I have been trying to distinguish my LMB fingerling we put in about 3 weeks ago. I have been hoping they would start eating at the feeder, but if so, I don't guess I can tell them from the FHM. For someone with a trained eye, any of these look like bass or all FHM??? I have about 400 pics and they are all bad ! This is the best pic I could find.

Looking to my eyes like all FHM's

My guess is LMB but could easily be wrong due to pic. Look to have white/light bottom half and green mottled upper divided by black lateral line. Cant see other features.

Eyes/face look like FHM to me. Lateral line looks like LMB. Just the answer you were looking for

I'm seeing what ewest is seeing.

I see a couple that could BG's. The rest look like LMB.

I think it is time to convince the wife I need a GoPro....

I thought they might be bass, but thought they might have grown a little more in 3 weeks.

I have a pic here with both in it. I say your pic shows all FHM. My bass even that small still show a broken black line, not solid. But I could be wrong it's just my guess on that picture.

Woodster - that is a great pic showing the difference. Thanks for posting it.

Thanks for the pic woodster. It really helps seeing them side by side like that. Now I tend to agree they are most likely FHMs.....

The FHM's along side the LMB in his picture in the net appear to me to be fairly young FHM's also. That school of FHM's in the water appeared to me to be more mature FHM's. The younger ones tend to be more slender. As they get closer to spawning age they widen vertically and horizontally in relation to their length. At least that has been my observation.

Those are also acting like a school of FHM's. Notice the heads generally turned slightly down like they are looking to feed off the bottom.

Ok - I took the pic and enlarged and ran a couple filters on it. Still not real good but much better. I do think those are FH and not LMB. Can see a couple with tubercles on the head (male FH). I should have know based on activity. LMB once they get out of the fry stage don't school in shallow unprotected water much while FH do.


LMB



FH

snrub, I was feeding the AM400 so that may be why they are all feeding on bottom. I sit everyday starring at them suckers, and still can't tell. Guess I will have to wait a little longer and let LMB get bigger than the FHM, and if not guess they aren't LMB after all.

The only LMB fingerlings I have ever seen in my 3 year old pond was some of the original stockers. And that has been a while back so memory is not the greatest. But as I recall I would see them one or two at a time. I would see the schools of small BG feeding in shallow water (crushed up catfish food at that time) and I would rarely see one or two at a time of the LMB. They always stood out with the stripe down the side and their mannerism being different than BG or FHM. FHM always reminded me in the differences in children. Some 2 year olds will look at things, study them a little, then act. Then there are other 2 year old kids that just plow pell-mell into whatever they are doing throwing caution and safety completely in the wind. FHM are like the latter. They nearly constantly move and seem to be single minded in the pursuit of something to eat. BG on the other hand will advance, observe, then advance again (unless they are in a feeding frenzy). They seem to make more calculated movements. I have not watched enough LMB fingerlings to have an opinion of them yet. Wish I did.

I wish I would see some LMB fingerlings out in my pond now. I must have had LMB recruitment but I sure have not caught ANY under 12" bass and I seem to have an over abundance of BG. Beginning to worry I have too many BG so have caught and filleted about 100 in the 6-8" range. Don't think I even made a dent in the population of that size class.

I put extra forage in my sediment pond so I would have enough, and if I do not start seeing some LMB recruitment in my main pond I may get 25 or 50 LMB fingerlings to put in that sediment pond this fall to increase my LMB population instead. The CNBG fingerlings are getting thick in that sediment pond right now.