Spawning Largemouth

[Catt]

1 hour ago, Yeajray231 said:

I see serious veterans saying conflicting statements about how long females stay on their beds ...

Some say only a few hours... you're saying days ! Does the female stay there by herself? 

@Catt do you care to elaborate a little more on this ? 

The references given aint good enough?

@J Francho watched Rojas do it on Toledo a couple times!

["hamma"]

I dont fish beds anymore, many years ago when I did? I liked a 1/4 oz roundheaded jig with a white grub on it, be it 4 or 3" didnt seem to matter. The color was so I could see it, more,,for it to disappear, as sometimes, they would just stare at it and other times just grab at the tail and remove it. But when it disappears? they've usually sucked it in their mouth for a second or so, just to spit it off of the bed

 Now, I gave up on bed fishing as I felt it was unethical for me to continue to do so as they are "busy", and replenishing the lakes population..

  you can bed fish all you want and I will have no ill feelings towards you about it whatsoever, it's your choice to make so I wont make it for you. But, keep in mind, just as Tom stated above, I also find it more productive to target the staging bass. Thats if,and a big "IF" they can be located. Not all lakes and ponds will have a specific area they stage at. These waters I will pound the shoreline for the cruising females, they usually arent "seeking" food, but at times can be coaxed into a hitting a spinnerbait or jerkbait.

[J Francho]

2 minutes ago, "hamma" said:

But, keep in mind, just as Tom stated above, I also find it more productive to target the staging bass. Thats if,and a big "IF" they can be located. Not all lakes and ponds will have a specific area they stage at. These waters I will pound the shoreline for the cruising females, they usually arent "seeking" food, but at times can be coaxed into a hitting a spinnerbait or jerkbait.

When we were working with biologists and the DEC to get an extended catch and release, the biologists stated that approximately 75% of the bass population in a given lake do not spawn.  They can generally be found in emerging weed beds in somewhat close proximity to spawning areas.

[Catt]

My thoughts are if ya think you're interrupting the spawn by catching em off the nest why does it not interrupt the spawn catching em between nest? 

"Ken Cook emphasizes that understanding the spawning habits of the female bass will significantly improve your chances of catching some of the biggest bass of the year. He believes that the female often moves on and off of the bed to deposit more eggs (hatchery studies support this claim). Few females drop all of their eggs at once. Instead, they expel a portion and then move off to a nearbybreakline, bush or grass edge.

 It is this sporadic purging of eggs and the ability to spawn with different males on several nests that keeps the annual spring bedding season from being severely impacted by large tournaments. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Clarence Bowling says studies have shown that a female (when handled properly) will simply locate a bed and an available male in the area where she is released and complete spawning."

GET A LOCK ON THE SPAWN By Tim Tucker

[J Francho]

1 minute ago, Catt said:

My thoughts are if ya think you're interrupting the spawn by catching em off the nest why does it not interrupt the spawn catching em between nest?

I think it's the emotional attachment to "spawning."  That we are somehow interrupting the act, making that attempt unsuccessful.  I fish for spawners, but I get it, I understand why some feel that way.  You're totally right, though.  And that was the mindset of preventing ANY bass fishing until late June, up here.

[roadwarrior]

Late winter and early spring brings literally thousands of fishermen to Lake Fork in Texas. When I was down there MOST of those fishermen spent a good deal of time fishing beds with good success. Over the years the impact  on the bass population appears to be nill. I think Lake Fork still produces the greatest number of Share Lunkers for the state program.

 

[Choporoz]

I, too, understand the aversion to fishing for bass that are clearly spawning. 

My feeling is a little more complicated.  There is something that makes me uncomfortable about spending 10, 20, 30 minutes trying to get a clearly uninterested bass to pick up your lure and hope you can hook it....I can't really explain why it doesn't appeal to me.  But, if I were going to target them, why not use a spear gun or a cast net?  I know that is an extreme question, but it just doesn't feel like 'bass fishing' to me.  Now, the hypocrite in me will sheepishly tell you that when I cannot see them, I might just target areas around where I think there may be beds....watching Powroznik video at Toledo Bend a couple years ago, I was struck by how important that was to him for that tournament, but that I wouldn't do it.....but if in a tournament, don't hold me to that

[WRB]

I made my statement based on actual observation watching big females move on and off beds, they don't hang around 1 bed site very long, a few hours and sometimes a day or 2 at the longest. Also watched several big females on 1 bed site, that was unusual.

Crawdads are a critter bass will hit instantly on a nest, I know this from experience catching a lot of DD bass off beds at Lower Otay back in the late 60's.

Tom

[jr231]

My question is are females ever on the beds by themselves for any period of time ? my understanding... is the male's fan the nests out , the females come in and the male's bump the eggs out. Then the male's guard the nest and the fry ... is this correct ? 

[J Francho]

5 minutes ago, Yeajray231 said:

My question is are females ever on the beds by themselves for any period of time ? my understanding... is the male's fan the nests out , the females come in and the male's bump the eggs out. Then the male's guard the nest and the fry ... is this correct ? 

Yes, if I catch the male first, lol.

The males do stay and guard the fry.  Smallmouth fry and dad are pretty cool to see.  The fry are jet black.

[Catt]

There are few experts more capable of unlocking the mysteries involved with the spawning ritual and debunking the myths than Ken Cook. And it is by borrowing from his insight, as well as that of other spawning specialists (pros like Shaw Grigsbyand Guido Hibdon), that the average angler can begin to lock onto the spawn with consistent success.

The key is gaining an understanding of the behavioral basics and timing of bedding bass.

 We act like we know that the males precede the females to the spawning areas, explains Cook, a six-time B.A.S.S. tournament winner. But I don't think that is true because both sexes seem to get very aggressive and very food-oriented during what we call the pre-spawn stage. The come out of the cold winter and the water warms up and their metabolism kicks in. Both sexes really become aggressive as feeders.

 Then there seems to be a time frame in which the females become less interested in feeding, but the males continue to bite because they pick up the aggressiveness of the spawn. Both are focused on the spawn right on through the spawning period. The females kind of back off of feeding and become less aggressive as the hormonal changes in their body take place as they prepare to actually lay their eggs.

 Conventional knowledge indicates that the male bass builds the nest, fans it out and guards it (zealously). Generally, a good male that is aggressive and active will attract more than one female to his nest and spawn with each of them. Along with that, an active female will spawn a number of times and, in most cases, ina number of different males' nests. She moves down the shoreline making it with different males. The male sits in one spot and waits for more females to come by. I think that is sort of a hedge (on the part of the female) against an infertile male spoiling the hatch of a good fertile female. So she spread her eggs around and he spreads his fertility around. That ensures a higher success rate for that spawn.

 That is important knowledge for fishermen, because most people think that once the female leaves the bed, only the male is left. It is true that the female only guards the nest for a short time before moving away, but other females will come to that nest. The other thing to keep in mind is that this isn't a long, drawn-out process. Once the water reaches the upper 60 degrees, which is ideal, it only takes about three or four days for the eggs to hatch. I think the male will spend about six weeks on the beds as the females rotate through, but the whole spawning season happens over three full moons, bringing a new wave of spawning with get full moon period.

 Cook emphasizes that understanding the spawning habits of the female bass will significantly improve your chances of catching some of the biggest bass of the year. He believes that the female often moves on and off of the bed to deposit more eggs (hatchery studies support this claim). Few females drop all of their eggs at once. Instead, they expel a portion and then move off to a nearbybreakline, bush or grass edge.

 It is this sporadic purging of eggs and the ability to spawn with different males on several nests that keeps the annual spring bedding season from being severely impacted by large tournaments. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Clarence Bowling says studies have shown that a female (when handled properly) will simply locate a bed and an available male in the area where she is released and complete spawning.

GET A LOCK ON THE SPAWN By Tim Tucker

That's the first part of the article, take what y'all want from it!

[Mike L]

Mother Nature...You gotta Love her!!

 

Mike

[primetime]

Bed fishing can drive you insane. I never feel good even if I spend an hour to finally get the fish to hold the bait long enough to get a good hook set plus I already know the size which just takes away that "Surprise of first seeing the fish". I obviously will do it when I just happen to notice a big Female on a bed, but I rarely go looking for beds unless it is a last resort. I know it is a skill for sure, but I try to fish spawning areas by simply fan casting different baits & just hope for the best...I prefer to fish the nearest drop off where I see bedding fish hoping to hook into some big females in transition instead. 

Obviously I always check for beds in any Lake or Pond starting in late November in Florida since in ponds or even some lakes you start to see fish move up if you have the right weather patterns, same with December. If you see beds then I usually have more confidence fishing certain areas I may not usually try figuring big females are waiting to move up so I target the nearest drop off, with cover near by, and usually figure the fish are suspended...It works all the time 50% of the time.

["hamma"]

I dont oppose or advocate bed fishing. I just dont do it anymore as for: 

1) its kinda easy pickins

2) they're busy replenishing the lake, so I let them

3) I know I dont want anyone botherin me while in the act,...lol

 Its enough at that time of year for me to target the females in the manner I do, I just choose to do so away from the beds,

 If you want to bed fish? go for it, I dont mind, or expect you to follow my criteria. Actually I'd rather find that holding area the females are staging on, and  watch the other anglers bedfish,... as opposed to them on my track in my way,..lol.

 The only time you may see me fish a bed?,..if there's a 15 lber on it.

[lo n slo]

my kind of thread right here. well done guys.