I have a friend of mine who is the president of the HOA of Forest Lake.  He said the lake would  be down until March 1st after I reminded him that the spawn will be coming soon.  I live in Columbia SC and would guess this small lake is about 200 acres.  He asked me to find out if waiting till March 1st to raise the lake would hurt the spawn.

 

The first picture shows you the lake and I was standing about where the spot is in this picture of the second photo.  Also, I drew in darker blue on the first picture where the water was left in the lake.

 

 

This is the second picture showing how little water is in the lake.  Every fish in the lake would be in the water you see.

 

How will this affect the spawn?  Thanks for help!!!

 

 

 

 

What is their reasoning behind leaving it so low?  I mean, if it's optional, why would they not want it bank full?  Out here where I live on the Colorado prairie, lakes are lowest in the fall because they are drawn down during the summer for agriculture, then fill during the spring snowmelt runoff from the mountains - how full they get is mostly determined by Mother Nature and the legal pecking order for water rights, not as often by community decisions. 

If the bass start to spawn and the water level raises 20', whatever eggs have been layer will be lost. Bass don't all spawn at the same time, it's usually about 3 waves spread over a few months.

This years recruitment class could lost if the incoming water is colder then the current lake water temps. The danger is the incoming water is more than 10 degrees colder or warmer then the current lake water temps the bass are conditioned to. Sudden fast termal Shock can  kill bass.

Tom

18 minutes ago, RPreeb said:

What is their reasoning behind leaving it so low?  I mean, if it's optional, why would they not want it bank full?  Out here where I live on the Colorado prairie, lakes are lowest in the fall because they are drawn down during the summer for agriculture, then fill during the spring snowmelt runoff from the mountains - how full they get is mostly determined by Mother Nature and the legal pecking order for water rights, not as often by community decisions. 

To repair docks.  Wish they would do this in the fall!

11 minutes ago, WRB said:

If the bass start to spawn and the water level raises 20', whatever eggs have been layer will be lost. Bass don't all spawn at the same time, it's usually about 3 waves spread over a few months.

This years recruitment class could lost if the incoming water is colder then the current lake water temps. The danger is the incoming water is more than 10 degrees colder or warmer then the current lake water temps the bass are conditioned to. Sudden fast termal Shock can  kill bass.

Tom

Thanks Tom and I'll send him this info.

The spawn water temps for bass is between 62 to 68 degrees as a reference.

With the lake low all the fish are compacted together including the prey fish species crowding the availble spawning sites with little to no cover to protect the beds from predators.

Take lots of photos and make notes on your lake map, ideal time to study the structure.

Tom

Honestly, this question can only be answered with opinions and not facts. To actually truly know the effects this would have on the spawn, you would have to lower the lake on March 1st for several years and sample fish populations before and after. 

On 2/11/2018 at 9:55 PM, TnRiver46 said:

Honestly, this question can only be answered with opinions and not facts. To actually truly know the effects this would have on the spawn, you would have to lower the lake on March 1st for several years and sample fish populations before and after. 

Exactly...