2nd spawn

[wtrprfr]

An 18 acre farm pond in Northeast Ohio.  2nd week in October and the pond is loaded with fry.  The water was bubbling.  Will bass spawn twice, in a year?

[roadwarrior]

NO

Welcome aboard!

In your region the fish is just full of baitfish.

8-)

[Sam]

Hey Roadwarrior,

I thought exactly like you until I saw the fry one year on the Mattopani River in Virginia.

I was prefishing a tournament last October with my friend, Dave, and I saw these small fry jumping out of the water.

Dave said that they were the second bass spawn of the year.

I have no idea if they were actually bass fry or some other fish, but they looked like bass fry.

Maybe this was an unusual situation.  I can't explain it.  Hopefully a fisheries biologist on the forum will give us some additional information.

By the way, I have never seen a second spawn again.  

[George Welcome]

Mutiple spawns occur frequently in the southern reaches of North America: however, further north would need unusual weather conditions to have this occur.

For example, here on the Stick Marsh there are two distinctive spawns most years. The first will occur from December to February depending on weather conditions. Its occurence will determine the spring spawn, which will range from late February through May. Both spawns will be major events.

I have also noted a minor spawn occuring in September, however this is a rarity.

[Grey Wolf]

An 18 acre farm pond in Northeast Ohio. 2nd week in October and the pond is loaded with fry. The water was bubbling. Will bass spawn twice, in a year?

Not in NE Ohio.

WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[catchnm]

When I fish I do it for fun and to eat some, sorry but I do. Not an abuser, a user.

Anyway, I've been bringing fish home for about six weeks now. Not all, but several have had had egg sacks in them. Both from ponds and from the lake here. So yea, I'd say they spawn twice, at least here in the OK state. Actually I've known that for a few years. The downside is that not all the fry make it percentage wise to those that make it through the spring spawn. The warm weather here usually changes so fast and drastically during the late fall, that they succumb to the colder temps. Also as a general rule, the water levels are way down during this time of year and that contributes to the fry demise as well. Unhatched eggs just never hatch due to the weather cooling or young fry are easy prey with the lack of bank areas to hide and diminished water grasses.

[wtrprfr]

Thanks for the welcome.  I love this sight!  I have been fishing this pond for over 30 years, and have never seen this before, weird.

[BassNub]

it is said that the basses color pattern slightly changes when they are spawning, but i have caught bass in mid to late summer with a bass that has different color pattern. So my guess is that they spawn all year long. Just the majority do it in spring.

[Grey Wolf]

it is said that the basses color pattern slightly changes when they are spawning, but i have caught bass in mid to late summer with a bass that has different color pattern. So my guess is that they spawn all year long. Just the majority do it in spring.

And where did you here all this ?

[WRB]

What you may be seeing is young of then year baitfish, including bass and sunfish fingerlings, that had to leave the sanctuary of the weed/grass bed areas, as the weeds die back during fall. The baitfish instictively school up for protection by species. Bass targeting baitfish schools is a common fall feeding pattern.

The primary spawns occur during the spring of the year when the water warms from the colder winter period. In Southern California we have bass spawning for about a 3 month period and on rare occasion a few late summer bloomers may spawn...very few, as nothing in nature is absolute.

WRB

[flatbass]

I think bass here in Texas probably do spawn more than once a year. I know when I used to fish for catfish you would find eggs in them just about anytime of year.

[Catt]

I've never been convinced it's a 2nd spawn but rather some bass spawning early and some spawning later; bass have eggs almost all year long due to gestation period. Toledo Bend is 65 miles long so you will have spawning bass in February on the north end of the lake and into early May on the south end; During unusually warm winters this spawning cycle could start in late December.

[bighed]

Yes, here in my area we sometimes have a second spawn in the fall.  It's not every year, not all lakes,  and it's not nearly the size of the spring spawn.  

[UrbanRedneck]

Yes, populations of bass can have multiple spawns (as in more than 2) during a given year.  However, based on my experience, this is a rare occurence.  Its seems to occur during years that have very odd weather patterns, and IMHO its likely the combination of multiple environmental variables working together.

Also, during odd weather years, many bass will not spawn and will reabsorb their eggs.