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Originally Posted By: ewest
Here is a question for all. For those far enough south for your fish to have started spawning. What effect did the cold snap have. Did the fish go off the beds , were fry hatched yet , did you lose your plankton bloom (water get real clear)?

It may seem a small matter but one of the biggest factors faced by owners is the status of the annual hatch. A missed or very small year class can have huge effects on you pond. If fry were hatched just before a several day cold snap they can be lost. See what you can see and report back.


ewest -

We had a couple weeks of mid-60s and low 70s temperatures. The LMB have been in the shallows during that time. Just last Saturday even with temperatures "dropping into the low 50s" I sat and watched pairs of LMB spawning along the shore. I watched one pair for 40 minutes, dragging lure after lure beside their nest and above them (sans hooks) just to see if they had any response and their response was "leave us be". No interest not even to get the lure away from their area.

All of this water has high clarity. Gin clear. Probably 6 different ponds we've been fishing. It is dress in camo, sneak down to some point along the shore where there are no fish, and cast parallel to the bank to where there might be fish.

We just had the bottom fall out and the past couple of nights the temps dipped into high 20s and low 30s. But today we saw some bass still along the shore, feeding on bluegill fry. Most of the LMBs are finishing up their fun in the BOWs we fish.

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Good info ! Try to watch for LMB fry in a week to 10 days. Also can you check to see if males are guarding nests with fry same time period .
















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Eric, no conclusions, but just a few observations since I first noticed my LMB on the beds.

The LMB that were spawning on the dam, did seem to abandon the beds within a few days, and hopefully for my particular pond, the spawning cycle was interrupted by the cold. No LMB ever returned to those same beds after the cold snap.

My water did clear slightly, and the next batch of pre-spawn LMB were in deeper water, and farther from the bank. Often as much as 40-50' depending on the bottom terrain.

All the males but three still had rigid bellies, and the other three were actively producing milt. One was a large male, so he went back in.

I took out 2 pairs that were caught in the exact same spot, and both females were still producing eggs, and had semi-soft bellies. In both cases, the males were much smaller.

I've caught no females that have completely dropped their eggs. As I continue to pull out males, I should see at least a few that took over the beds, or are feeding, but none so far.

4 days ago we started seeing wolfpacks of LMB cruising the banks. My visual guesstimate is that these LMB were in the 2#-5# range. I've only seen this when my fish are aggressively feeding.


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A question I've been pondering... Is it possible that LMB (or any annually spawning fish for that matter) will skip spawning for a year because weather or some other environment condition created unwelcome conditions?


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Yes sometimes but not very often conditions will result in the fish moving away from spawning and the female will reabsorb the eggs. It may not be a whole sale event and some fish will do so and others not. Many things can effect year class status and that is one. Weather is often a major factor.
















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Thanks, EW


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AL

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SWEET!!!!!


That is a great picture, Al!



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2 weeks old ?
















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Yes Sir. Looks like some of the LMB I saw on the beds around the 11th, did spawn.

Last edited by FireIsHot; 03/24/17 02:27 PM.

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Awesome pic! Did you happen to notice whether the male was near by guarding them?


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Bill, we electroshocked the big pond yesterday, and these were in the shoreline weeds by themselves. They came out when I walked through the weeds. We did shock up females that were pre/post, and actively spawning. Ewest mentioned rolling spawns in a previous post, and that's what's happening here at our place.


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Al, Thanks for posting your lmb fry pics. Now, I am walking around the pond every day looking for the same. I have decided there might be something wrong with me, Looking for lmb fry that small makes me wonder sometimes about my mental state smile In my discussion with Walt @ Overtons, He say's too look for golden colored fry and in doing so, all I see is FHM's and Gams. My fatheads come from my sediment pond when it rains it drains into the big pond. I try to make them look golden but tan colored is all I can come up with lol. if I get a spawn, it will be a first for me. We did a survey March 6th and one male had a real bloody tail but none of the other males had that bloody tail look. Rolling spawn, Maybe.


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New nesting pair showed up the day before yesterday. Single LMB still on the bed this AM.

We got the big pond electroshocked last Thursday, and we had one female LMB that was still full, or near full, of eggs. Most had already spawned.


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I have yet to see an lmb bed at the pond in two seasons. Most likely due to steep banks and the fertile water and low lmb numbers. Plans are to run a 40 foot sein in mid May and look for lmb recruitment. Lots of cnbg in the pond might make it tough for lmb fingerling survival. Well see what things look like by June first and then make adjustments if needed. Glad to see things are looking good at your place and hoping some of those Lonestar Legacy lmb are making whoopy for ya.


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Quote:
I sat and watched pairs of LMB spawning along the shore. I watched one pair for 40 minutes, dragging lure after lure beside their nest and above them (sans hooks) just to see if they had any response and their response was "leave us be". No interest not even to get the lure away from their area.


Yesterday I saw a huge fin in the shallows. Upon closer inspection it was a very large bass with its tail breaking the surface. As I got closer I could see other fish wakes leaving the area but the big one stayed in place. I threw three different lures at them but they were ignored.

My CNBG feeding is very slow right now. I wonder if they To are away from the dock spawning.

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Tbar did you get a lot of rain and muddy up your water? Right after that 3 1/2 in rain we had my water muddys to about 12 inch visibility and the cnbg feed slows way down for a couple of days. I have noticed this several times on my pond.


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Originally Posted By: Flame
Tbar did you get a lot of rain and muddy up your water? Right after that 3 1/2 in rain we had my water muddys to about 12 inch visibility and the cnbg feed slows way down for a couple of days. I have noticed this several times on my pond.


No. We have had only had two 1/2" rains out here recently.

I am getting a bloom right now though that has visibility reduced.

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I had a red ear, slider turtle spawn smile Yep, I have seen several small 1/2 dollar sized or smaller turtles in the pond. A couple sized not much bigger than a quarter. I wonder where the turtles eggs were? And I have missed out on the past rain events lately. Radar showed two inch rain, but the ground around the pond showed little to no rain, and that sucks because the pond is still low due to the lack of rain since last June. Seamed like most of E Texas has had rain but not so much for me. The water well has helped out a lot this past yr.


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I have seen those red ear slider turtles laying eggs probably 50-75 feet from a water source. We have baby red ears every year in our ponds, and the small two ponds without any LMB in them they survive well.

I've not seen where the females lay their eggs that get in our ponds. But I have seen more than once females laying their eggs not far from water near small seasonal creeks. So they must lay the eggs close enough to water so the turtle hatchlings can make their way to the water once born.

I observed one about 9" red ear slider digging out a hole with her hind legs and the hole was very moist, almost muddy. I think she was supplying the moisture but can't swear to it. I assume she then deposits the eggs in the hole and covers it up to let them hatch and the baby turtles fend for themselves and crawl to the water source. That is the way large ocean turtles do on sandy beaches.

Last edited by snrub; 04/01/17 12:30 PM.

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