Well hmmm I'm pretty positive I misidentified my bass. When he was smaller he seemed to have the characteristics of a spotted but now he's really growing really fast and we're all pretty sure he's a normal LMB.
In fact, he had the rows of spots below his lateral stripe when we first got him, just like a spotted, but now most of them seem to have faded and he just has several random ones. His mouth also seems to have gotten bigger.
Do LMB often change pattern and shape a bit from juvenile to adult? I'm usually pretty good about identifying LMB and spotted bass, but whenever we caught juveniles fishing I never payed attention to them because if they weren't big enough to eat we released them. The only ones I really ever attempted to identify were over about 11 inches, and ours isn't even that long yet.
Here's a pic, just to make sure:
(Sorry about the size, I figured bigger would have more detail)
He's actually darker than in the pic, and he does have a few spots left, but I couldn't get a good pic since he never stops moving. Every time I go over to the tank he stares directly at me thinking I have food.
This afternoon when I went to put a magnet scraper in the tank to get the algae off the front and take pics he had my finger halfway in his mouth
If his side looks funny it's 'cause he has some scarring from an injury. I think before we caught him something had had him in their mouth before or attacked him 'cause they looked a lot worse at the time.
In fact, he had the rows of spots below his lateral stripe when we first got him, just like a spotted, but now most of them seem to have faded and he just has several random ones. His mouth also seems to have gotten bigger.
Do LMB often change pattern and shape a bit from juvenile to adult? I'm usually pretty good about identifying LMB and spotted bass, but whenever we caught juveniles fishing I never payed attention to them because if they weren't big enough to eat we released them. The only ones I really ever attempted to identify were over about 11 inches, and ours isn't even that long yet.
Here's a pic, just to make sure:
(Sorry about the size, I figured bigger would have more detail)
He's actually darker than in the pic, and he does have a few spots left, but I couldn't get a good pic since he never stops moving. Every time I go over to the tank he stares directly at me thinking I have food.
This afternoon when I went to put a magnet scraper in the tank to get the algae off the front and take pics he had my finger halfway in his mouth
If his side looks funny it's 'cause he has some scarring from an injury. I think before we caught him something had had him in their mouth before or attacked him 'cause they looked a lot worse at the time.
