[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.
