Follow the birds for White bass

[wily]

I was able to go twice over Labor Day weekend. Both times I went early and used Martin’s Landing to launch the boat. I was on the water by 630 both days. That was about as early as you could comfortably start without lights. The topwater bite lasted til about 10 both days. I imagine you could stay later and catch fish on the spoons or trolling shad raps or something similar thru the same areas and catch fish but by that time your live wells are practically over-flowing so there really isn’t a need.

There are two kinds of birds…the egrets which fly low to the water and the seagulls…only the seagulls help you locate the fish. The seagulls fly higher in the sky and circle above the fish and swoop down and eat the shad being pushed to the top by the white bass. The birds do not have to be present to catch fish but it makes locating the fish easier.

We fished flats close to the channel around the islands just west of Sailboat Bridge. Saturday morning there were 8 or 10 boats but Monday morning there had to be 20 or more. We had better luck Saturday than Monday but that was just because we zigged when we should have zagged. The fish seem to move around a lot over these big flats that are near the river channel. It’s a lot of fun but it’s also a trolling motor drag race, so make sure your batteries are charged.

I fished a baby torpedo exclusively and caught a lot of fish on top, albeit maybe smaller than some of the fish my buddy caught on his spoon. He fished with a ¾ ounce jigging spoon. He would drop it to the bottom and jig it up a couple times. If no bites he would reel in a few feet and stop and jig. He used this technique both days and caught a lot of fish. He liked a gold spoon better than the silver. I’d say Saturday we caught at least sixty and Monday we caught 30 or 35. It’s hard to tell how many you catch because you catch them so fast. You just want to get them off the hook as soon as possible so that you can throw back in the melee.

We kept and cleaned pretty close to forty on Saturday and only had about 25 Monday to clean. I deep fried a bunch of them up Sunday in lard and they were delicious. We’ve never been checked but I’d suggest buying a counter of some sort if you plan to keep what you catch because you can forget how many you have easily.

Words of caution...watch-out for flying fish. The spoonbill in this area jump like the dolphins at sea world. You’ll be running down the lake and all of a sudden a giant fish will jump and pirouette like flipper going after a smelt. I’m not sure what they’re doing but it’s a common sight.

[WebFreeman]

I've seen Spoonbill jump like that on Table Rock. It's a startling site, for sure. I'd hate to get on upside the head!

[gonefishin]

Whats up with the jumping spoonbill? I am seeing more and more of that all the time. I dont recall seeing much of it in years past. Makes me wonder if some mad scientist has been genetically crossing 'bills with those bighead carp or something.