Bass, LMB, SMB and Spotted bass, in most lakes spawn in cycles and in different locations around the lakes protected areas suitable for successfully spawning. Some bass prefer to make nest sites in very shallow water, others in water deeper than 8 feet, depending on the depth the sunlight effectively warms the water.
Male bass select bed sites and do all the work cleaning the bed area from silt that can smother eggs, female may do some house cleaning.
Not all the males are successful at bed making. Not all females are successful at egg laying. Few eggs survive compared to the billions laid. Egg eaters like sunfish, bluegill, a wide variety of minnows, salamders, crawdads, carp, catfish and other egg predators feast on bass eggs.....it's survival of the fittest.
Add man to the predator list and survival rates drop with every bed bass caught.
Bream, sunfish, bluegill and crappie are all egg eaters, only the crappie spawn before bass, bluegill, red ears and green sunfishes spawn later as the water warms above 67 degrees. The smaller super dish size beds close together are bream beds, not bass beds. Bass beds are spaced far enough apart so they can't see each other. Beds silt over or fill in each year and are made fresh each year. The bream have the same problem with egg eaters as bass, except the bass eat the bream, not the eggs.
Female bass do not stay around the bed sites for more than a few days, however they may return to lay eggs in more than one bed. There can be up to 3 waves of spawner's in larger lakes, small lakes and ponds usually have one cycle.
Hope that helps a little.
Tom
