moodaddy Posted May 9, 2015 Posted May 9, 2015 Hey guys/gals, My first post here..I fish a lot in the creek behind my house. There are Blue Gills, Crappie, and White Bass. Since it hasn't rained in a while the creek is pretty low, at most probably 5ft. Anyway, I found a new spot and have had pretty good success with the Blue Gills, but there is a school of white bass that sits just on the side of the creek. My guess is that there are probably 8-10 in the school and some of them are huge! Well huge for what is in the creek, probably around 3-4lbs. Anyway, I have tried everything in my tackle box to try and land one of these bass and I can't get any of them to even flinch at a bait. I've tried crank baits, spinners, jigs and a bunch of other lures, but have had zero luck.. I need some suggestions! Any and all help would be much appreciated! Quote
CRANKENSTIEN Posted May 10, 2015 Posted May 10, 2015 I don't target them a lot but I have caught some nice ones on a jerk bait small cranks and lipless cranks. Bladed jigs. The big ones are a great fight when you have one. They have a thick mouth so once they are hooked enjoy the fight they prob aren't getting off Quote
Super User WRB Posted May 10, 2015 Super User Posted May 10, 2015 White bass are usually very aggressive fish. My guess is they know you are there, so wear clothing that doesn't stand out and keep a low profile so the fish don't see you. A simple rule; if you can see the fish, they can see you, Small size lures work better then standard bass lures, think crappie lures or 1/8 -1/4 oz chrome spoons with white chicken feather treble hook for white bass. Tom Quote
CRANKENSTIEN Posted May 10, 2015 Posted May 10, 2015 Also if you are in a creek the want it moving with the current. Quote
Penguino Posted May 10, 2015 Posted May 10, 2015 ROOSTER Tails. Cast downstream and slowly reel in. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted May 10, 2015 Global Moderator Posted May 10, 2015 A 3-4 pound white bass is insanely huge for a white. I've caught a ton of them in my life and have only seen a handful that size, can't imagine a whole school that big. A topwater walking bait like a Super Spook Jr or Zara Puppy will usually get them fired up. They're hard to get to bite when the flow is slow as a general rule. If you get a good rain look for places that offer current breaks near fast water, especially near obstructions that block them from being able to go any further upstream like a dam or waterfall. While the water is slow, live bait is probably going to be by far your best option to get them to bite though. Quote
moodaddy Posted May 10, 2015 Author Posted May 10, 2015 A 3-4 pound white bass is insanely huge for a white. I've caught a ton of them in my life and have only seen a handful that size, can't imagine a whole school that big. A topwater walking bait like a Super Spook Jr or Zara Puppy will usually get them fired up. They're hard to get to bite when the flow is slow as a general rule. If you get a good rain look for places that offer current breaks near fast water, especially near obstructions that block them from being able to go any further upstream like a dam or waterfall. While the water is slow, live bait is probably going to be by far your best option to get them to bite though. About a week ago I had one hooked up. Thing fought like a LMB and I was struggling to get in. Finally got it right next to the bank and just dipped my rod tip down so I could grab the line and haul it up. As soon as I gave it some slack, it jumped and threw the hook. Needless to say I was slightly irritated. BTW, I didn't meant the whole school was 3-4lbs, just a few maybe. I can look down on them from the bank and there are 3 or 4 big boys. Any suggestions as far as live bait goes? Never really used any bass fishing..Saltwater use it all the time, but don't have any experience using live bait for bass. Quote
Super User the reel ess Posted May 10, 2015 Super User Posted May 10, 2015 They're maybe engaged in spawning. Maybe they aren't hungry. 1 Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted May 10, 2015 Global Moderator Posted May 10, 2015 White bass are very small cousins of striped bass if you've ever fished for them, they behave a little alike. White bass love baitfish of all kinds, craws, nightcrawlers, leaches, anything really. A suspending jerkbait is another bait you might try, I catch tons of them fishing for smallmouth with jerkbaits in the spring. Quote
masterbass Posted May 10, 2015 Posted May 10, 2015 Try minnows or shiners if you want to use live bait. A jighead and twister tail have worked well for me on white bass. Quote
Super User scaleface Posted May 10, 2015 Super User Posted May 10, 2015 It probably wont work but when the whites are not hitting good I have caught them on clear curl tail grubs with flake or a grub with the tail removed. But I have never cast at whites that I could visibly see. Quote
Kevin22 Posted May 11, 2015 Posted May 11, 2015 Are you sure they are whites and not shad or buffalo up in there spawing? 3-4# is absolutely massive. Ive never seen a picky white, theyll at least chase almost anything. If not id say they arent white bass. 1 Quote
moodaddy Posted May 12, 2015 Author Posted May 12, 2015 I've been fishing this creek for the past 9yrs and the only fish that run in there are white bass, blue gills and crappie.. Quote
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