Absent of any adhesive quality, many eggs settle into openings in the gravel bed, while others are carried by currents to downstream areas- including Clear Lake, where survival rates are very low. Eggs hatch in five to 10 days. Larval hitch need another five to 10 days to become proficient swimmers. Once this is accomplished, juvenile hitch will slowly migrate downstream and into Clear Lake. In Clear Lake, juvenile hitch spend their first few months concealed among the tules and willows that border sections of Clear Lake's shoreline.
Predators are numerous.
Largemouth bass, catfish, white pelican, western grebe, osprey, bald eagle and river otter are but a few of Clear Lake's predators. Clear Lake hitch reach two inches in length following their first 80 days. At this time, they leave the Clear Lake shoreline to roam the open water for food. Male Clear Lake hitch reach sexual maturity at one or two years and females at two to three years. Hitch may live five or more years.