I was leading a group in the Hiwassee River on 20th and one of the snorkelers came upon this fish in shallow water. It tolerated several of us getting very close but eventually dashed away. At first i considered it an odd patterned Smallmouth Bass but it is much more aggressive looking, seemingly longer and the pattern very intense.
What ye think, those with knowledge?
My Snorkel Boss has thoughts but is himself unsure. I dare say what we think just yet... and leave it to you. I have never seen such.
In addition nearby under a log we found a pair of large fish circling and chasing and biting each other. One was patterned as in this photo while the other was much plainer, almost bland. Male / Female? If i had not been concerned with the snorkeling group of 17 i would have spent a lot of time studying this spawning / nesting / pairing and taken lots of photos.
10-Bass.JPG 86.97KB 3 downloads