On friday I fished my local lake and saw no large bass.
Then on saturday morning I fished the same lake and found fish around 13 lbs,10 lbs,8 lbs,8lbs,6lbs within feet of the shoreline swiming in circles with a male bass. The females were obviously going to start spawning with the males. These hogs weren't there on friday so they must of came in friday night. They weren't really interested in hitting yet on saturday so I planned to come back on sunday morning when they may have been more aggresive.

Then on sunday morning they were nowhere to be seen.

What happened to these trophys? Did they come on the nest and spawn quickly and leave within a 1 day span? Could they have left the nest for a while or gone for a morning cruise?
Do you think todays cold weather will push the bass off their beds?

The biggest fish I saw yesterday at San Pablo (15+) was actively spawning. It was rolling around with a small male and acting really strange, pointing it's nose towards the bottom and swimming in a circle in this funny position. Fish can move up and down from day to day with the weather this time of year. This weather right now will probably push fish off the beds. Maybe the fish in your area felt it coming and backed off. The fish at San Pablo didn't seem to be too affected. Each lake is different though. Wind can cool the water on one lake but not on another which can also change the mood of the fish.

In my limited experience (10+ years) with bass, the spawn usually takes somewhat longer than 1 day. Having said that, I'll qualify it. Bass as I understand it will have a male make a bed, then he'll coherse(sp?) a female over it and breed with her. He'll arouse her for 1/2 to 5 or 6 hours. If he's successful she'll drop 1/8 to 1/2 of her eggs in his nest over 4 hours to 2 days. Then she'll vacate for a while (hours to days) to rest in deeper water(2-3X as deep as she spawned). At this time she won't be easily caught but he's eager to smack anything in the area. Then she'll move back up and let him or another male do it again. If at any time during the mating the weather goes bad she'll disapear and won't be back until it's nice again. If she gets seriously scared off the bed (hooked, caught, etc.), she'll usually abandon the area. If she's stressfully caught but not truly hurt she may abandon the spawn and reabsorb her eggs, not spawning that year. This is why I have advocated either not fishing for spawners or only throwing to ones that will break your personal all time best and doing it with tackle that will allow a fast landing and a fast release.
Also keep in mind that not all bass are spawning at the same time varying up to almost a month and 2 or 3 degrees F.
I have to go, sorry.

Tight lines,
Wade

Tight lines,
Wade

Wade,
Thanks for the info. I would mention though that all three fish I caught at San Pablo on Sunday, 2 males and a female, moved right back to their beds after I caught them. I suspect I could have caught the males again if I wanted to even, and the female although warier, was still very locked onto her bed.
Not advocating any kind of fish "abuse" or anything, just giving an example that bed fishing is probably not that damaging when fish are caught and promptly released.

Yeah, good info Wade. Probably a good thing that the females are tougher to catch during the spawn then eh? I've caught/released countless males off beds that returned to the bed that day, or that minute, seemingly un-phased. But if you stressed out a big female, it would be pretty bad if she decided not to spawn anymore.
-Brian

It seems the longer they're fought, the more lactic (sp?) acid builds in their blood and this acid not only makes their muscles ache (as it does in us), but can actually start breaking down (digesting if you will) the eggs so they can be re-absorbed.
Keep in mind that this last bit is an unconfirmed theory that is being tested (and seems pretty solid) by a Wisconsin biologist buddy of mine.

Tight lines,
Wade

Tight lines,
Wade

So in other words you are saying the females do not feed during the spawn? I have always believed that the females do feed a little bit during the spawn, but less than normal.
Since the females don't usually stay on the nest for more than three days it would make sense that they feed after they leave.
Furthermore, I have landed a spawning bass which had the tale of a rainbow trout sticking out of it's mouth, indicating it was feeding during the spawn. Thererfore if they feed during the spawn, the protein from the trout (or any other food) would be used for protein synthesis and muscle repair instead of the eggs.

Usually the females don't feed during the spawn. The one you saw with the trout tail may have still been digesting a 2,3 or even 5 day old meal. They typically feed heavily 2-5days before spawning then stop. After they spawn they will resume feeding gradually while they recuperate. While they're actually on the beds they don't eat but will attack in defense of their nest.

Tight lines,
Wade

Tight lines,
Wade

well the weather has been strange and that might have accounted for the strange behavior, also it would help if you would post the lake, so better fishermen like the rest of the world could go catch some fish, i dont think they like you, try taking a shower.

It's alright "Tell Me" some day you will catch a trophy bass.
No need to get pissy and frustrated.