bass related matter

[laszlo]

first off...16 MORE DAYS UNTIL BASS SEASON!!!

 

now to the point.

just wondering if anyone knows if large mouth and small mouth spawn at the same time.

i'm personally not sure but do know that small mouth like cooler waters.

 

if the small mouth do spawn earlier then should there be a different start date to the season???

 

thoughts please...

[Gerritt]

and I hear the can of worms being opened....

 

Small mouth are pulled off their nests AFTER the season has opened in ALOT of cases on ALOT of lakes.......

 

I wont add any more fuel to the upcoming fire I foresee coming..

 

G.

[ohhenrygsr]

Screw the question 16 days left woot WOOT. LOL. I think your question will be best answered by Steve Rowbotham

[GBW]

Screw the question 16 days left woot WOOT.

Yup, CAN'T WAIT!!! the heck with the Q, go after them when the time comes and make notes...

[Garry2Rs]

In New York State a study suggested that only about 20% of the eligible Bass spawn in any given year. In response to this, is an early Catch and Release only season has been introduced on some larger lakes...like Champlain etc.

 

In warmer areas, of the USA. Bass spawn over as much as 5 or 6 months!

 

Here in Ontario, Bass are doing very well, you don't have to worry about them.

If you want to do your part to insure the future of fishing learn CPR!

Catch, Photograph, and Release.

[laszlo]

thanks for the feed back guys but does anyone know

the answer to my question.

[charlesn]

laszlo, from what I have seen, smallmouth do prefer cooler temperatures in general than largemouth. They probably can spawn in cooler water too as I've seen beds in 24' of water on Lake Erie for example. Largemouth on the other hand generally spawn in the shallow muck and the shallow muck (perhaps because it's a darker bottom) seems to warm up quicker, so even though the largemouth might need warmer temperatures to spawn (I think they are pretty close as I've seen a largemouth on a bed 10 feet from a smallmouth on a bed this spring), the type of spawning habitat dictates that the largemouth are done with their spawn first.

 

I'm no biologist or rocket scientist, just my observations over the years that it seems like the largies are always done their thing well before opener and the smallies are done their thing closer to opener and sometimes on in to the season on deeper cooler lakes.

 

Also, I think light penetration, moon phase and hours of sunlight have a big impact on the spawn cycle as well, so it's not like as soon as the water hits X degrees the fish are suddenly all doing the nasty or that they will necessarily start dropping eggs in April if the there is super mild weather for a while.

 

I've also seen "confused" fish doing a false spawn well in to August.

 

I don't know if this answers your question or confuses you further.

[laszlo]

laszlo, from what I have seen, smallmouth do prefer cooler temperatures in general than largemouth. They probably can spawn in cooler water too as I've seen beds in 24' of water on Lake Erie for example. Largemouth on the other hand generally spawn in the shallow muck and the shallow muck (perhaps because it's a darker bottom) seems to warm up quicker, so even though the largemouth might need warmer temperatures to spawn (I think they are pretty close as I've seen a largemouth on a bed 10 feet from a smallmouth on a bed this spring), the type of spawning habitat dictates that the largemouth are done with their spawn first.

 

I'm no biologist or rocket scientist, just my observations over the years that it seems like the largies are always done their thing well before opener and the smallies are done their thing closer to opener and sometimes on in to the season on deeper cooler lakes.

 

Also, I think light penetration, moon phase and hours of sunlight have a big impact on the spawn cycle as well, so it's not like as soon as the water hits X degrees the fish are suddenly all doing the nasty or that they will necessarily start dropping eggs in April if the there is super mild weather for a while.

 

I've also seen "confused" fish doing a false spawn well in to August.

 

I don't know if this answers your question or confuses you further.

 

thanks. that clears things up well for me.

 

laszlo (day dreaming of getting my personal best this year)

[bdox]

Here are some quotes from ontariobassfishing.net

 

Smallmouth

When a sustained water temperature of approximately 59'F. is reached, the male bass prepares the nest by fanning the bottom vigorously with his tail and by rooting out coarse materials in the nest with his nose. Silt and sand are displaced and carried away with the current. The finished product is saucer-shaped, two to three feet in diameter, consisting of clean, polished stones in the centre with wide crevices between them. The preparation of the nest may take a few hours to several days. If the water temperature continues to rise slightly from 60'F., the smallmouth bass is ready for spawning. The male coaxes the female into the nest, and eggs are laid...

 

Largemouth

In early May or when the temperature of the water is about 60'F., the male builds the nest, a circular depression, six inches deep and two to four feet wide, in more or less sheltered areas on sand, gravel, clay or mud bottom, or on the roots of vegetation, in water up to three feet in depth. The spawning act is similar to that already described for the smallmouth bass. Eggs are extruded by the female and milt by the male...

 

I didn't see any references/citations, so you should probably take this with a grain of salt.

Edited June 11, 2009 by bdox