We can see Kyle Monti clearly having angst over one of the fish in his well.
We are watching body language to come to our conclusion. But after a conversation with Trip Weldon on another matter, Weldon let me know that the fish he was worried about appeared to be a largemouth.
That explains why Monti’s cameraman hasn’t put the fish in BassTrakk. We do know he has two keepers.
The whole identifying game of is it a spot or a largemouth has been going on all week. There have been a few taken out of anglers’ creels at the bump station.
Typically the argument is about a tongue patch. Spotted bass have a rough tongue patch. But occasionally so do largemouth and smallmouth. So a rough tongue can’t be the only way to tell one fish from another.
Law Enforcement typically follow these rules. If the jaw hinges in front of the eye it’s a smallmouth. If it hinges below the eye it’s a spot. It it hinges behind the eye it’s a largemouth.
Pretty simple realty and it takes care of the occasional cross breed.