In the 1960s, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources stocked Lake Macbride with spotted bass fingerlings after similar experiments had failed at other lakes. Photo by Ken Duke.

I was daydreaming when it happened.

The fishing had been slow. I gradually rowed past one of Lake Macbride’s rocky points, monitoring the gentle vibrations on my rod from the crankbait trolling behind the boat.

In an instant, the rod arched and almost disappeared over the transom; I grabbed it just in time. The fish bore down and then reversed course, shot into the air, jumping three more times before I could gently work my fingers into its jaw and lift it into the boat. The 11-inch specimen looked odd: It resembled a largemouth bass, but its mouth seemed small -- and it fought like a smallmouth.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I’d just competed the grand slam of Iowa black bass. Over the years, I’ve caught many largemouths and quite a few smallmouths, but this was my first Kentucky spotted bass, Iowa’s third black-bass species.

Completing an Iowa black-bass grand slam requires a trek to Johnson County’s Lake Macbride, the only body of water in our state that holds a thriving population of Kentucky spotted bass. They make fishing Lake Macbride an exciting and interesting experience.

“Spotted bass are shaped like footballs (and) never give up,” said veteran angler Dan Johnston. “Husky and powerful, they sock a lure, perform aerial acrobatics and dive deep when they spot the boat. Spots may not get very big, but they are true Iowa trophies.”

Johnston may know Kentucky spotted bass -- or “spots” -- better than any angler in the state, having grown up on this pleasant 812-acre lake.

Although spots are virtually unknown in Iowa, Southern anglers know Kentucky spotted bass well. Abundant in slow, flowing rivers and creeks from central Missouri eastward to the Atlantic Ocean and south to the Gulf of Mexico, they are the dominant game fish in many areas. Spots also thrive in Southern reservoirs, especially those with rocky dropoffs.

Many Southern anglers target spotted bass, and Iowa anglers can learn from them. One of the best may be Indiana’s “Bayou” Bill Scifres.

“I started fishing around 1935 and caught bags of (spots) from southern Indiana streams using a Johnson Silver Minnow -- a lure that’s still around -- with a yellow and black tail,” he said. “This fish is very common in the southern part of our state but only occasional up north.”

Anglers often describe spots as a blend of smallmouth and largemouth bass. Their long, horizontal stripe resembles that of a largemouth bass, but their habitat, feeding habits and fighting ability are much more like a smallmouth’s. Smallies generally prefer cool, clear water in the northern half of the country. Spots occupy the same types of habitat down south. The closest natural spot population to Iowa is in central Missouri.

“Although an inexperienced angler could mistake a spotted bass for a largemouth, there are several easy ways to tell them apart,” said Johnston. “Spots are usually much chunkier than largemouths. They are a strong fish. Proportionally, their mouth is smaller and their tail is larger than a largemouth’s.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources biologist Paul Sleeper noted that spots are never bronze-colored like a smallmouth. Usually the stripe down their side is less distinct than a largemouth’s, and they have a series of spots that form distinctive rows along the lower part of the fish.