Has anyone from the Mid-West experiencing an early spawn on their home waters?

 

I finally got on the water yesterday looking for some pre-spawn action.  The surface temp. was 62, but  4ft. down it was still in the upper 50's.  To my surprise, a lot of males were already on beds.  With the clear water and light colored bottom here, it's normally the end of May and water temps. in the mid 60's before I start seeing that. The bigger females here are waiting to make their move, which is normal here. With the smaller fish spawning already, I figure they will be bedding on the next new moon which is only two weeks from now.  Lucky for me because the season just opened here.

I'm in Northern MI.  This season's spawn seems to be "normal" as far as timing & water temps are concerned.

 

And I've found the biggest fish are often the first ones up & moving.

 

So it has paid off to fish the when & where to intercept them.

 

A-Jay

I'm in Northern MI.  This season's spawn seems to be "normal" as far as timing & water temps are concerned.

 

And I've found the biggest fish are often the first ones up & moving.

 

So it has paid off to fish the when & where to intercept them.

 

A-Jay

Hey A-Jay.  When you say "normal", what does that mean for timing?  The reason I ask is that I'm traveling to northern WI in 2 weeks and I'm curious what I'll be dealing with as far as the spawn goes. Any insight would be appreciated.  Thanks.

Yes.

with the series of warm rain and sunshine/heat the next couple of days the fish and farmers are happy.

I have not seen fish on beds yet however, but for the mild spring we had coupled with the mild winter things may be a week or 2 early. 

Hey A-Jay.  When you say "normal", what does that mean for timing?  The reason I ask is that I'm traveling to northern WI in 2 weeks and I'm curious what I'll be dealing with as far as the spawn goes. Any insight would be appreciated.  Thanks.

 

Can't speak for what's happening in WI now and especially not in two weeks, but here both the smallmouth & largemouth are doing what they do pre-spawn in early May.

 

Smallies are thinking about getting busy but are still chasing & eating aggressively. 

 

 And the largemouth are still just chewing.

 

So although the depth & speed changes a bit here & there, it's all about horizontal presentations for me.

 

A-Jay

Fish are all over the beds in many waters here in central and southern IN. Considering this is the first week of May, everything is about right on time for the most part. They first tried about a week to 10 days ago, but a good cold snap knocked them back pretty quick. Nothing but upper 70s to low 80s the next week, so they're all over it now. Water 62-66 and warming quickly.

 

-T9

You know, I went fishing last weekend and I was very surprised to find a lot of bass sitting on beds. I live in northern indiana and can attest to the cold front we had. I actually had really great success on a shakey head rig. 

Most big water up here is only 40-50, but there are shallow ponds that are in the 60s and males are on beds. Haven't seen any actual spawning.

I am down here in South Carolina and a lot of Largemouths have spawned out and in a post spawn trend.  Water temp is Mid 60's in large lakes and mid 70's in ponds.

Has anyone from the Mid-West experiencing an early spawn on their home waters?

 

I finally got on the water yesterday looking for some pre-spawn action.  The surface temp. was 62, but  4ft. down it was still in the upper 50's.  To my surprise, a lot of males were already on beds.  With the clear water and light colored bottom here, it's normally the end of May and water temps. in the mid 60's before I start seeing that. The bigger females here are waiting to make their move, which is normal here. With the smaller fish spawning already, I figure they will be bedding on the next new moon which is only two weeks from now.  Lucky for me because the season just opened here.

Don't wait for any moons. Go! You're on! Also, large individuals tend to spawn first.