2026 White Bass Run

[BilletHead]

14 minutes ago, ollie said:

Went for a quick evening of fishing last night after work. Not too bad, had to leave them still biting! Heck, I got down to the ramp and saw three guys out there wading and all were catching so I just decided to join them. Mind you I stayed my distance since I know how it is out there. We were basically out there up to our waist and throwing as closed to the bluff wall as we could. I wasn't catching at first, so I switched up baits and actually caught one on a gay blade. That lasted for a couple of fish and then nothing. Switched over to a standard rooster tail and started tearing them up. Only left a little earlier due to my line getting so kinked up from the rooster tail. Good evening of fishing though.

                   Good job Ollie, 

    How many rigs at the ramp? It has to be getting pretty low to launch I would think. 

[ollie]

There was more wade fisherman down there last night than rigs out. I probably saw about 15 rigs total last night. About the water level. I am 6' tall and I was almost out to the pillars waist deep in water if that tells you anything. I saw an older bronco picking up a boat and it was all the way out there all four wheels halfway up with water. Hope that helps. It is still shallow and I'm sure it isn't any better than when you were down last week.

[BilletHead]

1 hour ago, ollie said:

There was more wade fisherman down there last night than rigs out. I probably saw about 15 rigs total last night. About the water level. I am 6' tall and I was almost out to the pillars waist deep in water if that tells you anything. I saw an older bronco picking up a boat and it was all the way out there all four wheels halfway up with water. Hope that helps. It is still shallow and I'm sure it isn't any better than when you were down last week.

Thank you and it is graveled up on the ramp side very badly. Part of the problem is that the bridge piers creates an eddy for mud,silt and gravel to settle after high water events. The worst is created by boaters themselves myself included but not so much because of my motor not being large and I'm trying to be more careful. The big jets and even outboards are the real culprits. There is a deeper spot and you know this at the launch. Then a giant hump of gravel behind that. Launching is difficult at best. I've witnessed pontoon boats and giant bass boats and like big jets trying to launch. Some getting stuck backing through the deeper parts until the wheels get going up on the hump. Then these guys continue backwards trying to find deeper water. That isn't going to happen. Pretty soon the back of the vehicle is going under and muffler is blowing bubbles. Point of no return and stuck spinning in the gravel. Now to the worst part. What boats that do succeed now try to get on the trailer after fishing. Some have learned that you have to keep trailer in the deep spot. Now they have to rev up the jet or prop to get on the trailer. This compounds things by throwing more junk on the hump. Making it worse. 

  When it's like this I will put on the waders. Pat backs the trailer out. I take it off the trailer by hand. She parks and I walk the boat to her. Then walk it out and when deep enough she starts the motor and I get in. Loading out same thing. I know this is a pain and sounds hard but it beats putting in at twin bridges with that junk dangerous ramp and paying ten bucks a launch for the use. Long ride up the river in big open areas where with just a little wind there are whitecaps that beat a jet rig to death. No really good choices to fish a tremendous while bass run.