Papua New Guinea is characterized by a hot, humid climate with cooler temperatures in the hilly areas of the country.

The Niugini Bass, a member of the Black Bass, family, is a member of the Pacific black basses and a close relation to the spottailed bass.

Information of the Niugini Bass’s reproductive cycle is rather limited. While researching the fish, we came across various information, but we were not able to confirm the information and much of it was contradictory. If anyone has any information regarding the spawning period, if they have more than one, the way fish act when spawning and the roles, number of eggs laid and any other information. Please send any information to us through our contact page.

The only information we have at this point is that the Niugini bass spawn in spring in the tropical waters of New Guinea. We do not know if the females spawn more than once as is with other black basses.

While there are indications that they build nests, we do not know how big they are, how deep or tall they are and if the male niugini bass are responsible for protecting eggs and subsequently the fry after they hatch.

Building a Repository of Information

We have scanned book and research material to the point where our fingers are sore. What we are now looking for is actually observations from angler than that sought out these great fish. We also went scanning forums for information and asked questions in several. Unfortunately, we got conflicting information.

"Does spawning really have anything to do with fishing techniques?

The simple answer is yes. For one, do both fish guard the nest or just one and is it the male? Most bass have the male fish build the nest, stand guard until the hatch and then protect the fry for a few weeks after hatching. Some abandon the fry after hatching.

While the bass are protecting their fry, they won’t actively feed and will only strike out of anger to to protect their offspring. Spawning bass move to shallow water, as do the females to lay the eggs. After spawning, the female are usually chassed away, back to their normal water levels.

As the Niugini Bass is a tropical fish, the water temperature does not change much. There is no cold season, but the fish do have to deal with increased river flows during the rainy season. These are the conditions that are hard to extrapolate from other bass species. While we could make educated guess from the Peacock Bass, there are too many differences to draw adequate conclusions. And lastly, we don’t want to get emails from angler that have wasted money on a trip due to false information from this site.

A Final Word

If you can provide further information to us on the reproductive cycles of the Niugini Bass, please do so through our Contact Us page.