Maple Buds And Bass?

[naynayshimer]

Hi guys,

I just noticed today that the maple tree outside my kitchen window is beginning to grow small red buds that fall off the tree frequently. Anybody know of any superstitions of plant life connecting to bass activity? I've heard that sometimes when certain flowers bloom it signifies the right temperatures for fish to start getting active. Just was wondering if anybody had heard about things like this that they wanted to share. Maybe this means the bass are ready up here in Upstate NY!

[wnybassman]

I can say without a doubt, that once the maple buds open I start catching bass.  The main reason for this, is at that time I am done making syrup and the boat is able to be launched.   lol

 

Sounds like a Silver Maple outside your window.  They generally bud first of all the maples.

[gotarheelz14]

Yes, I too have heard about certain plant booms correlating to fish activity. As you point out, the "causal reason" often cited for this is the similarity between the temperature those plants require to bloom, and the temperature that a particular fish species might require to begin feeding and becoming more active. 

One of the local superstitions here in NC is that when the Dogwoods begin to bloom, the white bass will be making their run up creeks to feed and spawn. 

While they might be good reminders or indicators, I think the most accurate way to predict fish behavior will probably be to keep notes, study your target species' biology, and watch the water temperature. 

 

While "watching the dogwoods" might work well, if the two are off by a couple of weeks, you might just have missed the white bass run that year. 

My final thoughts? Don't buy too much into it. While it can be a helpful tool to remind you year in and year out around what time your target species might become more active, there is no real causal relationship between the two, and for that reason, you should watch water temperatures instead. 

[Surveyor]

The dogwoods are blooming and that means the bass are bedding and the turkeys are gobbling.    

SO torn between them. 

Just not enuf time in the day ths time of the year

[Traveler2586]

We use the same myth about the Dogwood here in Maryland; I even went so far as to plant a Dogwood in my yard to tease me onto the water in the spring.

 

But today we have an additional scientific tool in the form of a Smart Buoy that gives a wealth of useful data.  http://buoybay.noaa.gov/locations/upper-potomac.html

 

The trick is learning how to use the tool.......

[Surveyor]

We use the same myth about the Dogwood here in Maryland; I even went so far as to plant a Dogwood in my yard to tease me onto the water in the spring.

 

But today we have an additional scientific tool in the form of a Smart Buoy that gives a wealth of useful data.  http://buoybay.noaa.gov/locations/upper-potomac.html

 

The trick is learning how to use the tool.......

Its not a myth around here and the Southeast. 

I really don't think I can afford one of those tools you linked to tell my the water temp, DO and other items available with some dept finders. 

BTW yesterday it was 65 degrees on the pond I fish most.

[Silas]

When the Dogwood blooms in Southeast Louisiana, the Sac-a-Lait bite is on!!   (Crappie for you Northerners!)  I DO know that water temps about 58-62 degrees is helpful too.

[Marty]

Just was wondering if anybody had heard about things like this that they wanted to share. Maybe this means the bass are ready up here in Upstate NY!

 

Well, in Wayne County (New York) in spring, there is excellent rock bass fishing in Sodus and other bays. Forever, it seems, the conventional wisdom is that the fishing coincides with the apple blossoms. However, this is not a superstition since both warming waters and apple blossoms are both the result of the progression of spring weather.

[Fishes in trees]

I heard Guido Hibdon say once that when the dogwoods were bloomed out 80% of the fish were in 8' of water or less.

[11justin22]

redbuds blooming means crappie are on nest.

[Paul Roberts]

IME, there is a general correlation. But... I once tried to actually quantify that, associating numbers of spawners with wild plum blossoms. Problem was, as you might expect, there was so much variation among individual plums that I couldn't say much more than, yeah, the plums bloom about the time the bass spawn. But that isn't saying more than the bass spawn here between late April and mid May. Now, maybe if I'd chosen one plum bush ... but... which one?

 

That variation in blooming time is both genetic and environmental site specific. I have two aspen groves on my property, that are genetically distinct indicated by the fact that the two groves bloom i spring and turn color in fall 3 weeks apart.

[Crestliner2008]

I really don't care too much about what the trees are doing....I just go fishing.

[Traveler2586]

Ya, there are just too many variables involved to say these indicators are anyway close or accurate.  I am starting to look more to the Jonquils blooming.  But in reality I'll look to fishing reports and my own on the water experience to know the water temps and conditions.

[naynayshimer]

Ya, there are just too many variables involved to say these indicators are anyway close or accurate.  I am starting to look more to the Jonquils blooming.  But in reality I'll look to fishing reports and my own on the water experience to know the water temps and conditions.

The thing is that very few people even realize that the body of water I fish actually contains fish... so I can't look at reports and try to look for other indicators of activity. Of course, when it all plays out, I go fishing regardless