From Pre-Spawn to Fry

cassidyta · 04-12-09, 04:40 PM

It has been an interesting spring for me as far as the spawn goes. I started fishing a small (2 acre) private pond at the end of last summer so this was my first spring there. I found it very interesting to watch the entire spawning process over the past month. I am sure this is old hat for a lot of you, but I figured I would pass it on anyways.

Around the first weekend of March I got to watch the males make their beds. I had seen males clearing areas in the past, but this was the first time that I watched the males move small pepples on to the beds.

I got to observe them guarding their beds from other males for the first week. Angrily pursuing any other males that came by. I did notice that there were times where a different male was on the bed prior to the spawn. I would have to think that this was a case where the original bass was run off of his own bed.

By the second week of March, I could start to see the females starting to gather in the deeper water of the pond. They would swim up and down the shore line very slowly. They began swirling at the top of the water when they were ready to lay their eggs. It was interesting to watch the males fighting for her attention. A couple of times I would see two males trying to guide her to their nest. They would aggressivly bump her and then each other in an attempt to be the dominant fish.

Following the spawn I learned that a caught male would immediatly swim first to the female before back to the nest. The only exception to this were males that I released without removing them from the water. In those cases, the female would swim to them.

This weekend was the first time that I saw the fry on the water. I had never really paid attention to how the males react to this "Cloud" of babies. The male would swim beneath the fry until they sensed a threat. After they ran off the other bass or bluegill, they would swim in a circle around the fry. They would herd them into a smaller mass. If there were one or two thay had strayed, the male would move behind it and blow it into the right direction.

I caught one of the guarding males by accident. (I did not notice the fry until I had hooked him). He immediately made a large circle of the fry, maybe 10 foot in diameter and then began herding his young again. The males moved the herd to the tullies and waited with their backs to the fry. It appears as though they only maintain this defensive stance for a day or so. I saw a male on guard yesterday, but today he was gone.

Basscrazie · 04-12-09, 04:50 PM

Thats a good read.Thanks

Bassboss · 04-12-09, 05:15 PM

Wow! Great read Cass! Thanks for taking the time to wright that! I've seen the males go heard the fry, it's very interesting to watch!

abu4600 · 04-12-09, 05:43 PM

Cass, I've watched the same thing on the lake i've been fishing too, but last weekend I noticed the bass feeding on the fry, they would hit the ball of fry so hard that fry would get pushed out of the water on to the bank and I could cast a worm to the spot and catch that bass. It was amazing to see the whole process of the bass spawn from building the bed to finally eating the fry. It is an amazing process for sure.

04-12-09, 04:40 PM	#1
cassidyta BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,928	From Pre-Spawn to Fry It has been an interesting spring for me as far as the spawn goes. I started fishing a small (2 acre) private pond at the end of last summer so this was my first spring there. I found it very interesting to watch the entire spawning process over the past month. I am sure this is old hat for a lot of you, but I figured I would pass it on anyways. Around the first weekend of March I got to watch the males make their beds. I had seen males clearing areas in the past, but this was the first time that I watched the males move small pepples on to the beds. I got to observe them guarding their beds from other males for the first week. Angrily pursuing any other males that came by. I did notice that there were times where a different male was on the bed prior to the spawn. I would have to think that this was a case where the original bass was run off of his own bed. By the second week of March, I could start to see the females starting to gather in the deeper water of the pond. They would swim up and down the shore line very slowly. They began swirling at the top of the water when they were ready to lay their eggs. It was interesting to watch the males fighting for her attention. A couple of times I would see two males trying to guide her to their nest. They would aggressivly bump her and then each other in an attempt to be the dominant fish. Following the spawn I learned that a caught male would immediatly swim first to the female before back to the nest. The only exception to this were males that I released without removing them from the water. In those cases, the female would swim to them. This weekend was the first time that I saw the fry on the water. I had never really paid attention to how the males react to this "Cloud" of babies. The male would swim beneath the fry until they sensed a threat. After they ran off the other bass or bluegill, they would swim in a circle around the fry. They would herd them into a smaller mass. If there were one or two thay had strayed, the male would move behind it and blow it into the right direction. I caught one of the guarding males by accident. (I did not notice the fry until I had hooked him). He immediately made a large circle of the fry, maybe 10 foot in diameter and then began herding his young again. The males moved the herd to the tullies and waited with their backs to the fry. It appears as though they only maintain this defensive stance for a day or so. I saw a male on guard yesterday, but today he was gone. __________________ If you have ever wondered if you should retie, the answer is yes.

04-12-09, 05:15 PM	#3
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	Wow! Great read Cass! Thanks for taking the time to wright that! I've seen the males go heard the fry, it's very interesting to watch! __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die.

04-12-09, 04:50 PM	#2
Basscrazie BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: magnolia,tx Posts: 398	Thats a good read.Thanks

04-12-09, 05:43 PM	#4
abu4600 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Brandon Mississippi Posts: 480	Cass, I've watched the same thing on the lake i've been fishing too, but last weekend I noticed the bass feeding on the fry, they would hit the ball of fry so hard that fry would get pushed out of the water on to the bank and I could cast a worm to the spot and catch that bass. It was amazing to see the whole process of the bass spawn from building the bed to finally eating the fry. It is an amazing process for sure.

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