anybody heard of a meanmouth before?  Is it a smallie/spotted hybrid or something?

Yep, we have them on pickwick and kentucky lakes. They look like a smallmouth and have a toungue patch . Bad lil dudes !

Do they fight like smallies?? cuz where i live we got smallies and u cant beat that fight lb for lb

I hear they fight like crazy

They fight harder then a smallie

Here is what one looks like, just to be a bit more specific:

There is a lot of confusion regarding the hybrid meanmouth. The fish is actually the result of crossbreeding between a largemouth and smallmouth. The few I have caught on the Tennessee River were small and mostly black with subtle markings on the head.

http://www.fishin.com/articles/meanmouth.htm

8-)

Here is what one looks like, just to be a bit more specific:

Looks like a pure smallie to me. What makes it a hybrid? The mouth seems a bit to big, but barely reaches the eye.....

Here is what one looks like, just to be a bit more specific:

The mouth seems a bit too big, but barely reaches the eye.....

You got it !

Here is what one looks like, just to be a bit more specific:

Looks like a pure smallie to me. What makes it a hybrid? The mouth seems a bit to big, but barely reaches the eye.....

Exactly, these are a mixture between a smallmouth and spotted bass. They are rare hybrids that are difficult to ID and look very much like a smallmouth bass. Like you said and Raul responded, the most prominent feature is an oversized mouth.

...these are a mixture between a smallmouth and spotted bass.

That is a commonly held belief, but in fact meanmouth are a

smallmouth/ largemouth hybrid.

http://www.fishin.com/articles/meanmouth.htm

8-)

From the article RW linked:

"Although the smallmouth bass / spotted bass hybrid is not the original mean-mouth bass, it has acquired this name over time."

Do they fight like smallies?? cuz where i live we got smallies and u cant beat that fight lb for lb

Captain....we caught a few, next time your down, i'll show you the pics. I compared pics for half an hour, and found 2 different patterns, one is a reg. smallie, the other is definetly a meanmouth. I just thought they were really aggressive smallies! ;D

spots give them the fight...not the smallmouth  

Funny I just asked about these bad boys on another thread and came here and saw this  thread. Cool fish!!!

I read in Kentucky Afield that they were termed "meanmouth" because they were being studied at a hatchery and would repeatedly bite the ankles and legs of when wading the waters

I read in Kentucky Afield that they were termed "meanmouth" because they were being studied at a hatchery and would repeatedly bite the ankles and legs of when wading the waters

I may have to call BS on that one!! :-?

That is a beautiful fish. I wonder how they fight.

I read in Kentucky Afield that they were termed "meanmouth" because they were being studied at a hatchery and would repeatedly bite the ankles and legs of when wading the waters

I may have to call BS on that one!! :-?

That's just what I read

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/InNews/meanmouth2004.html

This picture was with the KY Afield article

Ricky, how did you find that???  I have looked a few times before and I never could find an digital copy of that article.