Peacock bass starting to spawn

[Stan Wright]

Here it is the middle of March and the big peacock bass are paired up and hugging the shoreline... they are still skittish and hard to approach... but they are definatly trying to spawn.

[Crux52]

Thanks for the heads up. Any signs of the LMB spawn?

[SeaEagleKayaker]

Are we supposed to let them spawn and reproduce or try to catch them while they are bringing up their young?

[OO7:BASSINASSASSIN]

As far as any rules about catching them, there are none except for catching and releasing. Oh, and no snagging. For me, I do not want to bother them while they are producing the next generation. I feel if you target spawners, even if you return the fish to the nest, the next guy will see the same nest and catch them. After awhile the fish will not return to the nest. If a lot of people target spawning fish then that may disrupt a lot of nest but that's just me.

That being said, some spawning takes place year round but at this time of the year most of the adults are at some stage of spawning which leaves you with only the small ones. Therefore if you do not target the spawning fish you are better off trying for bass.

If you do target spawning fish, take only one of the nesting pair because there is a good chance the fish will return to the nest. If you catch both, predators will move in quickly and eat all the eggs. If there is only one fish on the nest, pass it by. The same goes for fishing fry balls. I think the fry are more likely to be eaten than the eggs because they are spread out more or might scatter when one of the adults if fighting the line.

[SeaEagleKayaker]

Thanks for the lesson.