Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Spawn timeframes 101

Can someone eplain to me the timeframes for a bass to spawn, i.e., how long to build a nest, how long will the female sit on the nest before laying the eggs, how long to hatch the eggs,
how long do the fry stay in the nest,
so on and so forth. I'm looking for bass spawn timeframes 101.
Thanks

LMB spawning 101. LMB become gravid and spawn in response to the combination of increasing day length and water temperatures. Nesting and spawning occur later in the year based on the distance north or latitude. Day length 'seems' to be a more important influence than water temperature.
In FL spawn times can vary from Jan to May; usu Mar-Apr. TX mid-Apr to May. OK late Apr,early May, OH May, So Ontario lateMay to early June and No. Ontario mid-Jun late-Jun sometimes into July. Variations occur.
Males spend 2 to 5 days to create the large shallow bowl shaped nest in 1'to 5' deep of water usu 2'-3' is common. Nests can be 1' deep into the sediment and 3' diameter. Nests are usu 25' to 30' apart and not in colonies as with sunfishes. Sometimes nests can be a little closer together than 25 ft. For spawning mean water temps usu need to stay at or slightly above 60 deg F for several days.

Spawning often occurs at dusk and males allow more than one female to lay eggs in the nest. Females are attracted to the nest by males. Only one female at a time, no gang spawning. Females only hang around the nest until spawning is completed "in her opinion". Females can have 2,000 to 109,000 eggs depending on her size & condition. Some females lay eggs in several nests.

After being laid, eggs absorb water and double in size & are sticky so they attach to bottom of the nest. Thus when the males fans, cleans and aerates them they do not get swept out of the nest. If a sudden drop in water temp occurs, eggs can die or the male may abandon the nest, then eggs are eaten by other fish or they die. Overabundant, aggressive sunfishes sometimes eat all the eggs before hatching in spite of the presence of a defending male bass.

Egg hatching time depends on water temperature. Hatching time ranges between 3 to 7 days and 6-7 days is common for hatching. At hatching fry are abt 3mm (1/8") long. Once hatched, fry remain in nest for 6 to 7 days while they grow and absorb the yolk sac and grow to a swim-up stage (fry or larvae).

At swim-up, larvae (fry) rise from the nest and begin feeding and schooling as a brood or swarm. Swim-up fry feed on phytoplankton & rotifers. They grow to become young larvae that feed on small crustaceans and small insect larvae. They are now 5mm to 6mm long(1/4"). The male guards the brood for as long as 31 days when the larvae are now about 1/2"-3/4" long. Larvae eat mostly crustacean zooplankton, insect larvae & 1/4"-3/8"fish fry.

As the larvae grow, the swarms are more frequently subjected to predation. As the school ages to 30 days the male will abandon the school allowing them to fend for themselves. Fingerling bass will sometimes remain in lose unguarded schools until they are 1" long or slightly longer. Individuals that begin eating fish first, grow the fastest and have a survival advantage even into later years. Some of the eaten fish are smaller brother and sister bass.

Very well written. WIth your permission I would like to print this out and hand it out occasionally when I get this same question. You did a better job than I have in the past at describing this process. Thanks for your time in posting, Greg

One question I have. You state:

What if there isn't any area that shallow other than right up literally within 2' of the bank? Will they make nests that close or just find the most shallow area available? I've got a good sized flat area that's 6-8' but nothing in the 2-3' range and I'm wondering where to look for spawning activity.

Good post buffalo bill.

Thanks Bill.
You say that females hang around the nest until spawning is complete but you didn't give a timeframe for how long they might hang around.
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My posts can be copied and distributed. However, never consider them the only correct answer. Lots of variations occur.

DaveR. - I am not a good expert on female bass loitering near spawning nests. I'm guessing females donot stay around the individual spawn site very long after spawning. The actual spawning in a nest has been reported to occur during several egg laying sessions that may take from 30 min to a couple hours. Spawning sessions are no doubt demanding and the spent or partially spent female retreats to security of deeper water to 'relax' possibly feed and regain some strength. Spawning is probably fairly stressful. As I said above females esp larger ones can spawn one or several more times over a couple week period in other nests. Number of spawns will depend primarily on how many eggs she is carrying. Sometimes remanent eggs are probably not laid; these get reabsorbed. Lots of variations can and do occur.

TopH20 - As is the case with almost all animals in nature, fish are quite adaptable. They will change their 'typical' behavior to survive or reproduce. People do the same. This is why I hesitate to put out numbers or use specific details in my posts. Readers assume the few details presented are gospel and cast in stone. It ALWAYS depends on the prevaling conditions.

To answer your question, LMB will spawn in many different depths than those most common spawning depths I mentioned above. Dr.Roy Heidinger (noted fish prof) has seen LMB nests in water 6" to 18 ft deep. There are other important features besides depth that cause a male bass to decide where to build the nest.

I am thinking about writing a lengthy feature story this year (May-Jun) or next for PBoss magazine about LMB spawning. There are a lot of details I left out of the above post. It will probably be next year since there are some grapics and pictures that are not ready.

I fished last weekend with a guy, Sam Taylor, that has caught 10 or more bass over 14 lbs. I asked him about if it is true that larger bass use beds in deeper water. He said he has not made that correlation, an d seen some huge females in beds right beside the bank in 2 foot water. Also he said all of the large bass he has seen or fished for were close to beds with thick wood cover very closeby.

Bill Cody, did you go to SIU as well? Dr. Heidinger was one of my professors there.

RobertB. No I did not attend SIU. Experts are widely known in their areas of expertise.

Greg. Structure is one feature bass use to choose a nesting site. Prime nesting locations are those with structure and the dominant fish get those. Structure provides some added security and increased hatching success of eggs.

Great post Cody! With posts like that, this site and my subscriptions to the Pond Boss magazine I'm actually learning how to do this.