Hello.

The aggressivity of the bass when they protect their nest.

It is said that they can attack fish much larger than themselves, an that in normal time the bass would have fled, it is even said that they can attack diver.

If it's true which one is the most aggressive, smallmouth or largemouth.

A+

Tough question.

I like to guess that smallies are generally more aggressive than LMB, but that's just 'cause smallies are my favorite freshwater fish.

LMB outcompete SMB regularly when the two species are both present. Not entirely sure why.

It depends - SMB do better in moving water. LMB in still hot water. SMB do better in cold water. They are both aggressive in nest protection.

I’ve never heard of them attacking a diver.

One reason is mouth size. Largemouth are more piscivorous and simply have more dining options.

Individual variation is more important with respect to who is more aggressive. In natural setting, most aggressive individuals I have dealt with were Spotted Bass that would bite my hands and mask as I sampled nest for embryos and prolarvae.

In pond setting, the hybrids, regardless of type more aggressive, to point of being stupid. Hence, the term "meanmoouth" from my perspective although one could argue mean = average = in between.


Social setting can impact aggressiveness. Most aggressive males had nest in shallow water while those in deeper water tend to back away when I approach.

Competition outcomes I think has little or nothing to do with gap size. Something way more interesting that does not appear to be in the literature is at play.

Studies are clear that aggressiveness is a heritable trait in both Northern and Fla LMB as well as other species. Many of the Bass hybrids show hybrid vigor in the initial generation including certain Fla/Northern crosses. Same for other of the bass species.

Aggressiveness is not a function of genetics alone, rather a combination of genetics and environment even with fishes.

No doubt that environment over time (adaptation) effects most traits through selection. The time period for adaptation can be short or long depending on the situation. The point in the studies was that many such traits are heritable.

Aggressiveness in fish while good for fishing may not always be best for survival. Many times the most aggressive fish while small take chances that get them eaten by bigger fish or other predators.

If aggressive behavior is a true behavioral characteristic as it is in humans and other mammals, fish aggression is a variable feature among individuals were some individuals will be more aggressive than others; spectral range of passive to aggressive which is likely a combination of genetics and environment plus maybe some other factors.

Herons hammered my Spotted Bass x Largemouth Bass males tended nest as fish were threatening Great Blue Herons that were already trying to catch bass. The bass would not back down.


I can manipulate environment to increase or decrease aggression of an individual. That induced variation can often override genetic differences. If male is in a setting where he is always ramped up trying to run off best predators, then he is often quicker to attack novel perceived threats as well. Bluegill and Redspotted Sunfish are particularly easy to manipulate.

Does anyone on the forum have spotted bass as the main predator for sunfish????? If spotted bass tend to be more aggressive, why is it no one or at least very few fish farms grow them?. Sounds to me this aggressiveness would make them a very good predator to have in ponds that receive frequent angling activity and hook shy bass problem would be less. IMO there is a niche market for these fish.

Who would not like to have their pond with large aggressive spotted bass regularly on the end of a fish pole? Here are numerous eastern US state records for spotted bass (in KY aka Kentucky bass).
AK 7lb15oz, MS 8lb 2oz, OK 8lb 2oz, TX 5lb 5oz, TN 6lb 1 oz, KY 7lb 1 oz. IN 5lb 5oz, OH 5lb 2 oz, IL 7lb 3oz, IA 2lb, KS 4.4lb, NE 3lb,12 oz, AL 8lb 15 oz, GA 8lb, FL 3lb 7oz.

Spotted bass tend to stunt and overpopulate more than LMB or SMB. Our local large (31,000 ac) COE lake is overrun with them. They have removed the size limit and are thinking of maybe removing or upping the bag limit. They outcompete the other bass, but grow relatively slowly.

Great question Bill!

Spotted Bass discussion

I would say don't put spotted bass in a pond. I have seen first hand the extreme overpopulation in Beaver Reservoir near me. If you throw a lure near a dock, hordes of 5-9 inch spotted bass will come out to take a look. Some of us are starting to consider them a trash fish. Hopefully, the powers that be will remove bag limits, and one could take 30-40 of those numerous 8-9 inchers home for a little fish fry. Length limit has already been removed; it was 12 inches, which represented a 4 year old SPB.

My thinking is they might make a good predator in a pond where trophy BG was the goal. Lots of small bass to keep the BG spawn very limited.

They likely would require close management to make them work. It would be an interesting experiment in a pond a person was not too worried about messing up. My old refurbished pond is kind of my trash fish pond and I thought they might be fun to have in there as something different.

A person might fish them kind of like BG fishing for more of a pan fishing pond. Just take out all of them a person catches if they start to become too abundant.

If spotted bass are staying small they would act as small sized predator and be food for larger predators. Smaller sized predators are sometimes very useful in pond management. Goals, Goals. I question if they are more prolific compared to LMB? I will check into info about their fecundity.
Here are average egg numbers of Spotted bass (SPB) compared to LMB of similar sized females. Data from Carlander Vol2. Note the numbers of eggs per female from various water bodies varied quite a bit and ranged from 2x to 3x of the low number. Example LMB at 11.6” to 11.8” egg ranges were 5,549 to 22,857 and 17.1”– 18.1” = 42,640-81,582 eggs / female.
12-13" SPB= 8,900 LMB= 15,500
14” SPB= 11,680 LMB= 17,000
16” SPB= 19,100 LMB= 21,700
17” SPB= 25,500 LMB= 59,100
Carlander mentioned the SPB do not tolerate heat as well as the LMB and is considered an intermediate species between SMB & LMB.

If I wanted a aggressive bass that did not get as big as LMB for control of smaller sunfishes, I would seriously consider trying spotted bass as a predator of numerous smaller sunfish. Use of them would depend on ones goals.

This from an internet link: "On the basis of the number of fish stocked, northern largemouth bass produced the largest standing crops and spotted bass the smallest (Table 1).

If only we could.

None available to buy that I know of.

And from a discussion I had with Rainman in my spotted bass thread , in my home state Kansas if I take a spotted bass from a public water (bucket stock it) the state determines the fish in that pond now to be theirs from that point forward (till all fish in the BOW are destroyed) no longer mine, so no way am I going to do that. Even if from a practical standpoint it would not likely affect my pond usage, no way I want to potentially involve a government agency any more than they are already involved in control over my life.

Here is Rainman's statement from that thread:

KS Statute 32-703: State ownership of wildlife. The ownership of and title to all wildlife, both resident and migratory, in the state, not held by private ownerships, legally acquired, shall be, and are hereby declared to be in the state.

If caught in a stream flowing through property, you may not need a license to catch it, but you will to sell it commercially. If stocked into a pond, the fish caught and all offspring are State property.

If anyone knows differently I would sure like to know the law that says it is ok to take public fish from public waters and stock a private pond with no repercussions or claims from the state.

Ok, did some more research. From this web site: Kansas Wildlife Parks and Tourism

Quote:
Sources of Fish

Pond owners can purchase fish from commercial fish growers for stocking ponds. Purchased fish are considered to be the pond owner’s livestock. Such ponds are free of any restrictions, including license requirements and harvest methods. A partial list of commercial fish growers can be obtained from any Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism, Natural Resources Conservation Service or Extension Service office. A pond can be stocked with fish legally caught elsewhere but this practice is not advised because it is usually difficult to obtain adequate numbers, especially for large ponds, and wild fish are more likely to have disease problems than those raised by a commercial fish grower.

That does not say anything specific about ownership of the subsequent fish, but at least they do say it is legal to catch wild fish (legally obtained) for stocking a private pond. I found a similar statement for Texas during my search.

Most people around here still stock their ponds with fish legally caught from public waters. Lots of pond owners don't even know about the fish trucks which come around only about three or four times each year.

Most bass fishermen think of spots as inferior fish. Beaver reservoir has habitat ideal for them in its middle to lower reaches, and they dominate there. Lots of big boulders and chunk rock act as cover for them in those areas of the reservoir.

Probably those same misinformed souls that think the magnificent GSF are inferior fish.