Does anyone have pictures or know of a web-site that shows visual differences between a Florida and Native? What about F1's

my understanding is that lab test is the only way to be 100% sure. the visual differences are shakey at best and should only be attempted by a true expert. Once again test is the only sure way. Maybe someone else will know more.

jake I agree FLA appear more patterned but no where near an exact science. Texas A&M is where we send our bass for dna testing.

I have heard people say they can tell the difference by how they "look". Not in my opinion. On crosses Fla/Notr. there is no way. Here are a few helps.

Eric,

I think (sometimes) you can tell by the way they look if they are bigger and held side by side, but not as small bass I wouldn't think. I have a native 7.5 lbs bass on the wall and a 8 lbs Florida and you can tell a big difference in the jaw line and the upper and lower lips and mouth size! The head itself is bigger as well. Course that may not hold true in every situation but it does in mine. As far as F1's and telling two 6 inch or 12 inch ones apart form one another I don't think so unless like you guys said you test for it.

A Biochemical Genetic Evaluation of the Northern and
Florida Subspecies of Largemouth Bass
DAVID P. PHILIPP
WILLIAM F. CHILDERS
GREGORY S. WHITT

Questionable Routinely employed
meristic counts (most often a combination of
the number of scales along, above, and below
the lateral line, the number of scales around the
caudal peduncle, and the number of pyloric
caeca) are not effective in distinguishing the
pure subspecies or identifying intergrade populations
(Smith and Crumpton 1977; Pelzman
1980;Philippe t al., unpublished results).Many
of these characters are influenced by environmental as well as genetic factors(W allace1 973).