Crappie eggs

Below is an answer I got on another site when I asked about the spawn. 3 or 4 weeks ago the eggs were full, bright and very yellow and those fish came out of water 4 to 10 feet deep or there about. 2 days ago I caught some fish in the same places and while the males still had their spawning colors on the female eggs were sparce and very dull in color. I asked if anyone knew if the spawn had taken place out in the deeper water as the water in the lake is very low with bear banks. Any comments?

Steve,
Your observations are interesting. I personally don't have much experience in looking at individual ovaries and determining the exact stage of the spawning cycle that a particular fish is in. Below are descriptions of the female ovaries as the fish go through the spawning cycle.

PRE-SPAWNING (PR): Fish in this category are sexually mature adults which have spawned in one or more previous spawning seasons and will spawn in the coming spawning season. The Pre- spawning category follows right after the Seasonal Development, with respect to both time and stage of gonadal development, and occurs when the gonads have completed their seasonal development prior to the spawning season. This is a short term condition which extends from time the gonads are fully developed until the start of spawning activity.

Female: Externally the abdomen will be noticeably distended. Sometimes a few eggs can be extruded with strong pressure to the abdomen. Care must be taken when applying pressure as the eggs are difficult to extrude and injury to the female can occur. The abdomen will feel tight and hard. Internally, the ovaries will be large and bright yellow to bright orange in colour. The size can be up to 25% of the total body weight and the gonads will fill much of the body cavity. Individual eggs will be large. round and obvious, some eggs will be translucent. Pre-spawning condition can also be inferred by capture location. Females will usually only enter spawning condition once they are on the spawning grounds and around mature males. Thus a female caught away from the spawning grounds as the spawning season approaches is most likely still in pre- spawning condition, even if some sexual products can be extruded.

RIPE (RP): Fish in this category are sexually mature adults. Ripe is the term for the spawning condition. The Ripe category follows right after the Pre-spawning category, with respect to both time and stage of gonadal development, and occurs when the gametes (semen and eggs) have become loose in the gonads. This is a short term condition which extends from start to the end of spawning activity. Externally the fish will appear as they do during the Pre-spawning stage but extrusion of the gametes will occur in response to slight pressure on the abdomen.

Female: Externally the abdomen will be greatly distended. Eggs immersed in ovarian fluid can be extruded with light pressure to the abdomen. Large amounts of loose eggs will be produced if pressure is applied. Internally, the ovaries will be large and yellow or orange. The eggs will be large and translucent and some will appear to be loose as the ovarian tissue is weak (i.e. the ovarian sac will be transparent and thin). Eggs will be loose inside the sac and they will be immersed in clear ovarian fluid.

SPENT (SP): Fish in this category are sexually mature adults. Spent is the term for the post- spawning condition. The Spent category follows right after the Ripe category, with respect to both time and stage of gonadal development, and occurs following spawning activity when the gametes (semen and eggs) have been largely extruded during spawning. The length of time a fish will spend in this category depends on how long it takes for the fish to begin the next cycle of seasonal gonadal development, at which time the fish will again be classified as Green.

Female: Externally, the abdomen will be noticeably flaccid, especially ventrally. The surface of the abdomen may be red or roughed with abrasions and the urogenital opening may be extended or swollen. Some eggs can still be extruded with pressure but will be few in number and they will be associated with watery ovarian fluid. Internally, the ovaries will be greatly reduced in size and dark orange to brown in colour. Hemorrhaging and distended blood vessels on the surface of the organ as well as within it are very common and normal. Some residual eggs (from a few up to 25% of the ovary volume) are common. It is not common for post-spawning females to stay on the spawning grounds, most spawn and leave the area immediately. However, capture location is not always reliable indicator.

REABSORBING (RB): Fish in this category are sexually mature fish which have developed to some extent for the coming spawning season but, instead of completing gonadal development or instead of spawning after completing gonadal development, these fish are reabsorbing materials from the gonads back into the body. This category represents arrested gonadal development or interrupted spawning activity. There are several reasons why a fish may terminate gonadal development or decide not to spawn after completing gonadal development. These include the condition of the fish with respect to nutrition and/or health, aspects of population dynamics or environmental cues such s improper water temperatures, poor water quality conditions or adverse water level conditions. Interrupted gonadal development can occur at any stage of development and prior to entering the reabsorbing category the fish may have been Maturing, undergoing Seasonal Development or in Pre-spawning condition.

Female: This condition is primarily observed in females. Reabsorption of the eggs by the ovary is usually a lengthy process which can take up to a full year. Some females may retain the entire contents of the ovaries for re-absorption. Identification of this stage is not always easy. Externally, the female will still have a distended abdomen if caught within a few months of the spawning season. The abdomen will feel unusually hard as compared to normally developing females. Later in the season, it will be impossible to distinguish a normally developing female from a reabsorbing one without an internal examination. Internally, reabsorbing ovaries go through a series of distinct stages. Early in the reabsorption process, the ovary is dark orange to brown in colour. The eggs are dark and flaccid. Heavy amounts of watery ovarian fluid collect at the posterior of the ovary. This fluid most often is ejected readily if the fish is handled. Later, the ovary becomes smaller and hard. The colour becomes darker and the eggs become atritic. Atritic eggs are easily identified as they are small, hard and white. Ovaries in the later stages of eggs reabsorption have few new oocytes. The remnants of the old eggs collect in the middle of the organ. New oocytes production is restricted to the periphery of the ovary. Should you suspect this condition the ovaries should be preserved and stage verified by a qualified biologist. Occasionally, females have been observed which aborted spawning activity after they had became Ripe. Functionally speaking, eggs at this stage are no longer connected to the ovaries and cannot be reabsorbed. Instead they remain in the body cavity. Internal examination of a fish in this condition will show the newly developed gonad as well as residual (brown, desiccated) eggs which could not be reabsorbed in the posterior portion of the body cavity.