bass spawning already?

[troutmaster]

so i was out today fishing for some crappies/bluegill when i stumble upon a little body of water running from the lake and when i started casting i started catching baby bass one after another? but i didn't think the bass spawn till may/june? I could see them in the water hundreds of them swimming around. every now and then i'd catch an adult but for the most part they were between 3-6 inches long.

now i'm really confused.

p.s they were smallmouth bass

[Ralph Wiggum]

They're from last year. Bass from this spring would be much smaller!

[RK]

Hiya -

Smallies in the spring are kind of interesting. Very different from LMB. They're nowhere near spawning, but they will move from their wintering areas to near where they eventually spawn almost immediately after ice-out, and sometimes even before the whole lake is ice-free. Dr. Mark Ridgeway, a biologist for the Ontario MNR has done a lot of tracking research with SMB that has shown this behavior. What's interesting is that when they move, they don't dawdle. They pack up and boogie. He's said the path they follow between their wintering and pre-spawn locations is laser-straight. Once they get there, they'll move in and out of the shallows depending on conditions. On warm days, they can get up very shallow, even in sub-40 degree water.

So long story short, you're seeing early pre-spawn fish, but they won't spawn until the water's in the 50s.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Bullwinkle]

Great explanation RK!! Getting off the point alittle ... that was one heck of an article you wrote on Muskie fishing for In-Fisherman this month. If anybody hasn't read it yet, check it out. You hit it right on the nail that the Muskie are big and healthy right now on the pond. Good luck this upcoming year.

[ocf1]

i have personally seined some baby bass while seining for minnows, they were smaller and very fragile, i caught them in the 100's! All released

[tearin' lips]

Smallies won't even think about spawning until the water hits/exceeds 15.5 degrees celcius, which is roughly about 60 degrees farenheight. Chances are they were in there doing just what the pannies were doing...feeding. I have also read that article and it is dead on. The smallies, when in place for spawn...will move in and out of the shoreline while they wait for the right temperatures in which to lay there eggs. I have seen them in shallow water one day, and the next they are off the ledge in about 12' of water. Simply amazing!

Take Care and Good Luck Fishing!!

[tearin' lips]

Just found this online. Go to google and type

Quote:

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Minnesota Fish Identification and Characteristics

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The first link on that page will bring you to a power point presentation on the University of Minnesota webpage. It has a variety of information about species in Minnesota, that includes spawning temperatures for our state.

[lookincalifornia]

nice t lips

that should be a permanent link. i've seen a few misidentified fish on this site. the link would keep some from the embarrassment of saying check out this smallie, only to have 25 replies saying it's actually a largemouth.

that's my pet peve, when people catch a 10 inch largemouth and they call it a smallmaouth.