Bass Spawning Predictions

[silvertalon]

With the lake in the upper 50's, full moon, sunshine and south winds, they ought to be getting ready to go right?
Water temp, length of daylight and the full moon are the major factors dictating when the bass will spawn. I think the spots and small mouth will be at it now but the large mouth will wait. You may see more bass shallow right now as males are eager to start fanning beds to attract a female but in my humble opinion, the water needs to be low 60's at a depth of several feet. Which is why lake level comes in to play. Once the lake has warmed more uniformly and the level has come up a few feet, they will move shallow and spread out to spawn. The full moon is important but is secondary. You may not always see lots of beds shallow depending on water clarity as lots of bass will spawn deeper in clear water. Last Wed, my locators showed a lot of bass deep- 18-20'. Some were suspended from 6-10'. I will be looking for beds starting this coming week and think they will show in the next week or two and will be hard at it by the next full moon and in to the month of May.

 

[Guest]

I caught one the other day with a bloody tail and a sunk in gut.

 

[rsimms]

The one thing I always point out to folks is that fish never ALL do the same thing at the same time (no matter what the species). The spawn is always a Bell Curve (on a graph) with fish spawning most likely over a four-week time period, maybe longer. There probably are a few bass trying to spawn right now. But in the coming days and weeks, we're going to start climbing up the Bell Curve and the "peak" will last a week or ten days, then we start falling down the back side of the Bell Curve. Lots of folks have a tendency to think every fish does the exact same thing at the exact same time... when in reality, they really can be "individualized" in their preferences.

 

[Tenncrapie]

You are correct Richard. Some folks think from time they start to finish is about 5 days.

 

[porthos33]

Bass are just like the ocean, they come in waves!

 

[burnett1988]

I think it's a couple weeks out, But i sure am ready !!!

 

[fischnrod]

It must be happening now, I can't get a bite and when I do they let go b4 I can get a hookset

 

[RRB32]

I'd put money down that some have already done the deed emoFish Like mentioned above, they'll spawn in waves.. you'll get a big main wave of fish but there will be several smaller waves before and after than main wave even up into the summer you'll have some spawning. Kind of ensures the survival of the species with all the variances in case something happens, water levels, weather etc that may wipe out a particular wave of spawning.