UTERLargemouth bass spawn in spring, once shallow water holds above about 60°F, and most bedding happens with the water between the low 60s and the low 70s. That puts the spawn in February in Florida, March and April across the Deep South, April and May in the mid-South and California, May in the border states, and June in the North.
The calendar is only a starting point. The thermometer decides. The table below is the state-by-state timing Fish Scouter's freshwater forecast uses, and the sections after it explain how to read the water on your own lake.
Bass spawn water temperature
The spawn has three phases, and water temperature moves bass through each one.
| Phase | Water temperature (rough) | Where the fish are |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-spawn | Low to upper 50s °F | Staging on secondary points, creek channel bends, the first breaks outside spawning flats. Big females feed hard. |
| Spawn | About 60°F and up, mostly low 60s to low 70s | Nests in 1 to 4 feet on firm bottom in protected coves, pockets and grass. Males fan the nest and guard it. |
| Post-spawn | Upper 60s to 70s | Females drop back to the first points and grass edges to recover. Males guard the fry for a while. The shad spawn often follows. |
The Southern Regional Aquaculture Center fact sheet on largemouth biology says males pick nest sites after the water stabilizes above 60°F and that bass normally spawn at 65 to 75°F in 1 to 4 feet of water near shore. A cold front that drops the water back below 60 can push males off the nest for a few days.
Measure in the right place
The main-lake temperature on your graph isn't the number that matters. A shallow, dark-bottomed pocket on the north shore, out of the wind and in full sun, can run several degrees warmer than the main lake on a spring afternoon. Fish move up there first. When the main lake reads 56°F, check the backs of the protected coves before you write off the spawn.
Largemouth spawn timing by state
From Fish Scouter's freshwater calendars. "Spawn" is the months our calendar marks as bedding. "Best pre-spawn" is the month or two before it, usually the best shot at a heavy fish.
| States | Best pre-spawn | Spawn |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | December (South FL) – January | February – March |
| Hawaii (Lake Wilson, Kauai reservoirs) | January | February – March |
| Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Arizona | February | March – April |
| Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, New Mexico, California | March | April – May |
| Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri, Kansas, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Nevada | April | May |
| Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah | May | June |
| Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine | May (ice-out bays) | June |
Within a band, the south end of a state and lower-elevation lakes run earlier than the north end and mountain lakes. A spawn in north Georgia can be two or three weeks behind one at Lake Seminole.
State notes from the calendar
Florida
Florida's spawn starts first and lasts longest. In January, pre-spawn giants sit on the outside grass edges of Okeechobee and the Kissimmee Chain, and a wild shiner under a cork is the classic way to catch one. In February they're on the beds in the reeds and the hydrilla pockets, and the full moon brings a new wave in. March is the last wave in North Florida while South Florida fish are already post-spawn on the grass edges. In South Florida, pre-spawn can start in December on any warm spell. Florida largemouth by month.
Texas and the Deep South
In Texas, February is pre-spawn on Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend and Fork, with big females staging on creek channel bends and lipless crankbaits over grass. March is the main sight-fishing month in the backs of the pockets. In April, late spawners and post-spawn fish sit on the first points, and topwater at dawn works. Alabama's Guntersville grass and the Eufaula pockets are in full swing in March, and the shad-spawn bite on the riprap at Guntersville and Wheeler follows in April. In Georgia, Seminole and Eufaula bass are on the beds in the grass in March. See Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina.
Mid-South and California
Tennessee's Chickamauga and Kentucky Lake fish are pre-spawn on the secondary points in March, best on a jerkbait or crankbait. They're on the beds in the pockets in April. Oklahoma's Grand, Eufaula and Broken Bow fish stage on chunk-rock banks in March and bed in the protected coves in April. In California, Clear Lake and Delta big females stage in February, Clear Lake and Castaic fish are on the beds in March, and Delta bass spawn on the tules in April. See Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, North Carolina, California and Arizona.
Border states
Kentucky Lake and Barkley fish are pre-spawn on the pea-gravel banks in April and on the beds in the bays in May, before the summer ledge bite starts in June. On Missouri's Table Rock and Truman, April means jerkbaits on windblown points, and May means beds in the pockets and in Truman's flooded timber. The tidal Potomac and Susquehanna Flats spawn in May. See Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia and Maryland.
The North
In New York, bass are pre-spawn in the bays in May and on the beds in June on Champlain and the St. Lawrence bays. Bass season opens later in the spring there. Michigan's inland lakes and Lake St. Clair's bays spawn in June, and early season is catch-and-release. Wisconsin's Madison Chain and northern bays spawn in June. In Minnesota, the ice-out bays warm first, and the shallow bays of the Brainerd lakes have fish on beds in June. Season and catch-and-release rules vary. See New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Smallmouth and spotted bass spawn a little differently
If your lake has more than one black bass, they won't all spawn on the same day.
- Smallmouth spawn at about the same temperature as largemouth or slightly cooler. Michigan DNR and SCDNR both put the start at about 60°F. They nest on gravel and rock, often deeper than largemouth and in clearer water. In our calendar, smallmouth bed in April in Tennessee and Alabama (Dale Hollow, Pickwick), in May in the Ozark rivers and the New and James, and in June across the North and the Great Lakes. Lake Erie's smallmouth bed on the rock in June. Smallmouth bass by region.
- Spotted bass bed on clay points and rocky banks, often deeper than largemouth. Our calendar has them spawning in March and April in Georgia and Alabama (Lanier, Allatoona, the Coosa chain), and in April and May from Tennessee and the Carolinas to Kentucky and in California's Oroville and New Melones. Spotted bass by region.
Not sure which bass you've got? See our largemouth vs smallmouth vs spotted bass ID guide.
How to fish each phase
Pre-spawn
This is when the biggest fish of the year get caught. Fish stage on the last deep structure before the spawning flats: secondary points, channel swings and the outside edge of the grass. Slow-moving baits work in cold water: a suspending jerkbait, a lipless crankbait ripped out of grass, a jig dragged on rock. Fish the warmest afternoons after two or three stable days.
Spawn
Look for light-colored, cleared patches on firm bottom in protected water. Wear polarized glasses and move quietly. A soft plastic, creature bait or tube dropped in the bed and left still will often get a guarding male to pick it up and move it. Play and release spawners quickly near the bed. A male taken off a nest for long leaves the eggs open to bluegill and other predators.
Post-spawn
Females are tired and drift back to the first drop. Males stay shallow guarding fry. Early-morning topwater, a swimbait along the first grass line and, where shad spawn on the riprap at dawn, a spinnerbait thrown along the rocks.
Bass spawn regulations
Most southern states keep bass open through the spawn. Several northern states run a closed or catch-and-release-only season while bass are on the beds, and the dates change. Check your state's current rules before you fish beds: for example FWC in Florida, TPWD in Texas, NYSDEC in New York, Michigan DNR and Minnesota DNR.
Know when the bass are moving up on your lake
Fish Scouter scores largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass for lakes, rivers and reservoirs in all 50 states. It uses the season stage, water temperature, river flow where USGS reports it, and the pressure trend, so you can see when your water is in pre-spawn, on the beds or post-spawn. Try Fish Scouter free this spring.