Mean Mouth Bass

[Wizard]

Who has caught a Mean Mouth Bass other than myself and probably bo james?  It is a hybrid. Can you identify the parent bass and how Mean Mouth got it's name?

[loomisguy]

I've caught 3 out of Table Rock. 2 from the James river arm and the other up the White.
A cross between a spot and a brownie.

[SteveTX]

What features determine for a fact its a Mean Mouth Bass? I don't think I have ever caught one but so I know what to look for if I ever catch something I'm not sure about?

[LgMouthGambler]

LMB and a SMB mixed? Would make sense 

[Lipripper]

A mean mouth bass is a hybrid between either a largemouth bass and a smallmouth bass or spotted bass and a smallmouth bass.

[LgMouthGambler]

A mean mouth bass is a hybrid between either a largemouth bass and a smallmouth bass or spotted bass and a smallmouth bass.

There ya go. Thats pretty cool looking actually. 

[Lipripper]

I bet they would give you one heck of a fight too being a cross with a Smallie. I guess that's why they called it mean mouth 

[Wizard]

No, Lipripper. Keep trying.

[Kris]

Cross between a Walleye and a Bass?

[Lipripper]

Cross between a Walleye and a Bass?

Google said between a  largemouth bass and a smallmouth bass or spotted bass and a smallmouth bass..

[Wizard]

Lip, you got the parent bass correct. The name explanation is wrong.

[Wizard]

The answer to how the bass got it's name: since half of the genes come from a smallmouth and half come from a spotted or largemouith bass, it is the average of the genes. The average is also the mathematical "mean".  I guess that made sense to the biologist who named it.
Missouri DNR bred Mean Mouths for a decade about 20 years ago. They are infertile with only a few exceptions known. There are few left in Lake of the Ozarks and Table Rock. I have caught Mean Mouth in both lakes.

Wizard

[coldfront]

The answer to how the bass got it's name: since half of the genes come from a smallmouth and half come from a spotted or largemouith bass, it is the average of the genes. The average is also the mathematical "mean".  I guess that made sense to the biologist who named it.
Missouri DNR bred Mean Mouths for a decade about 20 years ago. They are infertile with only a few exceptions known. There are few left in Lake of the Ozarks and Table Rock. I have caught Mean Mouth in both lakes.

Wizard

one other story I heard is that they were so aggressive they'd 'attack' and bite swimmers. 

[Wizard]

They are aggressive. The one I caught at LOZ was back in a cove in 3 ft of water. The "V" came from 50 ft. away from my Spook. It looked like a torpedo attacking a ship and annihilated the lure.

[merc1997]

actually there are two mean mouths.  one will have red eyes, and one will have brown eyes.  the ones with red eyes are the products of a brownie and a kentucky and the one with brown eyes are from a large mouth and brownie.  obviously, the ones with brown eyes get larger.

one of my fishing buddies caught one that weighed 6 1/2 lbs.  he released it, but did not realize that it was a mean mouth.  he did take a pic and was showing it to me because he could not believe how small the mouth was on this big bass he caught.  that bass would have been a state record if he had known what it was that he caught.

i have caught several of them in the 4 1/2 lb. range, and yes they do really fight.

bo

[cport]

Does this occur naturally, or is it only leftover stockers?

[DonM]

I haven't caught one, but I have caught several that gave me dirty looks. 

[cport]

I haven't caught one, but I have caught several that gave me dirty looks. 

Good one!

[coldfront]

Does this occur naturally, or is it only leftover stockers?

naturally in waters where both occur and use same spawning habitat.  Table Rock Lake is one such place. 

what I wonder:  do they tend to interbreed more frequently in lakes vs flowing waters?

[Wizard]

While Mean Mouth can occur naturally, they are themselves infertile and cannot reproduce. There is only one very small area at LOZ that contains Small Mouth. I caught my fish a decade ago and would think all stocked Mean Mouth have died of old age. Table Rock naturally produces Mean Mouth but they are still a rare catch. As to your second question, I have no idea.

[coldfront]

what I wonder:  do they tend to interbreed more frequently in lakes vs flowing waters?

reason for this question:  how potentially different is spawning habitat in, say the TN river system for spots, smallies... versus what may be available at Table Rock, for instance.

and it's my impression that 'meanmouths' tend to be found incertain sections of TR ...

[Wizard]

SM do tend to be in certain areas of Table Rock. I fished the Rock a lot for 30 years but not since 2010.  The question would be best answered by bo. I caught my MM not far from the Hwy 13 bridge near Kimberling City.

[merc1997]

reason for this question:  how potentially different is spawning habitat in, say the TN river system for spots, smallies... versus what may be available at Table Rock, for instance.

and it's my impression that 'meanmouths' tend to be found incertain sections of TR ...

the big one that i mentioned that my friend caught was on the upper end of table rock, and i have basically caught them from one end of the lake to the other.  but, you will come across them most often from the baxter area to the dam more often.

bo

[Tavery5]

I have caught many of the red eyed variety.    They are somewhat common at Melvern Res. in KS.  They are fun fish to catch, but the edge still goes to the wiper and white bass in my opinon.

[Smallie_Stalker]

I bet they would give you one heck of a fight too being a cross with a Smallie. I guess that's why they called it mean mouth 

Hey, wait a minute!!! Oh, for a second there I thought you were talking about me. 

Although I have never been crossed with any form of fish or other animal I can testify with full confidence that when my wife gets cross with me she can get to being pretty mean mouthed.