Smallies and White Bass below Gavin’s Point Dam
I got a chance to fish with my buddy, Bob Mings today. Bob is an excellent bass angler and knows the river well so I couldn’t pass up a chance to learn a few things about fishing bass on the river. Before we hit the water Bob told me that he thought the fish would be in transition and that we would get decent numbers but probably would not get into any larger fish on this day. Bob was dead on! This first fish is Bob with a nice smallie, typical of the size we caught today.
While we didn’t get into any large smallies we found plenty to keep us busy. The bass were hitting on top water baits such as Pop-Rs and twitch-baits like Smithwick minnows, which makes fishing all the more fun in my book. I love fishing topwaters! The bass were also happy to take tubes and senkos. What they lacked in size was made up for in numbers and in pure fight. I’d swear a 14 inch river bass fights like a 4-pounder. This second photo is me with another typical fish for today.
In addition to smallmouth bass, we found the white bass were holding in the same spots and were more than willing to smack our topwater baits. Here’s a shot of Bob with a very nice white bass. We caught several around this size and they put up a heck of a fight as well. I think these river whities are a little stronger than the lake whities I’m used to catching.
Overall, it was a great day on the water. There’s nothing better than talking fishing and cruising the river on a beautiful day. Although, I could have done without pushing the boat off a sandbar or two. 
But, when you’re chasing smallies with Bob, you’re going to hit some skinny water. Thanks for the adventure Bob. I greatly enjoyed the ride in your new Champion boat as well! I’m still picking the bugs out of my teeth! 
***All fish were released. Anyone fishing bass on the Missouri River please consider releasing larger bass so we can keep our fishery strong. Thanks!
Another shot of a white bass…
Those are some dandy white bass!! Great report!
Boy those white bass are hogs
Those are some nice sized whitebass.
How do the patterns used on the Missouri compare with bass/white bass patterns on the Mississippi? I may be taking a trip to the Omaha area later in the summer and am curious about how things compare.
Martin,
The Missouri River at Omaha is very different that the Mississippi River, and very different from the Missouri River near Yankton. It’s like you’re fishing an entirely different boy of water. The Omaha area is VERY fast water with tall and long wing dams. I honestly would not suggest it for someone who is not famliar with fishing the river in that area. I also don’t think they catch very many whites on the river at the Omaha area. They seem to prefer the river to the north. When I fish the Omaha area I tend to stick to the lakes there. There is an old river oxbow, now called carter lake, and is near downtown Omaha. It holds excellent LM Bass as well as a variety of other fish. There’s also several city reservoirs, such as Zorinsky, Cunningham, and Walnut Creek that can produce bass and ann occassional walleye. I thnk there are whites in Cunningham. The Nebraska Game and Parks Website would be a good place to do a little research before your trip. The have maps and fish stocking data, as well as a very helpful discussion forum. You should also check with our Nebraska Staff here. Guys such as Ben Garver, Todd Consbruck, and member Zach might have some good ideas for you. Find them in the Nebraska Forums.
If you ever plan to hit the Missouri River between Nebraska and South Dakota just let me know and I can give you enough info to get you started. Once you get between the Ponca, NE and Yankton, SD area, the Missouri River fishes a little more like the Mississippi. But, like I said, down south by Omaha it’s a whole different ball game.
I would agree with Wade that the Missouri River is quite different in Omaha vs upriver from Sioux City. Sioux City and down is channelized, very fast with wingdams. Ponca State Park and further up river is more natural, winding river.
Wing-dams and fast current are my friends!!!
The Wingies on the Missouri aren’t the same as the ones you have on the Mississippi. These rise well out of the water and create a much faster current. It might be a nice challenge for you though. If you give it a shot let us know how it goes and take some pics.