Caught my 1st shoal bass and I may be hooked now

[j_seph]

Went to check an area yesterday for this weekend. Figured I had to wet a hook and in first 10 minutes I had this one on the line, what a fight out of these lill fellas.

 

[j_seph]

Or am I mistaken this

 

[Coenen]

Looks like a spot to me. A shoalie has more of a what I would consider to be a smallmouth's coloration and a spot's body.

Regardless, that's a quality fish, these small waters will surprise you!

 

[j_seph]

Looks like a spot to me. A shoalie has more of a what I would consider to be a smallmouth's coloration and a spot's body.

Regardless, that's a quality fish, these small waters will surprise you!

Just noticed a funky looking upper lip, and thought something was for sure different so maybe it was a shoalie.

 

[Browniez]

Could always be a hybrid, there’s some funky looking ones out there

 

[ShoalBandit]

That appears to be an Alabama Bass (Micropterus henshalli) but most anglers still call them 'spotted bass' even though they were described as a separate species in 2008. Alabama Bass are native to the Mobile Basin but have been illegally introduced by anglers to every major drainage in the state. This has lead to widespread introgressive hybridization and the local extinction of several native species so it's possible maybe even likely this fish is some kind of hybrid.

Alabama Bass native to the Mobile Bay drainage (illegally introduced to the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint drainage, the Altamaha drainage, the Tennessee drainage, and the Savannah drainage).


Shoal Bass native to the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint drainage (introduced to the Ocmulgee River in 1975).



Shoal x Alabama hybrids

 

[jocko755]

Either way, that's a fine fish for a small creek. Nice job.

I got to ask: What did you catch it on?

 

[j_seph]

Either way, that's a fine fish for a small creek. Nice job.

I got to ask: What did you catch it on?

Small shallow running black and silver rapala (old school) lol

 

[Batjack]

Hard to beat those in any water.

 

[ryork]

Yep, that's a heck of a fish in that creek!!

 

[Jon Boat Papa]

I enjoy fishing the Ocmulgee River below Lloyd Shoals Dam (Jackson Lake).
Here’s a pic of the ones I catch on Ultralight tackle:

 

[Lawnmowerman]

Hope you didn't break it's jaw,,,,