Often seen as the "unintended species" for lots of anglers, the white bass is one of the most overlooked species we have the opportunity to catch. But here's the thing, not only are they tons of fun to catch, but they also make for great eating! And the best part about white bass? Where there's one, there's definitely more!
Where to Target White Bass
For 90% of the year, white bass are open water fish. The other 10% is during their spawn when they're up shallow. Lets focus on that for now. White bass, like most other fish, spawn in spring. They will be up shallow, often back in coves or creeks if the lake has them. They stay here until mid to late spring or about 70 degree water temps. For the rest of the year, white bass are open water schooling fish. As I mentioned earlier, where there's one, you will find multiple, with some schools easily reaching 50! You can often find them near old river channels, windy points, and submerged structure like trees, brush, and even bridges! Windy days are key for having a great day of white bass fishing. And if you have electronics, use them to run over points and structure I talked about, you'll likely see a large clump on your screen. So now that you've found them, let's talk about how to catch them!
Best Baits and Techniques for White Bass
Most will tell you that there's 101 ways to catch white bass, and while that may be true, and live minnows probably do work, I will tell you that I've caught white bass in 2ft and 30ft on just 2 different lures: a jigging spoon and a paddle tail on a 1/4oz jig head. When fishing deep waters, you'll can almost always find them at any depth. For fish deeper than 10ft, a jigging spoon OR the paddle tail jig will work. For fish 10ft and shallower, I usually just throw the jig. For those of you who want multiple lure ideas for white bass... jerk baits, crank baits, and even A-rigs will work.
Thanks for stoppin' by, now go fill that live-well!
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