I don’t believe that statement one bit. I’ve seen the Ice come off Strawberry earlier than the Canadian Lakes. AND DON’T SHOUT, I CAN HEAR YOU JUST FINE. You think you are going thru a cold time now, you don’t know what cold is like. I’ve fished lakes in Ontario for Lake Trout where the temp. got up to a balmy -22 for the day’s high.
Makes me wonder about all the info that seems to be cropping up on this thread as far as all the illegal planting of smallmouth spawners in Strawberry. If all this activity is taking place how come no one has been turned into the DWR, somebody evidently knows someone that knows somthing.[;)] You all have fun with this, I’m headed to Pelican.
http://www.ontariobassfishing.net/ontario-smallmouth-bass-biology.html
A couple of facts from Ontario smallmouth bass:
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“Waters that are excessively warm, 80’F. and over, or those which remain cool, below 60’F., are not well suited to bass.” How long does Strawberry stay above 60 degrees?
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“Temperature is a major factor in the successful reproduction of bass in May and June. According to Fry and Watt the strength of the year class is correlated directly with the accumulated temperature experience of the fish in their first summer.” If the temperature does not stay above 60 degrees, smallmouth bass do not stay active and put on weight…this puts young smallmouth at a disadvantage during the winter months.
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“A female bass, ten inches long, may produce 2,000 eggs; one 18 inches long may produce 10,000 eggs… The incubation period is three or four days at 70’F. and 10 to 12 days at 55’F.” Colder water temps keeps the eggs from hatching until later times and keeps young bass from growing and putting on weight.
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“Bass feed most actively when the temperature of the water is 65’F. to 70’F. They will be in the shallows at this temperature in the spring and will move progressively to deeper water in search of a preferred temperature. In winter, bass seek the warmest water, at the bottom of the lake; at this period, they are mostly inactive.”
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It is evident that something keeps water temps in these Ontario lakes warmer over the course of the year than Strawberry. Remember surface water temps are different than water temps throughout the water column.
Hi Tube Dude,
I think some of the answer to this equation on survival of smallmouths may be the altitude of the reservoir.
RC
[reply]I don’t believe that statement one bit. I’ve seen the Ice come off Strawberry earlier than the Canadian Lakes. AND DON’T SHOUT, I CAN HEAR YOU JUST FINE. You think you are going thru a cold time now, you don’t know what cold is like. I’ve fished lakes in Ontario for Lake Trout where the temp. got up to a balmy -22 for the day’s high.[/reply]
Please accept my apologies for yelling. I’ve seen and heard the comment about how cold the winters are up in the “Great White North” 'til I could puke. While you were fishing for lake trout in the balmy -22 air, the fish were enjoying temperatures that were at least 54 degrees warmer than you were experiencing. And if they were able to get deep enough, they could have been enjoying temperatures that were 61 degrees warmer. It doesn’t matter how cold the air gets up there. The water isn’t getting any colder than 32 degrees. Period. If the ice is 10 feet thick, the water under it is still water, and isn’t any colder than 32 degrees. And if a body of water is deep enough, there will be water that is 39.2 degrees at it’s deepest. And if a body of water is deep enough to have 39.2 degree water in the winter, it probably has water that is 39.2 degrees in the summer too.
It is a factor of time. The newly hatched smallmouth bass at Strawberry reservoir do not have enough time to get big eough to survive until the food chain gets up and running again in spring. Even if the ice starts a month earlier, and lasts a month longer up north, the altitude at Strawberry and the cold nights, and probably other factors, slow the food chain and delay the spawning at Strawberry. By getting a late spawn, the fry don’t have a chance to absorb their yolk sacs and put on enough weight to outlast the dormant food chain.
The smallmouths in Canada are in the “Shield Lakes”. They are about 1,200 to 1,400 feet above sea level. They are not at 7,600 feet in the Canadian Rockies.
Fishrmn