White Bass On The King

[glennL]

When will the whites start to run up the Kings or Roaring River? When they do run, will they be "boiling" on the surface? If not, where is the best depth or location? Thanks for sharing.. Planning a trip down in March.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Normally you can see them. If the water is up and colored they don't bite that well anyway.

[fishinwrench]

I've never fished the Table Rock Spring run of Whites, but everywhere else I persue them my usual system for locating them is to run up a tributary arm to the area of the first riffle and start there. Then jump up to the next...ect.

If you don't find any by the 3rd or 4th riffle, go back to the first and start working your way downstream, fishing the heads and tails of the deep pools and any eddys you come across. Just make a dozen or so good casts at each spot and keep moving. Don't waste any time in any one area until you start getting a few bites. And like Wayne said, keep an eye out for fish movement. Whether it is the flashes of Whites turning sideways, or just baitfish flicking around. Any area where you notice fish activity (of any kind) is worth a few casts.

Good luck, and I hope you get into them. I know I'm getting the Whitefever in a big way.

[glennL]

appreciate everyone's advise...

[Sam]

I haven't fished the King's much, and Roaring River not at all, but I hit the James River white bass run hard every year. It'll be the same.

First off, you won't have much trouble finding white bass if they're running. Just look for all the bank fishermen and boats that are catching them! Still, I like to find my own bunch of fish when I can. White bass don't come up the rivers all at once, they come up in bunches over a period of weeks - and the bunches tend to be all the same kind within the bunch, small males, medium size males, big females, etc. That means there are fish of different sizes bunched up all up and down the river at a given time.

I like to get away from the big concentration of fishermen and work other riffles and deep holes against the bank like fishinwrench said, usually a little downstream from them. Slow-troll with a Roostertail or a swimming minnow against the current to cover a lot of territory, then when you find fish stay and cast in that area. Lots of times that's all it takes to get a limit in short order.

[fishofexcellence]

Males go up around 55, Females start moving up at around 58-60. Eggs hatch 58-64. Kings and Roaring River gets good about two weeks before they are good up river from Holiday Island. Best temps usually are end of March thru April. Nothing beats a 1/4 oz White Rooster Tail.

[glennL]

Thanks, so if I understand correctly, the spawn begins about 58 degrees, so the white bass run up the river when the temps get into the 50's?

Appreciate everyone's help..thanks again.

[powerdive]

Hey fishofexcellence, are you seeing any walleyes up the White yet?

[glennL]

Is there a limit of white bass?