Spawn Observations?

[conorsixtakc]

What's the current situation with the bass spawn looking like? I'm sure some fish are still on beds and some fish are moving out, but would you say the majority are still on beds or transitioning out to post spawn?

[fishinwrench]

It was going on like gangbusters until we had a surprise week of Winter. Things have warmed back up and stabilized now but the only fish that have resumed "normal" activity are the bluegills.

I'm catching crappie in 12-18' that are either still full of eggs or males that are still all colored up.

I'm not sure if they are spawning deep or not but they sure seem reluctant to return to the shallows for some reason.

This is definitely not a typical year.

I see schools of fry here and there but no males guarding them, so I can't tell if they are bass...or what the hell they are.

I have yet to see a single bass on a bed in the normal areas. Weird.

[Old plug]

Bass are not spawning are building beds yet in the in the mid. gravois. The water is clear as I have ever seen it. when they do you will be lucky to see any evidence of it around here. I have a couple have been hanging in the back of my dock like they want to start beds. mostly they are under the rear corners 5-6. ft deep.It is not far fetched to think they would spawn deep as clear as this water is. I kind of hope so I do not support taking bass off beds even catch and release.

[DChance]

I think many of the fish are spawned out. I would say they are in the spawn/post spawn phase.

[conorsixtakc]

Bass are not spawning are building beds yet in the in the mid. gravois. The water is clear as I have ever seen it. when they do you will be lucky to see any evidence of it around here. I have a couple have been hanging in the back of my dock like they want to start beds. mostly they are under the rear corners 5-6. ft deep.It is not far fetched to think they would spawn deep as clear as this water is. I kind of hope so I do not support taking bass off beds even catch and release.

Seems to me that clear water would be needed to see evidence of it... I don't mind catching them off beds when they're quickly released back to where they were caught. With the water as clear as you said, the only way to eliminate the chance of catching them from their beds this time of year would be to stop fishing for them altogether.

I can't resist.

[Old plug]

I think many of the fish are spawned out. I would say they are in the spawn/post spawn phase.

I wish they were. The big females. return to the deep haunts that I get them out of. I am sure I would be have seen some females. I usually start catching my first 5lber around this time. Kind of keep in mind the surface temperature is not the important thing it is the temperature in the selected spawning area.

This is how its. been of late.---- I only fish the evenings right now. I go out sometime between 6-7. last week I went out 4 times in that period. I caught bass for most of that time at 6- 10 ft on plastic worms. I caught 15 keeper largest a big male just short of 18" . That was in a period of 9-12 hours fishing. This week it has slowed down considerably. I am only getting 1-2 keepers a evening and they are

hitting at pink up time for a very period. Had I seen any beds I would have stopped fishing for them. Also there was not one beat up tail on any that I caught. hat is a dead give away that spawning is in progress.

CONORSIXTAKC------- The reason I do not fish for them is I have take them off beds in the past and watch the hordes of bluegill race in there and devour the eggs. That I do not think is good.