Question for Mr. Dave Stewart

[jackhammer]

Based upon this past winter and the warm weather we are experiencing now, will the bass spawn on Ky Lake be based on water temps and or daylight hours. It seems to me that if this weather stays true into the spring the spawn will be earlier this year. In your opinion do you think it's based on water temps or daylight hours? Your expertise is appreciated.

[09Z7SC]

Based upon this past winter and the warm weather we are experiencing now, will the bass spawn on Ky Lake be based on water temps and or daylight hours. It seems to me that if this weather stays true into the spring the spawn will be earlier this year. In your opinion do you think it's based on water temps or daylight hours? Your expertise is appreciated.

I am curious about this too. My dad and I are going to the twins at the end of the month, seems like they could be bedding at that time, with the full moon and all.

[Netboy Extraordinaire]

I am not Dave but will venture a guess before the real expert chimes in. With the full moon early in March, around the 6th, there would have been fish that spawned at that time due to the water temp and moon phase. But I think the water temp was at the very bottom of the desired spawn temperature especially with the COLD front that came thru Sat and Sun. This front would have knocked the temps down a ton in the shallow waters of the bays. Plus, the fish have that internal calendar that says the first of March is just too soon. All this being considered, the absolute majority of the girls will spawn around the full moon in April. This won't be earlier than normal because the majority of them will spawn in April. The exception would be if the Full Moon fell during the last week of March with a mild winter. Then the majority would spawn in March under this scenario. Water temp, moon phase and internal calendar all has a part in the equation. I will say that a lot more Smallmouth have already spawned in March, is my guess, since they tend to spawn earlier than Greenfish

[Dave Stewart]

My opinion is that water temp will cue the spawn,. My opinion is based on many years of fishing logs......from what I am seeing on the water temps, if the present trend continues, the major spawn may begin about a week early this year...just have to wait and see. There are always some early spawners in late March around the same time the Smallies spawn. The Smallies are bursting with eggs right now so they are not far off from spawning. This warm up coming this next week may do the trick...it is supposed to be in the 70's all next week, one day even around 80. This should push the water temps up. All this information is pertinent to the north end of Ky Lake. I know that way south there are a lot of LM staged on lead in banks off the spawning areas from the reports I have gotten from a number of my network guys down there. Of course their water temps are much higher way down south than on the north end.

[jackhammer]

My opinion is that water temp will cue the spawn,. My opinion is based on many years of fishing logs......from what I am seeing on the water temps, if the present trend continues, the major spawn may begin about a week early this year...just have to wait and see. There are always some early spawners in late March around the same time the Smallies spawn. The Smallies are bursting with eggs right now so they are not far off from spawning. This warm up coming this next week may do the trick...it is supposed to be in the 70's all next week, one day even around 80. This should push the water temps up. All this information is pertinent to the north end of Ky Lake. I know that way south there are a lot of LM staged on lead in banks off the spawning areas from the reports I have gotten from a number of my network guys down there. Of course their water temps are much higher way down south than on the north end.

Thanks for the prompt reply and answering my question Dave. Thanks to others that responded also. All responses are appreciated.

[Cowboy]

Thanks for the prompt reply and answering my question Dave. Thanks to others that responded also. All responses are appreciated.

water LEVEL has a lot to do with it down there as well!

[Moveon]

Water level is controlled by the Corp of Engineers. Water temperature, lenght of the daylight cycle (diurnal) is controlled by God.

The intensity of the sunlight and the amount of sunlight (Lenght of the day and lenght of the night and the amount of cloud cover over the subject area) all combine to determine the water temperature. Even the strenght of the wind and the duration of the winds effect water temperature.

Right now the amount of energy in the Earth has increased due to many factors and the winter was pretty much warmer than usual. But the sun still orbits around the solar system and our earth still tilts on it's axis and spins around the axix and our sun in the same way it's done for billions of years.

To me it's all interconnected. But everything on earth is affected by the sun and moon to some degree. The sunlight determines the water temperature and it along with the earth's motion will determine the weather. Things like the cloud cover (evaporation of water into the air) is driven by the sunlight heating the earth up and evaporating the water vapor into the air. The spin of the earth and the differential heating of the earth due to it's rotation and orbit form the winds and clouds. It's all diven by the sunlight. The Northern Hemisphere is getting closer to the sun and the angle that the sun strikes our NH is getting higher and the sunlight is getting more intense. This has been going on for the last 4 billion years or maybe even longer.

Someone above said that the fish are tuned into these rythems of the earth, sun and moon. It's a genetic thing and we all have developed an internal clock that follows these things.

Remember that not all the fish spawn at the same time. Not sure why that is but I think it's been said by many people before me. When the weather is right and the eggs are developed fully the fish will laid their eggs. They probably have some type of harmonal change in their system that triggers them to spawn. Be it the amount of sunlight or the water temperature those fish will spawn when the time it right. Guessing that time on any particular lake or any part of any lake is just a guess until they actually start to move into the shallower water and get caught by fishermen.

I can tell when the crappie are ready to spawn just by observing the crappie eggs as I clean my fish. When the eggs are ripe and there are larger blood vessels surrounding the egg sacks you can bet that the fish are in spawn mode.

My best guess is that some fish will spawn a week or two earlier in the south as compared to the fish up North. But that's about all I could really say. The latitude on the earth makes a difference in the angle of the sun at different times of the year.

One thing I can tell you is this, look for sheltered flats on the North side (protected from cold north winds by the hills) and flats that are receiving more sunlight during the day. These areas will warm up the fastest and if they have good bottom conditions and the right depth they will be the first areas to get spawning fish to move into them. Just remember that fish eggs need warm water and sunlight to hatch the eggs. If momma bass does not lay her eggs in the right spot her genes will not be passed onto the next genertion and her prodogeny will not survive. So there is a natural selection process going on here as to when the fish lay their eggs and where. Those that get it right get to have prodogeny that grow up to reproduce again. That that don't get it right go out of business so to speak.

People like Dave Stewert that make a living by being out on the water all the time get to learn these fish patterns and if they keep logs like Dave does they have a good handle on those lakes that the fish a lot. There is nothing like being out on the water daily to learn what the fish are doing.

Especially if they explore a lot of the lake over and over again. They learn to eliminate the water with no fish and concentrate on the areas that hold fish. But there are still a lot of fish out there in the water that are not beign caught.

I like the tagging studies that Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Officals did a few years back. That study showed us a lot of good information about the crappie spawn and taught me that the black crappie spawn shallower and earlier than the white crappie. Each species has it's nitch in the same habitat.

My predition would be that the Crappie will spawn when the water temperature gets up to around 65 deg F. I can't remmeber if the LM black Bass spawn before the crappie or afterwards. I would guess it was after wards.

Now the question that I have is at what depth does it have to reach 65 deg F before the crappie spawn. At the surface or at 5 ft down or at 10 ft down or at 15 ft down? But that's my delima I guess. It's all relative anyway. Most all of us can only measure the water temps at the surface anyway. I have a meter that will measure the water temps from the surface to 25 ft down. So I'll have to start using that device and make some logs to answer my own question.

Look for the Crappie to spawn anytime from the 1st of April until the Third Week of April. That's based on what they have done over the past 50 years down at KY Lake on the South end of the lake.

Just remember that deep water and large areas take longer to heat up than small shallow areas that are protected from cold winds and are exposed longer to the sunlight during the day.

Each bay on KY lake is a different environment and will have it's own particular fish population.

Best time to go fishing..... Any time that moma will let you get out of the house!

It's the time spent out on the water that really counts. Enjoy nature and catch a few fish in the process. That way you will always have a good time. It's the journey that matters not just the destination.

water LEVEL has a lot to do with it down there as well!

[Dave Stewart]

Water level is controlled by the Corp of Engineers. Water temperature, lenght of the daylight cycle (diurnal) is controlled by God.

The intensity of the sunlight and the amount of sunlight (Lenght of the day and lenght of the night and the amount of cloud cover over the subject area) all combine to determine the water temperature. Even the strenght of the wind and the duration of the winds effect water temperature.

Right now the amount of energy in the Earth has increased due to many factors and the winter was pretty much warmer than usual. But the sun still orbits around the solar system and our earth still tilts on it's axis and spins around the axix and our sun in the same way it's done for billions of years.

To me it's all interconnected. But everything on earth is affected by the sun and moon to some degree. The sunlight determines the water temperature and it along with the earth's motion will determine the weather. Things like the cloud cover (evaporation of water into the air) is driven by the sunlight heating the earth up and evaporating the water vapor into the air. The spin of the earth and the differential heating of the earth due to it's rotation and orbit form the winds and clouds. It's all diven by the sunlight. The Northern Hemisphere is getting closer to the sun and the angle that the sun strikes our NH is getting higher and the sunlight is getting more intense. This has been going on for the last 4 billion years or maybe even longer.

Someone above said that the fish are tuned into these rythems of the earth, sun and moon. It's a genetic thing and we all have developed an internal clock that follows these things.

Remember that not all the fish spawn at the same time. Not sure why that is but I think it's been said by many people before me. When the weather is right and the eggs are developed fully the fish will laid their eggs. They probably have some type of harmonal change in their system that triggers them to spawn. Be it the amount of sunlight or the water temperature those fish will spawn when the time it right. Guessing that time on any particular lake or any part of any lake is just a guess until they actually start to move into the shallower water and get caught by fishermen.

I can tell when the crappie are ready to spawn just by observing the crappie eggs as I clean my fish. When the eggs are ripe and there are larger blood vessels surrounding the egg sacks you can bet that the fish are in spawn mode.

My best guess is that some fish will spawn a week or two earlier in the south as compared to the fish up North. But that's about all I could really say. The latitude on the earth makes a difference in the angle of the sun at different times of the year.

One thing I can tell you is this, look for sheltered flats on the North side (protected from cold north winds by the hills) and flats that are receiving more sunlight during the day. These areas will warm up the fastest and if they have good bottom conditions and the right depth they will be the first areas to get spawning fish to move into them. Just remember that fish eggs need warm water and sunlight to hatch the eggs. If momma bass does not lay her eggs in the right spot her genes will not be passed onto the next genertion and her prodogeny will not survive. So there is a natural selection process going on here as to when the fish lay their eggs and where. Those that get it right get to have prodogeny that grow up to reproduce again. That that don't get it right go out of business so to speak.

People like Dave Stewert that make a living by being out on the water all the time get to learn these fish patterns and if they keep logs like Dave does they have a good handle on those lakes that the fish a lot. There is nothing like being out on the water daily to learn what the fish are doing.

Especially if they explore a lot of the lake over and over again. They learn to eliminate the water with no fish and concentrate on the areas that hold fish. But there are still a lot of fish out there in the water that are not beign caught.

I like the tagging studies that Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Officals did a few years back. That study showed us a lot of good information about the crappie spawn and taught me that the black crappie spawn shallower and earlier than the white crappie. Each species has it's nitch in the same habitat.

My predition would be that the Crappie will spawn when the water temperature gets up to around 65 deg F. I can't remmeber if the LM black Bass spawn before the crappie or afterwards. I would guess it was after wards.

Now the question that I have is at what depth does it have to reach 65 deg F before the crappie spawn. At the surface or at 5 ft down or at 10 ft down or at 15 ft down? But that's my delima I guess. It's all relative anyway. Most all of us can only measure the water temps at the surface anyway. I have a meter that will measure the water temps from the surface to 25 ft down. So I'll have to start using that device and make some logs to answer my own question.

Look for the Crappie to spawn anytime from the 1st of April until the Third Week of April. That's based on what they have done over the past 50 years down at KY Lake on the South end of the lake.

Just remember that deep water and large areas take longer to heat up than small shallow areas that are protected from cold winds and are exposed longer to the sunlight during the day.

Each bay on KY lake is a different environment and will have it's own particular fish population.

Best time to go fishing..... Any time that moma will let you get out of the house!

It's the time spent out on the water that really counts. Enjoy nature and catch a few fish in the process. That way you will always have a good time. It's the journey that matters not just the destination.

Actually Bass are Bass and fish are fish. I did not learn how to eliminate water to find Bass by going out on Kentucky Lake day after day after day. I know how to do it on any lake, anytime of the year. It took some years of study and observation (not on Ky Lake specifically, but on many lakes and rivers) to learn how to do this. And you can track fish using water temps....you just have to know how, when and where to take the temps and then apply that to a little bit of other knowledge about mother nature. This is what I teach in my winter class "Eliminating Water". There is a reason why my winter classes consist of folks from all over the country..many of which will probably never fish Ky Lake. What I find and have found over the years is that most folks just over complicate things...especially Bass. Spawns can be lengthened and shortened due to environmental conditions....they can be early or late due to environmental conditions. The key is knowing how to apply the prevailing environmental conditions to the fish and figure out how they are going to react to the changes. Certainly any forecast of when (what particular dates) the peak of the spawn will occur (of course they don't all spawn on the same day...never have, never will...but there will be a peak spawning period every year) is just that...a forecast...and is only as accurate as the weather man is...which is just an educated guess.

[Moveon]

That has a huge impact on the spawns. Too bad the COE don't regulate the water for the spawn instead of for flood protection and power generation. The KY lake fishery would be so much better if they did.

water LEVEL has a lot to do with it down there as well!

[Shimano4Life]

That has a huge impact on the spawns. Too bad the COE don't regulate the water for the spawn instead of for flood protection and power generation. The KY lake fishery would be so much better if they did.

The fish will spawn regardless......

The COE manages the lakes for flood protection, in other words, it saves human lives in the long run. Personally, I would prefer to keep water levels at a safe level -- the fish will do their thing anyway.

[jastew]

I'm certainly not an expert, but from years of fishing...it's a combination of water temp day length and and moon phase. They might go a week or two early but i bet they dont go much earlier than that.