Spotted Bass - Micropterus punctulatus (This page was last
updated - 06/26/2007) Scientific name: Micropterus punctulatus
(Micropterus = "torn fin ", punctulatus = "dotted") Common
names: spotted bass, spot, Kentucky A Tellico Reservoir spotted
bass - photo by Jim Negus Spotted bass, otherwise known as
"Kentucky bass", is one of the four species of black bass found
in the state. They are common except in the higher elevation
streams of East Tennessee. The Tennessee state angling record
was taken from Center Hill Reservoir in 1989 and weighed 5
pounds and 8 ounces. Spotted bass are easily confused with
largemouth bass because both have a dark mid-lateral band of
pigmentation. Spotted bass have small jaws that do not extend
past the eye and a high bridge between the spiny and soft dorsal
fins, two characters not found in largemouth bass. Spotted bass
are much smaller on average than either largemouth or smallmouth
bass. It is rare for a spotted bass to reach 16-inches in East
Tennessee. They usually have rows o