I caught this bass today on a a wild shiner and was pretty sure it was a Guadalupe bass, but couldn't tell for sure. Well, actually, I caught it twice by the end of the day (an identical small scuff and black spot on opposite sides of the head were what told me it was the same fish). Its green coloration extends so low that I'm convinced that it isn't a spot, but wanted to check with TFF. If this is a Guadalupe then it's my PB, I was convinced I had hooked into a 3lb LMB when it realized it was hooked.

Id say it's a guadalupe bass...

Where was it caught?

Guad

Id say it's a guadalupe bass... but maybe a really nice spotted bass depending where it was caught at.

Looks like a guadalupe bass to me. Nice catch.

Pretty fish! Cool catch

Guadalupe bass. Looks like you are fishing a hill country stream? Caught countless guads fishing the S. Llano, Llano, Guadalupe, Medina, Frio, San Marcos……

Thank you to all who replied, I fell asleep very early after a day in the sun so I never saw these replies yesterday. Does anybody have any info for identifying guads vs spots, other than spot pattern and how far the coloration extends toward the belly? Tongue patch, number of spines/rays, etc.? I'm almost obsessive about learning to ID different species, and I'd rather have a technique in mind than have to ask for help any time I get a good one

Looks like a Guadalupe Bass to me. Nice fish.

good looking bass

Geographic location is a pretty important detail in determining what it is. Guadalupe Bass have a much smaller distribution than Spotted Bass so that will help a lot. That said, TPWD looked at some genetics and found some Guadalupe/Spotted hybrids much further away from the Hill Country than they were initially thought to occur. Pretty fish regardless!

Guad, I've never seen spotted bass in that color and their fins tend to be clear or close to it. Of course all the ones I catch are small, adults may vary.