Campfires and water levels

It's funny that just last week we were starting to talk about how dry it was. Now it feels like the rain just keeps coming although we certainly haven't had as much as southern Ontario or Manitoba. All this rain is good news for a couple of reasons.

For starters it means there is no fire ban yet this year. So when you are thinking about your houseboat vacation plan to relax around a campfire while enjoying marshmallows and bannock or hobo pies. There are fire pits at most campsites and dead falls and branches which can be cut up for firewood. Make sure your water buckets are ready to put out any flames that may escape. When you have a campfire please be sure you put it out ... and then put it out again so that there are no coals to flare up and cause problems after you have left.

A lot of people have been asking how high the water levels are this year. Lots of rain this spring means that the water levels are normal for this time of year. That is good news since last year was so dry and many shoals were surprisingly close to the surface. For those of you who have been coming for years this means that you can go to all of your favourite haunts without worrying about what surprise rocks might be lurking just below the surface. For those who are new to Lake Temagami this means that the shoal maps are accurate, making navigation easier.

The rain combined with cool nights means that the water has taken longer to warm up and the smallmouth bass spawn is later than usual. The little guys in our boat ramp have just risen up off the nest. So although bass season opened on Saturday it would be wise to not fish the shorelines for them just yet since they are still protecting their little ones from predators.

Of course lots of rain also means that there are some bugs around but bring your bug jackets, citronella and bug spray and you'll still be able to enjoy being outside.

The baby bass have hatched!

As promised here is a quick update on the bass nests. We were a bit worried that some of the eggs had gone bad (one nest in particular was looking a bit fuzzy) but it seems that little ones have hatched out of all of the nests. We first noticed the clumps of black on Friday, but now they are much more visible as little fish. Mike took these pictures yesterday and as you can see they have begun to spread out. It won't be long before they begin to explore and hang out at the surface of the water.

This is the sixth time I've watched this process of the smallmouth bass coming to make their nests and protecting the little ones and it still facinates me. I love to walk along the docks every day and see how they are doing. Once they leave the nests and start to swim around these babies will still stay close to the docks where they can quickly hide underneath them if need be. We have also seen several little ones from last year and the year before who have returned to hang around the docks.

Smallmouth Bass protecting his nest

As promised, here are a few more shots of that beautiful smallmouth bass on his nest. He must have decided that it was clean enough. It seems to have met with the female's approval also. Sometime between Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning they spawned. The water has continued to warm up with the beautiful weather we've been having: it needs to be over 60F in order for smallmouth to spawn. If you look closely at the pictures you can see the tiny creamy eggs which have adhered to the rocks in the nest. He will now protect the nest until the little ones hatch and become adventurous enough to leave home. The female heads for deeper water soon after spawning, leaving the male to keep the eggs aerated and free from silt. He won't leave the nest even to eat. He will live on whatever minnows happen to stray to close to him. Depending on the water temperature the eggs will hatch in 4-12 days. It's no wonder the bass are so hungry once the little guys are gone!