Underwater Spawning Bass

Have you ever wondered what goes on underwater when bass are spawning?    Wouldn’t it be cool to witness one up close?  Well, on one of my recent outings, I was able capture a male and female bass in the act.  It’s something you must witness underwater to appreciate and I was able to get it all on video.

When do bass spawn?

You will notice that during certain times of the year, bass will be shallow.  They’ll hover almost stationary above the bottom.  These are bedding bass.  They are protecting their eggs or young.  Most of the time, these are the males that are guarding the nest.  Once in a while, you’ll see the bigger female and the smaller male along side one another.  But for the first time, I was able to capture a female and male in the process of a spawning ritual.

 

Bass will spawn in the spring time when the water temperature begins to warm up.  Depending on your geographic location, the ideal time to spawn is when the water temperature reaches 55 degrees.  Even before the water temperature reaches this, a male will make a nest in preparation for the female.  She will linger in deeper waters until it is ready to move up to the nests to lay her eggs.

The depth at which bass spawn varies from location to location.  A good indication is water clarity.  Clearer lakes have deeper sunlight penetration so bass will bed a little deeper and they tend to bed shallower when the water is murkier.

During The Spawn

This video was captured on the California Aqueduct.  Without a shallow level shoreline or natural terrain to form a nest, the bass have adapted to laying their eggs on the thin algae that grows along the concrete walls. At this location, about eight feet from the waters edge, a thick wall of vegetation forms along the canal.  This provides cover for the bass when it feels threatened.  It also acts as a barrier and shields the nest from predators that may consume the eggs or young.

 

While reviewing my footage, I noticed something that I wouldn’t have from watching above the water surface, they were doing  some sort of dancing ritual.  In the video below, you’ll see them do just that.  As the female tilts and deposits her eggs, the male will check and swim underneath her to the other side.  They’ll repeat this ritual over and over.  The male will sometimes shoo the female back into laying eggs on his nest.  If you look closely in the video, you’ll see that the female has already deposited some of her eggs on the algae.

Conclusion

So there you have it.  I think an underwater perspective gives us a better understanding of what goes on during a spawn.  It also gives us an appreciation for bass during a spawning ritual.

What do you think, did I capture some sort of spawning ritual?  Where have you seen this before?  Let me know in the comments below.