Is it reasonable to assume??...(Spawn question)

[KU_Bassmaster.]

This happens every year so I expected it, but it seems to have occured a little later in the year.

Last week and weekend the temps around here were unusually warm.  Highs in the 80's and even had one day in the 90's.  Well Thursday of last week the bass made a run for the beds.  Then by Sunday it seemed that all the males in the lake were on a bed.  Now for us fishermans worst nightmare ........ BIG cold front pushes through (on the tail end of it right now).  Highs were in the 50's and 40's and lows in the high 30's and low 40's.  I went out the first day of the cold front and only saw 5 bass on beds (all of which I had already caught), but last weekend there was a whole lot more in the area.  All of those bass were gone.  

Is it safe to assume that those bass that stayed on the beds through the cold front already have eggs on them??  And those that left, left because they didn't have eggs to defend??  Also meaning they will return here pretty soon?? .....hopefully with a big ole' female

[paparock]

That same weather pattern happened here in North Arkansas. I have heard different explanations from some local pros' but I don't know the answer. I will be interested if others do. That is a great question that I was wondering about myself. :-?

[senile1]

This is a good question.  I've been watching this thread since it started because I know one of the smart cookies in this forum will have an answer.  KU_B, I noticed you live in Overland Park, KS.  I'm in Kansas City North on the Missouri side and I was noticing similar behavior on the beds.  

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

Air temperature has nothing to do with bass being on beds except that cold air might drop water temperature too much if it stays cold. WATER temp minimum is 65 over at least 3-4 days in a row, optimum 72, and spawning begins declining as water warms, ending at 78 completely even for the smallest spawners (11").  Biggest bass spawn first. Males will get on site and fan beds as soon as it hits 65, but females won't join them unless conditions are right. If females get on bed AND drop eggs, the male will stay on that bed a couple of weeks guarding eggs then the fry. The female leaves no later than the second day after mating over the bed. If a cold front stays put and cools water into the high 50's, the eggs will die and the male will abandon them.

Jim

[KenDammit28]

its my understanding that bass will abandon a bed if a cold front with a significant temperature drop moves through and then move back to the bed once the water temp and weater stabilize at the right kinda temps.  So, yes..they will return, eggs or no eggs.

don't know if this article really helps answer you..but its interesting to know.

" some years, spring never arrives. One cold front after another blows through and the water never warms to 60° F. Spring spawning bass are equipped to handle the situation. Males build and occupy nests when the temperature rises. When the temperature falls, bass abandon the nest. If the warm spell persists long enough to produce a spawn, falling temperatures will still cause the nest to be abandoned and most of the eggs lost. The tendency to abandon the nest is nature's way of making the best of unstable spring weather. Declining temperatures in the spring are usually marked by cold winds which tend to destroy nests as the waves pile up on the shore where the eggs are covered with silt, and the fry smother. Bass don't stay with that nest full of dead eggs.

As soon as the water warms again, the male tidies up the rocks by sweeping out the silt and then spawns again. Fry survive best when water is warming and weather is stable. If it stays warm, the male guards the nest until the eggs hatch and then protects the fry for the first week or so. An individual male can re-nest as many as 8 to 10 times during a single spring spawning season.

Females make adjustments to achieve the same goal. The ovary contains 2,000 to 100,000 eggs depending on the size and age of the female. Not all eggs mature at the same time. During the first warm spell a portion of the eggs will ripen. If selected by a male the female could then spawn about 2,000 eggs in his nest. She would then wait a day or two and be ready to spawn another 2,000 eggs. She could continue to spawn 10 to 20 more times depending on weather conditions and availability of males. If not selected she may not spawn at all, even though she is able and willing. Healthy female bass always have many large, yellow but unripe eggs in the ovary. Catching female bas with a fully developed ovary long after spawning season is over is the rule instead of the exception.

The female selection process is reminiscent of cow cutting for the rodeo fans out there. When everything is ready the male leaves the nest and journeys into deeper water where the females are stationed. He somehow finds the appropriate female (my guess is that he chooses the first female encountered). He veers around behind her and then drives her toward the nest. They zig-zag back toward the nest as she coyly tries in vain to get back into deep water.

When she is parked over the nest, he employs cave-man manners and smartly rams her in the stomach with his snout. The impact breaks lose the ripe eggs and allows them to flow. She begins squirting eggs near the rock nest but gradually rises toward the surface, her body turning partially on the side, as the male gently rises to the surface beside her. She changes color in the process with the side bars and markings becoming much more prominent and the green skin color becoming much paler during egg deposition. When her complement of eggs is emitted, the male drives her away and rounds up another female. He will spawn with as many females as possible for a 6 to 12-hour period after which he drives away all intruders.

There is always an abundance of females to lay the eggs. The male initiates courting and is then responsible for all caretaking until the young bass are able to survive on their own."

thats from Wayne Gustaveson here: http://insideline.net/1994/gustaveson-0708-94.html

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

A male will abandon an empty bed if conditions warrant, but not one with eggs on it unless water temp falls to around 59.

Jim

[KenDammit28]

severe storms with high water fluctuations and runoff will make bass abandon beds, too.  Temperature drop is only part of it.  Silt covering the eggs and smothering them, waves created by wind, all these things effect bedding bass.  BUT, the bass will come back to beds once things stabilize, and refan the nest to make it "clean" again and spawn over if temperatures are in range.