The bass are out, but I'm not seeing any panfish yet...

[atomic_dog]

I was out with my wife last weekend to my favorite warmwater lake. We weren't fly fishing, but trolling in our little boat with ultralight spinning rods.

I made it a point to check out all the spots where I know that the gills had spawning beds last year as well as some spots that had been full of crappie. Didn't see a single panfish anywhere on the lake all afternoon. We did see a fair amount of bass cruising the shallows, though, and some really nice ones at that.

We've been having some beautiful sunny weather lately so I figured the gills would be up on the beds by now. I'm not sure what temp the water was. What is the timing generally like for gills to become active and hit the shallows in relation to the bass? Maybe I'm just overanxious. Patience grasshopper, patience...

Oh, and my wife ended up catching a super fat 18 1/2 inch largemouth. I thought she had snagged the bottom as she couldn't move it off the bottom. I told her to tighten the drag and break it off and when she did the line started moving! Pretty exciting stuff on a little ultralight rod with 4 pound test line. Of course I got skunked...

[beadleech]

Most of the panfish [except crappie] seem to spawn at about 70-72 degrees in my neck of the woods. There are generally prespawn movements starting when the water goes over 60 degrees but the fish will move in and out to some set of signals that only they seem to see/hear.

Donald

[This message has been edited by beadleech (edited 04 May 2006).]

[cornmuse]

Bass spawn first, then bluegills. Bluegills will be found near bass beds, they feed on the eggs and fry when they can get away with it. In return the bass will feed on the gills post spawn when the gills are on the beds.

Crappies spawn at the same time or right before the bass. I'm not sure where you are, geographically, but the bass are just starting to get into the beds in Ohio now. Crappies are just now getting shallow. In two weeks it will be peak. Then two weeks after that - when the Day Lillies are in bloom - the bluegills will begin the spawn.

Joe C.

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[atomic_dog]

Excellent info, Cornmuse and beedleach.

In my haste to get back into bluegill fishing, I always seem to forget my frustration from the previoous spring in not catching the bluegills right away.

I've never really payed attention to the "order" of things like you mentioned. It's good to have an idea of what to expect. We went back into a very shallow cove with a muddy bottom and found 6 or 8 bass sitting in maybe a foot or so of water right up against the reeds together. I didn't see any beds, maybe they were getting ready to start all that?

Oh, and I'm in eastern Washington State. (The desert side, not the "evergreen side") Just in the last few weeks the daytime temps have been consistently above the mid-sixties. Last week it hit 80-something, and this week it's in the mid-seventies. Dunno what temp the water is, but I bought a thermometer yesterday to start tracking that.

[parrotheadcrb]

You should try those bluegills in 8-10 feet of water with a jig type fly under a strike indicator. We catch fish like that a lot before they hit the beds good.

[Thwack]

Try Googling for blue gill spawning temperature. I did that recently and came up with a variety of gov't (various states) and universites that were all over the map for what water temperature sawning starts at. It's either very regional or somebody's just making stuff up (none of them that I recall cited sources for their temperature claims).

I'm reading a book now on fishing for large bluegill and I believe it says they start spawning between 65 and 70 or 68 and 70. I can find the exact quote if you want.

Out here, the water temp at a big reservior close to work has water temp of 63 and the crappie are bedding. The bass are reportedly bedding (I haven't seen them but have read reports of them this week).

So the blue gill should be up soon too,

Thats weird, I catch tons of them no matter what time of year.

[Jim Hatch]

Hey Thwack,

I offer this for consideration. As air
temperatures warm and the water temps get up
into the lower 60's, our bluegills and red
eared sunfish get more active. As they
continue to warm, there comes a time when
the females start producing eggs. I have
no idea at what temperature that might be.
But as they continue to produce eggs and
swell with spawn, the temperatures may
continue to fluctuate. Generally speaking,
this bedding process and laying of eggs will
occur in very close proximity to the full
moon. Meanwhile, the temperatures may have
gone up or down within an acceptable range
that does not stop the process. I suspect
that ALL of the articles you refer to were
correct for the hatch being monitored.*G*
The spawning will not occur until the eggs
have developed to a certain stage, even if
the water warms more quickly. Warm regards,
Jim

[BobC]

I'm not sure that the spawn is on in SE PA as of yet, but I'm starting to see some craters on the bottom, and last weekend I caught a few real beauties on my little creek. A few were sight catches on a what the heck popper I tried at the last minute. Topwater action in April! Watching those dark shadows come up for the take is like seeing a giant sub just before it surfaces. Loved it - not sure about my heart! LOL
Good Fishing,
Bob

[Thwack]

Jim,

Your theory is a lot better than the articles that just claim a temperature range and don't cite any evidence to back it up. None indicate when it was studied, where, over how many years, etc.

I did dig the temperature range for blue gill out of that book...68 to 70. Pretty narrow range.

I see crappies on beds now and have been told bass are bedding as well. Blue gill tend to spawn shortly after bass, right? I'm hoping the next couple weeks produces some great fishing.

With all those new fry popping out soon, I need to tie some flies that look like them. I figure if we're matching the hatch I'd better have some freshly hatched panfish flies ready in the near future.