SEASONAL CHANGES

Spawning

Smallmouth bass are usually late spring spawners, depending on the geography of the area. Nest building and other spawning-related behavior start when water temperatures rise to between 55° F. (13° C) and 68° F. (20° C). The actual deposit and fertilization of eggs most often occur at temperatures in the low 60s (16 to 18° C). In most of its range the smallmouth can be expected to be on the beds for a period of several weeks between May and early June.

Males build nests usually in shallow water, three to eight feet deep. The nests, from one foot to six feet in diameter, are constructed in areas with sand or fine gravel bottom composition and sometimes in areas with larger broken rock or even light vegetation. Once the nest is constructed, usually near cover such as boulders, submerged wood, or vegetation, pre-spawning courtship behavior and fertilization take place. After spawning, the female leaves the nest to the male who remains to guard it and the fingerlings. Males are extremely aggressive during this period and will attack almost any lure close to a nest.

Spawning smallmouths and nest-guarding males are very easy to catch and the spawning sites are easy to locate. Wise anglers, though, avoid fishing for smallies at this time since they're very much aware of the need for the species to reproduce naturally and maintain stocks. Taking a male bass off a nest would almost certainly result in failure of the hatch or total predation of the young by other fish. Local angling laws cannot adequately protect these fish so angling ethics and the honor system are the only chance for entire populations to survive.

You may be even more wary of fishing during this period when you realize that 40 percent of nests from a given population may fail because of sudden changes in water temperature or level, and that most nests will see only 25 percent of the fry hatch. The fry that do make it to two to four inches in length after their first summer need to contend with the extreme stress and hard conditions of winter. A host of other factors can shorten their lifespan: predation, disease, parasites, and, of course, angling.

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