“Can’t change the weather”, is how the old saying goes, and chances are no basser in his right mind would want to change the season we’ve had this year so far. Lots of fish have been spawning early, including the bass in many parts of the country. But just how early will the bass spawn?
While it varies from location to location, there are a couple key factors involved in the process. Water temp is one important factor that triggers the spawn, and it usually has to be stable and warming into the low 60’s to trigger a wave. Another that frequently gets overlooked, and that arguably plays at least as important role if not more so, is the length of days and nights. So while water temps certainly exceeded the necessary threshold for spawning in many areas this spring, it was still very early, and the days were still really short. It’s very similar to a gardener who wants to force early flowering bulbs or plants indoors; he has to control both temperature and length of daylight/darkness in order to do so. So the earliest spawners went earlier than normal in many places, but probably just 2-3 weeks early in most cases.
Here’s a sampling of news about the bass spawn from various parts of the country:
- West Virginia; “Usually May is the predominant month for spawning in West Virginia waters–but it’s possible the activity will start this year during mid to late April.  Walker says it includes all species, not just bass.”
- Tennessee;Â “Lowery said the warm winter, the warmest in the Shoals since weather record keeping began in 1893, allowed fish to continue to eat and gain weight during months their metabolism normally slows. The warm weather also caused them to begin spawning early this year.”
- Arizona; “There was some early nest building during the first week of April which happens only occasionally, but the actual spawn will occur during the coming week.”
- Alabama; “The shad spawn usually starts as soon as the bass spawn ends,” says Gerry. “The bass spawned early this year, and so are the shad.”
So what have you guys been seeing in your part of the country? How early did the bass go on beds this year compared to normal on your home lake, or if they haven’t yet, do you expect them to this year?
Avidbasser
April 23, 2012 at 8:56 am
Everything has been pushed up 3-4 weeks here in N. OK, with huge swarms of fry everywhere I have fished the last week. Normally, they are just moving up to get it done right now in this region. By far the earliest spawn I have seen. If water temp alone was the deciding factor, they could have got it done 6+ weeks earlier than normal but obviously they weren’t prepared for it yet.
Joe
April 23, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Spawn in MD started beginning of April (end of March even) this year due to basically no winter this year. It has been awesome
BryanT
April 23, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Also up north since the growing season is much shorter, egg maturity plays another big role in the spawn. Photo period is huge as mentioned. Even though some small ponds have had beds, the actual spawn itself in WI look sot about par with every other year. Maybe 1-2 weeks early on stained shallow bodies of water.
Boar Hog
April 24, 2012 at 9:38 am
Here in Florida the major part of the spawn may have happened a couple of weeks early, but it’s hard to tell here. The fish were spawning in earnest on Okeechobee starting last October and November, which isn’t at all unusual, and we’re still catching a few females stuffed full of eggs as we speak (and probably will for another couple of months). The only thing that makes me think it may have been a little bit early is that there were a number of big fish caught on Lake Kissimmee in December, which is usually the worst month for catching significant numbers of big fish. Usually the big fish don’t start showing up in numbers until January.
Jeremy
April 24, 2012 at 5:34 pm
The spawn seems to only be a couple weeks early in Alabama. The shad spawn is definitely on right now but it was this time last year also. Still some bass on bed right now but postspawners are being caught at the same time.
Alex Voog
April 24, 2012 at 11:53 pm
Here in the Chicago area on some lakes we had spawning a month ago in March when temps hit the high 70’s and even 85 one day. It depended on the lake, and water clarity, also a few have spawned since, even with the much cold temps and wicked north winds. I suspect (HOPING) we’ll get another big push on those lakes, as well as the normal spawn on the others, as it warms again. The water temps have varied wildly from lake to lake.