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Spot / largemouth difference

RUGER

RUGER

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Is there a quick / easy way to tell a spot from a largemouth?

I know google is your friend but I would rather talk to ya'll. :)
 
this is how i tell. spot mouth stops before eye, pot belly, lateral line is broke up more than LM. spot just has a smaller mouth.

theres something with its fins being different also, not sure
 
We made a trip to Lake Lanier a couple years ago, and the Spots were just obvious. I don't know anything about different strains, Alabama, Kentucky, etc. I can tell a black crappie from a white, though! :super:
 

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I grew up fishing around both so can easily tell the difference between them as soon as I seen one even in the water. As nitro stated above, there are some differences in color and their mouth. Spots will always have a spot or rough patch on their tongue if you can't tell by color. However, sometimes a largemouth will have a spot on their tongue but not often. Below is a picture of a spot and largemouth. I have a spot in my right hand and largemouth in my left hand. Actually, the largemouth had a spot on its tongue, but it was 100% a largemouth.
 
The tounge patch and jaw/eye relation are the easiest. The tounge patch is often dark in color in my experience.
 
You would be surprised at how often they are misidentified or misrepresented in a tournament situation. For that reason I always have the minimum length set at whatever the largemouth minimum is set at by TWRA. On Chickamauga it is 15" on largemouth and 12" on spots. Just to make it easier and remove the debate they both are 15" minimum in any tournament I operate on the Chick. (Except for the State level BASS nation tournaments.)
 
RUGER":3tskcqsn said:
I have been reading up a bit and spots, largemouth as well as smallmouth sometimes have the tooth patch.
Click to expand...

I know guys that have caught what is known as a "mean mouth" on Wilson and pickwick lakes. They are a smallmouth/spot cross and have the tooth patch. My buddy caught one that weighed close to 7lbs, and I know another guy that is a smallmouth guru down there that caught one a little over 8lbs. I personally haven't caught one yet. I'll see if I can find a pic of my buddies.

d8a1aa14342637777ef45248da606f05.jpg



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ZachMarkus":1dwt69fy said:
RUGER":1dwt69fy said:
I have been reading up a bit and spots, largemouth as well as smallmouth sometimes have the tooth patch.
Click to expand...

I know guys that have caught what is known as a "mean mouth" on Wilson and pickwick lakes. They are a smallmouth/spot cross and have the tooth patch. My buddy caught one that weighed close to 7lbs, and I know another guy that is a smallmouth guru down there that caught one a little over 8lbs. I personally haven't caught one yet. I'll see if I can find a pic of my buddies.

d8a1aa14342637777ef45248da606f05.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
We actually catch some nice meanmouth on Norris. Becoming more common as well. We have caught some very nice ones.
 
Close the mouth and if the lip extends behind the eye, it's a largemouth, if not, it's a spot. Spots also fight better and tend to have more vivid markings and whiter bellies, and sometimes a slight golden tint


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