Help with Fish Identification

[ThreeLions]

http://www.pbase.com/leighite/image/130741313

This fish measured 12" in length and was taken on a Rebel Pop-R in a pool behind a weir on the Cardome stretch of Elkhorn Creek. We were packing up and I threw my new pop-r in close to a fallen tree and this jumped on it.

My son had the rod while I grabbed the camera and he let it slip, that's why the fish is covered in leaves and stuff.

My first thought was a smallmouth but this guy immediately said it was a rock bass. I hadn't been fishing but 6 weeks at this point so I felt I was in no place to argue with him but the more I look at it the more I think he's wrong.

Anyone care to help? I appreciate your efforts.

Just trying to keep my son interested in the sport and he wanted to start a gallery of our biggest fish of each species.

DAVE

[floatman]

looks like what I call a War Mouth, (Rock Bass) I caught one bigger than that on a live craw
some years ago JMO

Gary

[ThreeLions]

I appreciate your time and comment, Gary, I know the image isn't great for identification but the photography honours go to my then 9 year old son!

DAVE

[Embrey]

really hard to tell at that angle and with all the dirt on it

[adriancretired]

looks like a small mouth to me. what i call a rock bass looks like a sunfish or blue gill with a larger mouth

[Panfish Man]

Thats not anything from the sunfish family. Looks like a smallmouth to me.

[ironhead70]

looks like a smallie to me

[ThreeLions]

Thanks for your comments everyone. I think I'm going to go with the smallmouth, which was my original belief anyway.

Appreciate your time!

DAVE

[mess]

Congrats! Looks like you caught a nice creek smallie! Topwater action rules.

[Bobby Headrick]

It looks like a smallie to me also, and Panfishman all black basses are members of the sunfish family, if I am not mistaken, any bios on board chime in.

[RoadToad]

Comparing that picture to KDFWR's Fish ID Guide http://fw.ky.gov/pdf/kyfishid.pdf I think the ventral fins are too far apart for it to be any kind of bluegill, rock bass, warmouth, or anything along those lines. Probably a smallie like you thought it was.

[know1]

It looks like a smallie to me also, and Panfishman all black basses are members of the sunfish family, if I am not mistaken, any bios on board chime in.

I'm not a bio, but that's true.

Also a Warmouth is not the same thing as a Rock Bass, either.