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NEDOC #498805 11/17/18 12:38 PM
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Elwood and Davis Creek in Nebraska have spotted bass populations in Nebraska, on average it takes 4 years for them to reach 12" here. If you find a supplier let me know, I wouldn't mind a few to work on thinning down my GSH.


https://www.nefga.org/forum/fishing-and-...astern-nebraska



snrub #498806 11/17/18 12:45 PM
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I have been looking very hard for a hatchery stock of Spotted Bass. A producer near me has had them in the past and trying to drum some up from ponds stocked several years back. I have a couple thousand Spotted Fingerlings, but they are not legal for sale as from wild brood stock.

I have made hybrids between Spotted and Largemouth about 25 years ago. Hybrid, like the Meanmouth, is more aggressive than usual when on the nest. Next spring hybrid Spotted x Largemouth will again be made although use is not intended for recreational fisheries.

As a kid, we had several livestock ponds in southern Indiana stocked with Spotted Bass. They performed favorably to Largemouth in the smaller ponds lacking sunfish as forage. The spotted are not as good at protecting fry in a pond setting when lots of sunfish present. I think the Spotted Bass wean offspring before large enough to avoid sunfish going after them.

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I suspect that spotted bass, like smallmouth, might do well in a pond setting where RES are the only sunfish present.



Shorty #498832 11/18/18 01:57 PM
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That sounds logical Shorty. Or perhaps RES and GSH.


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snrub #501128 01/24/19 12:29 AM
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Hey snrub, never crossed my mind when I first read this but there are tons of spots all around you down there. I caught more spots probably 3-1 than LMB or SMB over east of ya in the spring river at the road bridge. Maple east to CR 270, go north about 2 miles.. Public access on the south side of bridge. It's on the MO side but might be worth trying to catch a few to move..???
Maybe I should bring one of my small 75gal tanks when I go to Joplin to see my daughter??? :-))

Last edited by Snipe; 01/24/19 12:31 AM.
Snipe #511330 09/09/19 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted By: Snipe
Hey snrub, never crossed my mind when I first read this but there are tons of spots all around you down there. I caught more spots probably 3-1 than LMB or SMB over east of ya in the spring river at the road bridge. Maple east to CR 270, go north about 2 miles.. Public access on the south side of bridge. It's on the MO side but might be worth trying to catch a few to move..???
Maybe I should bring one of my small 75gal tanks when I go to Joplin to see my daughter??? :-))


snrub, you ever get into any spots? Seems we have plenty interested in tackling this project, myself included. If I can come across some I'll be starting a thread on the process.

You coming up for Husker Harvest Days this week?


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snrub #511343 09/09/19 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted By: snrub
[quote=snrub]Just found this old 2009 thread on Spotted Bass. According to Greg Grimes, they are very aggressive. His experience with clients ponds and spots was not that good.

2009 thread on Spotted Bass



John, where I grew up a native bass that isn't LMB can be found in most of the creeks, particularly in smaller, shallower holes in the upstream reaches. LMB have taken over most of the larger and deeper holes particularly in downstream reaches. I am not certain what species this bass is but in the past when I would catch them I thought they were spotted bass. They have bright red eyes and smaller mouths than LMB. Many old ponds that were bucket stocked from creeks have them.

With regard to moving fish. I think it is really important not to move a fish to water where it is larger than most of its kind. If the water could support it then similar specimens would already prevail in. Size structure can only be altered to larger fish from the ground up. Also, if the pond is mature, then it already may have bass biomass at the limit the BOW can support. Home fish should have an advantage.

To me Spotted and LMB are similar enough to be sufficient on their own. But if I really wanted Spotties, they would be the only bass I would stock. I like Shorty's idea of a different forage combination for them also.

Last edited by jpsdad; 09/09/19 04:28 PM.

It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers


snrub #511346 09/09/19 07:17 PM
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the bright red eyes, and smaller mouths sounds very suspicious for 'Rock Bass', not spotted bass.

snrub #511353 09/09/19 08:52 PM
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Nope. Definitely not 'Rock Bass' that is for sure. They are a Micropterus species for sure.

**BUMP**

OK, so was doing searches on "red eyes". Turns out, lots of different species of micropterus can have red eyes and red eyes occur prevalently in various river species of Georgia/Alabama. I'm from northern OK so thought I throw a search out for spotted bass and Oklahoma and found a link at the DOW.

A bit of personal history. Locally we often referred these bass as "red-eyed bass". I was once corrected by a group of friends for calling them Spotted bass. And so in some minds locally they were our own special bass. Since then, I never was completely confident calling them Spotted bass. The link at the DOW gives me the confidence to say it is not likely they are any species other than spotted bass.

Last edited by jpsdad; 09/11/19 09:35 PM.

It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers


snrub #511354 09/09/19 10:47 PM
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"With regard to moving fish. I think it is really important not to move a fish to water where it is larger than most of its kind. If the water could support it then similar specimens would already prevail in. Size structure can only be altered to larger fish from the ground up. Also, if the pond is mature, then it already may have bass biomass at the limit the BOW can support. Home fish should have an advantage."

If this was pointed at me, I was not implying that anyone add these to an existing Bass population. If someone builds a pond and wishes to try this species, in this case, the only way to do that is move the fish. I take some of this info-and procedure-for granted, we haul fish from one BOW to another- a lot. We also treat with specific chemicals to lessen the chance of parasites and other diseases, so yes, I often forget not everyone does it that way, but if done legally and properly it can be quite successful.

snrub #511405 09/10/19 04:28 PM
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It was definitely not pointed at you Snipe. I was just commenting that, (when like fish are present), I think it is important to transfer where their competitors at their new home are of similar or larger size. As it pertains to this thread, if I had a BOW I wanted to introduce Spotties with existing LMB, I would stock them at a size that is average and maybe remove one or the two LMB of similar size for each Spotted Bass.

When I said this ...

Quote:
Size structure can only be altered to larger fish from the ground up.


It was just an aside not pertaining to the topic of this thread or in response anything anyone posted in it. It is easy to be seduced by the idea that one may introduce large (eg 5+ lbs) LMB into a mature bow with an existing LMB population. In a sense forcing the trophy bow, however, if the BOW doesn't already produce large bass like it, IMHO the transplant should be expected to begin declining as soon as it is introduced.

Last edited by jpsdad; 09/10/19 07:18 PM.

It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers


snrub #511423 09/10/19 11:27 PM
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"if the BOW doesn't already produce large bass like it, IMHO the transplant should be expected to begin declining as soon as it is introduced."

Agree completely..And very well stated.
Sorry I misinterpreted your post.

snrub #511435 09/11/19 06:58 AM
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No worries and no apology needed. I am just happy that you presented me the opportunity to clarify.


It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers


snrub #511446 09/11/19 11:45 AM
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That is a great thing about this forum when a disagreement or offense might be taken, there is a fairly rational discussion and then usually some type of resolution. We don't have to agree on things but is nice to have a safe sandbox to play in. I for one like to read a few weird or unusual thoughts on subjects, much easier to disect potential problems online rather than once implemented in my pond. Thanks, guys!

roundy #511459 09/11/19 02:06 PM
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You are right Roundy, sometimes it doesn’t come out so good and folks get banned.......

snrub #527898 11/22/20 09:01 PM
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@snrub Thanks for compiling this information. I have struggled to find good scientific data on spotted bass.

I live in the piedmont region of South Carolina and spotted bass are common in our larger/clearer reserviors, but I don't recall ever catching one from a farm pond. One such large lake, Strom Thurmond, is 4 miles from my house. My brother fishes frequently and has been bringing me bass to stock my 3 ponds. He has been catching a 50/50 mix of LMB and SPB, most around 12 inches. I am skeptical that they will do well in my relatively shallow farm ponds, but I am struggling to find any data to help confirm that. My largest pond may be their best chance. Its 1.3 acres and a bit more sheltered from the sun by a valley and surrounding trees. We shall see!

Anyway, will try to keep you updated over the next year or so, and if you have any data on DO & temp requirements that would be great!


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Originally Posted by ColdSpringsFarm
@snrub Thanks for compiling this information. I have struggled to find good scientific data on spotted bass.

I live in the piedmont region of South Carolina and spotted bass are common in our larger/clearer reserviors, but I don't recall ever catching one from a farm pond. One such large lake, Strom Thurmond, is 4 miles from my house. My brother fishes frequently and has been bringing me bass to stock my 3 ponds. He has been catching a 50/50 mix of LMB and SPB, most around 12 inches. I am skeptical that they will do well in my relatively shallow farm ponds, but I am struggling to find any data to help confirm that. My largest pond may be their best chance. Its 1.3 acres and a bit more sheltered from the sun by a valley and surrounding trees. We shall see!

Anyway, will try to keep you updated over the next year or so, and if you have any data on DO & temp requirements that would be great!


There may be information here that may help you: Fishbase.org spotted bass


www.hoosierpondpros.com


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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
snrub #527908 11/23/20 01:55 AM
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I agree with Cold Springs - snrub did an awesome job in compiling this SPB thread!

As regards data on DO and temperature requirements: Everything that I have read (not much) suggests that SPB need higher levels of DO and are more susceptible to stress due to high water temperatures compared to LMB. This seems perfectly logical if SPB are better adapted to streams and larger reservoirs.

However, my limited personal experience is just the opposite! We used to fish a reservoir in SE Kansas that had a mix of LMB, SPB, and a few SMB. It was a great fishery and we frequently had both live wells full of a 3-man limit. This mix usually ranged from 50/50 SPB to LMB, up to 80/20 SPB to LMB.

Each live well might have 1 or 2 floaters at quitting time, especially if it took all day to reach our limit.

The floaters were always the LMB and never the SPB. I don't know the reason. The only other data I can add is that these were our eating fish. We returned all LMB over 3# back to the reservoir on the theory that they might have superior genetics. (The largest we ever caught was just under 8# in that BOW.) We kept every SPB we caught that was eating size. These were usually chunky 12-14" fish that probably weighed 1# to 1.75#.

We also kept the LMB in this WEIGHT range. That usually meant 12-16" LMB, but they were certainly less "chunky" than the spots. (Sorry, I can't remember the technical term for relative fish weight - I will edit and add if somebody prompts me.) Usually there were 1-2 larger LMB that we kept in the 2-2.5# range. Our worst mortality was in the larger LMB and the skinnier LMB from among the shorter bass.

I hope this helps!

P.S. esshup, I tried your Fishbase.org link to get some more info, but it set off all of the security bells and whistles on my computer. Have you been to that site recently?

FishinRod #527941 11/23/20 10:18 PM
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Originally Posted by FishinRod
I agree with Cold Springs - snrub did an awesome job in compiling this SPB thread!

Thanks for the additional info. The livewell example seems like a good test. Definitely interested to see how they do in my ponds. I hope that the time of year, small size, and lack of competition will give them the best chance to acclimate before the summer heat.

It sure is tempting to put a few in a controlled environment(tank) and see what they can handle. Yet another reminder that I need to invest in a DO meter. 🤔


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To my way of thinking, spotted bass in a pond are much like green sunfish in a pond.

They don't get very big, and they eat a lot, but they are fun to catch and they taste good.

So if you want some, get some, but realize that something else that lives there will suffer for it.

snrub #527962 11/24/20 09:50 AM
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ColdSprings,

When you and your brother are putting the SPB in your big (1.3 acre) pond are they going into an environment that already has LMB? How deep is that pond?

I hope you get to run a good experiment on that pond and keep us posted.

If you really get serious, would you consider spaghetti tags on the SPB? I have caught SPB in a reservoir where the fish has an obvious fresh hookset on the opposite side of their mouth. I am pretty sure I have caught multiple spots in the evening that someone else caught that morning!

If you tag your 12" fish going in, you can find out if these are 16" fish later, or if they are losing weight and failing to thrive in your pond. You can also figure out how many times per year you (or your kids) can catch the same SPB!

Augie is of course correct that something else in your pond will suffer. I think all of the unrequited love for SPB on the forum is that we are hopeful that it is the "overpopulated small BG" that will suffer.

Good luck,
Rod

FishinRod #527967 11/24/20 11:26 AM
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Originally Posted by FishinRod
ColdSprings,

When you and your brother are putting the SPB in your big (1.3 acre) pond are they going into an environment that already has LMB? How deep is that pond?

I hope you get to run a good experiment on that pond and keep us posted.

If you really get serious, would you consider spaghetti tags on the SPB? I have caught SPB in a reservoir where the fish has an obvious fresh hookset on the opposite side of their mouth. I am pretty sure I have caught multiple spots in the evening that someone else caught that morning!

If you tag your 12" fish going in, you can find out if these are 16" fish later, or if they are losing weight and failing to thrive in your pond. You can also figure out how many times per year you (or your kids) can catch the same SPB!

Augie is of course correct that something else in your pond will suffer. I think all of the unrequited love for SPB on the forum is that we are hopeful that it is the "overpopulated small BG" that will suffer.

Good luck,
Rod


I am glad you mentioned the tagging! I have been meaning to look into tagging options. To answer your questions, the pond is about 10-12ft deep. I moved over mosquito fish back in summer which are everywhere. In the last month I have moved over aprox 250 1"-6" CNBG and 10 or 15 fingerling bass from one of my other ponds. The only mature bass in this 1.3 acre pond as of now are 2 SPB and 2 LMB. The others that bro caught were put in the "holding" pond that all these other fish are coming from. I still plan to move over another 400-500 panfish while the weather is ideal, the idea being to jump start the age classes of panfish and other forage before I introduce many mature predators. This "holding" pond was originally intended to be a trophy BG pond, but I failed in getting bass established quickly enough. The bright side is I have LOTS of fish for these 2 new ponds.


Gonna look into tag options now! Fortunately one of the 12" SPB had an eye injury so he will be easy to remember.


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Sounds like you still have a good Plan B after the first one didn't work out quite right. (I predict some Plan A failures in a few of my upcoming projects.)

I think the real fisheries experts on the forum had a fish tagging discussion a while back (5+ years?), but I didn't save the thread.
Originally Posted by ColdSpringsFarm
Fortunately one of the 12" SPB had an eye injury so he will be easy to remember.

He was probably hurt trying to head-butt a crank bait out of the mouth of another spotted bass.
laugh

I do love the aggression of the SPB. Hopefully, you can make them work in your ponds!

Rod

snrub #527974 11/24/20 03:37 PM
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Found it: Fish Tagging 101 - in the Common Pond Q&A (archives). The thread started in 2007.

snrub #527983 11/24/20 06:07 PM
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Thanks!


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