What is the difference between a small mouth bass and a large?

Answer 1

the difference between the small mouth and largemouth is the hinge location of the mouth when it is closed. on a small mout bass the hinge is in front of the eye and on a large mout bass the hinge is behind the eye

Answer 2

The easy way to tell the difference is the coloring between the two species although some I have caught during the winter have been so lightly colored it was hard to tell just by looking at their markings. A good rule of thumb is to draw an imaginary vertical line through the eye and a large mouth will have the hinge of the mouth behind the line and the small mouth will have the hinge in front. Pound for pound the small mouth will fight harder and will also do some spectacular jumps. Hopefully you live near a lake that provides both so you will be able to enjoy the characteristics of both species. Good Luck

Answer 3

The dorsal fins are different. Also the coloration is different. Usually the large-mouth bass are greener and the small-mouth is almost bronze. The pattern on a smallie has vertical lines as a rule where the large-mouth usually has a green horizontal stripe down it's middle. As stated before the hinge on the mouth on a smallie is at or in front of the eye but a large-mouth is behind the eye. The large-mouth also can grow a lot bigger. I believe the world record large-mouth is 22lbs. 4oz. The record small-mouth is just over 11lbs. I think. I hope this helps.

Answer 4

I think that the real experts answer this by saying that the jaw hinge on the side of the largemouth's mouth extends back past its eye. The jaw hinge on the side of a smallmouth's mouth does not extend back past it's eye. In my area the colors of the two fish are so different that you can always tell the difference. The largemouth has deep green coloration on it's sides and the smallmouth is more of a redish bronze color. The colors can vary from area to area and from one body of water to another but as a general rule the largemouth will be some shade of green to almost black and the smallie will be bronze. Depending on where you live you may run into spotted bass which is a combination of two. It has a green pattern on it's sides but the jaw hinge does not extend past the eye. With this explanation you should be more confused than you were before you ask the question. I know I am.

Answer 5

Smallmouth bass are better built to survive in fast current than largemouth bass. In a lake they inhabit similar structure simply because they compete for the same forage. Typically a largemouth bass will outweigh a smallmouth of the same dimension. The different strains of largemouth such as Florida strain largemouth bass grow larger and faster than smallies do. Other differences include coloration, dorsal fin placement and jaw hinge location.

Answer 6

Description - The largemouth is the largest member of the sunfish family. It generally has light greenish to brownish sides with a dark lateral line which tends to break into blotches towards the tail. Often confused with smallmouth and spotted bass, it is easily distinguishable because the upper jaw extends beyond the rear edge of the eye. Also, its first and second dorsal fins are almost separated by an obvious deep dip, and there are no scales on the soft-rayed second dorsal fin or on the anal fin.

http://floridafisheries.com/Fishes/bass.html

The smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus. One of the black basses, it is a popular gamefish sought by anglers throughout the temperate zones of North America, and has been spread by stock to many cool-water rivers and lakes in the United States and Canada. The smallmouth bass is native to the upper and middle Mississippi River basin, the Saint Lawrence River–Great Lakes system, and up into the Hudson Bay basin. Its common names include Smallmouth, Bronzeback, Brown Bass, Brownie, and Bronze Bass
The smallmouth bass is marked by a series of dark stripes(or bars) on the sides, and its upper jaw does not extend past the eye. It grows to a maximum recorded overall length of 69 cm (27 in), weighing up to 5.4 kg (12 lb). Specimens have been recorded living up to 26 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallmouth_bass

Answer 7

Whoever said Largemouth Bass fight harder is dead wrong. Smallmouth Bass pound for pound fight much harder. If you get a 16 inch smallmouth bass on the line, you'll think you got a 10 lb. lunker.

Answer 8

what a stupid question :) if you know it call small mouth bass and large mouth bass read what it say small or large? both fish are the same just read it say small and large? cuz one mouth is small one is large mouth size

Answer 9

the small mouth bass has a smaller mouth and the large mouth bass has a bigger mouth. the large mouth bass are more popular in fishing tournaments and fight munch harder.

Answer 10

Im gonna take a stab at this one and say one mouth is larger than the other.