Spawning bass in late July

[BoatSquirrel]

Caught a 3lb largemouth today on Kentucky Lake in a foot of water on a buzzbait.  The bass had 2/3 of its tail left and the stump was bloody.  I would have thought it was an anomaly but my boy caught a 4lbr 15 miles away that also had a bloody tail.  Am I nuts or can-do bass spawn in late July in 87 degree water?  Product of a supermoon?  

[shimmy]

Many bigger bass will spawn a couple times throughout the year. 

[BoatSquirrel]

Never knew that.  Thanks!

[WRB]

Tail damage doesn't indicate a bed bass it indicates a bass with damaged tail from bacteria or parasites. Bass Can regenerate fin and tail growth, severe damage is permanent.

Bass often lay eggs more then once during the spawning cycle but they only spawn 1 time each year, not all of the bass population is on the same spawn timing cycle.

Tom

[scaleface]

I doubt that bass in Tennessee spawn this time of year but I am no biologist .

[WRB]

Keep in mind it takes a percentage of the bass population to be in the spawn cycle at the same time to spawn, males making nest and females looking for nest. This isn't a single fish behavior.

Tom

[NHBull]

The last 2 days, we caught 3 ladies that have yet to spawn. Talking to some locals, they say they have seen a few spawn in Aug and this is central NH

[Logan S]

I frequently catch spawning bass in July and sometimes August on the Potomac and Bay.  The main spawning time around here is April and May.  My theory is that many wait until the grass is tall/thick enough to give current breaks from the tides.  These are flat areas that would be unprotected earlier in the year.  Caught a couple spawners just last weekend on the Bay out on the flats actually...

 

Don't think this is the situation you have, but just an anecdote that shows all bass don't exactly 'go by the book'.  

[WRB]

If you all remember 2018 was a cold year in the 1st 4 months through April, the spawn not getting underway until May in several states. The LMB major spawn tends to start when the weather is stable, water temps in the low 60's up to around low 70's and can last 2 months in larger size lakes. So we talking mid June. If the waterway is further north that can easily extend into July. Further south you go the earlier the spawn starts do to warmer water temps year around.

Tom

 

[Catt]

I've seen the spawn on the north end of Toledo Bend as early as the 3rd week of February.

 

I've seen the spawn on the south end of Toledo Bend in late April to early May.

 

Many think the spawn would start on the south end first. 

 

The north end is shallower off colored water warns up faster, the south end is deeper crystal clear water stay cold longer.

 

When the spawn takes place is dependent first on type of body of water, size, & geographic location.

 

Next comes length of daylight, water temperatures, & so on.

 

That's just a dumb Cajun's observations ?

 

 

[BuzzHudson19c]

I've heard of big swings in spawns but honestly most of the fish up here spawn the same time every year. I always think "it was a warm winter, early spawn this year," or " it was a cold winter, going to spawn late." But like they are set to a calendar, it's usually right around the same week every year. I'm not saying this is everywhere, just what I have encountered over the years.

[Deleted account]

It isn't common, but I have seen bass spawning mid summer here in some local lakes. Seems to be specific to some bodies of water. 

[mattkenzer]

On 7/29/2018 at 1:56 PM, WRB said:

Bass often lay eggs more then once during the spawning cycle but they only spawn 1 time each year, not all of the bass population is on the same spawn timing cycle. 

Hi Tom,

 

Is there any data on time duration between her first drop of eggs to the next?

Is the multiple egg release due to egg maturity?

 

Thank you sir.

[Catt]

26 minutes ago, mattkenzer said:

Hi Tom,

 

Is there any data on time duration between her first drop of eggs to the next?

Is the multiple egg release due to egg maturity?

 

Thank you sir.

 

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 nearby breakline, 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

[Brad in Texas]

16 minutes ago, mattkenzer said:

Hi Tom,

 

Is there any data on time duration between her first drop of eggs to the next?

Is the multiple egg release due to egg maturity?

 

Thank you sir.

Tom can answer, likely will. Female bass are known to lay eggs on several different nesting sites. Likely, what they do is similar to a human female having twins or triplets: she drops some here, some there, until she is spawned out.

 

It'd be good evolutionary biology. Everyone here, no doubt, has seen a water turtle trying to cross a highway. You look over and see some large pond, a seemingly perfect wet environment, then some crazy turtle walking away from it on a hot day. Why? I think in every species, there are a few "wired" to be be different. This turtle will likely die. But, maybe one in a hundred will find another source of water to live in. If its original home were to dry out, all turtles would die. If one gets away, even at great odds against it, well . . . the species is perpetuated.

 

Bass have been around a very long time and some natural variation in how it spawns makes perfect sense in the event of some sort of catastrophic events. There have always been early, normal and late spawners.

 

*** What would be really cool is for someone from, say, down here in Texas where the bass spawn might be a bit more predictable, not waiting for the ice to break up after a cold winter (I don't know how you guys can stand the waiting! Ha!), to publish a photo of a gravid (holding eggs) female caught late in the season to see how long that happens. That would be a great test to really know how deep in the season, on your lake for a particular year, bass are actually still spawning. I have rarely seen a gravid female caught, photo published, beyond late spring here in Texas. No doubt, it could extend to later in the year (beginning later, too) in more northern climates.

 

Brad 

[mattkenzer]

9 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

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 nearby breakline, 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

Very Interesting .... Thank you Catt.

10 minutes ago, Brad in Texas said:

Tom can answer, likely will. Female bass are known to lay eggs on several different nesting sites. Likely, what they do is similar to a human female having twins or triplets: she drops some here, some there, until she is spawned out.

 

It'd be good evolutionary biology. Everyone here, no doubt, has seen a water turtle trying to cross a highway. You look over and see some large pond, a seemingly perfect wet environment, then some crazy turtle walking away from it on a hot day. Why? I think in every species, there are a few "wired" to be be different. This turtle will likely die. But, maybe one in a hundred will find another source of water to live in. If its original home were to dry out, all turtles would die. If one gets away, even at great odds against it, well . . . the species is perpetuated.

 

Bass have been around a very long time and some natural variation in how it spawns makes perfect sense in the event of some sort of catastrophic events. There have always been early, normal and late spawners.

 

*** What would be really cool is for someone from, say, down here in Texas where the bass spawn might be a bit more predictable, not waiting for the ice to break up after a cold winter (I don't know how you guys can stand the waiting! Ha!), to publish a photo of a gravid (holding eggs) female caught late in the season to see how long that happens. That would be a great test to really know how deep in the season, on your lake for a particular year, bass are actually still spawning. I have rarely seen a gravid female caught, photo published, beyond late spring here in Texas. No doubt, it could extend to later in the year (beginning later, too) in more northern climates.

 

Brad 

Thank you Brad ... Appreciated.

[Catt]

@Brad in Texas Depends on what part of Texas ya talking!

 

North Texas, West Texas, East Texas, Central Texas, or Gulf Coast?

 

These 2 are from mid-lake on Toledo Bend the last week of April or the first week of May. These bass spawn offshore & have never seen a shoreline in their lives.

 

Sorry about picture quality but these were taken with old disposable cameras. It's hard to tell but they're full of eggs.

 

 

[Paul Roberts]

One thing to keep in mind, a lot of "bloody" or abraded tails are due to bass resting against hard cover like wood or usually the bottom. Males (mostly) dig the beds and, here anyway, I've not seen abrasion from digging beds. Seems "digging"/clearing silt is accomplished with water pressure, not as much by direct contact.

 

Abrasion from contact is most common, here anyway, by resting on bottom. And infections can result from this. Abraded lower half of the tail is really common here.

 

As to out of season spawn behavior... I'm not ready to comment yet. Still watching and following up on some stuff.

[scaleface]

One  theory I heard is the bloody tail on large females is the result of it being so heavy with eggs that the bottom of the tail is constantly scraping bottom while just swimming . Makes sense to me .