Confused about the spawn period..

Larry Douglas · Post by **Larry Douglas** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 4:59 am

I was out fishing Bear Creek, White and Disappointment sloughs yesterday. I can't say that it was a banner day, but have a question about spawn times.
While pitching Senkos, I caught numerous small bass in the 6-8 inch range. When were these young bass spawned? 3-4 months ago? Did a spawn occur in January or February?
Being the "expert" angler that I am (Har!), I can almost guarantee that I will catch one or more of these baby bass at ANY time of the year.
It doesn't seem reasonable to me that I would constantly catch these baby bass regardless of the time of year. I understand that it's possible, though not likely, that SOME bass may spawn throughout the year.
Just confused! Does this make sense?

Larry Douglas

Cooch · Post by **Cooch** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 5:07 am

No Larry, those 5-8" bass are last years crop, and it's not possible with the low water temps that we had back in January and February that any bass could have possibly spawned on the River.

Actually, We've all been catching those smaller fish the last year, it's a good sign that the fishery is very healthy. My guess is ya need to stop tossing Hot Dogs to all those juviniles and start chuckin some T-bones their way! HAR!

Cooch

Vince Borrego · Post by **Vince Borrego** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 6:46 am

Last night I went out for the evening bite with Ryan Nichols for some stripers and a few blacks. Senkos are definately easy to fish when your arms start to give out from throwing top water. At the first spot we both had a blow up, then Ryan landed a 24lb striper pictured here:

<A HREF="http://www.westernbass.com/dotcom/photo ... 1103.shtml" TARGET="_blank">http://www.westernbass.com/dotcom/photo ... 3.shtml</A>

Usually we let every one of these stripers go especially a big hen full of eggs, however this fish ended up getting cut in the gills and bleed to death so I took the fish home. Sure enough when I was cleaning the fish in it's stomache I found a whole 10" largemouth that looks like it was recently ingested.

Hooo Wee! Looks like it's time to get yer top water out buddy and the monster fish on the delta are definately eating those cookie cutter bass that spawned last year. Now I know why you were chompin' a the bit to hear where everyone is catching those 6"-10" fish on senkos.

If anyone on the forums is sick of catching those 6"-10" baby bass on senkos please, oh please post the GPS coordinates of where you were at! Har!

All I can say is that my trip with Ryan last night has definately opened my eyes to what the bigger fish are doing on the delta and I've realized that when I thought I was going big I realized that I'm not going big enough! Time for a drastic gear change as 15lb and 20lb Yo-Zuri may not be big enough to catch stripers and largemouth this size. May is going to be so fun out here on the delta this year I just can't wait.

Vince Borrego
<A HREF="mailto:vince@theblankslate.com">vince@theblankslate.com</A>

Pic of Ryan's 24lb Striper

sdesign · Post by **sdesign** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 7:24 am

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 8:31 am

Not to argue with Cooch, I agree those bass were spawned last year, but I wouldn't doubt that some of them (especially the smaller ones) were spawned in the fall..A fall spawned bass should be about 4 to 7 inches by now, depending on the food level where they were..Last springs spawn should be anywhere from 6 to 11 inches, once again dependent on food..It is possible the ones you caught were from the spring spawn, but I wouldn't rule out a later in the year spawn at all..

mac

Birch · Post by **Birch** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 8:37 am

> > I once caught a 9# Blackie in the Break on a frog. While removing the hook I noticed a rather large tail protruding from the throat of the fish. I grabbed the pliers and pulled hard (pec fins were extended) and found a baby catfish. After releasing the bass, I measured the catfish at 10 inches! An eye opener for sure. The surprising thing was that this fish attacked the frog. I supposed it may have been on a nest, but it was mid summer and had no signs of spawning.
Or perhaps was just hungry, as the catfish was in the throat. Nice Striper Ryan, see ya on Sunday.
Mike

Eric Thoss · Post by **Eric Thoss** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 1:35 pm

That just goes to show you the power of a reaction bite. Sometimes Bass just stike because they can.. it just part of their makeup. They don't have to be actively feeding to hit a reaction bait.

Eric