White Bass Run

[Jadesjigs]

I've been having some success lately fishing for white bass in the river arms with a technique that I wanted to share.  I've been following the Lilley's Crew on their reports about drifting crankbaits with added weight to get them to the bottom during high flow periods on Taneycomo.  I thought this would be a great idea to locate and entice the staging white bass on their way up river for the spawn.  

I've had the most success using a #5 sized flicker shad in natural colors tied to 6# leader about 30" long.  My main line is 10 lb braid.  I put on a sliding snap on style weight that is 1/4 oz. on the line above a swivel.  I tie the 30" leader to the other end of the swivel.  This is pretty much a Carolina rig set-up.    

This rig has allowed me to keep a #5 flicker shad consistently on the bottom in 10-12 ft. of water trolling around 2 mph.  I've tried using bigger crankbaits without as much success.  The bite seems to be better when trolling down river even if there isn't much noticeable current.  I've found most of the schools are concentrated in areas where 6-8 ft. of water in the main channel drops off into 10-14 ft. of water.   

I've tried using jigs in the areas where I've located schools of fish, but they still seem to prefer the crankbaits.  The smaller males are up river, but if you head further towards the lake the big females can be found as well.    

I still prefer to catch the bass with a jig; however, this is a very good way to get them to bite and locate them.  I've also had the opportunity to really learn my electronics and the river while trolling around. 

If you go far enough up river you can get the smallmouth to play with a Ned Rig and the deer to jump in the boat as well.  I love this time of year!  I hope this helps some of you.  God Bless!

[Johnsfolly]

Thanks @Jadesjigs for this great tip! hope that you have many more successful trips this spring! Looking forward to some more posts as well.

[fishinwrench]

This is interesting and makes perfect sense.   I know several places where the whites gather up real thick before they run up the creeks, I can see them on the LCR but I've never been able to catch them with any consistency.  I know that in the late summer-fall you can fire up a school of uncooperative whites by running the boat over them a couple times, but for some stupid reason I never considered trying that in the early Spring.   

I guarantee that's exactly what's happening for you.   

I hate trolling, but the next time I am out I'm going to zigzag over their heads a few times and then go in for the kill.  I bet I hammer 'em.    Thanks for the wake up call !   

[Jadesjigs]

Now that you mention it the bite did seem to be better when I was trolling with the jet motor vs the trolling motor.  Never thought about that stirring them up. I also wonder if the weight tapping on the rocks ahead of the crankbait triggers a reaction.  I really think it was a reaction bite because I would stop and start casting jigs immediately with no bites. Then I would fire the motor up and troll with the crankbait right through them again and catch another one. Looks like I need to do some more testing 😃. 

[Fish24/7]

Whites are strange . . When they are schooling on top and then stop surfacing  and go down and are hard to get fire up the big motor and let it idle and they go berserk biting again,not all the time, but many times they will. Water clarity or depth doesn't seem to matter then  either.

Ive  also caught them trolling little shad raps 10-15' right behind the boat in the prop wash on really windy days with white caps. And other days they are so spooked by just trolling motor noise. 

Seems a lot of times they like a fast moving bait. Been sitting in a group of boats catching whites and they were not catching anything and I start yelling at others around me to reel faster ,and they immediately hook up 😄

[fishinwrench]

45 minutes ago, Fish24/7 said:

Seems a lot of times they like a fast moving bait. Been sitting in a group of boats catching whites and they were not catching anything and I start yelling at others around me to reel faster ,and they immediately hook up 😄

Yep, they love stuff that's a challenge to catch.  They love to show off their speed and agility.

[snagged in outlet 3]

When are we gonna put this fake news to bed once and for all??  White bass run??!!!  My foot.😁

[Bushbeater]

I don't know if it's a run, but had whites for dinner last Friday and put another sack in the freezer Sat. Tried again Thursday and zeroed. The dang wind has made it tough. Caught all mine on a 1/16 oz. hair jig.

[fishinwrench]

32 minutes ago, Bushbeater said:

I don't know if it's a run, but had whites for dinner last Friday and put another sack in the freezer Sat. Tried again Thursday and zeroed. The dang wind has made it tough. Caught all mine on a 1/16 oz. hair jig.

Are you catching them in the clear water, or in the mud ?   

[Bushbeater]

Reasonably clear, you know where I live.