Big Shoulders

[Forsythian]

Great read guys, and nice catch PD - you seem to be in the zone right now.

Anybody ever tie a crank or spinner behind one of those bottom bouncer weights?

I'm gonna hit it again tomorrow (Sunday) with the crawler harness. Probably throw out a couple of jugs too while I'm out there.

I'm pretty much resigned to using my trolling motor and the wind. I guess I'm a little worried about using drift bags and such as I don't think these big motors are keen on hours of idling.

[Phil Lilley]

Gosh- sounds like UBS is fishing great. It's about time BS's fishing turned around. Is there alot of people out fishing out of K Dock? I bet when the weather breaks, especially this fall, white bass fishing should be awesome.

[Sam]

I bet when the weather breaks, especially this fall, white bass fishing should be awesome.

That's what I'm looking forward to, "chasing the boils" out of K Dock. We did that all the way through November last year and had lots of fun trips.

This weighted slow-speed inline spinner rig I'm working on should be great for white bass, too. I may attach a hook to the weight in front also, just to experience the Chinese Fire Drill of having two W.B. on at once!

[rangerman]

Forsythian

You can run a floating stickbait behind a BB such as a Rapala in clear water or my favorite a storm thunderstick, however, it is easier to run these baits on a 3 way rig. Uses the same concept as a BB but you use a bell sinker on a 3 way swivel. The real advantage of using a 3 way is the ability to extend or shorten your dropper length to water depth off of the bottom the fish are wanting it. It is a very, very good technique.

[powerdive]

I really don't care for white bass, although I admit they're fun to catch. All but one of the whites I've caught this week have been pretty nice, 15 to 18 inches long, and very spirited. (The runt was 12".) Caught some near bottom, but the majority were suspended right in the big schools of shad, about 25 feet down over 32-38 feet of water. When vertical jigging, it's easy to get your bait at the right depth, either by watching on sonar or by "counting up" from the bottom--with a spinning reel, just figure two feet per handle turn. So, drop to bottom, and if a big shad school is showing 12 feet off bottom, just reel up 6 or 7 turns to put it in their faces. Two of the walleyes hit up there too, but I don't know if they were actually suspended or just followed the jig up from bottom...more input needed!

[powerdive]

Lilley, it was pretty peaceful last two times out (Sunday and Thursday). 3 to 5 other trailers in the parking lot total, and not much going on at the marina.

[Sam]

I really don't care for white bass, although I admit they're fun to catch.

I've said the same thing for years, but I've got to liking them a whole lot better since spring.

A friend told me this trick and we found he's right - soak white bass filets in refrigerator-cold fizz water (club soda or seltzer water) for two hours before breading and frying. This turns white bass filets into crappie filets. Really.

[powerdive]

Sam, what about the red meat? I understand that's what gives white bass its off-taste, but I've never learned how to remove it without hacking up the whole mess. And I'm 100% electric these days. I threw back an awful lot of easy meat, so I'm willing to give it a try...any suggestions? Or do you leave the red meat in, and the soak takes care of it???

There's gotta be SOMETHING good about white bass as table fare, or everybody around here wouldn't be so "ape" about 'em...

[Sam]

Sam, what about the red meat?

I leave the red meat alone. Like you, I've never been able to trim it off without pretty much making sausage out of the filets.

I think it's fish oil from their diet of shad that makes white bass so strong tasting. When I clean white bass, the meat is oily and it smells just like my hands do when I have to handle a shad. The carbonation in club soda or seltzer water takes the oil right out of the filets.

Now, I haven't tried this with any whopper white bass - the 18" to 20" ones that I like to catch but throw back because they've got so much red meat and they're so awful strong tasting. I'll keep throwing those back, as there's bound to be a limit to what club soda can fix. Anyway, those big sows are the breeders that probably oughta be released for the good of the fishery.

But with filets from white bass that are around 14" or smaller, a 2-hour soak in club soda works great. When I've brought home mixed bags of fish this year, we've had w.b. filets on the same supper plate as crappie filets - and my wife and I can't tell the difference!

I might mention that the fella who told me about this said to use 7-Up. We tried that, and the sugar in 7-Up gave the filets a little sweet taste that we didn't like - so the next time we used carbonated water (club soda or seltzer water). That was the ticket!

[Martin]

Forsythian...You can pull whatever you like behind a bottom bouncer. I think what Rangerman suggested, said in another way is, shallow runners work better then deep divers in that scenario. Remember, the bouncer should be running pretty close to the bottom already. A deep diver would be digging a new creek channel. Any shallow type deal should be great. The bouncer is only a delivery system. I hope Sam tries those in-line spinners he is talking about, that will spin the blade at slower speeds.

Others may have a differnt opinion, but I use more 2 oz bouncers then any other weight. If I was shooting for 37 feet, I'd go to a 3oz in a heartbeat. I hope to hear some of the results of this thread. You might also try different lead lengths to the lure from the bouncer. I keep my crawler harness lengths fairly short in our snag / brushpile infested waters. About 2 1/2 feet (or so)....I sometimes think I'd catch more fish with a 4 or 5 feet lead. In any event, I hope you guys go try some of this stuff. (I wish I was retired). lol.