Labor Day White Bass

I just managed to to make a last minute Lake Pepin white bass trip this Labor Day weekend to keep my now 18 year streak alive. I made my first trip with my dad in 1982 and now I’m sharing the trip with my own family. They and I love this trip.
The lake Pepin white bass are some of the biggest around with many fish measuring 16″ -18″. In my opinion these fish are terribly unappreciated. They hit like a freight train and fight like a smallmouth. They get into ferrocious feeding frenzies and will hit almost anything put in front of them. They are easy to catch and great fun for all but especially kids.
This year we put the boat in the first night and found active fish at the first spot we stopped at. There were several times when everyone in the boat had a fish on. The boat was full of laughing and yelling and just plain chaos.
These fish can be found almost anywhere in the lake. Most of the time you can just follow the gulls. The best places are where the fish push the shad up onto ledges or onto shallow flats. They will feed in deeper water but the fish are harder to catch in between runs. If you can find fish in 10′ or less they are much easier to catch. Also, just because the fish are not on the surface and the birds go away does not mean the fish are done feeding. They are often still in a feeding frenzy under the surface out of the reach of the gulls. Another suggestion is to not just troll back and forth over the fish. They will stay feeding much longer if you can shut the motor off and cast into the school.
Another part of their unfair reputation is that they are not good to eat. On the contrary, they are quite good. A couple things that I do when eating white bass is put them straight into a cooler with ice and not into a livewell. Then trim the red meat off of the fillets and enjoy!

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Sounds like some great fishing. What type of lures do you like to use?

That sounds like a blast! And I have to agree with you I think they are often overlooked, but they fight and hit so hard that you would think more people would target them, and when taken care of properly they taste great! Great report and I’m glad you got to keep the streak alive!

An awesome time for sure! The last few years for me have been spent guiding the mighty whities on the Wolf and Fox rivers in the spring here in WI. (typically May 1 through very early June). We haven’t had the quality size for the last couple years, but that never seems to matter. I’ve had countless clients take a break after a few hours with their arms getting sore…”It’s a GOOD hurt”

White bass = a great day on the water with family!

Your report makes me want to go white bass fishing.

You can use almost anything you want but really the only 2 baits I use are 1/2 oz rattle traps and 1/4 oz. blade baits.

Years ago I started fishing them by casting a jig and minnow and retrieving it just under the surface. You can imagine it didnt take long to realize there was to much time spent rebaiting after just about every cast. From there went to light jigs and short plastics. They worked to but wanted something I could cast farther to reach the schools as they moved around. Spent a little time with small floating stick baits. Worked well again Finely ended up with using some small heavier spoons for a period. They worked well, imitated the minnows well and where able to cast very long distances to reach the schools as they moved away.

Dont really target them much anymore but when we do find them hair jigs work very well.

Great report and great pics! You’ve got those kids hooked!! On Fishing.

I did some of the same process. We used to ust the double hair jig rig years ago. But now I love the 1/2 oz. rattle traps. They seem to jump all over them and the average size of fish is bigger. The only negative is all of the hooks.

The past couple of years I’ve really taken a liking to small top water baits such as the Rebel Teeny Pop R for white bass. It seems like this lure primarily works when they’re busting on the surface and when they’re doing that, it seems most things will catch the fish. But to me, top water is the most fun. I’ll usually keep two rods ready… one with a Rattle Trap and the other with a Pop R.

As for taste, last year at my extended family’s fish fry, after all the walleyes were deep fried, I had my mom cook a quart of white bass fillets in exactly the same manner with the same coating. I polled everyone and the decision was unanimous… the white bass were good but the walleyes were better. I did remove all the red meat from the white bass fillets and the fish were well cared for… same as for the walleyes.
Boone

boone wrote:

The past couple of years I’ve really taken a liking to small top water baits such as the Rebel Teeny Pop R for white bass. It seems like this lure primarily works when they’re busting on the surface and when they’re doing that, it seems most things will catch the fish. But to me, top water is the most fun. I’ll usually keep two rods ready… one with a Rattle Trap and the other with a Pop R.
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<P>As for taste, last year at my extended family’s fish fry, after all the walleyes were deep fried, I had my mom cook a quart of white bass fillets in exactly the same manner with the same coating. I polled everyone and the decision was unanimous… the white bass were good but the walleyes were better. I did remove all the red meat from the white bass fillets and the fish were well cared for… same as for the walleyes.<BR>Boone</P>

I agree with the top water. I used to do it a bunch but now only seem to do it once in a while. The taste comment is pretty accurate also. I never claimed they were better than walleye. I just think that most of the people that talk bad about the white bass aren’t being accurate.

Great story. Good for you for taking your family like this. That is something those kids will remember for the rest of their lives. I have been coming up here for 25 years and really enjoy it. Should should be proud of youself for taking the time and having the patience to teach your kids how to fish and have fun rather than taking the easy way out and fishing with others. Big pat on the back from me.

I love white bass. I agree that they are underrated for their fighting ability, especially if you hook one up in the current. I’ve made BK and StCroixer stop on our way to a spot so I can cast to a school popping the surface.

just-fish wrote:

The taste comment is pretty accurate also. I never claimed they were better than walleye.

I’ve always felt the same way but at the same time, the taste is plenty good enough that it does feel as though white bass are under utilized as table fare by many of us. Me included.

A few years back my wife requested that I make fish chowder which we both love. Not wanting to use a pile of walleye fillets for this purpose, I substituted by half with white bass fillets. This allowed me to make a very large batch of fish chowder, without using a lot of walleyes and without sacrificing taste.
Of all the family members who ate that chowder, none thought it was anything less than delicious.

Just wanted to throw that out there so that maybe more of us can make better use a fish that is abundant in most bodies of water that we all fish.

I bag up and freeze a couple large amounts in the spring run of the Wolf River here in WI, and sometimes in the fall on Lake Winnebago. When having a large group for a fish fry, they are perfect. Everyone likes them, and goes home with some leftovers.

I agree… when they are on, there really isn’t a much more “fun” time to be fishing.

Use small cranks a lot… but when it is really fast, just a medium jig and plastic…. barb pinched for even quicker removal and re-casting.

Had a time two years ago, my new to fishing brother-in-law dipped a net for a large female my young nephew had on. Out comes the net with three whites. The two somewhat smaller males (I assume) were chasing the other and followed into the net. A photo a story he and his son still laugh about.