Bass Fishing Hacks
Simple Hacks and Tips to Help You Catch More Bass
How can you tell the difference between a spotted bass and a largemouth bass?
There are a few different ways to tell the difference between a spotted bass and a largemouth bass. Many bass fishermen assume that they have just caught a spotted bass when the bass is brightly colored and not drab like a largemouth bass’ coloring usually is. This in not a good way to tell the difference because a largemouth bass can be brightly colored too.
In the article below, I will cover quite a few different ways that you can use to discern if the bass that you just caught is a spotted bass or a largemouth bass.
I am a Bass Fishing Charter Guide on Lake Okeechobee and the surrounding waters.
1) The easiest way to tell the difference between the two species is by their stomach markings.
The spotted bass will have a series of dotted lines running horizontally down their bellies from their gill plates to their tails. It is not a solid line but a broken line of dots or spots that a largemouth bass does not have. This is the best way to tell the difference between the two bass species and there are some more ways to do it below.
Watch the video below and learn how to catch more of both species of bass like a pro.
2) The next dead giveaway that you just caught a spotted bass is the dorsal fin.
The top dorsal fins are connected on a spotted bass. There is a gap between the two top dorsal fins on a largemouth bass.
3) Their tongues are different too.
If you feel like touching the tongues of the bass that you catch, then this is another dead giveaway to discern which species of bass that you just caught. The tongues of a largemouth bass are smooth and the spotted bass have a small rough spot in the middle of theirs.
4) Spotted bass do not get as big as a largemouth bass does.
This characteristic only helps you identify the bass that you just caught if it is a big one. The world record spotted bass was caught in California and weighed 11 pounds and 2 ounces. That is a big bass but the world record for a largemouth bass is over 25 pounds.
A largemouth bass can grow more than twice the size of a spotted bass. BUT like I said before, this only helps you identify the two species of bass if you are catching then over 11 pounds in size.
5) Spotted bass can currently be found in 24 states and the largemouth can be found in every state except for Hawaii and Alaska.
The spotted bass was originally native to the southern and central states but has been introduced into many more. They have been introduced out west to California, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado.
6) Spotted bass act differently than largemouth bass do.
Spotted bass are usually more aggressive and prefer to dive deep instead of jumping like a largemouth bass will tend to do.
Spotted bass are much more likely to be in a school than a largemouth bass.
Spotted bass do not live in brackish waters and largemouth bass do.
Spotted bass like structure and current and are considered more of a river and stream bass. They are found in natural lakes but not very often.
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