I went by the new Environmental Discovery Center @ Spring Lake yesterday with my kid & a couple of his buddies. They have an aquarium in there with fish they've taken from Spring Lake - bass & bluegill, plus a few big craws. Anyhow, they said that several of the bass in the tank were spots. I didn't know there were any spotted bass in Spring Lake. Doesn't exactly seem like ideal habitat for them, either. Does anybody know anything about this? Are there really spotted bass in Spring Lake, or did their biologist mis-ID them?

Actually, I hope there are spots in Spring Lake. They give me a good excuse for catching so many dinks there, while smart-alecks like Todd & Rich have to catch so many hawgs. Hey, anybody can catch a big largemouth. It takes real angling skill to catch a 10" spot. Sly and wary little devils...

I sure hope there's no spots in there. They have a nasty habit of overpopulating and practically wiping out the other predators in the water. Look at Shasta. It used to have a decent LM fishery years ago, and now you can fish it for a month straight and not find a LM, but catch a hundred or more short spots in a day.

On the other hand, if theres 10" spots running around Spring, I don't guess they would be too long for this world with them big LM toads in there that would happily munch on them while waiting for the trout plants.

If there are spots in there they won't take over that lake.It is the wrong habitat for them.I know your concern but wouldn't worry about.They'll just be another forage for those spring lake monsters!
Swampy

IFISH say's,

Hey, where is Spring Lake located ? Once again as the deprived fisherman that i am, have not been there yet. What type of structures are there to fish ? Oh, and how big is the lake apprx ? I'm just curious with all this talk of big dawgs in there.

IFISHIUS-IS-CURIOUS

IFISH

Spring Lake is in Spring Lake Regional Park in Santa Rosa. It's about 72 acres, fairly shallow, with heavy weeds (I think they're Eurasian milfoil). It does have a deep channel (about 20') running through it & numerous rock piles created in the mid-80's when the lake was drained to try to control the weeds (hydrilla at the time). After being drained, they planted Florida-strain bass. The lake is stocked with trout f/ October - April. It kicks out lots of 10+ lb bass, especially in late February & March. It also has bluegill, crappie, & I think catfish.

Paul Duclos put it on the national map in '97 when he caught a bass (not weighed on a certified scale) in the 20+ lb range. He caught it on a big trout bait on March 1 of that year in the middle of the day. His picture with the fish ended up on the cover of Outdoor Life.

Hope that helps. Give it a try sometime - it's worth the drive.

http://www.worldrecordbass.com/hof.asp?ID=6

IFISH say's,

Once you said Paul Duclos, i was like, OOH, that Big Boy Lake !!! When i saw that picture, i nearly s%#t myself cause of it's size ! Why he didn't try and get it certified, i'll never know. With the economy the way it is right now, i bet he's smackin' himself on the forehead sayin', " DOOOHHHHHH! " I'm sure his ethics were in good intentions and i don't look down on him for it, but c'mon, get recognized by the fishin' world, be known for your skillz in catchin' hawgs. Sponsors alone would've had him set!! It's kewl, it just gives someone else a chance at a MONSTER like that fish was, or still is......... My .02 1/2 cents

IFISH

IFISH