Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations bg eggs, too early?

i caught about 8-10 bg females and gave to my dad to eat. i was culling and let go what i thought were males that i caught that day. he cleaned them and said he didnt see any eggs. did i do a bad job at sexing or is it too early?

They may have eggs now but they are just developing and probably were not easily visible. As a general matter they start to really develop about 20 to 30 days after temp and photoperiod is good. By then its spawn time.

Speaking of spawn I think I read on here one time something about the full moon.

My question is what time is best during full moon, is there a small window of days that one should fish if so please let me know what it is so I can schedule with work.

Also what time of day is best during spawn?

It is still early but just trying to get a jump on things this year and plan ahead with my work schedule.

Thanks

The period runs from a couple days before the full moon through several days after (maybe as long as 10 days). There is also evidence of a secondary spawn around the new moon. It depends on location. In the deep south there can be spawning from March to Oct. while up north there can be one rolling spawn with highs and lows of activity. Our largest spawn is the second full moon after the water temps get to 70 F. Usually that is May. First spawn is often March or April depending on temps and when the full moon occurs during the mth. I have seen studies/reports that there can be anywhere from 11 spawns to 1.

Last year I saw spawning activity around the full moon in June, July and August. If you want to target male BG, take a couple days after the full moon. (providing weather conditions permit. They go off the beds if a severe cold front passes). If you want to try and catch gravid females, target slightly deeper water (2 to 4 foot deeper) outside of the spawning colony a few days before the full moon. Again, depending on weather conditions.

So almost 2 weeks worth of good fishing with say a 5 day excelent window.

I will make a note and try this in April and May to see if they hit this early here, and June, July should be prime.

Thanks