this may be an easy one for some of the pros on here. what is this little fish?

Smallmouth bass. They don't all have stripes.

8-)

i see. thanks!

Agree...... Smallmouth.

Dozers'largest fish ever????

Smallmouth bass. They don't all have stripes.

8-)

X2

Its a smallie- the color changes according to its environment ,surroundings or habitat . It also changes color based on moods -water temp and stress levels.

my votes for smallie.

ive ran into such a variety of looks for largemouth on my lake that ive accepted that two fish from the same pad field will be the opposite ends of the coloration scale.

Even if you can't tell what kind of bass it is, you usually know by how well they fight.  Smallmouth bass fight so much better than a largemouth.

Where is the other dorsal fin?

this little guy came out of the white river. he was in about 1ft or less of water, but tons of rocks and ripples. i've had a couple that looked all dark like this last summer.

Where is the other dorsal fin?

It looks like it's just laying flat.

I vote it's a smallmouth.

thats one of the browns my friend

Smallmouth bass. They don't all have stripes.

8-)

agree