Good answer, Dwayne.

Joe
"Dwayne E. Cooper" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 27 Sep 2006 15:45:27 -0500, Chris Rennert
wrote:

From what I understand, and please someone correct me if I am
totally off base, but in regions where the water may never drop below 60
degrees spawning is based more on the length of daylight (and moon
phase) as opposed to just a certain water temp.

IMO, its a combination of factors and its hard to just pinpoint one or
two bc different things come into play. Here's 5 that I've seen come
into play and I could probably think or a couple mo

1. Length of daylight - I've just seen too many times when it just
seemed that the bass just couldn't wait any longer...even though the
water temperature seemed way too cold for a spawn (mid 50's).

2. Water temperature - When I was younger, I always thought
temperature was the biggest factor...but over the years..I don't know.
It just seems like one factor in the whole equation. During the
springtime, I usually look for shallower protected areas (small coves
or flats in coves) that warm up faster (often on the northwest side).
I'm really looking hard for areas that are receiving more sunlight and
is evidenced by more greenery. (for example, I'll often go into a
cove and look for the small areas on banks thats vegetation or trees
is more into bloom or greener.)

3. Moon phase - That extra amount of light that you get from a full
moon (or within a few days close to a full moon) "often" makes the
difference as to when fish move up to spawn. However, I've seen some
places where the spawn fell right on the new moon too. Thats probably
bc the body of water already had the right combination of daylight and
water temperature beforehand.

4. Water temperature variations - severe cold fronts often forces bass
to back away if the water temperature gets below the low 60s. 59
degrees in this situation is a killer and I'm often begging for the
water temp to get back to 64-65.

5. Water level variations - this is one factor that you don't hear too
much about. But over the years, it's been obvious to me that bass
will back away from shallower water when the water is pulled heavily
from a body of water. (especially Corps lakes). Thats the time when
you see bass doing weird things like spawning on stumps or in very
deep water...although I also think their is a major spawn loss during
these times too. (ie. Bass pull back and may not have enough eggs for
a 2nd attempt or eggs get too old)

Water clarity and whether it is a river/lake seem to come into play
too...

--
Dwayne E. Cooper, Atty at Law
Indianapolis, IN
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