Last year there were still plenty on beds in August here in Dallas. It really goes for several months....

Exactly. I've seen them spawn as late as Oct. here in East Texas...every full moon from about March through Sept. I can find them on spawning beds.

The red ear does spawn with the bluegill on the first wave in May. However in lakes with a good population they will spawn earlier if the conditions are right. The full moon in April has been my best month on Caddo but only if its been warm enough. Also they typically only spawn once a year unlike the Bluegill which will go each month in summer till fall. They are a different fish from the Bluegill. They tend to hang out deeper and have a different diet. Many folks claim their lakes have declining populations of red ear. This could be true since their reproduction is slower and most folks tend to keep the largest and too many fish when it comes to bream fishing. But in most cases you have to fish differently to find them. I do better on deep slow moving jigs with a creature type lure vs. live bait after the spawn.