Name that Fish!

[TrepMan]

Caught a fish on Saturday I could not ID, picture did not come out so i'll have to describe it:



- Lips like a Crappie, that O shape.

- Bronze colored like a Smallie.

- From the side looked like a largemouth except it had a dark colored spot about the same place a BlueGill does on it's gills.

- Was thin like a bluegill, not round like a Bass.



Any ideas? Checked my Georgia DNR book and no pictures that matched. So i've ruled out Largemouth, Spotted and Smallmouth Bass. Didn't look like ANY of the crappie in the pictures?

 

[Ken Neeley]

If the eyes are red, it probably is a rock bass....lot's of them pesky critters up here.

 

[Jim B]

sounds like a rock bass to me

 

[Jim B]

did it look like this one ?

 

[TrepMan]

Ken - Don't remember the eye color.

Jim - looked a LOT like that picture, the spot on the gills were just a little more round, but that may well be the right fish!



Caught him/her on a very small hook with a chunk of live worm fishing for bream to fill the baitwell for stripers. Let him go after trying to ID him.



I've never seen this fish before, how big do they get??

 

[Greg Meyer]

Try looking around here if it doesn't look like the Rocky pictured above...from your description that would have been my guess as well... The site is run by The Univ of Missouri



http://144.92.62.239/newfishtest/

 

[TrepMan]

Greg - Checked your link out too, it looks more like the Rock bass picture above and less like the ones on the site you pointed me to. Was more bronse/gold then the ones on the site above.



Thanks everyone!

 

[Mark Hofman]

Trep:



I've caught more than my share of goggle-eye (Rock Bass), especially when I'm TRYING to catch smallmouth! They have a very golden, bronze color. The eye is usually red, but I've seen them where they are more rust/brown too.



Based on what you described, I would say you caught one of these little buggers. Ferocious fighters, eh? They'll get big enough to filet and eat, but not so big that you're tempted to hang a stuffed one on your wall. Like a medium sized bluegill.



MO

 

[Barry Loos]

It's a shark!



Bear

 

[Pierre Voisine]

Got lot's of those rock bass here too. i cross their eyes once and awhile when I set the hook thinking it's a largie...



One sure test...THE SHIMANO SHUFFLE When you catch a rock bass throw it back in head over tail, so it flips a few times before hitting the water. Once it hits the water, if it twirls down into the water like it's going down the drain then it's a rock Bass.



P.S. This does not hurt the fish...Ans I've never personaly done it...I've seen it a few times though.



Pierre

 

[Bob G.]

My kids and I caught a bunch of rock bass with grubs while fishing for smallies on Champlain last week. The small ones twirled when we reeled them in fast!!



Bob G.

 

[Tony Payne]

Could have also been a "WarMouth", very similar fish.



The biggest difference that I know of:

1. WarMouth are primarily in lakes, Rock bass in streams (or flowing water)

2. A Rock bass will put up a fight, a Warmouth usually gives up very easily.

 

[Charlie Sprinkel]

Rock Bass are NOT thin