Spawn Question

With the highs getting in the high 70's and 80's and the water temps starting to rise, will bass begin to spawn when the water temps get around 60 or will most wait until the next full moon? Have several trips planned coming up including Toledo this week and weekend and Caddo the next and was just wondering if there is a chance of any spawners, just trying to learn thanks for any input.

Water temps are near 60 out here on some lakes. Fish are cruising shallow too.

I bet they will start moving up with the warm days and sunlight we are finally having. If not, than I would focus on pre-spawn patterns

Already seen males on beds

I wish I could have fished yesterday or today. I saw water temps as high as 57 on Sunday. I hope we don't get another flood...or two more floods with the way the forecast looks now...between now and this weekend. The water around here might actually start to clear a little if we could go more than three days without cloudbursts.

Bite wise it is so close to busting wide open here its scary. Its literally an any minute now deal from what I see and from talking to some great guides and local guys out here that are struggling despite the great weather. No real explanations on why the bite is off. Its odd as we should be seeing more fish being caught. Not necessarily on beds but just better fishing overall. Quite frankly its tough right now.

Males were cruising really shallow, stained water with grass today. Biting on wacky ring fry type worms and small, shallow running crankbaits.

With all the rain predicted rest of this week and chances of rain this weekend and rain Monday, I don't think they'll start spawning until end of march or start of April, rain water will keep the water temps from raising and bite been tough due to the rising of lake water and the rising fluctuation of water has them scattered and more places to hide and hang out.

I was on Toledo Bend Thursday - Saturday. The bite out there was brutal. All of the creeks were very muddy. We found great hydrilla in 4 - 12 feet with clear water on the main lake very near spawning areas. We did not get a single bite in the clearer water. The only place we could buy a bite was in the muddy water near the backs of pockets/creeks. I think the rapid influx of new water into the lakes has shut them down. Once they get used to the new water, things should pick up.

We found water 62-63 yesterday. Can only imagine its notched up a few more today. About to go check.

Hard to sight fish and see beds in chocolate milk if that's the temps far up north and far backs of creeks,rain coming rest of the week get them more stirred up, if that's temp main lake and clear water game on

You are assuming all the creeks out here are chocolate milk. There is clear water in some good spawning areas right now where I have caught tons of bedfish from. They just are being finicky right now as conditions are about as good as they have been.

Even blind casting in stained and muddy water will get you bed fish at times. Right now the bite is tough for most including some that make a living out here.

I'm never glad to see that others are having a tough time, but it's a little comforting to know that I'm not the only one. We're muddy from one end of the lake to the other and I'm not catching anything much, even in areas that I have historically done very well by this time of year. Right now, I'm just tieing on the brightest, loudest thing I can find and occasionally running into a small one.

I like to fish slow with plastics and right now it disappears from sight 6" below the boat.

Water temp today on my trip at fork was 65-67 in certain places and there were fish on beds and a lot of males cruising! Not all the water os muddy at least on Fork!

Like Mark said it was a matter of a light switch clicking and it happen today!


Good luck hope this helps!

i was fishing our 12 acre pond this weekend and the water temp was 67 degrees but we caught some big females Sunday and they were all in the shallow water <1ft deep buried up on the bank with bloody tails

Did you guys catch any Zach?

Found water today at 61 on Broken Bow. Fish were really shallow in the back of creeks. water is stained because of all the rain we have had. Caught a lot of bass today on spinnerbait. Caught mostly male bass but the females should start showing up soon.

That's comforting. Yesterday was better for me. I caught three on the a trinity from the bank and they were hitting moving baits. Today I caught one small male on a jig. He was deep in some grass but that was it. No other bites at all. I thought, after yesterday, it was starting to happen. I'm excited for when it does.