Largemouth Bass and Walleye/Pike - Busom Buddies, or Odd Couple?

[Ground Pounder]

Hey Gang,

I spend most of my bass-fishin' time in a 105-acre man-made inland resevoir lake in SE Michigan (see this thread for details). The lake has a very plentiful population of walleye and pike in addition to LM bass and various other species. The average lake depth is around 8', with various deep pools in the 10-15 foot range (see the construction bathymetry map of the lake below).

I have read that walleye and pike, naturally, tend to prefer cooler temperature waters than LM bass. So my question is this:

With the lake having somewhat tight, isolated deep water pools, would these species "bunk up" together in those areas during the hotter summer months when water temperature rises, or would one species be more prone to dominate these pools, forcing the other out?

Thanks,

GP.

[BassFeverJohn]

Originally Posted by Ground Pounder

Hey Gang,

I spend most of my bass-fishin' time in a 105-acre man-made inland resevoir lake in SE Michigan (see this thread for details). The lake has a very plentiful population of walleye and pike in addition to LM bass and various other species. The average lake depth is around 8', with various deep pools in the 10-15 foot range (see the construction bathymetry map of the lake below).

I have read that walleye and pike, naturally, tend to prefer cooler temperature waters than LM bass. So my question is this:

With the lake having somewhat tight, isolated deep water pools, would these species "bunk up" together in those areas during the hotter summer months when water temperature rises, or would one species be more prone to dominate these pools, forcing the other out?

Thanks,

GP.

That is a good question. I don't really know the answer, but from what I know of fish my guess is that fish of differing body types, LM and and pike will largely ignore one another unless the space is at a real premium, or the pike were hungry. Species that are very similar, like LM and SM are more likely to show, at least some, territorial aggression toward each other. Overall size plays a role too. The big fish are likely to dig in and keep the smaller ones out. Stress also plays a role. In an overcrowded situation the fish may simply be too stressed to react to each other. However, I doubt that would happen in this case.

That being said, 10-15 feet really is't very deep at all. 15' is getting closer to deep, so I would try those spots and see what comes up more than others. My guess is that the walleye will be the most attracted to these spots, but I have pretty limited knowledge on northern species. When I lived in Michigan, years ago, all I ever caught were LM... lol

[Cavs1123]

very well said John

[BigBassin144]

GP, the walleye will most likely stay in the deepest parts of the lake.

Pike, especially the abundant small ones in SE MI lakes, will most likely be around the bass. Since the pike and bass eat similar prey, they will hunt in similar areas.

BB

[Krtismo]

I've seen SM, Walleye, and Pike within feet of eachother hiding under structure in rivers. But I'm not sure if they would do that if they had more space.

[Ground Pounder]

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback.

My main concern was whether the walleye and pike presence would push the bass off of the deeper holes. If that was the case, I could spend less time in these areas and concentrate more on the heavy cover parts of the lake for bass.

But it looks like there's nothing to worry about, so off to the holes I go!

[bassinbob]

I don't think there would be a problmem. The main lake I fish is a flatland resivoir. I have found them both together shallow and deep.