What is Spotted bass?
[[File:Big Bass Louie Bartenfield sm.jpg|thumb|right|300px|{{Center|A large Spotted Bass caught in Carter's Lake, [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] by professional guide Louie Bartenfield}}]] The '''spotted bass''' (''Micropterus punctulatus'') also called the '''Kentucky Bass''', is a [[freshwater]] [[game fish]] in the [[Centrarchidae|sunfish family]]. It is a [[species]] of [[black bass]] [[Indigenous (ecology)|native]] to the lower and central [[Mississippi River]] [[Drainage basin|basin]] in [[North America]]. It has been [[Introduced species|introduced]] into other [[States of the United States|U.S. states]] as far west as [[California]]. It has also been introduced into other countries. The spotted bass is often confused with the [[largemouth bass]] because it has the same coloring. But it is distinguished by having a smaller mouth than the largemouth. In size it is smaller than either the largemouth or [[smallmouth bass]]. In 1956 it became the official [[game fish]] of [[Kentucky]]. From that time on it was popularly called the Kentucky bass.<ref>Arthur Lander, ''A Fishing Guide to Kentucky's Major Lakes'' (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2010), p. 31</ref> == Subspecies == Currently there are three recognized [[subspecies]] of spotted bass.<ref name=IFGASpot>{{cite web |url=http://www.igfa.org/species/90-bass-spotted.aspx?CommonName=90-bass-spotted.aspx |title=BASS, SPOTTED (Micropterus punctulatus) |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2014 |website= |publisher=INTERNATIONAL GAME FISH ASSOCIATION |accessdate=13 May 2014 }}</ref> * The Alabama spotted bass (Micropterus p. henshalli).<ref name=IFGASpot/> They are found mainly in [[Alabama]], [[Mississippi]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref name=Jones7>Keith A. Jones, ''Knowing Bass: The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish'' (Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2005), p. 7</ref> * The northern spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus punctulatus).<ref name=IFGASpot/> This is the most common type.<ref name=Jones7/> * The Wichita