TAKEOFF
BASS SCIENCE
THE SPAWN CONTINUUM
cliMate and otheR factoRs deteRMine the tiMinG and duRation of the spaWn
F
or most bass anglers, the spawn is thought of as a sin-
gle event, and it’s defined by what they experience on
their local waters. however, when the spawn starts
and how long it lasts vary greatly depending on where you
are in the country.
While studying spawning bass from florida to ontario,
dr. cory suski, associate professor of environmental biolo-
gy at the university of illinois, has seen these differences
firsthand on the water.
When it starts
22
duration of spawn
By TJ Maglio
“the length of day, weather patterns and water condi-
tions vary dramatically across the bass’s home range,” he
says. “it only makes sense that the spawn would also
change significantly as you travel through the bass’s range.”
suski’s research has provided valuable insight into how,
why and when bass spawn in different parts of the country.
figuring out where you are in that continuum can be step
one in understanding and using that knowledge to catch
more bass.
multiple spawns? parental care
in the far northern reaches
of bass country, the spawn
doesn’t kick off until mid-to-
late June, and you can occa-
sionally see fish locked on
beds well into July. in the north the growing
season is so short that when
conditions become favorable,
bass all head to the bank at
once. Suski has studied lakes
in ontario where the entire
bass spawn began and ended
in a single week. in the northern portions of
their range, bass are less likely
to spawn multiple times, opt-
ing instead for single, more
comprehensive spawning
events. the urge to launch the
next generation is so pressing
that it’s almost always a one-
time deal. if you have fished for bed-
ding bass both north and
south, you’ve probably noticed
that northern spawners are
easier to catch. this is often
credited to lack of pressure,
and there’s certainly truth to
that, but there’s also a biologi-
cal reason. northern bass pro-
tect their beds more vigorously
because they’re more reliant on
that single spawn to reproduce.
in the extreme southern
edge of the bass’s range,
places such as Florida and
south texas, spawning bass
are commonly detected as
early as december, because
the water temperatures in
those regions seldom drop
below 60 degrees. because water conditions
are favorable for egg incuba-
tion much of the winter, bass
in the South potentially can
spawn anytime from roughly
Christmas to St. patrick’s day.
this is why most places in the
South will see waves of spawn-
ers over a period of several
months. due to a longer spawning
season, Southern anglers are
also more likely to see “second
spawns” or multiple spawning
events from individual bass. a
female bass might enter a
nest, drop eggs, then leave
and return two weeks later if
she’s still carrying eggs and the
conditions become favorable
again. a big, mature female large-
mouth sitting on a bed down
south can be downright finicky.
From a biological perspective,
that’s because they are much
less invested in that particular
spawning event. the fish will
have other opportunities to
spawn.
FlWFIshInG.com I maY-june 2017