When I was on the lake about this time last year, I heard and then saw a large flock of whooping cranes making their way back north from their wintering grounds in Florida. This year I have already seen songbirds that left the area before the onset of winter beginning to show up again at my bird feeders.

We do not have anything similar to annual bird migrations going on in area lakes but fish migration or movement for spawning purposes does occur every spring on Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee. In cases of fish migration on those lakes, the extended daylight hours and warmer air temperatures have begun to slightly increase the water temperature that creates the trigger that indicates to the lakes’ fisheries that it is time to migrate to spawning areas.

We are currently in or about to be in the pre-spawn time period on area lakes. We are still a few weeks away from the first day of spring on March 20, but the fish do not operate their lives and their spawn based on the calendar. They like many of the world’s fish species react to changes or increases in the water temperature that signals that it is time to spawn.

As spring nears, the amount of daylight increases, the nighttime air temperatures begin to rise and those factors begin a gradual rise in the water temperature. That slight rise in water temperatures is noticed by the fish and is their signal that spring and the spawning cycle is approaching.

Water temperature is the greatest primary trigger that ushers in the migration of fish to spawning areas. Once a slight movement upward of the water temperature occurs, we enter into the pre-spawn period which can last for a few weeks or for several weeks all dependent on water temperature.

After a rainy and somewhat cold winter that has kept lake water cold and muddy we have begun to see air temperatures begin a slow rise and that will put in motion the changes required to alert the fish that spring is around the corner. Water temperatures have made a slight upward movement and if the mild weather continues we might have an early fish spawn.

What a difference a few mild days in succession can make. I am sure that winter is not ready to turn loose yet and the pre-spawn period will see-saw back and forth with some late season cold snaps and the fish migration to spawning locations will be slowed or even reversed by those cold snaps. That is why the actual timing of the spawn for any of the lakes’ species is difficult to predict. The spawn will likely occur over a period of several weeks.

Anglers do not have to wait for the spawn to occur to catch many of the fish species. Anglers just have to understand how water temperatures are impacting the movement of the fish. They can be caught in the pre-spawn period as they make back and forth movements toward their ultimate destiny, the area where they will spawn.

The old beliefs that anglers can await the dogwoods blooming to fish for crappie and that largemouth bass spawn at a specific water temperature have been disproven. The fish will spawn over a period of several weeks but more importantly the fish will bite in the pre-spawn period right on through the actual spawning period so you need to be on the water now.

Monitoring the water temperature closely will allow anglers to make judgments about where the various fish species can be located and help improve opportunities for angling success. Every fish species will spawn at approximately different times based on water temperature.

Fishery biologists indicate that largemouth bass spawn at 68-72 degrees, crappie spawn at 62-68, striped bass spawn at 59-65 degrees, hybrid bass spawn at 55-57 degrees, white bass spawn at 45-48 degrees and catfish spawn at 70-80 degrees. Those are only broad temperature averages for the various species actually spawning.

In this area, the white bass are the first to spawn and this normally begins in our area when the water temperature reaches the middle 50s. That should begin shortly as the white bass begin their move up the lakes’ tributaries to spawn.

All fish species in the lakes can actually spawn except for striped and hybrid bass. Those two species cannot spawn but they will still migrate up lake tributaries in a false attempt to spawn. It is time to keep an eye on water temperatures but don’t allow those readings to keep you off the lake because the fish are biting but they are on the move even though spawning is not yet occurring.

March thru May offers excellent fishing on Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee as the fish migrate to spawning areas, actually spawn and then move into the post-spawn period. Good fishing and see you next week.