White Bass Report

[Phil Lilley]

Vince needed some fish meat for a fish fry coming up so we just had to go... but where? Ramps? Best place to find meat? What kind? White bass seemed to be the best choice but where? Long Creek has been hot. Yoccum. Too far for us. Bull Shoals? Swan? Beaver? Where do we launch. There hasn't been multiply threads on ramps on BS... oh my!! Not one.

But we went anyhow. Thought we could put in at the 160 bridge and was right. Boated upstream 3 miles probably, may be alittle more. I think mileage gets alittle stretched in reports so I try to be as close as I can. We boated up to where there was current. It was along way! Lots of debry in the water most of the way too. Tough getting back out in the dark.

We started with small males and ended with them with a few good size males and I think sows in between. Caught most of them on blue back rebels and husky jerks. Some on white jigs. Caught some after dark on swimming minnows, purple, and black beetles. I think the spawn is about over up there. Talked to some that said last Thursday was very good but most sows were spawned at that time. Water temp - 57. Water was great color. Could see 4 feet but cloudy.

These whites will stay in the creek I bet for a month. Lots of food and more when all the fishes start spawning and having minnows. Lots of cover for all... I'd fish the fields around brush. i've caught whites in Beaver all the way up into June.

the bridge 160 highway

Interesting pic - note the baits.

I liked the light here and the dark green on one tree. It turned out kinda nice.

First sow.

Interesting pic. Care to guess what it is?

[tippet7]

The last picture is a car driving off the end of the first picture

[Phil Lilley]

A tripod would have helped...

[crappiefisherman]

looks like the bridge with a car passing , with the bow light of your boat in forground

[Phil Lilley]

Ding ding ding... you win.

[rlcarter]

lilley,

you said above that you have caught whites in beaver up to june..my question to you is when the spawn is over have you ever followed the whites back to the lake and will you catch fish all the way back down the river...most people say that right at spawn when the fish stop biting, they quit fishing in the river...will the fish start biting again up in the river a week or so after the spawn?? i was wondering if you could catch them as they go back to the lake???

[Phil Lilley]

Not sure if they stop biting after the spawn. Maybe for some but I doubt if they stop eating. It's reasonable to assume that these white would stay in the flood creeks because everything, including whites, are spawning and spawning breeds little fish. The creek should be absolutely full of little fish so why head out to sea when all the food is right there. Couple this reasoning with my experience of catching whites when the water is high in the creeks as late as the first of June and I may say the assumption is correct.

I've never followed them to the lake. I wish I had time to keep track of them like that. You can go up Beaver 6-7 miles??? from the main lake, may be more. I'd say start close to the top of the impoundment and work out when looking for them. The flooded fields along the tree lines... You might think of Beaver as a lake unto itself and see how that works.

[Project Healing Waters]

Frankly, I don't know why people stop fishing for them. They eat in schools in early morning and late evening all year long. The only difference is where you will find them and the extreme concentrations of spawning season. As the water warms, they also feed shallower and shallower up to the point where it gets too warm for them...probably 75 degrees.

I grew up fishing for white bass in East Texas lakes. We never heard of a white bass "season." But by July, we only caught them on topwater in the cool spring-fed lakes at dawn and dusk. Generally, in June sometime we would switch to deep jigs and Texas-rigged 6" worms and catch them on humps in deep water (deep water in East Texas is anything over 10').

[pstone]

Is there any way a guy could fish from the bank on Beaver right now for white bass? Thanks for the input.

[BOWFISHER]

Is there any way a guy could fish from the bank on Beaver right now for white bass? Thanks for the input.

I was on Beaver saturday and unless you fish from the 160 hwy or go up the river 6-7 miles from the bridge I didnt see were a guy could fish from the bank. Does anyone know the current water temp at the 160 bridge ? I am waiting for the gar to start spawning there and they normally start when the water temp hits that upper 60s to lower 70s. or has anyone been seeing gar up the beaver or swan ?