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In the last 2 days we caught over 100 gills/redear on the beds. Every fish caught was a male. Peeing when you hold them. Where are the females.? Spawn over or just starting.? Im thinking the males are getting the beds ready for the females to come in. Am I right.? What are your thoughts on this.?
Thanks
Spawn here in our lakes and streams,Full moon in may,full moon in june "Hot",Full moon in july,Finish up in August.My Two penny.
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that far north they may just be getting started ? I don't know , but the girls will be out in deeper water if the boys are up not far from them ...that's bout all I know
Thanks guys. I guess I will find out next Sat.
The males and females may have both been there I say. The males were just the protectors at that stage and they were attacking your bait or lure. I have been fishing some South of Route 13. Last time I went was May 23rd. The water temp was hitting 76 degrees in the afternoon. Most of the beds that I caught a lot of the larger ones on the previous two weeks had only a few left on them. I did catch some males and females. But the main part of the spawn for the larger gills has slowed for now. But....you have too look at this weather. We went from the 2nd coldest April on record in Illinois to what will probably be the hottest May on record. I mean on the 23rd it hit 85 degrees and the big thing is overnight lows have only been dropping into the high 60's. I have never seen that in my lifetime that I can remember. Not that many consecutive days of it.
Anyway....the conditions in Southern Illinois where so warm from about mid May on I think it sped things up. I wasn't paying much attention to the conditions North of there so not sure if your experiencing the same thing.
One thing I learned as a kid watching bedding fish in clear water. They don't always bite,they don't always both bite. There are good fishing days even when bed fishing. Some days those fish just sit there and will let a bait go right in there bed and they will swim away,come back and look at it but not touch it. Other days it even comes close they attack it viscously. So it's still fishing not always catching.
I think if they are loaded they are going to be spawning real soon. The ladies are wining & dining close by in deeper water. The amount of daylight affects the spawn also..
Spoken from The Giant Bream Whisper.[emoji1]Quote:
Originally Posted by LedHed
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I won’t argue that Jackie. He has studied them lots more than I have.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie53
The full moon deal may be the case one year and then another year it is not. Too many variables take place in bluegill spawning when the weather is not what is considered normal. Here in TN water temps in many lakes went up 15 degrees in a 7 day period. Many folks have missed the spawn. What will they do on this full moon.......who knows. We are expecting monsoon rains for the next 4 days or so and many of us will not be on the water. This is the 2nd year the weather conditions have not been what a normal spring brings and thus we are not having normal bluegill spawns. I’ve been chasing these fish a long time. I’ve read.....studied.....spent a lot of gas money traveling to different lakes to check how many spawns a year we have here in TN. The so called “experts” will tell you 2-3 a year and maybe 4. What they should tell you is maybe 2-4....and maybe only 1. I can tell you so far this year in the mid TN lakes it is not....so far.....what anyone would call a normal year.
Regards
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The ones I've been fishing have been spawning for about a month and week. They started making beds in a local lake right after the crappie moved out. I've caught a bunch of them, and can honestly say that 85-90% have been males. Most of the females I have caught were anywhere from 15-40 yards off the bank in 4-8 feet of water. No idea what the water temp is except very warm. The few females I did catch on the beds was only on one morning. They were doing the dance and breeding on the beds that morning. It was honestly one of the coolest things I have watched gills do. The females were just spinning in small circles while the males circled around the females on their sides, and spreading their seed. I've been fishing the same beds every day before work. (It's the best way to start your day.) Some times I keep them sometimes i don't, but I really don't think that the females spend much time on the beds at all. I'm pretty sure they are in and out in just a few hours, or maybe a day. Just my two cents on gills. Hope this helps!
If you are up north, then the males are probably in pre-spawn mode. You can judge by the water temperature. If it is near 70 degrees, then most likely, these are pre-spawn males establishing territory. If the water temperature is over 73 degrees, then these are probably post-spawn males protecting the nest and the fry after the females have bugged-out to deeper water.