The Pre-Spawn Transition
Understanding Smallmouth Behavior
The pre-spawn cycle is a crucial period in the life of black bass species, including Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides), Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu), and Spotted Bass (Micropterus punctulatus).
This phase occurs before the actual spawning season and involves various behaviors and physiological changes. The timing for this can often be slightly different amongst the black bass family and especially Smallmouth. (Ely Outfitting Co. Photo Credit)
Differentiators can also be whether the Smallmouth are lake or river Smallmouth and the changing environments that often occur during the Spring in rivers compared to lake levels and temperatures.
Keeping an eye on your river overall transition from Winter to Spring is crucial in identifying where the Smallmouth will move to or “transition” and where they will set up to spawn. Smallmouth often times will not set up in same areas as they previously had spawned in river systems. Tagged Smallmouth have been known to move fifteen to twenty miles in river systems year over year.
Here's an overview (basic) of the pre-spawn cycle for black bass:
Timing:
Seasonal Timing:
The pre-spawn period typically occurs in late winter to early spring, depending on the geographic location and water temperature.
In warmer southern regions, it might start earlier, while in colder northern areas, it might be delayed.
Water Temperature:
Temperature Range:
The pre-spawn phase is triggered by rising water temperatures. Black bass species usually initiate pre-spawn movements when water temperatures range from approximately 45 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Largemouth Bass and Spotted Bass may start their pre-spawn movements at the lower end of this range, while Smallmouth Bass may be more active at the higher end.
Behavior and Movements:
Migration to Shallow Areas:
Black bass begin moving from their deeper wintering areas toward shallower, staging areas.
They often transition from deeper water to areas with structures like points, flats, and submerged vegetation, preparing for the eventual move to spawning grounds.
Feeding Intensity:
Black bass become more active and aggressive in feeding as they prepare for the energy-demanding spawning activities.
Anglers may notice an increase in the size and frequency of strikes during this period.
Staging Areas:
Black bass gather in staging areas, which are typically located between their deeper wintering spots and the actual spawning sites.
These staging areas provide suitable conditions for the bass to acclimate to the changing water temperatures and prepare for the spawn.
Preferred Structures and Cover:
Points and Ledges:
Bass often concentrate around points and underwater ledges during the pre-spawn.
These structures offer proximity to deeper water and serve as transitional zones between wintering and spawning areas.
Vegetation and Cover:
Submerged vegetation, such as hydrilla or milfoil, can attract pre-spawn bass, providing cover and attracting prey. Smallmouth may prefer rocky areas or below significant rock/boulder downstream acting as protection.
Fallen trees, brush piles, and other types of cover become focal points for bass during this phase.
Angling Strategies:
Lure Selection:
Use lures that imitate the bass's natural prey, such as crawfish, baitfish, or worms.
Crankbaits, jigs, jerkbaits, and soft plastics are popular choices during the pre-spawn.
Target Transitional Zones:
Focus on areas where bass transition from deeper to shallower water, such as points, drop-offs, and submerged structures.
Experiment with various depths until you find where the bass are holding.
Adjust to Water Temperature:
Monitor water temperatures and adjust your tactics based on the local conditions.
If the water is still relatively cold, slow presentations may be more effective, while warmer temperatures might trigger more aggressive strikes.
Understanding the pre-spawn cycle is valuable for anglers as it helps them anticipate the movements and behaviors of any black bass, increasing the chances of successful fishing during this critical phase.
So what about Smallmouth specifically?
Smallmouth Bass behavior and spawning habits can indeed vary based on whether they inhabit river systems or lakes. Additionally, regional differences in behavior, size, and length of Smallmouth Bass across North America can be influenced by environmental factors, habitat characteristics, and available food sources. Here's an overview of the distinctions:
River System Smallmouth Bass:
Spawning Behavior:
River-dwelling Smallmouth Bass often spawn in areas with current, selecting gravel or rocky substrates. (gravel, bedrock, sand)
Prefer shallower grounds in three to ten feet of water and often times closer to the shoreline in river systems that may have less current influences
The flowing water helps oxygenate the eggs, and the bass create nests in areas with moderate current. A female can lay some 2,000 to 15,000 eggs and males will often mate with several females even on a single nest.
Behavior:
River Smallmouth Bass may exhibit more nomadic behavior, moving throughout the river system in search of suitable feeding areas.
They may relate to various structures, such as boulders, logs, and changes in current.
Size and Length:
River Smallmouth Bass populations can exhibit variations in size and length based on the specific river system and its characteristics.
Factors such as food availability, water temperature, and habitat complexity can influence growth rates.
Lake Living Smallmouth Bass:
Spawning Behavior:
Smallmouth Bass in lakes typically spawn in shallow, rocky areas with less current compared to river systems. and even shallower creeks or feeders to the lake or tail outs in rivers below seams or pools.
They create nests in protected, shallow bays or on rocky points within the lake often times sandier areas are preferred.
Behavior:
Lake-dwelling Smallmouth Bass may establish home ranges in specific areas of the lake, relating to underwater structures like submerged humps, points, and drop-offs.
They may exhibit more territorial behavior, especially during the spawning season.
Size and Length:
Smallmouth Bass in lakes can attain larger sizes compared to their river counterparts.
Lakes often provide abundant forage, allowing for faster growth rates and larger individual fish.
Regional Differences:
Northern Regions:
Smallmouth Bass in northern regions, such as the Great Lakes and their tributaries, can reach substantial sizes.
Coldwater habitats may result in slower growth rates, but these environments can support healthy and robust Smallmouth populations.
Southern Regions:
In warmer southern regions, such as those in the southeastern United States, Smallmouth Bass may grow faster due to longer growing seasons and warmer water temperatures. Often times longer than Northern Smallies.
Southern river systems, like those in Georgia and Alabama, are home to the Shoal Bass, a closely related species with specific habitat preferences.
Understanding the regional differences in Smallmouth Bass behavior, spawning, and size helps anglers tailor their strategies especially those that are traveling during the Spring and fishing in events across the country targeting Smallies.
Males will transition first to the spawning areas and generate a nest in a circular pattern like a “broom” with their tails removing river composition to get to hardened bottom. This process can take anywhere from a few hours or more than a day depending upon the age of the male and the composition area where building the nest. This action signals that the spawn is about to commence as females will make their way to nests often times selecting nests that are proportionate to their size and shape. If you have ever seen this in action it could just as easily be called the “spawn run” as females jockey for preferred nests in the river.
Once the females move to the nests its time for the males to entice them to release eggs into the nest when the males will provide the milt to begin the process of fertilization. Of course this process takes place outside the females body and in the nest as bass are oviparous. The female will not drop her eggs all at once. In fact the process can take a lengthy amount of time given the age of the female and the number of eggs she is holding. (Bioweb.uwlax.edu- Photo Credit)
At this time the females will depart the nests leaving the males to defend the nests and the hardened eggs typically on the river bottom.
Many anglers confuse this period thinking its females on the nests but it is not. It is the males guarding and they will slap at baits but on or nearby nests often times not hooking up just out of annoyance.
Personally I avoid these males especially if visible during the spawn. They have a role to play in the future of the fishery. Once I locate the beds and there is clear guarding I look for for the females who have transitioned away from the nest to typically grass or rock nearby during the cycle.
Techniques that work well in the clear, rocky rivers of the northern states may differ from those effective in the warmer, more vegetated waters of the south. Regardless of the region, conservation practices and responsible angling are crucial to maintaining healthy Smallmouth Bass populations so be sure to retun catch and release bed fish taken as soon as possible to the water.
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