Name:   hounddog Subject:   fishing Date:   9/2/2015 6:50:23 AM

O.K. 

There was a time when largemouth were a lot more abundant than spots here in Lake Martim.  Lake Blue ridge in north Ga.

 had no spotted bass until the late 90's . 9 out of 10 bass caught would be smallmouths and the other one would be largemouth The spotted bass are abundant there now and the smallmouth popualtion is declining because of it.The same thimg happened in Lake Chatuge in the eighties and it is happening in Hiwassee Lake now . The spots displace the largemouth and smallmouth populations. Maybe it is a natural evoltionary process ocurring throughout the reservoir system . 

I know about the designation of the alabama bass as a seperate species from the Kentucky spot . The state of Tn is currently attempting to keep the Alabama strain that has taken over Ocoee Lake from spreading on in to the Tn river impoundments including Chikamauga Lake and others .

The smallmouth fisheries of north Ga. and south western NC are changing to spotted bass fisheries . That is where myself and  others adopted the practice of releasing smallmouth and largemouth and harvesting only spots . It is probably a futile effort but I do it anyway .