I have fished in some of the larger creeks in your area of the state and caught lots of spotted bass. I suspect the creek into your watershed lake may supply a few spotted bass following years with good spawns in the creek.
I think they are more aggressive than LMB!
The 400-acre Boy Scout lake down by Sedan has good populations of both LMB and spotted bass at the same time. It also has a decent population of SMB.
As regards identification:
Yes, the spotted bass are sometimes more splotchy, sometimes have orange/red eyes, and sometimes have rough patches on their tongues. With the mouth closed, the hingeline of the jaw does NOT go past the eye (like it does on a LMB).
However, one of the fish & game guys told me the most positive identifier in Kansas is to lift up a bass's front dorsal fin. There will be dip essentially all of the way down to the scales before reaching the second dorsal fin for LMB.
When you do the same to a spotted bass, the first and second dorsal fins will exhibit a small connection. Try it on the next suspected spotted bass that you catch, and then try it on the next LMB you catch of similar size. You should see an obvious difference that is very easy to check on future fish.
The spotted bass may actually be beneficial in your lake. If they truly are more aggressive than LMB in your pond, they may eat a large number of your small crappie population, but be incapable of eating your large crappie.
The spotted bass also LOVE to eat crayfish. When fishing in the spring at the Boy Scout lake we used to see the feelers of a crayfish sticking up out of the gullet of EVERY single spotted bass we caught.
If you wanted to sample the spotted bass in your lake, you might try fishing with crayfish over the next two weeks. If you have some rocky outcrops on your lake, try a crawdad on your light spinning tackle on the bottom with a split-shot weight about 12" above the hook. If your bottom is too congested with rocks or limbs in those areas, then try a deep set under a bobber where the hook is within 2-3' of the bottom.
If you don't have any rocky areas, then try under a bobber by the riprap on your dam in the early morning.
Is much of the feeder creek to your lake also on your property? If so, you can sneak up to some of the pools in the creek and toss a small beetle spin. I predict you will catch some spotted bass, LMB, crappie, BG, and GSF. I have even caught channel cats and a spotted gar on a beetle spin in those little pools.
Pro-tip: If you are sensitive to poison ivy, be very careful on your approaches to the pools!
Have fun sampling your spotted bass, I think they are great fish!
