Does anyone remember when Peris was a world class spotted bass fishery?

[tunagod1]

I remember back in the early 80"s, we use to catch trophy class spots (all of which were released). Haven't seen a spot in years, all the areas that I use to fish spots are high and dry now.

Tuna

[Fishbreath]

I do remember. I believe at one point Perris actually produced the world record Alabama Spotted Bass. You released yours but many did not. It was before the catch-and-release ethic took hold, and spotties are very agressive biters. The catch rate for spotties is like 70% where Florida bass are at about 20% to 30%. That was only one factor in their demise. Bass club members rightly believed that Perris would be great habitat for largies, so they brought them in in their live wells and released them much to the dismay of the DFG. The spotties didn't fare well with in competition with the largemouths, but probably the final nail in the coffin came when the Florida strain bluegill were introduced. The spotties proved unable to protect their beds from bolder Florida strain gills. Largemouths spawn earlier before the bluegill are as active and in a different type habitat than the spotties. The change in the lake level may have played a role as well.

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[Fishbreath]

Typical for me. Tunagod1 accidentally double posted his thread. Since no one had yet replied, I chose to respond to the first one he released. Naturally, the next person chose the duplicate thread to respond to, and the discussion started there. Oh well. I loved those spotties. When I moved to the area in 1978 for my last tour in the Air Force before I retired, they were a big deal at Perris.

[Pete Marino]

the last Spotted Bass I caught at Perris was around 1999 or 1998...

Pete

[Socal Bassman]

the last Spotted Bass I caught at Perris was around 1999 or 1998...

Pete

My buddy and I caught a lot of spotted bass night fishing Perris in that time frame too. That was the last time I have seen one. What a shame as they were solid fighters.

[tree]

the last Spotted Bass I caught at Perris was around 1999 or 1998...

Pete

does that mean there are literally NONE left since then, or that they are so low in population its hard to find em? kinda like the elusive Perris stripers ;)

[fishmounter]

Yes! it was insane fishing! Catching fat, 4, 5, 6 lb football-shaped Alabama Spotted Bass in the sticks on green plastics! Fishing was so good! This was late 70s. And the lake level was all the way up. You could practically cast out from the marina parking lot!

[Pete Marino]

I would go out on a limb and say that they are all gone.. Im sure they have cross bred enough by now that they have simply been fazed out.. Its very easy to know when you catch them... the jaw is set differently and they have teeth on their tongue..(Its rough).. Like I said for me its been since the late 90's. Since then there have been times when Ive thought "Hey this is a Spot" because the markings or the way the jaw was set but they didnt have the rough tongue or some other feature...I think those have been cross breeders...but even those were caught in the early 2000's.

[bassgrabber1]

We have shocked the lake several times with DFG in the last years...every April and October....and have not ever shocked one up. They have been crossed all the way through to LMB. That being said, you never know but there still might be a few there.