Yes, Smallmouth Bass create a "nest" on the bottom and stay on the nest to protect the eggs after they are laid, and sometimes even for a time after the eggs hatch. Whenever the bass is absent the eggs are vulnerable to predation. When the round gobies invaded the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie, they became a top predator of fish eggs. They will even eat the eggs of other gobies (male gobies also protect the eggs, which are usually laid under a rock or similar surface). If a Smallmouth Bass nest is left unattended for any length of time the gobies can quickly eat all the eggs, as many as a hundred gobies at one time descending on the nest. While scuba diving in Lake Erie I have seen Smallmouth Bass protecting their eggs, numerous gobies ringing the outside area of the nest, just waiting for a change to dart in and get some eggs. The time a Bass is off the nest when being caught, even if catch and release immediately, is plenty of time for gobies to decimate a nest.