Spots or Largmouths

NCHillBilly,

How would you explain why spotted bass gain a good size in some lakes ( Burton, Lanier, Carters) and doesn’t grow in others, even those lakes have a blueback herring? Also, following pro tournaments they catch all three species in some lakes like Table Rock, Jocassee SC has a good number of smallmouths in there, and some spotted bass. Lake Chicamauga, Nickajack have all three species, and as I know, LM and SM grow there really big.
And how far down South spotted bass can go and survive, as I understand Lake Eufaula is the boundary for the population?

NCHillbilly said:

There used to be 6 lb. smallmouth in Chatuge. Now there are none of any size. Just sayin.

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So I guess you hate striper and hybrid bass too?

bvi said:

NCHillBilly,

How would you explain why spotted bass gain a good size in some lakes ( Burton, Lanier, Carters) and doesn’t grow in others, even those lakes have a blueback herring? Also, following pro tournaments they catch all three species in some lakes like Table Rock, Jocassee SC has a good number of smallmouths in there, and some spotted bass. Lake Chicamauga, Nickajack have all three species, and as I know, LM and SM grow there really big.
And how far down South spotted bass can go and survive, as I understand Lake Eufaula is the boundary for the population?

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Alabama vs. KY spotted bass. KY spots and smallmouth share some habitat naturally, and KY spots are a lot smaller than Alabama spots. But, when either of them get put where they don't belong, they wreak havoc.

red neck richie said:

So I guess you hate striper and hybrid bass too?

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Don't have much opinion about them. They haven't screwed up the fishing in any lakes that I fish. Hybrid stripers weren't what happened to Chatuge. Spots were. Stripers don't crossbreed with smallmouth, nor do they take over their habitat. Most lakes here don't have any. They used to have good native white bass before somebody dumped bluebacks in, though.

red neck richie said:

So I guess you hate striper and hybrid bass too?

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Stripers and hybrids in a lake situaton are for the most part open water roamers.

bvi said:

And how far down South spotted bass can go and survive, as I understand Lake Eufaula is the boundary for the population?

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Alabama bass can be found as far south as the Florida panhandle

bvi said:

Answered above, 0 creel limit on Atlantic sturgeon helped a lot.

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Sturgeon carry caviar which means there will be more incentive to catch as many as possible for bigger pay days, leading to overfishing, smallmouth's eggs aren't too valuable I'd imagine.

NCHillbilly said:

Alabama vs. KY spotted bass. KY spots and smallmouth share some habitat naturally, and KY spots are a lot smaller than Alabama spots. But, when either of them get put where they don't belong, they wreak havoc.



Don't have much opinion about them. They haven't screwed up the fishing in any lakes that I fish. Hybrid stripers weren't what happened to Chatuge. Spots were. Stripers don't crossbreed with smallmouth, nor do they take over their habitat. Most lakes here don't have any. They used to have good native white bass before somebody dumped bluebacks in, though.

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So I guess you are selective about your non native species?

bvi said:

Agree, however it would help to increase smallmouth population even more. Sturgeon 0 creel limit definitely helped.

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Sturgeon was/is a commercial fishery.

Targeted recreational fishery in Georgia was tiny.

Easy for me to say since I've never caught a smallmouth or fished where they live, but regarding the comment about are shoalies more important than smallmouth:

Yes - I think it's a worse thing for the shoal bass, and even more so for the other black bass "cousins". It's terrible for AL/KY bass to displace smallmouth at your favorite fishing lake, but at least there are still good smallmouth populations all over the country. For shoal, Altamaha, Warrior Bass, etc. once the ones here in the south are gone that's it.

I agree that the FLW and BASS do a lot of conservation work. I also agree that a few idiots who stocked the spots doesn't represent all tournament guys. I also agree that there isn't much that can be done at this point, but that doesn't mean the DNR or fishermen should throw our hands up and quit trying to hold off the inevitable.

No size and creel limits on spots would be a step in the right direction. Making it illegal to release them would be another just like it is for snakeheads.

How about if the FLW and BASS excluded spots from weigh-ins on lakes where they aren't native? Would that spread more awareness and turn tournament fishermen against the spots as they would no longer help them earn a check?

How about NO LIMIT (size or count) tournaments for the pros where the goal was to catch as much total weight (MLF style) in spots only with all of them kept and removed? Just think how many could be removed in a 4 day tournament of 150-200 boats if there were no limits.

I know some members here make a living off of spotted bass in Lanier that are great guys. I don't blame them one bit for enjoying what they do. The way I see it they are just making the best of a bad thing. If there weren't any spots there then they would be making it with largemouths.

red neck richie said:

So I guess you are selective about your non native species?

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I am more concerned about the ones that do the most damage, yes.

Stripers are native all the way up most of the major southeastern river systems, btw.

Alabama bass are native to Lake Allatoona and connecting rivers.

https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=398

This is a very good discussion, very respectful. Perhaps we could contact fish and game and request mandatory keeping of spots under a certain size? I would be interested in a biologists view as to whether that would be helpful

lampern said:

Alabama bass are native to Lake Allatoona and connecting rivers.

https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=398

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And that's where the belong. Native range never crossed to the Chattahoochee.

Kentucky spotted bass are native to the Tennessee River Drainage, which parts are in very north GA. And that's where they belong.

Are spotted bass native to West Point, or were they introduced there too?

Tmpr111 said:

Are spotted bass native to West Point, or were they introduced there too?

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Introduced. Shoalie, Largemouth and Chattahoochee Bass are the natives for the Chattahoochee Basin.

bvi said:

NCHillBilly,

How would you explain why spotted bass gain a good size in some lakes ( Burton, Lanier, Carters) and doesn’t grow in others, even those lakes have a blueback herring? Also, following pro tournaments they catch all three species in some lakes like Table Rock, Jocassee SC has a good number of smallmouths in there, and some spotted bass. Lake Chicamauga, Nickajack have all three species, and as I know, LM and SM grow there really big.
And how far down South spotted bass can go and survive, as I understand Lake Eufaula is the boundary for the population?

Click to expand...

First of all we are talking about two species. Alabama Bass and Kentucky Spotted Bass. They are recognized as two different species by the scientist and the GDNR. But GDNR does not regulate them separate by law. In GA fishing regs, both are spots. In the Bass slam they are pooled together as Spots. This is misleading.

This is why I said most guys don't know the fish they are catching. Alabama Bass to me are the worse. But the again The Kentucky's are too. It depends on where they are introduced. The water environment. The other species they share waters with.

You know I hope one day all those organizations who praise Georgia and recognize us for having the most diverse species of Black Bass remember they did nothing to stop its demise.
Hale the Bama Bass in Carter's, Hale the spotted Bass in Lanier and Hartwell, where they should have never been.

Point is do we ask them what happened when the Shoalies are gone? Do we hale the catches when BASS and FLW parade nothing but Spots across the stage at Seminole.

I started this discussion to see how Georgians feel about our Bass Fishery. We are concerned, but how we act and conserve is still in question.

I took my 5 year old daughter out last year fishing on a local pond. Mama found an ant bed and did the fire ant shuffle for a minute Then my little girl caught here first ever fish. it was a Largemouth bass, about a half pound. She ask me "Dad what kind a fish is that?" I told her that is a Largmouth Bass. She said, a "Big Largmouth?" I said yes baby. She has caught Blue gill and crappie and she calls them by name correctly. But when she catches a Largenouth she always calls them "Big Largemouth" even if they're 6 inches long.
So one day we are at home watching YouTube. I work an overseas contract which I am lucky enough to have my family with me. I watch a lot of fishing videos when I'm not home in GA. This day I was watching some videos on Shoal Bass. My daughter came by my side about the time this guy pulled a five pound Shoalie out the Flint River near Thomaston GA. She immediately said "Dad, that's a Big Largmouth". I said no baby, those are special, that's a Shoal Bass. She said in return. "Dad I want to catch one of those". I told her, we will soon one day.

Now that's what is about. Not just a promise to a child, but a promise to future generations.

GA BASS ODYSSEY said:

First of all we are talking about two species. Alabama Bass and Kentucky Spotted Bass. They are recognized as two different species by the scientist and the GDNR. But GDNR does not regulate them separate by law. In GA fishing regs, both are spots. In the Bass slam they are pooled together as Spots. This is misleading.

This is why I said most guys don't know the fish they are catching. Alabama Bass to me are the worse. But the again The Kentucky's are too. It depends on where they are introduced. The water environment. The other species they share waters with.

You know I hope one day all those organizations who praise Georgia and recognize us for having the most diverse species of Black Bass remember they did nothing to stop its demise.
Hale the Bama Bass in Carter's, Hale the spotted Bass in Lanier and Hartwell, where they should have never been.

Point is do we ask them what happened when the Shoalies are gone? Do we hale the catches when BASS and FLW parade nothing but Spots across the stage a Seminole.

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Russell is all spots, sadly.

Hate to hear that spots are showing up in Lake Oconee.

This would be a fairly recent development by people who by now should know better.

Back before the interwebs (and Lake Oconee) there were some really large LM taken out of the upper Oconee River. I saw them caught, at that time I did not fuly appreciate how riverine LM could be.

I was catching what is now called the "Altamaha Bass" in the early 1980's. The scientists at the U of GA told me then that there was no such thing - that I just couldn't recognize LM. I should have pressed the issue and documented the catches (no digital cameras, cost money to have film developed), and today we would be talking about my bass.

More spots showing up in Clark's Hill all the time, too.