd one pictured above, the fish clearly looks brown to me (and my color vision is supposedly superb.)

Now that red-eyed largemouth does throw a wrench in it, but agian, it isn't brown so my "General" ID'ing method works. It isn't 100% accurate, but if your catching an annomolly fish, your going to be questioning it anyways.

Definitely a largemouth in the two photos. A smallmouth will NEVER have that dark longitudinal line down the center. And yes maxillary bone position and whether the spiny and soft dorsal fin are connected is another key identifying factor.

As far as smallmouth, I've seen them all the way from black to banana yellow as a fish taxidermist. I've also seen them change colors in a live well depending the on the color of the live well. Most of the Canadian shield fish I get in have a brown tone but locally here in Indiana they tend to be green.

Also raising smallmouth in a pond I can tell you they don't always have red eyes either. In fact the smallmouth I raise have brown eyes.

I have to wonder if the eyes on the largemouth in the photo could be stress induced and temporary. When I used to raise largemouth bass it was common to see inflamed gums and teeth when the bass were taken through the ice. Other times of year I never saw that.

Edited by az9, 05 August 2010 - 11:59 PM.