Spawning Temps

[thedeadsea]

I read an article once that had approximate water temps for game fish spawning by species. Does anyone have those figures or approximates for Vermilion?

I have watched male northerns in the weeds by our cabin in late April-early may and know suckers run early may but never thought of checking the temps.

Steve

[Casey Sunsdahl]

Not to sure on the exact temps but I believe the pike start spawning under the ice followed by the walleye then the suckers... should be able to find all the info on the DNR website.

[supermono]

found this.... http://lakeaccess.org/fish.html

[guideman]

Pike can spawn in water as cold as 38 degrees, Walleyes want it a bit warmer in the 42 to 48 degree range.

Bass and Muskie want it in the 50's, before they start to get active. Around 55 degrees, is the magic number for Muskies.

Smallies and largemouth bass like it in the 60 to 65 degree range, however they will spawn at cooler temps, if they have to.

The cooler the water temps are the lower numbers of eggs will develope into fry. Cold spring water temps can really have an adverse effect on how well the eggs develope and what percentage of the fry survives.

"Ace"

[pauljpollock]

On opening day of walleye season last year, with ice covering most of Big Bay, the water temps were 38 to 41 degrees in the areas I fished. Even in the tournament the second weekend, temps had only mitigated a few degrees. The 'eyes were still stacked in many spawning areas...

On muskie opener and through the first 10 days or so, I still saw females cruising with one or two males beside them. I didn't fish for them around their spawning areas at all...Instead I concentrated my efforts on open water trolling, until the water temps warmed and the fish recovered from spawning.

They'll get pike in the fish trap on the west end, as soon as the water starts to open up in the creek, while the rest of the lake is still locked up tight.

The spring of 2004 was unusually cold, and the conditions persisted well into the summer. It was a terrible year for walleye eggs and fry, and the result was a very poor year class.

It was also one of the most unusual years I've experienced for muskie as well.. The summer peak occurred a bit later than normal. We barely eclipsed 70 degrees for a week to 10 days during the summer, but the temps lingered in the 60's through September. We had a great 3 week night bite from late September until mid October, and then a good casting and trolling pattern that lasted until mid November.

Nothing unusual about the casting and trolling pattern, but that late September to mid October pattern was unreal that year! The cooler summer water temps were also easier on the fish than the super warm water temps of the next couple seasons.

The weather after the spawn is very important to a successful year class. If unusually cold conditions persist into the summer, it greatly hampers fry production. Even in years with early ice out, it's the weather that follows that's the biggest factor in spawning success.

Paul.

[thedeadsea]

Great info!