White Bass?

[npierceuark]

Well they are still around, got into some fun topwater action last night throwing the pop-r. I was hoping to get into a hybrid or two but ended up with all whites. the freezer is about full so it's been a good spring to date. The boat is coming along nicely, should be another week or so and I will no longer be stuck to the shore. I can't wait.

[jdelow77]

Are you building that boat from scratch ?

[npierceuark]

Not me personally but a guy down in Texas is building my design. It's made for a mud motor so really beefy bracing and 1/8" aluminum hull. It should do pretty well up the river arms around here for fishing and the big shallow lakes in NE oklahoma where I duck hunt.

[sfiser]

if i put in at blue springs and run up the white river, how far do i have to go before i get into water that I could hop out and wade for white bass? I have run up the river a little bit past blue springs but probably not more than 2 miles or so? Are there shoals farther up the river that congregate the whites? and can you get over those shoals in your boat?

[jdelow77]

Nice , I always wanted to custom build a boat !

[jdelow77]

Can anyone tell me how far up war eagle the whites are ? I'm planning to hit them tomorrow !

[JohnF52]

if i put in at blue springs and run up the white river, how far do i have to go before i get into water that I could hop out and wade for white bass? I have run up the river a little bit past blue springs but probably not more than 2 miles or so? Are there shoals farther up the river that congregate the whites? and can you get over those shoals in your boat?

You can run nearly to twin bridges now, but you have to watch it. The channel is not obvious in several places above Neals Bluff. It mIght look like you are in the channel, but might be in less than two feet of water. Lots of logs near the banks and around old channels too, so go slow above Neal's Bluff and watch your depth finder. Don't know if the whites are farther up than you can run, but that is possible.

It's tricky putting in at twin bridges because the ramp drops straight off at the end. Unless the river is high you could get your trailer hung up trying to pull your boat out unless you have tall trailer wheels that can roll over the drop. The ramp at Beavorama is easily usable now as the level exceeds 1119 ft.

[hoglaw]

I'm probably going out there early this afternoon...maybe 1 or 2. There's a pretty good chance I'll get rained on, but if anyone wants to come with I got access to a close enough parking spot and a four wheeler that will drive us within ten feet of the fishing hole. Shoot me a text at 479-nine5seven-8328

[J-Doc]

You can run nearly to twin bridges now, but you have to watch it. The channel is not obvious in several places above Neals Bluff. It mIght look like you are in the channel, but might be in less than two feet of water. Lots of logs near the banks and around old channels too, so go slow above Neal's Bluff and watch your depth finder. Don't know if the whites are farther up than you can run, but that is possible.

It's tricky putting in at twin bridges because the ramp drops straight off at the end. Unless the river is high you could get your trailer hung up trying to pull your boat out unless you have tall trailer wheels that can roll over the drop. The ramp at Beavorama is easily usable now as the level exceeds 1119 ft.

I'm goint to launch at the 412 bridge and slowly work my way up and fish along the way. My little tri-hull is pretty heavy but she can draft pretty shallow. I'm more worried about damaging the lower unit of my motor than the boat getting too shallow.

How far up do you think I can get Sunday? Neils Bluff maybe? I've never fished this far up river before and my graph doesn't have accurate depth that far up river (on my GPS map that is). I figure once it gets to 8ft, I'll come off plane (a VERY SLOW plane that is) and just trim the motor up and idle my way up to a few spots I know about.

[JohnF52]

After this rain, you should be able to make it all the way to Twin Bridges if you run carefully, but at a slow speed it takes a fairly long time. Neill's Bluff is never a problem to get to, unless the lake is super low. As I write this, the level is only seven inches below full power pool of 1120.4 feet, and rising. Neill's Bluff, btw, is the bluff on the west side at the next sharp (150 degree) bend past the last dock on the left which is at Beavorama. The channel is along the west side past Neill's Bluff, then crosses in the wide spot over to the east side. I bought a 9.9 hp to temporarily put on my Xpress 1650 VJ to run small waters, because it makes the draft higher, and has a shallow water drive feature. If I get up there enough this spring, I might map some of the features. But, in severe floods, especially if the floods happen when the lake is low prior, the river course can change a bit, and big logs, old snags, etc can be swept away, and new ones deposited, but mostly the channel course is much the same as it was 40 plus years ago.