Spawning bass....

[lroberts]

Has anyone in Indiana seen/caught a bedding bass so far this year??? Me, not yet. I think it will be several more weeks in the big lakes....and maybe a week or two in smaller ponds. What do you guys think?

[Stevens]

I've caught them right where they were going to spawn with bloody tails but its been a week since i've fished that lake and i'm not really sure whats happened since then. Those were big females i found tho, big girls spawn first usually. I think the majority of the females will wait til the waters 65 since there wont be a full moon again til the end of the month and my guess is that it will pretty much be over after that full moon

[idbefishing]

I fished 2 different lakes this weekend and there were no sign of bedding that I could see. The females are still deep and the surface temp got to 66 by late afternoon. I was wondering whether they will wait until the next full moon or not. I think by then the water would be too warm.

[ElectricSLT]

Haven't seen any at Patoka yet. Shouldn't be too long . . .

[Stevens]

I fished a pond today for a while, bass were paired up on beds. They wernt locked on yet but they were there. Water temps are right in most of the lakes ive fished.. i think this new moon is bringing in the first big wave. I'd be sure to check out shallow when your out fishing this week, sometimes you wont find that school of prespawners but all of sudden theyll show up ready to spawn

[bassmanic1]

Dont know about you guys but Im really POed about this heat wave - I cant remember it being this hot in April . Usally take vacation first of May to fish the spawn but thats out now . Plus my company decided to work us 7 days a week this month . Grrrrrrrrr...........

[lroberts]

I fished a pond today for a while, bass were paired up on beds. They wernt locked on yet but they were there. Water temps are right in most of the lakes ive fished.. i think this new moon is bringing in the first big wave. I'd be sure to check out shallow when your out fishing this week, sometimes you wont find that school of prespawners but all of sudden theyll show up ready to spawn

Agreed Stevens....Justin... and Steve.....the bass are certainly ahead of time this year...especially in small ponds and lakes. I am hoping they hold off in Monroe so i can fish for them in my next tourney...May 15th....but I don't think they will!

[ClarkIR]

I live in Southeastern Indiana and if you have a pond/fish a pond smaller than an acre theyre done. Two days in a row at two different places I have seen the fry. Havent caught a bass longer than 10 Inches since Saturday (When I thought I was hitting the big ones on their nests)

I was standing 3 feet away from a bass (Bank to water) she didnt care I was there, just patrolled back and forth, wouldnt touch anything.

This week has been awful for fishing. No wind here causing alot of pressure and I think im a couple days at post spawn.... Im just going to let this cold front come through. Take a bit of a break, and hit the waters again sunday.

[SteveM4A1]

but i thought they weren't spawning?? :P lol

[Moveon]

If you catch a bass that has yellow eggs coming out of its anus then you may have a female bass that's near spawning.

The males sweep the nest and guard the nest not the females. The females just coming in later to laid their eggs and then they leave. The males are the fish guarding the nests after the eggs are laid.

Right now the crappie are not even ready to spawn. Yes the water's warm enough but the timing is not right. Fish spawn no only according to the water temperature but also due to the amount of daylight and night time ratio. The length of the day is just as important as the water temperature.

I have always hear that bass spawn after the crappie spawn.

All the crappie don't spawn at one time. They spawn in waves with the biggest fish getting the prime spawning spots first.

I have been opening up the crappie that I have been catching at Loon Pit in the Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife area in Warrick County way down here in the SW Indiana area. The crappie eggs are not ripe yet. They are getting closer though.

Water temps at the surface in 8 ft of water are around 76 deg F two days ago. I didn't get out the last two days. But it's been in the 80's the last two days and not getting that cold at night.

The dogwood are blooming down here in the Evansville, IN area. They have been in bloom for the last half week.

If the bass are in the shallows that does not mean that they are spawning . They do come shallow to soak up this warm water and to feed on the shad and other fish that are in the shallows. There is a lot more food in the shallow waters this time of the year when it's so warm.

Remember that each body of water will warm up slower of faster depending on the amount of water in the lake. Some of the pits down here at Bluegrass are small in acres but very deep and have a lot of water in them. They may take longer to warm up because they can be as deep as 55 ft . And the deep water areas can take up almost 40% of the lakes total area. That's a lot of water to warm up vs a small 2 acre pond that's only about 10 ft deep.

Has anyone in Indiana seen/caught a bedding bass so far this year??? Me, not yet. I think it will be several more weeks in the big lakes....and maybe a week or two in smaller ponds. What do you guys think?

[SteveM4A1]

If you catch a bass that has yellow eggs coming out of its anus then you may have a female bass that's near spawning.

The males sweep the nest and guard the nest not the females. The females just coming in later to laid their eggs and then they leave. The males are the fish guarding the nests after the eggs are laid.

Right now the crappie are not even ready to spawn. Yes the water's warm enough but the timing is not right. Fish spawn no only according to the water temperature but also due to the amount of daylight and night time ratio. The length of the day is just as important as the water temperature.

I have always hear that bass spawn after the crappie spawn.

All the crappie don't spawn at one time. They spawn in waves with the biggest fish getting the prime spawning spots first.

I have been opening up the crappie that I have been catching at Loon Pit in the Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife area in Warrick County way down here in the SW Indiana area. The crappie eggs are not ripe yet. They are getting closer though.

Water temps at the surface in 8 ft of water are around 76 deg F two days ago. I didn't get out the last two days. But it's been in the 80's the last two days and not getting that cold at night.

The dogwood are blooming down here in the Evansville, IN area. They have been in bloom for the last half week.

If the bass are in the shallows that does not mean that they are spawning . They do come shallow to soak up this warm water and to feed on the shad and other fish that are in the shallows. There is a lot more food in the shallow waters this time of the year when it's so warm.

Remember that each body of water will warm up slower of faster depending on the amount of water in the lake. Some of the pits down here at Bluegrass are small in acres but very deep and have a lot of water in them. They may take longer to warm up because they can be as deep as 55 ft . And the deep water areas can take up almost 40% of the lakes total area. That's a lot of water to warm up vs a small 2 acre pond that's only about 10 ft deep.

I believe most bass fisheries biologists would contradict you in that water temperature is the number one factor of bass spawn behavior. Temperature controls everything bass do, and their nest sites are perfect examples of that. In the places I have fished, the crappie I have been catching have been done spawning for more than 2 weeks. And I highly doubt when I go fishing tomorrow, that I will see bass spawning still going on. By that I mean that most, where I fish, have probably spawned out.

And the dogwoods bloomed more than two weeks ago. I live on the east side and every dogwood in my area is done.

[JustinM]

I'll be at bluegrass tomorrow and let you know what I see. Oh and bluegrass is much much deeper than 55'. Two place are over 90'.