Triggers for pre-spawn/spawn

[Catt]

If I were to pick the one trigger for pre-spawn/spawn it would be the gestation cycle of the eggs.

The first requirement before a bass can spawn is its eggs must go through a gestation period which is the time required for the eggs to fully develop, until this length of time is reached that bass will not lay its eggs regardless of environmental factors.

[J Francho]

Gestation wouldn't occur until AFTER the eggs were fertilized.  So that would be a POST SPAWN event, LOL.

Females can spawn all summer, with several males, so I'd wager any skein was loosened up long before that.  If they don't spawn, they are just absorbed back into their bodies.

Length of daylight, moon phase, and temperature all seem to have tons of documentation supporting their effect on spawn timing.

Bottom line, you gotta be on the water just about every day to see the clues.

[Nick]

...but learning when a fish is going to lay and going about catching spring bass aren't necessarily related. The best big bass action for a trophy around these parts is the first warming days after winter up until late April.  In labeled times, it's referred to as the prespawn period. Big fish are healthy, and feeding, and prefer the warming shallows where most fools (like me) can find and catch them.

[paul.]

Gestation wouldn't occur until AFTER the eggs were fertilized. So that would be a POST SPAWN event, LOL.

Females can spawn all summer, with several males, so I'd wager any skein was loosened up long before that. If they don't spawn, they are just absorbed back into their bodies.

Length of daylight, moon phase, and temperature all seem to have tons of documentation supporting their effect on spawn timing.

Bottom line, you gotta be on the water just about every day to see the clues.

bingo!  right on J.

[Gatorbassman]

Catt, I don't think I would call it a trigger. It's more like loading the gun. You can't shoot untill it's loaded but it may be days or weeks till it's the right time to pull the trigger.

[Tin]

Catt, I don't think I would call it a trigger. It's more like loading the gun. You can't shoot untill it's loaded but it may be days or weeks till it's the right time to pull the trigger.

Bass shoot blanks? 

[Sam]

Catt, I will go with water temperature.

Everything else may have a role in the bedding and laying of the eggs but I still think it is water temperature. 

[Catt]

Gestation maybe the wrong terminology for the length of time required for the eggs to mature to a point where the female will lay them. Development of eggs start not long after the previous years spawn which is why eggs can be found in female bass almost year round.

As for temperature one only needs to study Power Plant lakes to understand that with temperature removed from the equation the bass still experience early pre-spawn, pre-spawn, and the spawn. So how do y'all explain this?

Water temperatures on Toledo Bend are running 44-48 degrees which should be considered winter but the bass are in early perspawn.

[ww2farmer]

Well up here ice out is a big factor. Then after ice out when things start to stabilize, and we get that one warm spell that gets dark bottom shallow area's water temps up to the low 50's, and , this is the key part, those water temps STAY in the 50's over night and are on gradual rise, it starts a big migration from there staging area. I call this early pre-spawn, because they move to these staging areas in late fall, and over winter there, at least in my lake.

[J Francho]

Development of eggs start not long after the previous years spawn which is why eggs can be found in female bass almost year round.

Ok, well that's hormones. What causes the female bass hormones to change? Seems like a chicken or the egg argument to me. That's why its called a life cycle, right? Besides, how are you going to tell whether the female bass is loose or still skeined up?

Or did I just start a catch and keep thread!

I say get on the water, and observe your fish.

[WRB]

I think of pre spawn as the time between cold water winter period and actual seeking out beds. The first or major wave of pre spawners takes place as the water temps raise from the low 50's to the low 60's, at the depth water where the bass intend to spawn.

Changes in water temperature during this time period will shut down the spawn until the conditions warm back up. The calendar has little to do with pre spawn/spawn, unless it happens to coincide with the proper warming water conditions.

Out west we typically get about 3 spawning waves, sometime less depending on weather conditions. This year looks like an early pre spawn/spawn cycle and more than likely late on the east coast.

Keep in mind it take boths male and females to spawn and males don't have full milt sacks or females have rip developed eggs year around.

[Tin]

If the water is consistently above 50* up here, all that matters is moon phase. I have seen beds in water that was in the low 52-54 degree range. Last spring because of cold rains a lot of lakes did not see consistent 60+ temperatures until early June and most the lakes were spawned out by mid-late May.

[Dalton Tam]

I've heard that when a female's egg sack begins to have red blood vessels around the sack they are about to begin spawning..... Is this true? and if so I caught a female the other day up shallow when the water temp was around 55 degrees I did clean her and found this... But the watertemps have dropped down to the mid 40s again so if it is true... will they continue spawning or will they hold off until the water reaches that temp again?

[Tin]

I've heard that when a female's egg sack begins to have red blood vessels around the sack they are about to begin spawning..... Is this true? and if so I caught a female the other day up shallow when the water temp was around 55 degrees I did clean her and found this... But the watertemps have dropped down to the mid 40s again so if it is true... will they continue spawning or will they hold off until the water reaches that temp again?

So you harvested a female loaded with eggs?  :

[Catt]

If y'all are waiting on temperatures, y'all are missing the early pre-spawn & missing the biggest bass of the season. Big sows are not shallow looking to spawn instead they are here with one purpose in mind FOOD.

[J Francho]

Who says anyone is waiting?  I fish from ice out to ice in.

[big t 4488]

when you start to see them shallow right off the end of your dock

[Siebert Outdoors]

If y'all are waiting on temperatures, y'all are missing the early pre-spawn & missing the biggest bass of the season. Big sows are not shallow looking to spawn instead they are here with one purpose in mind FOOD.

I agree with that.  Biggest fish I typically catch are in late march or real early april.

[CJ]

Water temps and photo period are what I believe in. The full moon does seem to trigger a lot of fish to actually get it on but I've seen them spawning when there wasn't a full moon as well.

I really don't think to much about it though. It really hasn't helped my success any where I fish. I consider it prespawn once the water temps hits 50. This is when fish start to congregate and become very active. I have seen fish on the bed here as early as March and as late as early June. Ever year we have different waves so I don't hardly ever have to fish for spawning bass. 

[cBooms@SML]

how would you guys go about trying to determine when the spawn periods (pre and post) occur in a small, shallow pond with dirty to stained water? there arent a lot of big fish, maybe an occasional 2 pounder and the rare 3-5lber. most of the bass are about 6-10 inches. its a community pond with loads of vegetation so i cant get out in a boat and i cant see anything from the bank. what would you guys do?

[steezy]

If y'all are waiting on temperatures, y'all are missing the early pre-spawn & missing the biggest bass of the season. Big sows are not shallow looking to spawn instead they are here with one purpose in mind FOOD.

AMEN, its time to start feeding them !

[christine Cellino]

The color RED!

[Blue Streak]

I think tempeture is the biggest factor. And if we don't get some normal spring weather soon our spawn will take place as late as early June instead of mid May. Does anyone else think the spawn will be late in their area because of this cold weather?

[Catt]

If temperature is the biggest factor the please explain Power Plant Lake where temperature is remove from the equation and the bass still go through early pre-spawn, pre-spawn and spawn.

[J Francho]

Bass will try to spawn in spite of less than normal situations. Same concept of bass in mud or clay bottom lakes. Just because they can't find suitable hard bottom, they still spawn. I will say that temperature can play a part in northern lakes, as anyone up here will attest. Cold springs = late spawn. Last year, it went from winter to summer in a blink of an eye. Spawn was concentrated to a single week, 3rd week of May, unlike the year before (ideal steady temperature increase) where it was a steady, drawn out process that lasted from early May through July. There is always a smaller secondary, and sometimes tertiary push, but the May/June push is the biggest.

I don't think you can use just one environmental aspect to predict it. One thing's fo-sho: if there are gills on beds, the main push is over.