Serendipitous Spotted Bass (Micropterus punctulatus): North America's Quick, Quiet, Quirky Freshwater Fish

Spots on animals attract as much attention and frustration as freckles on humans do. For example, they beg to be counted. Depending upon the number and the pattern, they therefore can lead to those who like to count going buggy-eyed while trying to mark their places within the sequence. The misery does not end there. It is succeeded by attempts not to blink as the total is tallied.

At the same time, freckles and spots inspire similarly provocative questions. For instance, they make the human witness wonder about the cause and prevalence of the appearance of the freckling and spotting. They also urge the human mind to follow mental paths and physical research into rationales and results.

Interestingly enough, the why and the what-for will be startlingly similar and dramatically different for an animal’s spots and a human’s freckles.

In fact, freckles and spots are the results of uneven pigmentation. They can be impermanent or permanent. They can last a lifetime or fade with changed ambient lighting or with both home and over-the-counter remedies.

But unwillingly or willingly, freckles and spots both serve to camouflage underlying features. In the case of humans, freckles will be recalled far longer than the noses over which they are spilled. In the example of animals, spots will be remembered far longer than the sides over which they are splattered.

Notwithstanding the similarities, the resulting symbolism of human freckles and of wild spots differs dramatically. Freckles lead their human bearer to stand out in a crowd of faces whose complexions are unshaded by charmingly unique freckling. It always will be difficult to be unobtrusive with human freckles.

In contrast, spots permit their fishy bearer to vanish into watery habitats of brightness and darkness, lightness and obscurity.

What the common name of the spotted bass is: Spotted bass is the common name by which people in their daily lives reference the spotted bass. But it may not be the only such term. In fact, alternative names may override or supplement its use, depending upon the locale and the occasion. A list of other commonly used common names for the spotted bass will include some of the following possibilities:

• Alabama spotted bass;
• Black bass;

• Kentucky bass, Kentucky black bass, Kentucky spotted bass;

• Leeman;
• Northern spotted bass;

• Spot, spots, spotty;
• Spotted black bass;

• Wichita spotted bass.

What the scientific name of the spotted bass is: Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (October 22, 1783-September 18, 1840) is the gentleman who is recognized as the first scientist to give the spotted bass its scientific name. The French scientist was born in Galata, a suburb of the historic Turkish city of Istanbul. But he was relocated to his maternal grandmother’s house for much of his childhood and adolescence.

Constantine was considered an albeit inconsistent genius by the standards of his own time and by those of subsequent generations. For example, he was educated through a combination of his merchant father’s heavy-handed influence from a distance as well as access to his grandparents’ extensive library and his own developing interests. Those interests were clustered around the burgeoning fields of biology, botany and zoology.

At the same time, Constantine was fascinated by languages, ancient or modern, extinct or spoken. It was not unexpected that the proto-scientist would rise to the challenge of learning some of the most critical of the world’s languages to perfection. Specifically, his native languages were the French of his father, the German of his mother, and the Turkish of his birthplace. Additionally, through his own self-instruction and indomitable will, he wrote and spoke classical Greek and Latin with such fluency that he could be considered as close to a native speaker of the two languages whose knowledge was pivotal for entry into and acceptance by the scientific world of the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Languages in fact served as a key factor in Constantine’s successful involvement in business and then in education and science. At the age of just twenty-five, he sought a career change by retiring from his own lucrative trading enterprise headquartered in Palermo, Sicily. He smoothly switched into scientific research, particularly of fishes and plants.

Expanded educational, scientific research and writing opportunities ultimately motivated Constantine to make a return visit to the United States of America in 1815. Within four years of arriving in New York, Constantine received a professorship in botany at Transylvania University, a historic, higher educational institution in the Kentucky bluegrass city of Lexington. During his seven-year tenure, until spring 1826, the French biologist, taxonomist and zoologist spent free time collecting and classifying animal and plant specimens from all over the Commonwealth. One such specimen was a spotted bass from the Ohio River in 1819.

What the home of the spotted bass is: The spotted bass is native to the Mississippi River basin north of the rivers which drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Its native range runs from central Texas through the Florida panhandle. In terms of Virginia, the range spans the Big Sandy and Tennessee River drainages in the western part of the Commonwealth.

The fish can be both a native and an introduced fish depending upon the locale. For example, it is a native and introduced fish in Virginia. Its first known introduction into the Commonwealth occurred no later than 1928 in the New River drainage. Subsequent introductions took place much later, in the 1970s and 1980s. Specifically, the popular Appomattox and Falling River systems were stocked between 1976 and 1977.

Within its native and introduced ranges, the spotted bass handles the following conditions within its watery habitats:

• Clear or turbid waters of high to low visibility;

• Cool or warm waters in mountain streams and reservoirs;

• Cover of such vegetation as aquatic grasses on and along the bottoms of water bodies;

• Deep pools;

• Gravelly or rocky bottoms;

• Rivers and streams of moderate gradient;

• Siltation;

• Structure from boulders and rocks on the bottoms of water bodies as well as from rocky cliffs along the sides of water bodies.

The spotted bass accepts a variety of living arrangements in terms of temperature and visibility. For example, it can survive in waters where sight feeding is limited by silt build-ups. But it will not compromise on one factor which is essential for its survival: the pH of its watery habitats.

A low pH level is an automatic reject for the spotted bass. The spotted bass will not accept acidic waters be the acidification caused by acid rainfall or toxic dumps. For example, it therefore will not be found in any swampy waters, not in Virginia, not in any other location.

What the spotted bass looks like: The spotted bass can be described in terms of the following physical characteristics:

Head:

• Cheek bars dark olive;
• Ear flap with black spot;
• Mouth large;
• Tongue with fine teeth;
• Top dark;

Body:

• Abdomen whitish;
• Back pale to dark olive with olive black or olive brown diamond-shaped spots forming horizontal rows from the gill covers to the base of the tail;
• Mature body length of 12 inches (30.48 centimeters), with a known maximum of 25 inches (63.5 centimeters);
• Mature body weight of 1 to 2 pounds (0.45 to 0.91 kilograms), with a known maximum of 10 pounds 4 ounces (4.65 kilograms);
• Scales spotted with whitish centers;
• Stocky;

Fins, rays, spines:

• Anal fin whitish with 9 to 11 rays and 2 to 4 spines;

• Caudal (Latin: caudālis, “of or relating to the tail of an animal”) fin forked with yellow wash over olive;

• Dorsal (Latin: dorsālis, “of or relating to the back”) fin pale olive with 11 to 14 rays and 9 to 11 spines;

• Pectoral (Latin: pectorālis, “of or relating to the breast”) fin pale and rounded with 14 to 17 rays;

• Pelvic fin whitish.

What the spotted bass eats: The newly hatched spotted bass fry begins with a diet of plankton (Greek: πλαγκτός, planktos, “errant” and therefore “drifter”) after taking 2 days to absorb its yolk sac. It progresses with time into a diet rich in microcrustaceans such as cladocerans and copepods as well as in small insects such as mayflies and the larvae of black flies and midges. The adult spotted bass follows a diversely opportunistic diet. Potential spotted bass prey nevertheless may include any of the following:

• Annelid worms;

• Aquatic insects, particularly large mayflies;

• Crustaceans such as crayfish;

• Frogs;

• Land insects which fall into or hover over the surface waters, such as ants, beetles, dragonflies, flies, grasshoppers and wasps;
• Mammals such as mice and rats;
• Small birds, such as ducklings;
• Small fishes such as gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis), and minnows (family Cyprinidae);
• Snakes.

What the spotted bass is eaten by: Fish are the main predators of spotted bass eggs and fry. The adult bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) eat the embryos and the young. Additionally, the adult spotted bass feeds on its own eggs and fry as well as those of other spotted bass.

Humans are the main predators of the adult spotted bass. The spotted bass draws upon all of its senses when chasing its prey and fleeing its predators. For example, as a sight feeder, it focuses its vision to the interpretation of color and shape in clear and not-so-clear waters. As a swimming sensory machine, it will process movements, pressure changes and vibrations to the analysis of size.

What the spawning time is for the spotted bass: The spotted bass breeds between late spring and early summer. In Virginia, its spawning depends upon water temperatures ranging between 59 and 66.2 °Fahrenheit (15 and 19 °Celsius) for its spawning. It also looks for water body bottoms which are about 4.92 to 21.98 feet (1.5 to 6.7 meters) down from the surface. The bottom may be either clayey soft or gravelly firm near submerged brush or timber. Such conditions will be met between late April and mid-May in Virginia.

The spawning season can have different triggering and defusing temperatures. In California, spawning depends upon starting temperatures of 53.6 °F (12 °C). It ends when temperatures reach 71.6 to 73.4 °F (22 to 23 °C). In contrast, in Texas, the spotted bass spawns into June in water temperatures of 62.96 to 78.08 °F (17.2 to 25.6 °C).

The male arrives first at the spawning grounds. He clears a saucer-shaped depression no more than 15 inches (38.1 centimeters) on the bottom. He defends the nest from the time that the female spotted bass deposits the 3,800+ to 30,500+ sticky eggs until the fry hatch and become independent in movement and feeding. The eggs turn from clear to a black-spotted opaque just before hatching in 2 days at the upper limits in the water temperature range and in 5 days at the lower. The total defensive time put in by the male ranges from 6 to 14 days total.

The young spotted bass becomes sexually mature between 1 and 4 years. The total lifespan of a spotted bass typically can range from shortly after sexual maturity to 1 to 2 years later. The known maximum lifespan of the spotted bass is 11 years.

What the use of the spotted bass is: Culture, fishing and food are the most visible uses of the spotted bass.

In terms of culture, the spotted bass is the official state fish of Kentucky. The adoption traces back to a joint resolution of the Kentucky General Assembly. The status of official state fish was conferred upon the spotted bass on February 27, 1956.

In terms of fishing, the spotted bass attracts many followers in the angling and fishing community. It does not cooperate with being caught. A sighting of a spotted bass therefore always foreshadows a valiant struggle whose outcome never is a foregone conclusion. Should they outwit the strategy-oriented spotted bass, predatory anglers and fishers will draw upon an enviable storehouse of "the fish that did not get away" adventure stories which will dominate many a fishy tale swapping evening. They also will have a tasty fish which will cooperate most scrumptiously with just about any preparation which the designated chef has in mind.

Just a few guidelines can be offered in terms of the tracking and trapping of the wily spotted bass:

Times:

• Dusk and sunrise;

• Year-round, but especially spring and fall;

Places:

• Columns about 3.3 to 13.1 feet (1 to 4 meters) below the surface in deeper, open waters;

• Depths of 98 to 130 feet (40 to 40 meters) in fall;

• Shallows along shoreline;

• Upstream along rocky banks;

Methods:

• Artificial baits and lures, such as crank baits, jigs, spinners;

• Fly fishing lines imitating crippled minnows;

• Ice fishing;

• Lightweight gear;

• Live bait, such as small minnows and worms.

In terms of food, the spotted bass has to be kept cool between the catch and the preparation to eat. It responds well to being strung mouth-to-mouth and dunked into a pail of cool water. Or it will cooperate with being stored in an ice chest during transit.

Once in the angler’s or fisher’s home, the spotted bass can be part of a tasty meal, particularly if served the day of the catch. It may be served filleted or indeed whole after scaling and gutting. But whatever the preparation, fish-eaters will savor the flaky, succulent white meat of the freshly caught spotted bass.

What the future holds for the spotted bass: Key to survival is the ability to adapt to change. The spotted bass may be considered a quintessential example of successful adaptation. It quickly and quietly survives within a range of alternative living conditions: clear or turbid, cool or warm, fast or slow moving waters. Additionally, it thrives in the non-vegetated or vegetated waters and on the cluttered or uncluttered bottoms of the pools, reservoirs, rivers and streams which it calls home. Specifically, it will not be stopped by debris, litter or siltation as long as it still can clear a spawning nest and detect a food source, for itself and for future generations of spotted bass.

But what will stop the quick, quiet, quintessential spotted bass most quirkily will threaten the earth’s human and wild inhabitants as well: the acidification of the planet’s waters by acid rain and toxic waste beyond any natural buffering by any water body and beyond any restorative effort by any human endeavor.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the Internet; as well as to Stessily for original artwork included below.

My special thanks to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Department of Agriculture for the professionalism which is evinced in the high-caliber data and images which they make available in print and on the internet.

My special thanks also to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for the high caliber of their online resources.

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Gooch, Bob. Virginia Fishing Guide. Revised Edition. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992.

Hart, David. Flyfisher’s Guide to Virginia Including West Virginia’s Best Fly Fishing Waters. Belgrade, MT: Wilderness Adventures Press, Inc., 2006.

Hassan-Williams, Carla, and Timothy H. Bonner “Micropterus punctulatus spotted bass.” Texas State University-San Marcos Department of Biology: Texas Freshwater Fishes. http://www.bio.txstate.edu/~tbonner/txfishes/micropterus punctulatus.htm (Last accessed November 27, 2011)

Jenkins, Robert E. and Noel M. Burkhead. Freshwater Fishes of Virginia. Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society, 1994.

Rohde, Fred C., Rudolf G. Arndt, David G. Lindquist, and James F. Parnell. Freshwater Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1994.

“Spotted Bass.” Oroville FERC Relicensing (Project No. 2100) Interim Report SP-F3.2 Task 2 SP-F21 Task 1: Appendix A Matrix of Life History and Habitat Requirements for Feather River Fish Species. http://www.water.ca.gov/orovillerelicensing/docs/wg_study_reports_and_docs/EWG/030221/spotted-bass-matrix_1-28-03.pdf (Last accessed November 27, 2011)

“Spotted Bass, Micropterus punctulatus.” EFISH: The Virtual Aquarium of The Department of Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences of Virginia Tech. http://cnre.vt.edu/efish/families/spottedbass.html (Last accessed November 27, 2011)

“Spotted Bass Micropterus punctulatus.” Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) Gallery of Pennsylvania Fishes Chapter 22: Sunfishes, Family Centrarchidae. http://www.fish.state.pa.us/pafish/fishhtms/chap22.htm (Last accessed November 27, 2011)

Copyright Sunday, November 27, 2011 by Derdriu