Spawning Cycle

[PeterF]

About a month or two ago I started to notice large spawning beds on my pond. From what I can tell, they were full of Blue Gills. I never saw the Lm on the beds but I did catch a few just of the beds in deeper water. On this one bed that has about 50-80 individual beds, there was about a few hundred Blue Gills at any given time. I went out yesterday and didn't see any activity on that bed and the beds were dirty. It looked like a ghost town.

Without knowing much else, would you think that this bed was first used by the LM then the BG moved in or will the LM use this bed now that the BG are gone? Let me know if more information is needed. Thanks

[Raul]

Bass made the beds, bass were spawning, bluegills were there to feast on bass eggs. No more bedding bass, no more bass eggs ----> no more bluegills.

[Paul Roberts]

Raul could be right -I've seen that too. But since you saw them so long ago, and especially, the larger beds are already silted in, my guess is that the bass and their fry moved on, and 'gills have moved into the site to spawn too. Both bass and 'gills select the same substrate type -usually gravel, but spawn at different dates.

Of course, you're in FL, so there may be overlap in spawning dates. But the silted in bass beds are a real clue that they'd vacated a while ago.

[Big-O]

Raul could be right -I've seen that too. But since you saw them so long ago, and especially, the larger beds are already silted in, my guess is that the bass and their fry moved on, and 'gills have moved into the site to spawn too. Both bass and 'gills select the same substrate type -usually gravel, but spawn at different dates.

Of course, you're in FL, so there may be overlap in spawning dates. But the silted in bass beds are a real clue that they'd vacated a while ago.

x2 normal activity

www.ragetail.com

[PeterF]

Thanks guys.

[WRB]

If the beds were dinner plste size and within a yard of each other, they were blue gill beds. Blue gill spawn after the LMB, about a month, or when the water temperatures are around 67 to 75.

LMB beds are usually bigger, about 18 to 30 inches or so and spread out several yards apart and close to some type of cover on one side.

WRB