Here I go talking about things I don't know about, but here goes anyway...

I would think that smallmouth might do well in Texas waters if they had one of the following two criteria.

1. A deeper body of water, in which the oxygen can be found several feet down, such as a situation where the water is clear, and some oxygen producing plants and algae survive in the deeper, cooler waters.

2. Ponds supplemented with well water to keep the pond cooler in areas that the smallmouth have access to.

I would think that smallmouth do poorly in Texas ponds that put the fish in a situation where the only oxygenated water was very warm to hot, such as a shallow water body, or one in which the overall pond temps get hot for extended periods of time.

I think Bob actually has some smallies at his place. Am I wrong about this?

Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.