I’m new to the River, Fished many years though in Northern WI. Also fished whitebass on the Wolf. What about the whitebass here, pool 6 and 5. I like to stay away from the main channel. I do most of my fishing from the canoe or from shore. Talk about time, temp, weather, tackle, bait, location, etc.
I’ve never specifically fished for white bass however have had some excellent fishing in May below the spillways and dams from pool 4 through pool 8. And they aint bad eatin either.
Copied from the MNDNR website.
“White bass spawn over gravel bars in late April to June, when water temperature ranges from 55 to 79 degrees. Mass upstream spawning runs in the Mississippi and its major tributaries provide excellent fishing in April and May. The white bass is extremely prolific; a large female may lay more than 500,000 eggs. No care is given the eggs or fry, and few survive. The fish continue to swim in schools through the summer. Both species occupy rather open water, often near the surface. Adults feed on zooplankton, aquatic insects and small fish. Gizzard shad are important forage in large rivers. Individual fish may travel more than 100 miles in their seasonal movements.”
Hi woolybugger,
Right now the main channel below the dams is a great place to be if you’re looking for white bass. To a guy fishing from a canoe I can offer this…. all you need to do is get there and then hop out of the boat and fish from shore. Many of the fish will be relating to shoreline current breaks and/or right in the flooded timber if the water levels remain high enough.
On pool 4 this spring the whites are running HUGE. We’ve been running into them by accident pitching for walleyes and many, if not most, have been 15″+. Steve Vick at Everts has
had a couple come in that taped 18″. One was destined for a mount it was so big. We’ve hit the 16.5″ – 17″ mark frequently…. but nothing stretching that big.
Hair jigs and twister tails, shortened ringworms in light colors…. like white, baby blue, chart., have been the best baits for the bigger fish but just a plain jig and minnow will take numbers.
The whites start showing up below the dams about the time the walleyes are spawning in the uper 40’s…. and the action is great for several weeks. That good bite is taking place NOW.
I had a pair of customers out after walleyes last week and we were catching nice fish pitching and we kept running into the white bass. He normally takes a trip to the Fox R. for whites when their run really heats up…. this year he’s cancelling because of the size we ran into on the Mississippi. Apparently a 14″ white out there is a good fish. We caught very few smaller than that. They’re definitely an under-utilized or ignored resource in this area. And from what I hear, they’re great eating.
The white bass action here has been on again off again. Yesterday was a good day again. I think the cold weather we had 4-6 days ago slowed them down. They should continue to be good the next few weeks. On pool 4 they have been getting them at the dam on both sides, in the lock box and at hay creek. The methods James mentioned work great. Personally, I like to use a 1/8 oz plain hair jig. No minnow. You don’t need it and you spend more time rebaiting than fishing. Pink head and white hair has always been a great color for me. If you’re into a school of em, it doesn’t really matter what you use…..plastic, hair, meat, spinner, small crankbaits……Good Luck.
WoolyBugger,
If you want to have a real blast spend a day on the Alma fishing float in June when the whites are active. Fish with a light coloured mepps spinner or white jig in the top 3 feet of water with an ultra lite rod. then hold on.
Woolybugger,
My favorite / most productive lure for catching white bass (strippers) is a shad colored rattling rap, a good second choise is a no. 6 panther martin spinner. As others have said, when there hitting they will eat just about any white or shad colored 1-3 inch bait in there way. Once I have caught a few I usually switch to surface lures. Zara puppies in silver or other light colors are a blast.
Later in the summer, you will see active schools chasing bait fish. I find these schools near current breaks off the main chanel. I am not necessarily fishing for the stripers, but find that bass, walleye, and northern get turned on when the strippers are feeding.
If you can get your lure through the stipper school, a lot of time you will get bite by these other species.
Have fun,
Steve.
P.S. They are good table fare as well. Don’t forget to remove the mud line.
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