I'm just a damnyankee, and have only caught spots on Norfork in Arkansas. This little girl was short, tubby, fiesty as hell, and the eye did not extend past the jaw. Color is washed out because all Bass from Lake Bryan's chalky water are washed out, almost silver. I caught 4 of them, plus another 10 LMB's on speed cranked smaller medium divers adjacent to deep water at last light.

No

Largemouth

Might be a mean mouth.

Not a spot, especially not a Coosa River Spot.

Largemouth

Not really a good pic to make a positive ID but appears to be a LM.

I think the trick is to feel the tongue. I believe spots have a rougher tongue than largies. If i had to bet though Id call that one a LMB

Spots have a compact body with a small head. This is not a largemouth, because the jaw is small and does not extend past the eye. Whether it's a spot or something else is the question.

i disagree. Ive caught lots of 12-14 inch largies that have been gorging on shad that look just like that. I do really think it looks like a largie in my opinion. When it comes to the jaw extending past the eye, that is not while you are lipping it with a vertical hold. It is supposed to be a shut mouth and then you can use that as a determining factor, from my understanding. Look at this giant....at that angle and lipping him you can also say the jaw does not extend past the eye. Too late now...but the tongue is the giveaway


not my pic

I don’t think so. Honestly doesn’t resemble a spot in any manner.

This is true. The picture doesn't show it, but the jaw did not extend past the eye in the closed position. That and the small head made me question whether it was a spot.

Tough to tell from that pic, first glance looks like a gorged largemouth. Zooming in and looking at the jaw it could be a largemouth spotted cross but I don’t believe it’s a true spotted bass.

FYI, Tongue patch does not work for identifying spotted bass.. to much cross breeding. TPWD no longer lists the rough patch on their identification criteria. It’s all about markings and jaw line.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/fishing/freshwater-fishing/bass-identification

Spotted bass.

To me, it is easy to tell if they are a spot while they are swimming. They have a blueish tint to them, and they fight different. They are always trying to pull straight down. That does not look like our spotted bass at all.