A week ago tonight my beloved smallmouth bass Brownie passed away. In 7 years he grew from 5" to 22" and became as close a pet as any cat or dog. He typically had a late winter slump and just didn't pull out of it this year. Keeping him the past 7 years has been tremendous fun but I'm trying to tell myself not to keep something that large again. I also really enjoy my darters, dace, longear sunfish, and rock bass, but I find that I'm just missing that 'in your face' Micropterus attitude.
My question is; Does anyone have any experience with something that would have a personality similar to an SMB or other Micropterus and would be both large enough and small enough to be a single specimen in a 150 gallon? I'm thinking that a max size of around 15 inches or so would be good. It would also be simpler if it's native to south eastern Ohio. Thanks.