Can/Do Bass Spawn on Ledges?

[Bass Turd]

I fish a highland reservoir that is deep and clear. Much of the shoreline drops off sharply to the riverbed. Will Largemouth spawn on any of these ledges? The water is anywhere from 30' to 80' deep ten feet from shore. The lake was very low until a few years ago so all the ledges and shelves have lots of brush and bushes on them. In some cases the bass would have to cover miles to get to a shallow cove that I would consider typical spawning areas. 

[WRB]

Bass will find a way to spawn, they are creative. If the water has good depth of light, temps in the 60's and wind protected they can successfully spawn on those brushy ledges. Migrating a few miles is also a possibility, I also believe bass prefer to go near where they were hatched if possible based on my experiences catching the same bass at the same location during the spawn over several years.

Tom

 

[RoLo]

Yes, if the ledge has superior wind-protection and annexes a successful bedding flat, otherwise, No.

From all appearances, the birthplace of bass is imprinted in their brain at birth, so the best bedding sites

and population density are dictated by attrition (i.e. They don't look for sites, they go to them).

 

Roger

 

[jamey1e]

I think so.  I read an article several years ago that discussed this.  It stated that not all bass will go up in the shallows and most spawn a lot deeper than you'd think.  I believe as long as the area is protected, the temp is right, and there's stable bottom composition they'll do their thing.

[geo g]

In south Florida we have thousands of miles of canals that cut through the sallow flats of the everglades or suburban subdivisions.    There are limestone ledges all along these canal banks.  Bass will often bed along the exposed rock shelves and anywhere there is a hard bottom crevice.  They are also close to deep water, where it drops from 3 feet to 12 feet in a matter of a yard.  Females will often settle deep right after spawning to recover.  Many years you can see loads of beds in close proximity to these rock ledges.

[parkerg31]

Two weekends ago I won a local tournament catching fish doing this. The lake is just like yours with 20 feet of water not ten yards from shore. I was fishing rock walls on the main lake or first part of creeks that had shelves. The fish were off the walls on these shelves and were all full of eggs or had red tails.  It was my first time seeing this but yes Fish will spawn deep. Side note all but one were spotted bass. 

[Bass Turd]

Thanks for all the replies. 204,000 fingerlings were stocked in the lake a year and a half ago about a year after the water came back up. These bass are now just getting to the 12-14" range. Since they weren't born on the lake I wonder where they will spawn?  @parkerg31 What baits did you use to catch your fish? The water temperature is just reaching  63 degrees.  The lake is called Medina Lake if you want to look it up on Navionics Web app. It is North West of San Antonio about an hour. There is one giant flat in the north east section of the lake and I have concentrated in this area near the main lake entrance to this flat. I have caught a few fish but not many. In the summer my partner and I will each land 20 or so fish per morning out. I'm just having trouble locating them now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. There are hundreds of thousands of fish somewhere....

[parkerg31]

1 hour ago, Bass Turd said:

Thanks for all the replies. 204,000 fingerlings were stocked in the lake a year and a half ago about a year after the water came back up. These bass are now just getting to the 12-14" range. Since they weren't born on the lake I wonder where they will spawn?  @parkerg31 What baits did you use to catch your fish? The water temperature is just reaching  63 degrees.  The lake is called Medina Lake if you want to look it up on Navionics Web app. It is North West of San Antonio about an hour. There is one giant flat in the north east section of the lake and I have concentrated in this area near the main lake entrance to this flat. I have caught a few fish but not many. In the summer my partner and I will each land 20 or so fish per morning out. I'm just having trouble locating them now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. There are hundreds of thousands of fish somewhere....

We were using 3.5 in yum dingers on shakey heads to catch most of our fish. I caught some on a dropshot and finesse jig also. Looking at the lake there are a lot of good flats. If you're not having success on the main lake try going back in the creeks some. There is a good flat in the north west creek that has a massive ditch running through it and deep water nearby. I'll add a pic of the obvious one I saw.  Remember if you know where they are in the summer, you know they will be going in  few months. Look for a definite spawning area and find the travel routes, such as the ditch or a steep wall. The fish will be somewhere in between. 

[Bass Turd]

@parkerg31  That's exactly the area I fished for the past two weekends. I only found fish in the upper left quadrant of the screen grab. Mostly on the drop offs and bushes on the point by the dock. I really thought that valley would funnel the fish in. Maybe they just aren't ready yet. 

[Raul]

Hmmm, something like this ?

 

 

 

 

Oh yes, they can nest on ledges.

[ww2farmer]

I have seen them make beds on all sorts of junk in the water...........they love tires. 

 

They are crafty and prolific, they will find a way.

[RB 77]

Absolutely! I have seen them occupy the smallest pieces of real estate imaginable in about 20' of water or so on a ledge which basically drops vertically to 100 plus feet!

[h20-50]

17 hours ago, Bass Turd said:

Thanks for all the replies. 204,000 fingerlings were stocked in the lake a year and a half ago about a year after the water came back up. These bass are now just getting to the 12-14" range. Since they weren't born on the lake I wonder where they will spawn?  @parkerg31 What baits did you use to catch your fish? The water temperature is just reaching  63 degrees.  The lake is called Medina Lake if you want to look it up on Navionics Web app. It is North West of San Antonio about an hour. There is one giant flat in the north east section of the lake and I have concentrated in this area near the main lake entrance to this flat. I have caught a few fish but not many. In the summer my partner and I will each land 20 or so fish per morning out. I'm just having trouble locating them now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. There are hundreds of thousands of fish somewhere....

Try Elm Cove, fish the eastern bank all the way down the shoreline, from the main lake point all the way back into the creek, its been of FIRE lately.  Real gradual slope to about 30 feet, fish the shores for males, or back off to deeper water for the females.  Couple of other places that have been hot lately are Habys cove and the spill way by the dam. Google earth the lake, you can find aerial views from when it was low and find some really good spots!  Didn't see any beds when I was out there a week ago, but they were in full pre-spawn attack mode, vicious strikes!!

 

When did you fish there last?  I'm looking to get out there on sunday with the Kayak.

[scaleface]

Theres a mucky enclosed bay near me with a good bass population . Its filled in from farm fields so bad that its impossible to walk in it . The mud will suck the shoes right off your feet . The bass find somewhere to spawn . I'm guessing  on laydowns  and trash .

[WRB]

On March 9, 2017 at 1:48 PM, parkerg31 said:

We were using 3.5 in yum dingers on shakey heads to catch most of our fish. I caught some on a dropshot and finesse jig also. Looking at the lake there are a lot of good flats. If you're not having success on the main lake try going back in the creeks some. There is a good flat in the north west creek that has a massive ditch running through it and deep water nearby. I'll add a pic of the obvious one I saw.  Remember if you know where they are in the summer, you know they will be going in  few months. Look for a definite spawning area and find the travel routes, such as the ditch or a steep wall. The fish will be somewhere in between. 

Good looking main lake point, I wouldn't call that revine or draw a ditch! Depending on wind direction the flats could get wave action, the small cove should be the primary spawning site. Do you see the small flat areas located near 3' o'clock on the right just below the cross hair and the other one on the left at 7 o'clock, classic staging areas for big pre spawn females. You may need to look for a more wind protected area for spawners.

The revine will definately funnel bass up onto that flats area during the summer.

Tom

PS, the saddle on the inside of the little island looks OK,  depending on wind. The lake has lots bays with shallow water to attract spawners, doesn't have to be a big area.

[BigSkyBasser]

Yes if there is sufficient rocky material or sand etc to make a bed. We were catching fish that were doing this while in lake Mead on ledges anywhere from 5-18 ft of water last year that then dropped off to 50 ft of water on the other side of the ledge. 

[Brayberry]

Bass will spawn on anything they can find.  I fish a old gravel pit that the bottom is like a bowl.  VERY VERY VERY little shallow water, most of the lake is 20 - 40 feet deep, even 3 feet from shore.  The bass will spawn on sunken logs, rocks, misc debris, boat ramps, tires, etc

[RoLo]

On 3/9/2017 at 3:42 PM, Bass Turd said:

There are hundreds of thousands of fish somewhere....

 

I would begin by isolating the broadest shallow bedding flats on the waterbody with the greatest area,

Additionally, pinpoint every manmade canal and natural creek (that would put you way ahead of the curve)

Lastly, you'd need to evaluate bottom hardness, as muck and mire are unsupportive of spawning.

 

Roger

[Catt]

Bass spawn on top of stumps out on the main lake of Toledo Bend; water is 25-40' & the top of stumps 4-6' under the surface.

[RoLo]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Bass spawn on top of stumps out on the main lake of Toledo Bend; water is 25-40' & the top of stumps 4-6' under the surface.

 

For every bedding bass you find in 40-ft of water, you'll find 'multitudes' of bass spawning in 3 ft of  water.

The angler who accommodates extreme depths is obligated to monitor the "1 to 40-ft" depth zone.

But the angler who plays the odds, will focus his game plan only on the high percentage depth zone.

 

Roger

[Catt]

26 minutes ago, RoLo said:

 

For every bedding bass you find in 40-ft of water, you'll find 'multitudes' of bass spawning in 3 ft of  water.

The angler who accommodates extreme depths is obligated to monitor the "1 to 40-ft" depth zone.

But the angler who plays the odds, will focus his game plan only on the highest percentage depth zone.

 

Roger

 

Back in the 70s Tommy Martin was the first person I heard of that witnessed this; since then many others have. It ain't common nor does it happen every years; Biologist just go huh!

[RoLo]

2 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

Back in the 70s Tommy Martin was the first person I heard of that witnessed this; since then many others have. It ain't common nor does it happen every years; Biologist just go huh!

 

 

It was around that time when I first heard that as well.

Above all else, it enlightens us to the remarkable adaptation of the black basses

 

 

[Catt]

2 hours ago, RoLo said:

 

 

It was around that time when I first heard that as well.

Above all else, it enlightens us to the remarkable adaptation of the black basses

 

 

That's why I've always said, "about the time I think I have them figured out they prove to me I don't!".

[greentrout]

Years ago I read in one my old Bass Master issues that LMB would spawn on ledges in reservoirs like Lake Mead. 

 

Seen them in a large metropolitan area spawn in bayous & some creeks & canals in no more than 3ft. or less with a width no more than 6 ft. A resourceful species.

 

Disclaimer >> I've never fished Lake Mead.