A little run down...

Thursday - lost count at 20 fish.
Friday - 3 fish in one spot, bailed and went to another later in the day, 36 fish.
Sunday - Place I expected to clean up was barren, bailed. Next place, 33 fish.
Of course, missed fish were at least equal to those caught on all outings.

Fell short of my expectations, but I guess it's still not bad.

On Sunday I had to switch to YUM craws and drag the bottom. Real slow. Got most that way, they weren't chasing much.

Hey Ken-

What's your opinion of the spawn in the main river? Seems to me like they're moving up already. Water up and down between 60 and mid-60 lately.

Also, seems to suddenly be picking up mostly smaller males. I don't need to blame it on the spawn. I'm a big boy. Just curious.

-SB

Water warmed fast and we are right at the precipice of the "normal" time of the year for smallie spawning. Over the last 3 years I have bookmarked confirmed smallmouth spawning timeframes on the Fox between Yorkville and St. Chuck.

By moon phase. Why moonphase? Walleye go by moon phase not water temps. Ask the Native Americans. Possible other species do as well, but I know walleyes do.

May 3 through 17 in 2011 moon phase: 5th new moon of the lunar calendar.
May 21 through June 4 in 2012 moon phase: 5th new moon of the lunar calendar.
May 10 through 25 in 2013 moon phase: 5th new moon of the lunar calendar.

Go back in your archives and find posts of confirmed smallie spawning. They will fall in those windows.

At the place I used to go in Virginia, a state fish hatchery was attached to the property. The manager was a good friend that I fished with a lot.

As he said, you can say all you want about moon phases and whatever else you want. It's all temperature driven. Even walleye. The rest is just the mental gymnastics of bored fishermen not catching anything.

Look up the ideal spawning temps of the species of your choice and you have your answer.

I did the whole moon phase tracking thing a dozen years ago. By the time I was done I came to the conclusion that it didn't really matter. I'll qualify that by saying it didn't matter on the Fox. I have it all in old posts somewhere.

It can't be temperature driven.

Keep walleye under ice all year long and they will still spawn right around the 4th new moon, some early, some late.

Pike are the same way. They don't spawn at ice-out, they will spawn under the ice if they have to.


All animals spawn when their bodies tell them to. It's gestation time in some, egg development in others. You can't hold off child birth or egg laying to coincide with pleasurable temperatures. It happens when it happens regardless of what the environmental conditions are at the time.

In the regions that allow native American spearing, look at the time tables. In MN and WI, they set up the native Americans to have the period surrounding the 4th new moon. This wasn't by chance, and it isn't some arbitrary time period slotted by the Dept. of Natural Resources. The tribal councils negotiated these dates so they were guaranteed to find walleye up in the shallows spawning allowing for easy spearing. The temperatures have very little to do with when the fish spawn. Some years they are spearing around floating ice bergs, others they are out there in t-shirts and shorts spearing in the heat.

I could have proven this with largemouth and smallmouth bass at my barrel ponds if I had kept notes. The water in those ponds was consistently 10 to 40 degrees warmer than surrounding bodies of water. Those fish spawned at the same time as every other pond in the area.

Yea , what he said... I'll let you know what I figure out up North.. I expect to find fish getting up to shore but not spawning yet!! Time will tell.

Is there a boat ramp above the Yorkville dam yet?

You can't hold off child birth or egg laying to coincide with pleasurable temperatures.

One time at the hatchery I scooped into a tank full of just hatched walleye. I caught 10,000 at once. The tanks are completely monitored. Turn up the heat a degree or two and they spawn, turn it down and they stop.

It's a matter of degrees...

I believe the water was fluctuating between 57 and 62 degrees up North and when the water got to 62... The Bite died. On the river at 55 - 57 the fish were up by shore still full of eggs and from what I could tell feeding heavy. 5 casts..5 Fish . I only can guess that's what was going on.. Pre spawn --- Spawn-- Post Spawn.. The Doctor says if I don't stop drinking, I will go blind. i said " Doc I have seen Everything."