Bigassbass Posted February 25, 2022 Posted February 25, 2022 Caught a nice female 3lb bass today and she had a red tail, been fanning out her bed. This was in a 2 acre pond. 4
HaydenS Posted February 26, 2022 Posted February 26, 2022 3 hours ago, Bigassbass said: Caught a nice female 3lb bass today and she had a red tail, been fanning out her bed. This was in a 2 acre pond. Awesome, getting to be that time! 1
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted February 28, 2022 Global Moderator Posted February 28, 2022 Don't really care for the spawn. The late cold water period and prespawn is where it's at! 3
Blue Raider Bob Posted February 28, 2022 Posted February 28, 2022 Long time Crappie fisherman and just learning about Bass but don't the males make the nest and the females only hover over long enough to deposit eggs? 5 1
Super User Choporoz Posted February 28, 2022 Super User Posted February 28, 2022 49 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said: males make the nest Correct. @Paul Robertshas a great video on bass spawn. 2
Bigassbass Posted February 28, 2022 Author Posted February 28, 2022 3 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said: Long time Crappie fisherman and just learning about Bass but don't the males make the nest and the females only hover over long enough to deposit eggs? Have you ever caught a female bass in the spring that had a rubbed out tail? I've caught many, the female bass fans too, she may not build the bed but she fans it and female bass don't drop their eggs then swim right away. Sometimes the spawning ritual takes quite a while days in some cases. There isn't a rock solid technique for fish spawning, they just get it done however they can.
Super User LrgmouthShad Posted February 28, 2022 Super User Posted February 28, 2022 On 2/25/2022 at 4:37 PM, Bigassbass said: Caught a nice female 3lb bass today and she had a red tail, been fanning out her bed. This was in a 2 acre pond. Thanks for the update and nice catch! Checked water temperature of Jordan Lake online, it is at 56 degrees today. On smaller bodies of water, makes sense first wave of spawners are getting ready. I'll be in the middle of it when I'm back in NC in several days. But, like @Bluebasser86 said, I would rather fish for prespawners right now. 2
Super User J Francho Posted February 28, 2022 Super User Posted February 28, 2022 How do you know it was a female? 1
Bigassbass Posted February 28, 2022 Author Posted February 28, 2022 27 minutes ago, J Francho said: How do you know it was a female? I know what bass look like male and female. I caught a 6lb female bass 20 years ago post spawn and she had rubbed a part of her tail out, ( long story short) had not intended to keep her but she died while being weighed in at the marina. Taxidermist fixed her tail and identified her as a female fish which I already knew but I got schooled in identifying bass that day! I have this fish on my wall with her fixed tail. 31 minutes ago, J Francho said: How do you know it was a female? How do you know it wasn't a female you didn't even see it. lol 1
Blue Raider Bob Posted February 28, 2022 Posted February 28, 2022 4 hours ago, Choporoz said: Correct. @Paul Robertshas a great video on bass spawn. He sure looks like a proud papa! My daughter and I were walking around our pond one day followed by a pet Mallard that swam along beside us. We reached a spot near the bank where a Bass was guarding his nest and to our surprise the Male left his nest and bit the Mallard on the but! No kidding. We could see it clearly. When the duck bolted like its .........was on fire, the male went right back to the nest. It wasn't afraid of us at all. They do their jobs! 3 3
Super User J Francho Posted March 1, 2022 Super User Posted March 1, 2022 16 hours ago, Bigassbass said: I know what bass look like male and female. How? Largemouth bass are not sexually dimorphic. So, tell us all the magic trick to sexing bass. Also, why did you take a 6 lb. bass to a taxidermist when you catch several double digit bass every year? 2 1
Bigassbass Posted March 1, 2022 Author Posted March 1, 2022 2 hours ago, J Francho said: How? Largemouth bass are not sexually dimorphic. So, tell us all the magic trick to sexing bass. Also, why did you take a 6 lb. bass to a taxidermist when you catch several double digit bass every year? Why are you being a jerk? I don't want to argue with you nor do I enjoy your comments. 2 1
Super User the reel ess Posted March 1, 2022 Super User Posted March 1, 2022 I fish a 30-40 acre reservoir. It's not here yet, but coming soon. I've already caught one on a Whopper Plopper in February. That usually doesn't happen until late March.
Super User J Francho Posted March 1, 2022 Super User Posted March 1, 2022 2 hours ago, Bigassbass said: Why are you being a jerk? I don't want to argue with you nor do I enjoy your comments. Take it easy. The only way to sex a live bass is with a urogenital probe. A taxidermist could also examine the gonads post mortem. Some of your story is confusing. Have a nice day. 3
Super User MN Fisher Posted March 1, 2022 Super User Posted March 1, 2022 7 minutes ago, J Francho said: The only way to sex a live bass is with a urogenital probe. <- Aquatic Biology major in college....John is totally correct...no way to sex-differentiate bass from external-only exam...unless they're 'carrying' and you squeeze to see what they expel. 1
Super User GaryH Posted March 1, 2022 Super User Posted March 1, 2022 I learned something today. I thought you just lifted up their skirt TAIL and peaked.. ? 1 6
Super User J Francho Posted March 1, 2022 Super User Posted March 1, 2022 19 minutes ago, MN Fisher said: <- Aquatic Biology major in college Fisheries management in my college days...though I never finished my degree. You could also assume any fish over a certain size is female as well, especially in warmer fertile waters. 3 lbs. isn't really big enough to make that assumption, especially in SC. I've often read that you can vent sex them, but I have never been able to tell the difference. I will also say, males create nests. When spawning is over, the female leaves. They often find another male to spawn with. They do get damaged tail fins, but it isn't from fanning. It is from the male nipping during the spawning fervor. Males remain locked on the nest to fan the eggs with their pectoral fins, not their caudal (tail) fin. From all this evidence, it sounds like you saw a 3 lb. male creating a nest. 3
Hook2Jaw Posted March 1, 2022 Posted March 1, 2022 I've learned a lot in this thread, but none of it is gonna learn me to lipless more better. 1 5
Blue Raider Bob Posted March 1, 2022 Posted March 1, 2022 23 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said: He sure looks like a proud papa! My daughter and I were walking around our pond one day followed by a pet Mallard that swam along beside us. We reached a spot near the bank where a Bass was guarding his nest and to our surprise the Male left his nest and bit the Mallard on the but! No kidding. We could see it clearly. When the duck bolted like its .........was on fire, the male went right back to the nest. It wasn't afraid of us at all. They do their jobs! Sorry. Mispelled butt. Anyway the bass got the duck gone!
Aaron_H Posted March 1, 2022 Posted March 1, 2022 7 hours ago, J Francho said: Largemouth bass are not sexually dimorphic. I would not say this is an accurate blanket statement, as size difference between males and females is a classic example of sexual dimorphism. You are correct that in the same size range there is virtually no way to externally sex a LMB. 1
Super User PhishLI Posted March 1, 2022 Super User Posted March 1, 2022 2 hours ago, J Francho said: You could also assume any fish over a certain size is female as well, especially in warmer fertile waters. 3 lbs. isn't really big enough to make that assumption I asked a fisheries biologist from around here about this issue. He claimed that 2lbs was the average for mature males, and that 3lbs was rare. He added that 4 lbs was exceedingly rare for our area, but hey, you never know. I avoid trouble by refraining from using any personal pronouns when speaking to bass. I just say "swim off nice fishie" and nobody's feelings get hurt. 1 5
BassResource.com Administrator Glenn Posted March 1, 2022 BassResource.com Administrator Posted March 1, 2022 Some of us old-timers might remember the old adage was that you could tell a female from a male by the shape of their anus (oval vs. round). That myth has since been debunked. But I still see people clinging to it and passing it around as "fact". So if you still think you tell the sex of a bass just by looks, well....time to shed that myth. 2 1
Aaron_H Posted March 1, 2022 Posted March 1, 2022 3 minutes ago, Glenn said: Some of you old-timers might remember the old adage was that you could tell a female from a male was by the shape of their anus (oval vs. round). That myth has since been debunked. But I still see people clinging to it and passing it around as "fact". So if you still think you tell the sex of a bass just by looks, well....time to shed that myth. Interesting, thank you for posting that, Glenn. I've never heard that myth before, but then, I'm still a relative newbie to the bass fishing game.
Bigassbass Posted March 1, 2022 Author Posted March 1, 2022 Glad I don't have to be a biologist to enjoy the sport. I'll not be reading up on the spawning rituals of fish, I really don't give a flying flip what breeds and how they do it. Opinions are like round and oval anuses everyones got one but most are round IMO. 3
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