I was introduced to "spots" (or "dawgs", as they sometimes call them) when I fished Lake Lanier near Atlanta. I went fishing with a part time guide. I realized why he was a part time guide because, while he was a nice guy, it wasn't rocket science catching catching the "dawgs". There were four of us fishing - dragging 10-12" plastic worms (pink in the spring) and slow trolling near boat docks. We caught a nice bunch of fish, but nothing too big, as spots don't get too big. My wife pulled one up from about 35 feet over a bunch of submerged trees in cold fall weather once. It was a nice, but skinny fish.
Spotted bass are an aggressive, fun fish to catch. But, no substitute for laying into a big "Hawg"!