Mean Mouth Bass

[MagikSmallie]

I know this has been discussed in the past. I am just now getting caught up with the times. A friend of mine showed me this pic:

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/4...anmouthif0.jpg

Which is supposed to be a 6 pound meanmouth out of Lake Linville in 2006. I was just curious to hear of other mean mouths that have been caught in the bluegrass. What is the position of the KDFW on recognizing the meanmouth? I know the fish in the picture looks green but honestly I don't see anything that defines it as anything other than a SM, thats just the way it looks to me, but I can also see some resemblance to a KY. Thoughts?

[mhall]

Looks like the couple of others I have saw, I believe it is one. Beautiful fish to By the way.

[Bassky]

Nice fish!! To me it looks more like a huge spot. But it looks like a sm bass too. No matter what it is, it is a good'n! Never caught a meanmouth. My buddy caught one down at Watts Bar lake last year.
Bassky

[Astrobass]

I've caught a couple of fish like that in Green River Lake. They look like a spot, then you look again and it looks sort of like a smallmouth... I never knew exactly what they were.

[Duayne]

Cumberland had some a few years back. Caught several myself. Haven't seen them in a while. I think the spawns have to line up just right. Everything I've read says mean mouths in KY are to be treated as smallies.

I'd have to say that I would disagree with this. It's going to be a hybrid that can not reproduce. A 17" hybrid mean mouth would be a trophy worth mounting. The one's I caught were in the 15" range so they, of course, were released.

[Brandon__]

i got to reading about these earlier. Just makes me wonder where the are. i guess it is possible where ever they co-exist but i wouldnt mind hooking into a couple just to see what its like.

[Rudypoo4444]

Is it a shoal bass?

[MagikSmallie]

Is it a shoal bass?

Naw, I don't think it's a Shoalie, they are a little different ( how? I'm not exactly sure). But they are also only found in Florida and Georgia.

http://www.bassmaster.com/sites/defa...es20110412.pdf

[Fishin is life]

Had a friend catch one on Cumberland in the spring in a tournament....After some discussion with the officials it was weighed as a spot as it wouldn't have been a keeper smallmouth...Gonna be interesting how the tournament guys treat them if they start to become more prevalant

[Les Young]

I caught a bunch of them in Cumberland before the draw down & the spots seemed to all but dissapear. Usually 15 or 16" but a buddy caught a 19 & 1/2 " one night shallow when water was high & we were fishing the wood washed up against the banks. It pulled like a freight train.

[Duayne]

It's a cross between a smallmouth and spot. They end up looking like smallies, are brown, but have the lateral markings of a spot.

[stripernut]

i dont care if they call em "punkin pie".....that is one helluva pretty fish !

they are still in c-land and yes they do pull like freight trains