Life Of A Baby Bass - Smallmouth

 Ever wonder how these beautiful smallmouth bass we have up here turn into what they are?

According to Bass Resource smallmouth bass in northern waters mature later than southern waters. Males mature in 2-4 years, and females in 3-4 years. Spawning typically occurs in the spring at water temperatures around 55 degrees. Only 25% of mature male bass build nests yearly. Largemouth bass also typically produce more eggs than smallmouth bass. 

The female smallmouth can spawn 2-3 times as not all of the eggs will mature at the same time. This I think is very interesting. After the female lays the eggs, and they have been fertilized, the male stays with the "fry" aka baby bass. The eggs typically hatch within 4-6 days.

It has also been reported that some bass actually suck up some of their fry while they are protecting the nest. The fry will start eating zooplankton and various water fleas. Once fry is 12mm long, their mouths are developed enough to start eating minnows and shiner fry. 

All information came from Bass Recourses for this. I thought this was a very interesting chart to show how many eggs the average bass lays.