Prespawn, Spawn, or Postspawn for opener?

[ShoreGuy1984]

Im just curious to hear what all of your thoughts are on what the bass will be doing during the opener. What transition do you all think they will they be in? Prespawn, Spawn, Postspawn?

[mww24]

i would say it will depend on the lakes. Size depth, etc. Reading the wisconsin opener thread someone caugth a ton of males in 2 feet which would indicate the start of the spawn. the lake i was on was barren in the shallows which i would think there still very prespawn. with this warmer weather hopefully they will be spawning.

[TonkaBass]

Ask me the week of the opener I would say a good mix should happen, but I personally don't believe all bass spawn anyways.

[RK]

Ask me the week of the opener I would say a good mix should happen, but I personally don't believe all bass spawn anyways.

Smallmouths don't. Not sure about LMB but I suspect you're right. For sure they don't all spawn at the same time.

[BassNut33]

Dito with RK, they all do not spawn at the same time, there will be some stragglers even a few weeks after opener.

[BTL]

This is a question I would love to know the answer to! I come up for the opener and stay for two weeks every year, and the bite changes dramatically depending on the stage of the spawn.

Last year they were almost entirely postspawn. I came up and threw jigs for 3 days because they worked so well for me in 09, but I barely caught anything on them. Then I started fishing some shallower weedy lakes with plastics and frogs and caught a bunch of bass. All the bigger fish were spawned out and skinny.

The 2 years before it was prespawn/spawn. Jigs and swimbaits were great, and got some on frogs too. 07 it was all prespawn, and spinnerbaits killed. The fish were FAT that year.

I've heard you guys have had a long, cold winter and spring, so I'm thinking (and hoping) it will be a prespawn thing again. I like my bass to have a gut!

[Deitz Dittrich]

Way to early to predict now... A lot can happen weather wise.. but it would be safe to say.. Yes.. Yes to all somewhere..

[st.crioxfishin]

with the past warm couple days we have been having my curiosity got the best of me. Yesterday I took a stroll around a lake/pond close to my house in eagan sporting my polarized sunglasses. Much to my surprise there were many bass in 2ft or less. I saw 4 different groups of bass rubbing and spawning already too. I figured with the cold spring we have had I would not have even seen much up shallow yet. This was about an 80 acre lake, I assume the larger lakes are still a little colder.

[SledNeck]

D.

Bacon:30

[Deitz Dittrich]

LMAO @ D.. all of the above!

[Presco]

Article in the most recent In-Fisherman talked about how in some Wisconsin lakes, they are seeing smallies spawn in late summer in deep water. These fish are larger on average than their spring counterparts. Certainly interesting.

[RK]

Presco - DNR guys on Mille Lacs say smallies spawning in 15' of water isn't at all unusual, and they spawn deeper on some lakes. They use whatever they can find that suits them, and apparently on mille lacs the rock to sand transition they like (smallies like to spawn next to something and on sand substrate) happens to be around that depth.

Smallies have a pretty fascinating spawning process overall. Interesting critters...

[Presco]

I was more interested in the spawning in late summer aspect of the article and the fact that larger (ie. more experienced/smarter) fish seemed to be the ones doing it. Deep water spawning is nothing new, smallies in some of the more southern reservoirs have been known to spawn in water more than 30' deep.

[TonkaBass]

I've seen smallies on beds in september. I read, also in infisherman, that it was a mock spawn and they don't actually lay eggs. Makes sense because a harsh winter would soon face fingerlings.

[RK]

Yeah, I'd wonder if it was a false spawn as well. If it weren't survival of fry would be zero, at least this far north anyhow - they need to be a very specific size before winter or they don't make it...part of why late springs are so bad for YOY survival, and El Nino years are so good.

I wonder though if this ties into the selection process for the next year's spawners. It's been documented in some of the research Dr. Mark Ridgeway has done on smallies that only 1/3 of the population spawns in a given year, and the spawners are pre-selected the year before by some mechanism they don't understand. Be really fascinating to know if the false spawners become the spawners the next spring, or if it's the opposite and the false spawning fish are next season's freeloaders - or if there's any connection at all.

Kind of interesting too that these are some of the bigger fish. In some of Ridgeway's research, the biggest males were the earliest spawners...

Like I said - smallies are fascinating critters.

Cheers,

RK

[SledNeck]

just went bass fishing today, skipped yesterday

39 smallmouths 1 largemouth (go figure)

Im sunburnt

[fishuhalik]

Sled, is that on yer favorite little bass lake up nort?

[corncob]

Sounds like a good day on the lake Sled....I live by Leech Lake.How far away are you?....Gotta love the Smallies.

[SledNeck]

Sled, is that on yer favorite little bass lake up nort?

[RussC]

just went bass fishing today, skipped yesterday

39 smallmouths 1 largemouth (go figure)

Im sunburnt

Wow, I'm jealous. Let's go tomorrow, I'll meet you at the access

[SledNeck]

Might have to try walleyes next

[SmellEsox]

If the lilacs are blooming, the bass are spawning.

[corncob]

I as well watch the Lilacs closely.....

[ShoreGuy1984]

That is a great rule of thumb =D

[tracker x-2]

lilacs blooming is the old rule my dad said, the bass will be spawning. it has seemed to hold pretty true threw the years.