Alabama Bass vs Spots

[Jpull]

Saw this article recently and it got me to wondering. I fish middle Nickajack a lot and catch mostly spotted bass. I wonder if some of these are Alabama bass. Seems from the article that they are indigenous only to SE TN impoundments. Is there any way to tell Spots from Bamas?

https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/invasive-fish-could-eradicate-tennessee-bass-species/amp/

 

[bullshot]

Indigenous to only the Consauga River....Introduced to the TN river system (Ocoee/Hiawassee Rivers). Very difficult to tell the difference between AL and KY spots. Giving the location, assume they are AL spots.

 

[rusty50576]

Can’t 100% tell them apart without genetic test