White's Everywhere

[taxidermist]

Bobby, is lake Mac still low? Last summer and fall trips to Mac were good as the lake is super low, putting all the walleye and striper on the main lake points. Mac just dont have much to look at or other entertainment. Ogalala Chamber still thinks it is a big lake!!!

John

[Crappie5]

I love to eat the Whites. If you cut the brown/red meat off of them and discard you will find them really good. I have had many fish fries and told people they were eating Crappie and they did not know the difference. Thanks for the report.

[Conman64]

I used to think they were not very good to eat, but if you cut out the red V in the middle and the pink fat next to the skin and finally soak them in Sprite for 3o minutes, they are great eating. Its a little more work, but it makes them very tasty.

For the casual fisherman who gets out 6 or 7 weekends a year, I LOVE catching a mess between fishing for the "real" Bass.

Conman

[SilverMallard]

Maybe someone should alter their tourney rules or put together a white bass tournament on TRL. That could be fun! We did them in TX on whites (called sand bass down there) and crappie. When you can keep like 20 fish, if you're on a good white bass fishery, the weigh ins can get interesting! I've seen stringers pushing 50 lbs win tourneys instead of the typical 20 lb bass tourney stringer.

[Tightline]

Bill,don't think theres any way a Smallmouth(over grown perch) could kick a White basses(True Bass) tail in a head to head or tail to tail pulling contest.I know all you Bass fishermen (Perch jerkers)are very passionate about your fish,but since I (former Perch jerker)fish for all kinds of fish and have discovered that I was blinded for years by the adrenalin rush,beauty and aerial display (sometimes) that Smallmouth give you.

I would be willing to bet (not really)lol for a free guide trip that I could get a 2 lb SM in before you could get a 2 lb male White bass in,both using 2 lb test and fishing in a normal current,say in James River.

Poor ole White bass aern't that pretty,but when it comes to torque they are kinda like Fords over Chevys.

[Bobby P.]

I have not fished Lake McConaughy for a few years. However, the reports are that every lake in Nebraska is still very low on water. We are in about a 10 year drought that I am not sure will ever correct itself. With all the irrigating we do in Nebraska and $3.00/corn making more farmers turn to irrigation, I think our water woes could last a long, long time. However, our tourism in Nebraska, frankly, stinks but don't let me discourage you from coming here and giving us a few tourism tax dollars.

[Terry Beeson]

"Crap meat?" I thought that was what that red/brown strip in a White was... Yes, if you take that out, Whites are pretty good to eat, but I bet I can tell the difference in White and Crappie fillets...

Tightline, I'm with you. I know I love to feel the tug of a "Brownie" on the end of my line, but when a White nails that bait, it's "Katy bar the door!!!" I remember the first time a buddy took me White bass fishing. I had caught a lot of LMs, Ks, and catfish in my day, but the first White hit and I would have bet the farm he weighed 5-6 lbs. He went less than 2... Smallies tug hard, too... but not that hard in my opinion...

As for those guys who were not interested in the Whites and wanted LMs and Ks... They would probably complain if you hung them with a new rope... Gimme a hard tug on the end of my line... I don't care what kind of fish is doing the tuggin'...

[Steve Smith]

I can remember several years ago when there was a white bass explosion. We would sit near the channel and as soon as the sun dropped below the bluff to shade the channel the whites would explode on top. You could almost set your watch on it. We would "skip" a Kastmaster spoon across the surface and they would swarm it. I always like to keep the small ones and brine them for a day or two before cooking. Certainly not crappy or walleye, but good.

[Wayne SW/MO]

A popular lure for surfacing "Sandie's" (Oklahoma Whites) was a 5/8oz topwater such as a spook with a jig trailing on a 12" leader. The idea was that you could throw the heavy lure a long way without spooking the fish. They worked well, but you needed to use 20# mono for the leader to prevent tangles.

[denjac]

I will take the smallie over the white anyday for a fight, unless they are the hybrid wiper, like in Grand. And as far as Ford over chevy, wo dont even want to go there! lol