Pre Spawn, Spawn, Post Spawn

[Griggs]

We caught a lot of big fish this weekend. 3-5 lbs fish. The water temp was 67 - 70 degrees. All fish were caught in 2 - 8 ft of water.

The big girls had their fins ripped up a bit and were red. I'm just curious as to what stage these girls were at?

I understand that pre spawn they'll be feeding hard. I'm not sure about the spawn. Then post spawn can be tough. Let me know if I'm wrong on any of these.

Thanks!

[RonWBasser]

Were the really big ones with the red fins full of eggs or flat and spawned out? You usually only see the red fins on the egg filled ones if they are on the bed. If they are spawned out and red finned they are just getting done and in a post spawn mode, but barely. Going by your water temp they should be close one way or the other.

Also... you can find bigger males with the red fins. But not usually 5 pounders.

[Griggs]

Thanks for the response. Looking at the different pics I'd say there was a mix. This one for example looked pretty fat and had red fins. All over 4 lbs had red fins. Some of the three pounds did not. Heres a pic of a 4 lber