Spotted Bass

Description

Many anglers who catch a spotted bass mistake it for a largemouth bass due to the coloration, although there are subtle differences. The spotted bass, like all black basses except the largemouth, has scales on the base portion of the second dorsal fin, its first and second dorsal fin are clearly connected, and its upper jaw bone does not extend back to or beyond the rear edge of the eyes.

The spotted bass is also often confused with a smallmouth bass (or "smally" for short), but it lacks the vertical bars that are present on the sides of a smallmouth's body. The spotted bass also has small black spots below the lateral line unlike either the large or smallmouth bass. Juveniles often resemble the young smallmouth bass in having a broad band of orange at the base of the tail, followed by a broad black band and white edge. The spotted bass is known to hybridize with the smallmouth, which sometimes makes identification difficult. Spotted bass can be found in deeper water than smallmouth bass, at depths up to 100 ft (30 m).

Distribution and habitat

Spotted bass seem to be segregated by habitat type from closely related species such as the largemouth and smallmouth bass. They tend to be found in areas with more water current than the largemouth, and usually inhabit areas that are too warm, turbid and sluggish for smallmouth bass. They usually occur around aquatic vegetation, submerged logs, and rock or riprap walls in small to large flowing streams, rivers, and reservoirs. Spotted bass are distributed throughout the Ohio River basin as well as the central and lower Mississippi River basin. The species may be found in Gulf Coast states from Texas east to Florida. Spotted bass are native to portions of East Texas, particularly in the Sabine, Neches and Cypress Rivers.

Diet

Spotted bass usually feed on small fishes, crayfish and aquatic insects. The young begin with copepods and other small crustaceans and soon begin to eat insects. The spotted bass' diet falls in between the largemouth and smallmouth bass. It isn't nearly as predatory as the largemouth and only consumes about half the amount of the fish. Like all bass the spotted bass feeds by opening its mouth and creating a negative pressure that sucks in the prey.

Reproduction and life cycle

The spotted bass can live approximately six years. Spawning occurs from April to May in habitat similar to that used by smallmouth. The males build their nest in gravel or other substrate, then entices a female to deposit her eggs. The males guard the eggs until they disperse. Several spotted and smallmouth bass hybrids have been collected recently in area reservoirs suggesting there is occasionally competition between the two species for spawning habitat.

Importance to humans

The spotted bass is a popular game fish that is fished regularly. In this context spotted bass is a good food fish for human consumption.

Invasive species

The spotted bass was introduced to the Thee River, Olifants ‐ Doring River system, Western Cape Province, South Africa, as game fish before 2007, and is now rated as an invasive species. The population was successfully eradicated in 2014, where gillnets and hand nets were used to remove the majority of the stock, while individuals were also caught by spearguns, seine nets and backpack electrofishing. The spotted bass was held responsible for a decline in abundance of native fiery redfin (Pseudobarbus phlegethon Barnard, 1938) and Cape galaxias (Galaxias zebratus Castelnau, 1861).