Some questions on white bass.

So, a few years back I was able to get into some white bass at a local spillway casting in and around the rollers. Since then, I have been addicted due to the great fights on light tackle and the delicious fried filets , but was unable to target them last year due to a hectic schedule. I’m planning on getting after them hard this year though. I know about when I can find them there again, but I was wondering if anyone could fill me in on some specifics, so I can really get a jump on them and catch them early this year. When about do they spawn, and when are they likely to move towards the spillway? I caught them in early to mid summer before, so I’m guessing it’s a post spawn pattern, but about when does this start? Also, what are some good baits/lures for whites? I’ve had luck casting small jointed rapalas as well as fishing minnows both on jigs and under bobbers, but I would like to add a few more tricks to my arsenal. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Bellow is a picture of a few average ones from two years back. The biggest is about fifteen or sixteen inches, if memeory serves me correctly.

Pool 4 on the Mississippi River near the Red Wing dam starting mid-late April and building to a peak bite in May. Huge average size for white bass and fast paced action most days.

Small bucktail jigs in light patterns on 1/8 and 3/16 heads, no bait, are hard to beat.

This pattern, called the Patriot, is a white bass killer for me.

http://www.bfishntackle.com/bucktail_jigs.html

I posted this statement earlier today.

“Learned something interesting at the Walleye Searchers meeting a few months back. Some of the bigger White Bass (up to 15″) have been found to be up to 15 years old. That’s a lot of contaminants if your wife or kids are eating those fish.”

If my memory is correct water temps in the mid 50s gets them going on the st croix north of stillwater. That should be very soon. White paddle tails and sky blue/white paddle tails from BfishN work great on light jigs. Small spoons work well. Small floating raps.

Im hoping to start getting into them on the croix very soon. Caught one over 19″s up there last spring. I would guess most run in the 14 to 16″ range.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I guess they get going a little earlier than I thought. I’ll have to check out the spillway as soon as the water goes down and stops coming over the top. I can’t wait. Whites seem like a really underutilized species. On the one hand, it’s great because more for me, haha. On the other hand though, it can be hard to find a lot of quality information on fishing tactices in comparison to walleye, bess, crappie, etc. Thanks again for all the helpful hints and information. I really appreciate all the input.

Mr, I am waiting for the water to come down a little bit before target whiteys too, but I will be targeting them a lot more this year than I have in the past. Before this year, they were either an accidental catch that led me switch targets or a backup when something else wasn’t biting. I don’t think I have ever had a boring fight from a whitey.

This time of year, especially with the water up, look for them in the creeks and backwater areas, especially if that water is warmer than the river. You should find at least a few hanging around spillways, storm sewers and creek mouths dumping into bigger rivers all season. Another good spot in the summer is isolated fallen trees and log jams on sandy gentle sloping shorelines.

A good rule of thumb is if you see baitfish, there’s a good chance some whites are around. No baitfish, you might want to keep moving.

Incidentally, I accidentally stumbled onto the isolated timber pattern when I heard something popping the surface in it. So keep your ears open too.

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Incidentally, I accidentally stumbled onto the isolated timber pattern when I heard something popping the surface in it.

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If you can find Whites chasing surface stuff that’s an excellent time to try out the fly rod. They’ll hit small streamer flies pulled right at the surface, poppers, and small hair bugs. Man it’s so much fun….If White Bass ever jumped they would be considered a premier game fish!

Good luck and be sure to report back on your success

Rootski

They sure know how to leverage those thin bodies when fighting.

A fly rod would not have worked in this instance. I walked onto the fallen tree and dropped my line into a small opening. The thing bit on a crawler. I would have used a jig or something else had I known they were whities and not rough fish like I was sure they were. It was pretty risky standing on that tree fishing alone, so I actually only caught one fish and decided it was too risky. Even after landing the one, they kept popping in there.

In the spring target bottleneck areas in running sloughs before they start running. In the summer months wing damns with high flow or turbulent areas like the spillways are good places to be. Spring, summer, or fall ~ ALWAYS keep your eyes on the sky. Diving gulls usually translates to a forage base fit for WB.

Blue Fox Vibrax (silver & chrome blue/silver) spinners or Mepps black dot buck tails find themselves on the business end when I’m targeting WB. Profiles that run high in the water column and give off some flash.

I think they spawn very early. You want to go up creeks and backwaters as soon after ice out as you can. Try casting around brush piles and down trees with jigs. It may actually be getting a little late this year with the early warm up.

In the southern impoundments during the summer, they will put a guy up front holding a rope and just fly down the lake looking for surface action. If they spot any, they stop and throw a few casts. If they catch nothing, they take off flying down the lake again until they find whities.