I've noticed when I'm watching various fishing shows or YouTube videos that a lot of anglers while reeling in a fish, can tell the type of fish, apparently by how it fights?

 

I can say with some I can tell what kind of fish it is by the bite, for instance a bluegill bite feels different than a bass, but can you really tell the type of fish by the fight?

 

I can say in all honesty I can't. I've had a particularly strong large-ish bluegill make me think I had a nice bass, or a smallie feel like a big largemouth, crappie feel like a nice largemouth, etc. 

 

What's the secret? I want to be able to tell too.

time on the water will basically help you know more. a smallie will pull a lot differently than a largemouth will, a pike will feel different than a bass and so on and so on

I can usually tell when I am fighting a bass, a pickerel or a pike. With bass, I can feel the head shakes which usually gives it away. Pike swim extremely fast and they pick a direction and just run. Pickerel usually twist and flip like you'd imagine a snake would. Its pretty easy to tell what I am fighting out of those 3 fish. 

To me smallish fresh water fish are the hardest to tell apart 

 

But In my experience a LM Bass will almost always fight the hardest right after being hooked, then back off a little as they get tired real quick. 

Then as you get it closer to the boat they will try to take off again usually with a stronger run than when it was hooked. 

 

Also, you'll feel the head shake and when they're coming up to jump. 

 

Pay special attention to all those the next time you hook up and after a while you'll know too. 

 

 

 

Mike

Time on the water will tell you.

 

I fish brackish so it is always a crap shoot but I can usually tell within a few seconds wether it's a bass, blue gill, catfish, red, Snook, trout, jack, lady fish, etc.

 

Just takes some experience. 

 

Easiest to discern is a tarpon. Even the little bitty ones go bats*#& crazy as soon as they feel the hook.

Yes , I can almost always correctly call a catfish . A  drum will sail at the onset . A carp is in to win it .

Anyone ever have LMB who literally don't fight at all? I've hooked into LMB that left me thinking I was pulling up a snag because it's dead weight. Get 'em out though and then they go nuts.

23 minutes ago, Sword of the Lord said:

Anyone ever have LMB who literally don't fight at all? I've hooked into LMB that left me thinking I was pulling up a snag because it's dead weight. Get 'em out though and then they go nuts.

Absolutely. The last decent sized one I caught a few weeks ago behaved similar like that, no fight. The only exception is I knew it wasn't a snag because my line slowly went limp, which meant it was coming toward me. 

 

Another type of behavior I expeirence with larger LM bass Mike L described but I'll throw a little bit of possum too, playing dead ?

 

Sensing the type of fish comes with experience and paying attention to how the fish caught fight. 

37 minutes ago, Sword of the Lord said:

Anyone ever have LMB who literally don't fight at all?

Yes . Some of the old ones come right in and I have caught some sick ones too .

Editing!?

If you can't tell a smallmouth by how it pulls, just give it a second and it will jump up and give you a good look.

I can tell but I'm not always right. Ain't never had a crappie mistaken for a bass though??

 

  The easiest ones are the walleyes...if it feels like you're reeling in a tube sock, that's a walleye.

most spots fight different than a largemouth. they tend to dig alot harder, not jumping (although some do). a two pound spot will give you all sorts of trouble. we catch some nice blue catfish while bass fishing on Lake Norman and they'll fight alot like a spot, but their weight eventually gives them away.

I can usually tell the difference between smallmouth, largemouth, pickerel and all other (catfish, perch, bluegill) with around 85% accuracy. As previous posters have said its a feel based upon years on the water. It probably took me about five yeas of fishing before I could tell. However, occasionally I still get fooled. I would say its one of those intangibles that can't be learned it is just based on feel. some get it some don't. I kind of am nostalgic to the days when I had no idea what I had hooked until it jumped or I got it in the net. 

Pretty simple for me since bycatch is extremely rare. But if it feels too good to be true it's a catfish

I can almost always tell by the fight what it is, and some fish I can tell by how they bite what they are. Drum have a very distinct bite, and nothing inhales a bait like a flathead. Channel cats hit moving baits very distinct and almost always start rolling immediately. 

An old Fishing Hole program showed Jerry McKinnis fighting what he thought was a big smallmouth on Dale Hollow with Billy Westmoreland.  Turned out to be a lawn chair.

8 hours ago, Jeff H said:

Ain't never had a crappie mistaken for a bass though??

 

 

 

My smallmouth usually jump so that's easy. A channel cat will start rolling after an initial run so that's pretty easy too. And a walleye will head shake pretty hard.  I'm usually correct on those three, but not always.  And if I lose a big fish without seeing it, I always tell myself it was a snagged carp...........

I can usually tell a Smallmouth bite. That being said I can usually tell when I have a fish on the line that's not a Smallmouth.  

LM do semi frequent head shakes.

 

Carp feel more like a bulldozer going about their usual work, in the opposite direction, while pulling drag. long runs will have ur drag peeling more like a saltwater fish.  large catfish can be similar but usually have more head shakes trying to throw the hook.  carp seem to care less about a hook in their lip and just want to run away from the problem.

 

a small catfish can feel like a big bass only i get suspicious when there are non-stop head shakes while sitting in one place.

 

 

I don't care, at least I caught something...

I can tell if it's a mudfish, right after it breaks off.

For me its pretty easy to tell what is on my line. Smallmouths tend to try to swim to deeper water when hooked. Largemouths will go side to side in the water column. Pickerel/pike just try to sit there and not move at all. Walleye/ tree branches/ lawn chairs/ old tires don't fight at all. 

17 hours ago, Sword of the Lord said:

Anyone ever have LMB who literally don't fight at all? I've hooked into LMB that left me thinking I was pulling up a snag because it's dead weight. Get 'em out though and then they go nuts.

 

I have as well. There was one pond i fished that when i hooked up and started bringing them in, they just gave up and let you drag them across the water. They were some very healthy beautiful looking largemouth too. Nothing wrong with them. Almost like they knew and were saying "you got me, bring me in and let me go". 

 

I would say you can tell the difference between a smallie and largemouth eventually. Maybe not at first in the hookup, as i have caught some very aggressive and active largemouth. The smallmouth obviously love to jump, especially the smaller ones. For largemouth, it seems they are all different. sometimes they are fighters, sometimes not and then those in between.

 

Pickerel dont have much fight to them. Sometimes they do at first, then they just get pulled in.