Hi guys. Out here in AZ we don't have spotted bass (or so I've been told). I caught this guy today and every fish identifier I can find is telling me this is a spot. Many people from our local forums in AZ agree that it looks an aweful lot like a spot. Yet according to the AZ Game and Fish Department, we don't have spots here. For those of you that are more familiar with spotted bass, what do you think?

Thanks!

I vote largemouth.

Edit: jk i don't know maybe it is a spot? I don't catch spotted bass either lol

I'm no expert, but the jaw, dorsal fin and coloration sure appear to be that of a spot.  Do you recall what the tongue was like? If that dorsal fin is connected and rounded at the back and there is a rough patch on it's tongue, I classify it as a spot. That's a nice one, BTW.  I'm guessing between 3&3.5lb.

I'm no expert, but the jaw, dorsal fin and coloration sure appear to be that of a spot.  Do you recall what the tongue was like?  Gene can tell by looking at them, but if that dorsal fin is connected and rounded at the back and there is a rough patch on it's tongue, I classify it as a spot. That's a nice one, BTW.  I'm guessing between 3&3.5lb.

Thanks!

I didn't pay very close attention at the time, but in remembering back, the mouth did seem to be rougher than any largemouth I've caught. Not sure if that roughness came from the tongue.

My scale read 2 lbs 4 oz. good length, but pretty skinny.

I vote Spot!

That fish certainly has the earmarks of a spotted bass.

If you're lucky enough to catch another, check for a raspy tongue patch then inform your Fish & Game Commission.

 

Roger

That fish certainly has the earmarks of a spotted bass.

If you're lucky enough to catch another, check for a raspy tongue patch then inform your Fish & Game Department.

 

Roger

I'm going back out to the same area later this week to try to catch him again. If I do, I'm going to document the hell out of him and submit for the state record. As it is now Arizona doesn't have a spotted bass record.

I believe it is a spot because:

• The jaw definately does not go past the eye.
• Very little or no bridge to the dorsal fin
• Has rows of pigment dots below the lateral at the belly
• A small pad is usually found on the tongue (pad)

From the picture you can't tell where the jaw ends relative to the eye, the mouth is open!

Where in AZ was this bass caught? No bass are native to AZ, they were all transplanted and anglers find a way to introduce bass to new areas.

The dorsal fin looks to be connected, the scale pattern looks a lot like a spotted bass.

Tom

I would bet that it's a spot.

Spots (from what I have seen in photos and videos) have a slightly more pronounced fork in their tail as well as pointer tips on their tail, largemouth have tails that look more rounded.

Yours looks like it has what I think of as the tail of a spotted bass.

I am going to say largemouth though it is hard to tell. The reason I think its a largie is because of the body shape. That fish is fairly well proportioned.  Spots tend to have longer skinny tails with the gut farther forward. 

Looking at the photo, good photo by the way, the base of the tail has a drak patch of scales the give a spotted bass it's name. The base tail dark patch also appears to have scales extend onto the tail, LMB do not have either of those characterics. Can't tell if the cordial fin has scales at the base.

The closer you look the more it looks like a spotted bass.

How hard did this fight?

Tom

Looking at the photo, good photo by the way, the base of the tail has a drak patch of scales the give a spotted bass it's name. The base tail dark patch also appears to have scales extend onto the tail, LMB do not have either of those characterics. Can't tell if the cordial fin has scales at the base.

The closer you look the more it looks like a spotted bass.

How hard did this fight?

Tom

He pulled fairly hard for a 2 lber. All of the the largemouth I caught today ran straight to the reeds. This guy swam out to deep water with a rocky bottom. Not sure if that's a characteristic or not?

He pulled fairly hard for a 2 lber. All of the the largemouth I caught today ran straight to the reeds. This guy swam out to deep water with a rocky bottom. Not sure if that's a characteristic or not?

2 lb spot pulls like a 3 lb LMB and spots prefer rocky areas.

Tom

I'm going back out to the same area later this week to try to catch him again. If I do, I'm going to document the hell out of him and submit for the state record. As it is now Arizona doesn't have a spotted bass record.

 

Could I suggest that you review the linked page prior to your next trip?

 

https://azgfdportal.az.gov/fishing/records/

 

Seeing as how AZ doesn't recognize a spotted bass as a species in their record books, your only option is going to be a dead spotted bass and not much else.  If you want to go the C&R route, take a picture with the mouth closed, and get your largemouth over 23".

Looks nothing like a spot to me. Even with the mouth not closed to measure how far back it goes, the mouth is way too big. Coloration doesn't look right either. Largemouth all the way to me. 

Looks like a largemouth to me

Looks nothing like a spot to me. Even with the mouth not closed to measure how far back it goes, the mouth is way too big. Coloration doesn't look right either. Largemouth all the way to me. 

This is exactly what I though, too...We don't have a whole lot of spotted bass around here, but I've caught enough to know one when I see it.  

 

LM's can have broken/spotted patterns like that, makes them look kind of like spots...But the mouth is a dead give away, the mouth size on a Spotted is very similar to a Smallmouth.  If I could make a guess, I would bet that fish came from shallow, relatively clear water.  When I catch LM's with patterns like that, it's usually from shallow, clear water.  Good looking fish either way.  

This is exactly what I though, too...We don't have a whole lot of spotted bass around here, but I've caught enough to know one when I see it.  

 

LM's can have broken/spotted patterns like that, makes them look kind of like spots...But the mouth is a dead give away, the mouth size on a Spotted is very similar to a Smallmouth.  If I could make a guess, I would bet that fish came from shallow, relatively clear water.  When I catch LM's with patterns like that, it's usually from shallow, clear water.  Good looking fish either way.  

Exactly, they have pretty small mouths. This is a smallmouth and spot from Table Rock, the smallmouth's mouth was actually bigger than the spots.

 

The coloration says largemouth to me too. It just looks like a lit up largemouth that most likely came from clean, clear water. The fact that there's not supposedly any spots in Arizona helps too. Now if you fish a lake where both exist and you catch one like this,

 

I still have no idea is this was a spot, largemouth, or possibly a hybrid. It came from Table Rock, where Meanmouth hybrids happen often, but that's a smallmouth/spot hybrid. That one still to me looks like a largemouth/spot hybrid and some of the local guys said they see them occasionally. 

Here is my philosophy on the largemouth/spotted bass conundrum: When in doubt, it's a largemouth. (If it's some kind of hybrid, you'll likely never figure that out anyway)

I fish Table Rock most often, and usually know if it's a spotted bass before I even see it by the way it acts/fights, but once I get it in the boat, it's really not that difficult to distinguish the two. Like I said, if a fish looks like it MIGHT be a spotted bass, it's a largemouth. (To be fair, we don't have the giants like they have out west. Maybe those can be trickier. I don't know. I'd love to find out. But people usually ask about regular size fish)

Out in Arizona, you don't get the opportunity to see a lot of spots, which is unfortunate. They are an underrated sport fish because they typically don't get as big as largemouth, and they look similar, so you don't get as much credit as you deserve when you catch a 3 1/2 pounder. But they are bulldog fighters, and if they were as pretty as smallmouth, they'd have their own websites too.

The fish in the picture is a largemouth, by the way.

I vote Spot!

 

 

I concur! 

 

Tom

Totally look like a largemouth to me.

Looks nothing like a spot to me. Even with the mouth not closed to measure how far back it goes, the mouth is way too big. Coloration doesn't look right either. Largemouth all the way to me. 

 

 

I agree. Looks nothing even relatively close to a spot to me. 

 This is why it's important to know the difference. Your pic is not the best however, that is a spotted bass.