Locating spawning Bays

[fiker]

Everything one reads about Spring Bass fishing seems to be related to the "spawning bays".  Rightfully so I'm sure. 
"Bass hold in deep water outside the bays waiting for the right conditions."
"spawning  occurs first along the north or north-west shallows in the spawning bays."

Which bays will be spawning bays.?  How do I find em?

I'm sure it has something to do with bottom content among other things.  When I dig deeper and find the old DNR maps on line, I can look up things like sand,  pulpy peat, and marl. 
      What type of bottom am I looking for for spawning bays?

[LennyB]

Gary Towns from the Michigan DNR was the guest speaker this past Tuesday at the Downriver Bass Association Bass Club ( www.downriverbassassociation.com ) and his topic of conversation was weed control, however, he did talk a lot about the early season catch and release and its effects on the bass population. They sent divers into 4 lakes in southeast Michigan (2 heavily fished public and 2 seldom fished private) to examine spawning beds. He had a slide presentation the showed the bed locations and the vast majority were located in the very, very backs of any small coves or pockets off the main lakes. Very few beds were located on the long straight banks of the main lake.

Up north were I bed fish for smallies alot, I have found this not to necessarily be the case however. With smallies alot of times I find them in clusters, they will bed in groups in small stretches along long banks that all looks the same. They will be in these same spots year after year. Hope this helps you out.

[Team houston]

I am curious, what did he say were the effects on the populations?

[LennyB]

The study is still underway. He said they towed divers all around the shoreline and Copsed bed locations and logged whether a bass was occupying it and then returned at a later date to see if the bed was abandoned. The report is not finished yet. He also said that weed poisoning definitely effects the fish food chain which in turn effects the number of fish the lake can support. He said that the DNR has 3 officers assigned to issuing permits and they issued about 2000 last season. He also said that if we don't want a lake poisoned to submit a request to protect a specific weed bed on a specific lake, for whatever reason, (maybe just because we like to fish it because it produces fish) and the officers will not issue any permits for that specific lake.

[mikesmiph]

Thats great information, thanks. I know a couple of my favorite weed beds that need to be protected.

[FOB]

     I've known Gary for many years.  He is a good guy and I am sure he had some very good information on weed killing and its effects on the bass.   The locations of Largeheads vs. smallies on bed preference is correct as well for the most part, as they will overlap.  This does lead to the problem on weed killing in canals.

     I have lived on a canal off of Portage Lake for 25 years now, and can say there is a severe effect from weed spraying on the largemouth population there.  I do not allow spraying on my property, so I have gone to other properties and compared before and after to the beds that were there.  There is an extreme difference.  They spray twice a year normally, the first before the opener ( normal spawn time ) and again in July.  This past year they did not have enough money, and could only spray in July.  I saw major improvement in successful beding and hatch rates this year vs. prior.  Even after all the " There will be so many weeds we will not be able to get out of the canal! " scare tactic by the Assc., no one had any problem, or had any issues from them.  Hopefully, they won't have enough money again, and the population will have 2 good spawns in a row.
     Sorry, I did not mean to hijack the thread Rick, but this always hits a nerve with me. 

[JL]

That is why in front of your house is the hot spot back there in the spring

[fiker]

Hot Spot?

Ralph..... EXACTLY where do you live?

lol

I also was at that meeting.  I was very impressed with what Gary had to say. 
In fact, I know he's a very busy guy, but I'm going to see if he will come to my High School to speak to my students re: invasive species.   His presentation struck a nerve with me, as to why I wasn't teaching about it already. 
You can be sure I will from now on.

Now, back to the original thread re: the location of spawning bays.......

[LennyB]

An example of the spawning bays would be the canals around Lake St. Clair. Just about anyone will have bedding Largemouth in mid May. Usually the best canals will have 2' to 4" foot of water with deeper water near the mouth. The lake level changes each year so you have to see which ones are best each year by fishing them. Also one side of the canal will generally be better than the other. The side that is getting the most sun light beating down on it will be were the beds are because that is what incubates the eggs. Generally the back halves are were the bulk of the spawning will take place. If you are on an inland lake, go to any canal or bay off the main lake and start looking  for beds along the banks in the most protected areas. Also poke the bottom with your rod or a stick (I use a bamboo tomato stake) to see if you are over muck. You want a hard bottom (sand, gravel, stumps, etc....).

Smallies are a bit different. An example would be Cass Lake in Oakland county. Their the smallies bed on the flats anywhere from the drop off to the bank on the main lake. They bed in little stretches (groups) all over the lake. You'll be going along a shoreline that all looks the same and then you'll see a bunch of beds for about a thirty yard stretch or so. You might go another 75 yards and see another group. To practice go there mid  to late May and idle around the drop off and look for them up shallow. They stand out like craters and fairly easy to spot.