Both have been stocked in some of my local waters.  I'm sure there's a bunch of intergrades, too.  Is there any way to tell them apart aside from some kind of genetic testing?

There is, of course. But it will take some care on your part in handling the fish. Standard operating procedure is the count the scales along the lateral line, close behind the gill to the fork in the tail.

Florida bass have smaller scales, so the normal count is 69 to 73. The northern should work out to 59 to 67 with its larger scales. The degree of hybridization (I am told) would take more than scale numbers, but over 67 or 68 suggests a mix.

I think both California and Florida fisheries people would back me up on this.

The Florida Strain, are mostly retired,living on fixed incomes and play BINGO a lot ;D

^good one

GK,

+1

the lateral line scales have o hole in each scale, those are the scales you count. Note don't keep the bass out of water any longer than you can hole your breath, without refreshing it with water and lay the bass on a wet bath towel, unless you don't plan on releasing it.

WRB

I just check for tan lines.

Falcon

The Florida Strain, are mostly retired,living on fixed incomes and play BINGO a lot ;D

In addition they have extra dispensable income, so they are in possession of such items as sleeping bags, pillows, TV's, radios, GPS, and cell phones. They get up late and go to bed early.

The Florida Strain, are mostly retired,living on fixed incomes and play BINGO a lot ;D

HA!!!!

The Florida Strain, are mostly retired,living on fixed incomes and play BINGO a lot ;D

In addition they have extra dispensable income, so they are in possession of such items as sleeping bags, pillows, TV's, radios, GPS, and cell phones. They get up late and go to bed early.

I stand corrected  

Thanks.  What I may do is try to start taking high-res pics of the fish and see if that will work for counting scales.