Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Fry Identification Help

I would like to confirm if my one year old, 12" LMB have spawned. Attached is a picture of two small fish. I think the top one is a fathead (I used to have thousands, but now they are nearly gone). The bottom fish has recently appeared by the hundreds - could this be LMB?

Jeff:

If the dorsal fin on #2 is erected, is there a section in front with spines? If not, it looks like another minnow to me (maybe female FH?).

I am very interested in the expert opinions on this; I will be trying to confirm my LMB's first spawn this year also.

Both fish in the above picture are mature fatheads.
PS - A true fish fry would be no longer than the head of either minnow in the picture. Fish fry longer than 3/8"-1/2" are called larvae and when larger than 1" they are called juveniles.

when looking for YOY bass look for black line on tail. It is fairly easy to see if looking for it and can tell even when swimming.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Greg, that would be the vertical line at the end of the tailfin?

I have noticed a dark horizontal line along the mid-line of the juveniles, simular to the horizontal line on a mature bass, so I had hoped that they were bass. (you can see some of the dark line in the bottom picture).
After careful examination, the top fin appeared to be one continuous fin, and the front part of this fin did appear to have a couple ridgid spines in it.
Do juvenile bass have two separate top fins, (the front one with spines and the back one soft), simular to the mature bass?
Greg, a horizontal or vertical line near the tail?
Any comments are appreciated.

Sure looks like a bass to me...but if Bill says its a fathead, its probably a fathead.

I am sure the dorsal fin on a small LMB would have the same spine count (must be about 9 or 10) and configuration as an adult.

I am not experienced looking at small (circa 2 inch) LMB fingerlings, but with larger ones (6" - 8") the vertical stripe at the back of the tail has always been much more prominent (to me) than the lateral line. The lateral line seems to become more noticable once they hit 10" so.

yep vertical line on end of tial. ALso look at mouth size. You can see the hinged jaw even on bass as small as 1.5 inches. We stocked F1 bass last week that I could not belive my eyes. They were 2 inch fish max (350/lb) and started feeding on baby fatheads as soon as they hit the water, pretty cool. It was difficult but I could literally lip the bass at 2 inches.

You almost got it right, Meadowlark! Look more closely at BC's post. Notice that nowhere did he use the word "probably".

I could be missing something in the minnow photo above especially since I (we) cannot see the mouth region very well. The photo also is not the best quality. Dorsal fin of upper minnow has a slightly different look to it. If dorsal fin of either minnow in photo has spines then it cannot be a fathead. Neither fish in the photo look close to any fingerling bass I am familar with. From the photo, I estimate the fish to be about 2.5" - 3" long. Also I just checked out a photo of small bass that I have and the back of the soft dorsal extends to back of the anal fin. This feature is not present in the fish in the photo as I see it.

Ditto with what Bill says. They are the same species! Furthermore a bass would never have as forked a tail as the fish depicted, and the dorsal fin is not only too small it is does not consist of a spiny and soft ray portion. Additionally the head does not in any way, shape, or form look like that of a largemouth bass.

Thanks for the prompt replies!
My camera did not focus well, so it is hard to see the differences in color and shape. I thought that thwey were different species, but upon further examination, the mouth on both look like (sucker) minnow mouths. There is no separate row of spiny fins on top. (mature fatheads - good call!)
I searched the internet for a picture of a juvenile bass but could not find a single picture. I will post a picture on this thread when I catch my first juvenile bass.
I did find an interesting worldwide database of fish info @ http://www.larvalbase.org/

Gainesjs :

Try this site for several pics of juv. LMB. It is the best I could find for your question. I agree the above are not LMB . ewest

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/fish/image_gallery/details.php?image_id=228

Thanks ewest!
I am surprised that they look just like an adult, with that unmistakable largemouth. Like Greg posted - you could lip a 2" bass.

Jeff, I'm sure you'll know them when you see them.
In my pond, the LMB juveniles tend to school up.
The black lateral line is usually very easy to see.

A bass, any size bass, just looks like a predator in the water.