Spotted bass have some what of a black stripe down there side that goes from there tail to head http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_bass some times it is hard to see and some times it is real black but it is there and they do have a spot on there tongue but i have seen it on large mouths too so don't go by just the tongue. I was crappie fishing last fall and while reeling in a 9" crappie a spot came along and put all but the tail of my crappie in his mouth the way I could tell was the black stripe down the side it was the biggest spot I had ever seen.He spit out the crappie and when i got it in I checked the size and released it.