2023 White Bass Run

[ollie]

Went back down last night and didn't do well at all. Didn't really see anyone catching anything. That and the lot was still pretty empty. That in itself tells me a lot. If the locals aren't down there in droves then the fish aren't up the river in full force yet! Talked with one guy who told me they did fairly well a couple days before further upstream at the devil's promenade, but even then he said they didn't slay them. Just caught a few. Don't remember if he said male or females either. Either way, right now it isn't full on yet from what I can tell. They are there I know, but just not like we want to see!  lol

[ollie]

My facebook feeds were blowing up yesterday on the white bass bite! One guy had went upstream and was targeting the feeder creeks and hammering them. Another person went way up on the Neosho to almost Chetopa and he was slaying them as well. Apparently they have made it upstream farther than we thought! I'm going to go down on Sunday and take the yak. Think I may go up from Conner bridge around the bluffs and see what I can do. Mind you both reports seemed to indicate that they may still be pretty scattered and you just have to find them.

[curtisce]

no post lately  whats up?

[BilletHead]

10 hours ago, curtisce said:

no post lately  whats up?

          We have been busy fishing and cleaning fish. 

[ollie]

I have been out all of last week or I would have made a report. I went down last week to Connor Bridge and put the yak in to go upstream. Fished the bluff, but never even got a bite. Saw the GRDA making rounds checking on the spoonbill, but you always see them this time of the year. Can't miss that big ol barge! lol I'll tell you one thing though, don't step off from the ramp at Connor, the mud will eat you alive! I ended up leaving a couple of hours later when the wind started to whip up. That being said if you haven't been able to get down here, you should this week. I didn't fish on Saturday, but went down to 10C and there boats everywhere along with bank fisherman. The whites are in full mode going up now. Lots of cleaned fish by the ramp as well. I have a feeling Billethead was down there on Saturday? I talked with one local who told me a couple of fly fisherman were tearing it up at the second shoal upstream. Thought it might have been you from the description given. Either way it is on right now! Probably won't last much longer either.

[BilletHead]

5 minutes ago, ollie said:

I have been out all of last week or I would have made a report. I went down last week to Connor Bridge and put the yak in to go upstream. Fished the bluff, but never even got a bite. Saw the GRDA making rounds checking on the spoonbill, but you always see them this time of the year. Can't miss that big ol barge! lol I'll tell you one thing though, don't step off from the ramp at Connor, the mud will eat you alive! I ended up leaving a couple of hours later when the wind started to whip up. That being said if you haven't been able to get down here, you should this week. I didn't fish on Saturday, but went down to 10C and there boats everywhere along with bank fisherman. The whites are in full mode going up now. Lots of cleaned fish by the ramp as well. I have a feeling Billethead was down there on Saturday? I talked with one local who told me a couple of fly fisherman were tearing it up at the second shoal upstream. Thought it might have been you from the description given. Either way it is on right now! Probably won't last much longer either.

                      You got it that would be me and Mrs. BilletHead. I will get a report up soon. 

[BilletHead]

 Okay going to make a bulk report now. I think five more trips since last report with @curtisce. More with him and one with Pat and another with @grizwilson. You all should know this place is no secret. There are more license plates in the lot where all park from Missouri and Kansas than Oklahoma. With no limit of white bass I think meat for the year gets taken by lots of fisherpeople. Boats get loaded. Ice chests, livewell and stringers. It gets plumb crazy with boat traffic. Some down right dangerous. Courteous folks too but some stupid. I will attach some pictures. One day Grizwilson and I were first to launch. Early Is the key and running in the dark will get you the choice spots. Crappie was the target and I knew where to catch. We got into them for awhile until the good ones were caught out and dinks remained. Went back next day early and dropped @curtisceand his friend Phil on a good gravel bar to fish. I motored up to crappie hole to find two boats pulling them in already. So I fished for whites and hybrids. I guess Grand had a good stocking of hybrid a couple three years ago and results are showing up. One day I had 8, one day 10 And another day 10. All between 2 and 4 pounds. Kept some and released a bunch. All of this fly-fishing and 99 percent were caught on Pink over white clousers. You would get sore arms from casting and fighting fish. Sink tips and getting down to the bottom is the answer. Fish caught on the bank in slack 2 foot of water to in the fast current in 7 to 8 foot deep. Throwing out and letting the fly swing. Some hits on the swing by by far more slow strip back to the boat and even letting it sit in the current. Those temperate bass with flat body and wide tail fight hard. Did not weigh the whites but one day had some 15 to 16 inchers. Lets look at pictures now.  I'm tuckered out. First day river up and flowing hard. Last day there really low and three trips had to back out and slide boat off trailer with waders then take boat out deep enough to start motor (jet). Reverse deal walking boat onto trailer and winching up. No loading with motor. Folks with big boats would try to launch and pull out and go to twin bridges. I helped a couple others get boats back on trailers. On day someone tried to launch a pontoon boat. They had to be winched out getting stuck. We missed that but got the story. 

[ollie]

Looks like I called it this time around! First time for everything I suppose. I went out Saturday morning before the cold front came through and did alright. You might have been tearing them up on a pink clouser, but I got you beat on that! I caught three like this one on the trout colored whopper plopper! So I was fishing just down from the tree in the middle of the river just above the gravel bar. I got there around 8 and the parking lot was pretty full by then even. A lot of fisherman and kids on that gravel bar Saturday. Most of the kids were swimming and that looked to be just too cold for me! lol I didn't see anyone lighting it up with fish so I wasn't really sure what to expect. My first one came on a crawdad colored jig. Not a very big either, maybe 7-8" long, but a scrapper. Then came another and I thought I had unlocked the color. Not so, I casted and casted and nothing so I switched it up again. Kept doing that until I had reached a not so great number of 4 total caught. I was about to give up until I saw something I have never seen before in my life. In between me and the guys fishing up by the tree we saw a bird start to circle around a wounded shad that was fipping all over the place. He kept circling until he was right over it and then, BAM!, he dove in head first for that shad from about 30 feet up in the air. When he tried to get out of the water he couldn't. I couldn't tell if he had just caught a fish too big or what. After a while the bird kept struggling in the water. I think the dummy hit his head and was stunned is what I think. That water wasn't any deeper than my waist. After sometime, he made his way back to the shoreline where he could stand and then he just flew away. Very bizarre it was, but entertaining nonetheless. While all of this was going on I saw a white bass come up in from of me and sip a wound shad off the top of the water. Got me to think then. What if for giggles I just try on something big and noisy that makes the water churn? Now mind you I am out there with just an ultralight rod and 4# test from trout fishing. I sure could chunk that lure a country mile though! lol I couldn't get it to come up and churn like it supposed to, but it didn't matter, I started to twitch it and make it sputter and I caught three like this in the pic. If I had been using this lure earlier I would have had several more to brag about. The wind came up cooler by then and the clouds started to move in so I called it a day. It was a great weekend to be out on Grand. 

[BilletHead]

4 hours ago, ollie said:

Looks like I called it this time around! First time for everything I suppose. I went out Saturday morning before the cold front came through and did alright. You might have been tearing them up on a pink clouser, but I got you beat on that! I caught three like this one on the trout colored whopper plopper! So I was fishing just down from the tree in the middle of the river just above the gravel bar. I got there around 8 and the parking lot was pretty full by then even. A lot of fisherman and kids on that gravel bar Saturday. Most of the kids were swimming and that looked to be just too cold for me! lol I didn't see anyone lighting it up with fish so I wasn't really sure what to expect. My first one came on a crawdad colored jig. Not a very big either, maybe 7-8" long, but a scrapper. Then came another and I thought I had unlocked the color. Not so, I casted and casted and nothing so I switched it up again. Kept doing that until I had reached a not so great number of 4 total caught. I was about to give up until I saw something I have never seen before in my life. In between me and the guys fishing up by the tree we saw a bird start to circle around a wounded shad that was fipping all over the place. He kept circling until he was right over it and then, BAM!, he dove in head first for that shad from about 30 feet up in the air. When he tried to get out of the water he couldn't. I couldn't tell if he had just caught a fish too big or what. After a while the bird kept struggling in the water. I think the dummy hit his head and was stunned is what I think. That water wasn't any deeper than my waist. After sometime, he made his way back to the shoreline where he could stand and then he just flew away. Very bizarre it was, but entertaining nonetheless. While all of this was going on I saw a white bass come up in from of me and sip a wound shad off the top of the water. Got me to think then. What if for giggles I just try on something big and noisy that makes the water churn? Now mind you I am out there with just an ultralight rod and 4# test from trout fishing. I sure could chunk that lure a country mile though! lol I couldn't get it to come up and churn like it supposed to, but it didn't matter, I started to twitch it and make it sputter and I caught three like this in the pic. If I had been using this lure earlier I would have had several more to brag about. The wind came up cooler by then and the clouds started to move in so I called it a day. It was a great weekend to be out on Grand. 

              Nice Ollie! Off the first gravel bar there was an osprey diving and getting fish. I also saw a kingfisher with a little shad in its beak. It flew right in a hole with it across from gravel bar. 

[ollie]

I bet it was that same Osprey then. Afterwards it went back high up into the tree overlooking the area. I wish  now I had something in pink to throw. Hindsight you know is always better!  lol Looks like you guys did a number on them as well. My biggest was the one pictured and it went around 15". I should have brought my yak and then I could have made it up to the next gravel bar where all the action was. I mean as soon as that wind picked up the shad stopped flipping and I didn't see anyone else catch anything. They probably did, but I don't know. It will probably still be hot and heavy down there this week, but it has to be tailing off by now I would think. Although I heard the crappie bite is going on stronger right now than last week even. I might chase those whites up Elk river next week. Elk always is about a week or two after Spring for the good fishing.