Here is what I believe to be a RESxCNBG hybrid. Right at 10" length.
It is definitely a hybrid because the ear tab is not solid black like on a pure BG.
It lacks any green bars on the cheeks and it has a small mouth so I see no GSF involved.
John, I agree with your comments about lacking some of the HBG traits but one trait still seems to be present, the yellow margins on the caudal and ventral fins seem to display at least some GSF (or do CNBG also have yellow fin margins?). I thought RES traits are displayed in this fish also. dlowrance is going to post some photos of RESxGSF and wonder if any will look similar this specimen.
The things about the fish that say RES to me are the things that are not very reliable indicators. Not very clear in the picture but the mottled yellow on the cheeks look very much like the mottled yellow on my RES and Shorty's hybrid pictures. That and the eyes when I held it in my hand are what said RES to me but I also recognize that those are not very definitive or reliable fratures.
The pectoral fin is short, unlike RES.
I suppose it is also possible a RESxGSF hybrid crossed with a BG, giving a cross with only 1/4 GSF. That could explain multiple characteristics yet the mouth size more associated with RES or BG rather than the more typical large mouth we are used to seeing in anything crossed with GSF. The larger mouth seems to be a very dominant transferable trait of the GSF.
It is definitely a mutt.
One positive thing about mutts, they will bite a hook. Yesterday was really hot. Too hot to be fishing but I did anyway. The large BG were hardly biting. But the mutts and small BG were still willing to bite pretty well. It is a good time to do some culling and I did.
