ky bass

will some1 please tell me what a kentucky bass is or do you have to be born n breed in ky to get in on that secret i have never heard of one until now and hows it diffrent from a LM

[URL]http://fw.ky.gov/pdf/kyfishid.pdf[/URL]

Here's a fish ID book from KDFWR. Largemouth are on page 2 (page 6 of the pdf) & Kentuckys, or spotted bass, are on page page 4 (page 8 of the pdf).

They look similar, but the jawbone & tooth patch are the best ways to tell them apart I believe.

Kentucky's are our native bass. Their jaw hinge does extend past their eye. They have large dark and sometimes wide latteral lines on their sides. They tend to not get as big as the other black bass species, our state record is 7lb and some change. Any Spotted bass or Kentucky over 3lb is a quality Spot, anything over 4lb is a real Dandy. They have no size limit on them and make great table fair. You can keep them any size you want however you have to obey the state creel limit of no more than 6 per day. They also have a distinctive Tooth patch on their tongue. Rub their tongue with your finger and if you feel teeth and the jaw hinge doesn't come past it's eye with the mouth shut, you have your self a genuine Kentucky Spotted Bass.

"Ky" Bass is a Spotted Bass ... smaller cousin of the Largemouth. They'll usually have darker side black markings & spotted black blotches on the belly. They don't usually get near as large as a LMB, but are feisty little fighters for their size. The "toothpatch" is no longer considered a usable distinguishing factor, as there are some LMB's that have them. The dorsal fins are clearly connected (LMB's dorsal fins are not), and the end of the jaw does not extend past the eye (similar to a SMB's jaw).

... pappy

Patch of teeth on the tongue

I would like to repeat what crappipappy said...

The Toothpatch trick will get you a violation, as they are getting mroe common on Largemouth. I dont know if it is hybridization causing it, but you will see fish all day with seperate dorsals, a jaw past the eye, and a tooth patch. This is a LMB and not a spot.

Didn't realize that about the tooth patch, that's good to know. I've also heard them described as a smallmouth with a largemouth's paint scheme.

Seth,
The tooth patch has long been used to ID the KY but recently in tournaments and for official use they no longer accept the tooth patch becuase some LM have been found to have it also. I always use the Jaw hinge to determine KY or LM. The fins are the hardest for me to ID. but the Jaw is pretty easy.

I can Spot a Spot from 20 feet in the water, I can't for the life of me see how people get them confused. Maybe it's because I've caught several thousand of the little critters out of Cumberland over the years...:)

To me they look NOTHING like a largemouth at all.

Mark, I agree with you, after catchin several on lake cumberland and the creeks around here near Barren, you get to know what they look like, and even when they swim up next to the boat and just stare at you and your bait, you can teel a spot, have had some hawgs just sit there at Cland and break your heart, lol lol. They fight different than a large, and hit different. I love em. like mentioned above you can no longer use the tooth patch for 100% id, as some larges have them, I belive that these could be from the florida strain of largemouths, I fished a tourney on Santee Cooper and a lot of those bass had tooth patches, and they are no spots on that lake. My best spot came from Skaggs creek, it was around 5ish. Also Mark have you ever caught one of those meanmouths in Cland, have seen a few weighed in in tourneys. now that is one mean hybrid. Part smallie part spot, cant get ant better. lol lol

[QUOTE=Bobby Headrick;458096]Mark, I agree with you, after catchin several on lake cumberland and the creeks around here near Barren, you get to know what they look like, and even when they swim up next to the boat and just stare at you and your bait, you can teel a spot, have had some hawgs just sit there at Cland and break your heart, lol lol. They fight different than a large, and hit different. I love em. like mentioned above you can no longer use the tooth patch for 100% id, as some larges have them, I belive that these could be from the florida strain of largemouths, I fished a tourney on Santee Cooper and a lot of those bass had tooth patches, and they are no spots on that lake. My best spot came from Skaggs creek, it was around 5ish. Also Mark have you ever caught one of those meanmouths in Cland, have seen a few weighed in in tourneys. now that is one mean hybrid. Part smallie part spot, cant get ant better. lol lol[/QUOTE]

hey bobby, caught a 18 inch meanmouth last sept on a shakeyhead in lilly creek, took some pretty good pics and released the fish, they hit like barracuda and fight like hell !:eek:

They taste better.