bass eggs

[hawkeye]

I caught a largemouth on Sept. 19th(no i was not in the dash) and it had a full egg sack. I thought the spawn was in late spring and was wondering if anyone else has seen this or has any answers to why this happens. I have been bass fishing a long time and never saw this before.

[GuidedBassTrips]

It is possible it never spawned this past spring. I firmly believe the egg carrying female is the decision maker for the future of the species. That is why changes in a lakes ecology are such a big deal. Males are going to make beds in the spring instinctively. But that doesn't mean the entire spawning cycle is completed. Same for seeing alot of walleyes in Rossie in April. It doesn't mean they were spawing successfully. Which is why stocking programs don't always work. The St. Lawrence River for instance doesn't seem to have the numbers of largemouth I remember it had 20 years ago. Either they quit spawning or the cormorants ate alot of the small ones. In either case....it is a result of a changing environment.

That bass you caught may have experienced some sort of "environmental stress" that prevented it from spawning. Like say alot of carp overwhelming the shallows. Or a fisherman catching it before the season.

Otherwise...I do believe the largemouth had a successful spawn this spring on Black Lake. I was seeing schools of juvenile largemouths this summer. Hopefully enough of them survive.

[Niagara-eyes]

Could be the bass never spawned, but I think it is already developing eggs for next season. I was at the lake last week and surface temps were 61-63.
We see this on Lake Erie smallmouth sometimes when we keep an injured or deeply hooked fish to eat. A female bass's ovaries start producing eggs soon after they have completed a spawn, but in northern strain bass they usually don't develop and ripen until the cold water/frozen water period in preparation for the spring spawn. Just another possibility.

[domanton]

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