Hey all! My mom caught a bass today...she is arguing rock bass, I say maybe a large or small with redeyes...I know...amateurs..appreciate any help! Fishing in middle Tn. Redeye bass? 

Maybe a shoal bass. Was it caught in a river system or pond?

 

1 hour ago, Corey Wesenberg said:

Hey all! My mom caught a bass today...she is arguing rock bass, I say maybe a large or small with redeyes...I know...amateurs..appreciate any help! Fishing in middle Tn. Redeye bass? 

Welcome to the forum. This fish is a rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris).

1 hour ago, F15HGuy said:

Maybe a shoal bass. Was it caught in a river system or pond?

 

It was caught in Normandy Lake.

100% rock bass. It is not a shoal bass or a redeye bass.

4 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

100% rock bass. It is not a shoal bass or a redeye bass.

Awesome! I appreciate the responses! I see these are in the sunfish family. How do they taste fried up? Very large bass or cat can get too fishy for me. I am a crappie guy. From what I see rock bass average 7-10 inches and a 1 lb or so, which would put this guy on the larger end. Also noticing some sort of fungus or bacteria on the fish coming out of this lake in particular, notice the tips of the anal fins, anyone know anything about what that could be?

Rock bass are usually plentiful and very good to eat. When my buddies and I want a fish dinner, we usually catch enough rockies by accident while smallie fishing to provide an excellent meal. 

Definitely rock bass and they are tasty. I fillet them, bread them and fry them up.

Agree, rock bass. And welcome aboard!

Listen to your mom bruh.

Rock Bass

3 hours ago, Corey Wesenberg said:

Awesome! I appreciate the responses! I see these are in the sunfish family. How do they taste fried up? Very large bass or cat can get too fishy for me. I am a crappie guy. From what I see rock bass average 7-10 inches and a 1 lb or so, which would put this guy on the larger end. 

You are welcome. There are at least 3 varieties of rock bass which are Northern, Ozark, and Shadow bass. The one you caught is the most common which is the Northern rock bass. Largemouth bass and other black bass are also in the sunfish family so the rock bass you caught has more in common with a smallmouth bass than it does a true bass, such as a striped bass.

Rock bass taste phenomenal fried up with some potatoes.

On 9/16/2018 at 3:56 PM, Corey Wesenberg said:

Hey all! My mom caught a bass today...she is arguing rock bass

 

You're mom knows what's up...

On 9/16/2018 at 4:30 PM, Corey Wesenberg said:

Awesome! I appreciate the responses! I see these are in the sunfish family. How do they taste fried up? Very large bass or cat can get too fishy for me. I am a crappie guy. From what I see rock bass average 7-10 inches and a 1 lb or so, which would put this guy on the larger end. Also noticing some sort of fungus or bacteria on the fish coming out of this lake in particular, notice the tips of the anal fins, anyone know anything about what that could be?

Definitely a rock bass. They actually taste pretty darn good. Clean them, score the sides and pan fry. Yum, yum good! I wouldn’t tell you this if I didn’t try it myself. Don’t know about fungus though. Then again, people eat mushrooms, lol. 

Adrian!

Most definitely a rock bass (or goggle-eye).  They are fun to catch and I'll never sneeze at the opportunity to catch one.  That's a pretty nice example, I must say.