Big Time White Bite

[Bill Babler]

The Whites are really biting in the Dam to point 5 area early in the morning. Not traditional places, but mostly in the backs of the more flatter pockets. They are running the shad clear up on the bank.

We had close to 40 whites and about 1/2 that many bass this morning all on topwater. I have been catching them like this since Wednesday. Buster and most of the other Dam area guides are doing likewise.

Well some bad news on the small Jitterbug. I have had to completely retire it. Even the white bass are swallowing it down and gone. This lure is just a monster for those big White bass. If your keeping them its still a problem as it is just impossible to dig out of them.

Whites have wanted the wake bait over the poppers by far. I always keep them handy, but for now, I'm on the walkers.

You can see to fish and the fish are chasing by 5:30. Bite is lasting till around 8:30. You can keep it going if there is a breeze and some clouds.

Good Luck all you White Bass Fans.

[Jason Essary]

Bill, any idea if they are doing it in the evenings? would love to get some kids in the middle of them one evening.

[dtrs5kprs]

Bill...is the small bug the 3/8oz?

Can tell you for certain it is a pain getting spit rings on the bug hook hangers. Played with that this afternoon, even took them clear off and tried to replace with other hardware. Hard to find a ring that will fit and swing.

[Quillback]

Bill...is the small bug the 3/8oz?

Can tell you for certain it is a pain getting spit rings on the bug hook hangers. Played with that this afternoon, even took them clear off and tried to replace with other hardware. Hard to find a ring that will fit and swing.

I modified a couple yesterday, used a #3 split ring, haven't fished them yet, but giving them a shake test and the split ring/treb were swinging freely. Modified a 3/8 and a 5/8. Hard to find the 5/8 for sale on the tackle sites, did find one site that had them, Mondotackle.com, but they only had them in black. But they are available on Ebay in the light colors.

[Bill Babler]

Jason, with the ammounts of boats this past weekend there has been nothing at all in the evenings. Where I have been catching them looks like the St. Louis Boat Show from 10 AM to past dark.

Ya got 3 hrs. in the mornings, make wise use of them.

Yes Dave that is a 3/8th. We had some on it yesterday. You can see them coming for it with their dorsal fins out of the water running at it like a shark.

It is not my clients fault that they are swallowing it as I bet a lot of you are thinking. It is just a complete violent strike and the speed of the reaction of the fisherman does not seem to matter. They hit it, and it is GONE!!

Don't have the same problem with a popper, however they are not eating it nearly as well. The fin is the best bet, but had two yesterday that took it tail first and had it way back in the craw.

Most all the whites we are catching are BIG Females that did not spawn. When you try and release them shad and nasty eggs spew all over creation. Fun but for sure messy. Had to take the boat to the car wash 3 days in a row.

Good Luck

[Sam]

Roostertail. I generally like the 1/6 oz. size, but as big as these whites are running 1/4 oz. is fine and you can cast it even further.

When white bass are really hitting and going for topwater stuff, I raise my rod tip and burn the roostertail across the surface like a fast buzzbait - they'll nail it. For in-between blowups when they're not feeling so froggy, I just drop the rod tip, slow down, and retrieve it a little deeper.

They'll still hit hard and get hooked deep when they're in a feeding frenzy, but I think maybe they don't swallow a fast-moving Roostertail as deep as slower lures. A Roostertail is easier to get out of them with needle nose pliers, since you're grabbing ahold of the treble hook only. Boy, that's frustrating isn't it when you're having to spend a bunch of time trying to get a white bass unhooked while others are boiling all around the boat?

I've been saying "Roostertail", but I really like the Bass Pro knock-off Micro-Spin series a lot better. Those have bigger blades that turn better and at slower speeds than the original Roostertail, the treble hooks are bigger for better hookups, and they're cheaper.

Bill, thanks for the report on the white bass. That's happening some between Mill Creek and Cow Creek too, but I haven't been going that early.

[dtrs5kprs]

Most all the whites we are catching are BIG Females that did not spawn. When you try and release them shad and nasty eggs spew all over creation. Fun but for sure messy. Had to take the boat to the car wash 3 days in a row.

Good Luck

Well that is something to look forward to...

[Quillback]

Looking at the Jitterbugs on Ebay, it's funny how the sellers always describe them as "Vintage" if they're used. Trying to find some wooden ones, used to fish them a lot at night when I lived on the east coast and the wooden ones seemed to ride a little higher and catch more fish than the plastic ones. I can't remember if they made the jointed ones out of wood before they went to plastic or if the jointed ones have only been made in plastic.

[*T*]

Don't know if this would be better or worse regarding deep hooking fish, but I recall that at one time there was a (weedless) version of the Jitterbug that had only a double hook at 45° spread, facing upwards out the back, (think rubber frog type hook). Anyone remember those? Maybe that wouldn't require hazardous duty pay when unhooking whites.

[Bill Babler]

Don't know if this would be better or worse regarding deep hooking fish, but I recall that at one time there was a (weedless) version of the Jitterbug that had only a double hook at 45° spread, facing upwards out the back, (think rubber frog type hook). Anyone remember those? Maybe that wouldn't require hazardous duty pay when unhooking whites.

RPS I have seen the Hula Popper in that configuration, but have not see the bug in it. My problem of late has been that any hook on it would be a problem. It has just been swallowed with all you see is the line coming out of the gut. Just flat GONE.

I don't think in the hayday of the Bug that we worried about it as most anything it snagged was coming home for dinner. These days its a different deal.

On another note. Yes the broken back came in wood. I have one in a Lepoard Frog Pattern.