How To Catch White Bass
White bass is primarily found in ponds, pools, lakes, and small and large rivers. It is a freshwater fish indigenous to Oklahoma, United States of America. The white bass fish's scientific name is moronidae, and it belongs to the perciform fish family. It was specified as a part of the moronidae family in 1896 by Evermann and D. S Jordan. The moronidae subfamily of fish has sea bass species situated in the North region. There are two ways of distinguishing these fishes. Their isolated dorsal fins are the first thing they are famous for. Though their fins are separate, they are linked at the base. Monridaes live in calm waters popularly known as temperate waters in Europe and the northern part of America. The striped bass breeds in fresh water the same as the white perch.
Pro Tip: If you want the most effective bait for catching bass click here.
In the perciform general family, fishes from different groups can be found here like sunfishes, perches, sea basses, and many more. They all belong to the percoidei, signifying that the family's fishes have perch-like appearances. The sea bass is a perch-like fish with small scales, largemouths, round or straight outlined tail. In contrast, the dorsal fins have a forward pointed section, a somewhat obstructive soft rayed part. Their predatory nature makes them feed on fishes, mollusk, and other invertebrates. Moreover, while some sea basses swim rapidly, some are inactive swimmers.
Most of the fishes belonging to the Serranidae family, including the sea bass, are mostly found in the more shallow regions of tropical and
temperate seas. There are about four hundred and seventy-five fish species in this family, most of which are notable sport and food fishes. The name sea bass isn't specific to a particular type of fish. It is used for a whole family of fish with different names like the grouper, hind, graysby, hamlet, Jewfish, bass, and sea bass.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHITE BASS AND STRIPES FISH
White bass and striped fishes are cousins and have similar features.
The white bass can be mistaken for the striped bass and vice versa because they look almost the same way. Still, there are ways to distinguish between the two.
1. The easiest way to distinguish the two fishes is by their body style. The White base has a rounder body when compared to the striped bass. The striped bass has a slender outline.
2. The stripes can also be used to differentiate them. The white bass has faint stripes, and only one of the stripes goes past the body and onto the tail. That is to say that only one stripe stretches to the tail. In contrast, the striped bass has bole stripes with many stripes reaching the tail.
3. After checking the stripes and the body shapes, and you're still not convinced or want to be entirely sure if the fish you're holding is a white bass or striped bass, the fish mouth patch is another way to differentiate between the fishes. They have different mouth patches. While the white bass has a single tooth patch, the striped bass has a double tooth patch.
Now, there are crossbreeds. When a striped bass and a white bass mate, the result is a hybrid. Hybrids striped bass are also known as submachine bass or white frock bass and wiper.
Hybrid striped bass looks exactly like a mix of the two fishes. They have patchy stripes and double tooth patches like the striped bass. Hybrid striped bass can't breed with themselves but only with a white bass or a striped bass and are very fertile.
FISHING TOOLS
Reel and rod
For beginners, baitcasting or spin casting reeks are the easiest reels options. Beginners can use this to cast and catch fish that weighs up to twenty pounds. There are better fishing reels that will help you catch fishes that weigh over twenty pounds. But these reels are for seasoned fishers. Strong fishing reeks will help you catch bigger fishes.
Rod lengths matter. Longer rods will help you reach farther and hook the fishes better. For teenagers and beginners, the 6 foot 6 inches and the 5 foot 6 inches are the best choices. Adult beginners can use longer rods if they can be handled well for a first-timer.
Fishing line
Fishing lines are generally cords or long strings designed for fishing. The materials used for fishing lines vary. It depends on the manufacturers. Some factors must be considered for a fishing line to be efficient. Some are breaking strength, UV resistance, limpness,
stretch, breaking strength, abrasion resistance, castability, and visibility. There are many types of fishing lines available for purchase, some of which are: ardent fishing line, Berkley fishing line, Lake fork tackle fishing line, Daiwa line, Phenix line, and accessories, strike King fishing line, TUF line fishing line, Yamamoto fishing line, among many others. They vary by type, but they all serve the same purpose.
The size of the fish you want to catch might determine the fishing line's quality. For bigger fishes, thicker fishing lines should be used.
However, most times, the Fisher can't determine the size of the fish that would catch, but if you go to the right location in the water body, you might get big fishes. So it's advisable to go with thicker lines when going fishing, but if you know that you wouldn't catch big fishes, you can take the fishing line size you prefer.
Fishing hooks
Smaller hooks are better for live baits like worms. Because the hole would hold the bait in place, different hook sizes should be used for different fish sizes. If you want to play with the fish after it's caught, a circle fishing hook is your best choice. With a circle fishing hook, you can remove the fish and easily tackle it. Note that you should always go fishing with extra fishing hooks of different sizes.
Floaters
You can't know what's going on with your hook and bait in the waiter without floaters. The floater can be referred to as a tool that gives you updates while fishing. When a fish takes a bite at your bait, the floater will let you know, and when a fish is caught, the floater will also tell you so you know when to remove the fish, hook, and line from the water. The white plastic floaters and the red round floaters are the most common among Fishermen.
Plastic worms
Plastic worms are artificial works made to look like natural worms. They are manufactured from a variety of artificial polymers. It is made to look like earthworms and comes in different colors. Some plastic works brands go the extra mile and add scents to the worms to make them more alluring.
Pro Tip: If you want the most effective bait for catching bass click here.
Having access to live worms is not a possibility for everyone. Though live worms are the most common kinds of baits, they might not always be available, so the plastic worm is a good alternative. There are different kinds of plastic worms. They come in varied shapes and sizes, but the ones with long tails are better options because they are easier to work with.
Fishing bag (Waterproof)
Fishing bags are necessary to keep your fishing tools intact and well organized. A fishing bag made from quality material is even preferable because your tools wouldn't tear the bag materials. A waterproof fishing bag is the best kind of fishing bag. With this, water wouldn't get into the bag and cause your tools to defrost. After cleaning your tools and putting them in the fishing bag, you're good to go.
Like a fisherman who works on water, you need a waterproof fishing bag because while you're on the river, lake, stream, water can get into your boat. It can splash onto the things you have on deck, part of which can be your fishing bag. If this happens all the time, the tools won't last long. But with a waterproof fishing bag, you wouldn't have to worry about water splashes and rust.
Dehooker
The dehooker helps you maintain a healthy fishing habit. With the dehooker, you can unhook the fish cleanly and safely before it even gets into your boat. And if the catch turns out to be something you don't want, you dehook with the dehooker and return into the water with no stress. Asides from health and cleanliness aspects, the dehooker also saves a lot of time.
First aid kit
When working with tools, especially ones with sharp and dangerous edges, anything is liable to happen. This is why it is essential to keep a first aid box in a waterproof fishing bag. It is better to have it than not to be on the safer side.
Fishing pliers
There are two fishing pliers: the aluminum fishing pliers and the steel fishing pliers. The pliers made with aluminum are better than the steel pliers. The pliers help with the line, hooks, and the boat itself.
HOW TO CATCH A WHITE BASS
White bass is the Oklahoma state fish. They move in schools and are easy to catch depending on your expertise level. With basic fishing knowledge, white bass can be caught. It doesn't necessarily take professionalism to catch white bass. The two things to take note of are the methods for catching and the school's location. The techniques are basic; the fishes are not hard to catch. Just the know-how, tools, and persistence will help you catch white bass.
There is no one way to catch white bass. White bass can be caught with different lure methods.
The white bass grows fast and sometimes lives for up to ten years. Their females are very productive spawners. They only release eggs when the water is about 55-60 degrees, usually around spring. During this period, the school will move from larger water bodies like lakes and rivers into smaller water bodies like creeks and ponds to spawn. They move up-current in their vast numbers. There's a certain way to their migration; the smaller males move first, looking for the perfect combination of current and depth to spawn with the larger females. The females follow after the smaller makes ready for mating rites. This is an excellent time to catch male white bass.
White bass is carnivorous. So, the juvenile ones consume insects and small invertebrates. Simultaneously, the larger fishes feed on larger invertebrates like the baitfish. The average weight of the white bass is one pound. White bass weighing over 3 lbs is not common and, if caught, can be regarded as a big catch.
As mentioned earlier, the white bass breeds in the spring. The best time to catch the white bass is in the spring because they move in schools on smaller water bodies and are more concentrated. Trying to catch them before the spawning season might be challenging. The
reason is that when they are not spawning, they are spread out, scattered about in large water bodies.
To know where a school is, there are telltale signs you should look out for on the water, such as boils or when you see birds diving on a part of the water surface. It could be that they're trying to catch fishes. Head over to the area and try not to scare make them scatter because they get excited when they hear sounds, especially the sound of splashing.
Moreover, fishing for white bass can be done in large water bodies. Still, to do this successfully and consistently, the Fisher must have stable tools and electronics. They can be found near schools of the bluefish or shads.
WHITE BASS FISH LURES
Trolling
A variety of lures can be used to bait a white bass fish; they will particularly hit lures that look like shads. Clear and white shades are preferable. Chartreuse is only useful when visibility is less.
Another way of catching white bass is by trolling. Trolling is an efficient way of locating the schools. Still, it is not exactly a lot of fun because the fish doesn't weigh a lot, so going through the trolling process would mean that you want to catch a lot. Loading the boat with fishes is harder when trolling, so it's better to anchor near the school, put down your baits and lure and catch fishes.
WHITE BASS BAITS
White bass favors shads for consumption, so using shads as baits is not entirely a bad option. It's a good bait. And like other fishes, worms can be used as baits for white bass.
WHERE TO FISH FOR BIG WHITE BASS
Big white bass can be caught at the devil's lake located in North Dakota.
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN FISHING FOR WHITE BASS
Water temperature is the topmost factor that determines the white bass run timing. Before spawning, the white bass will come together to form a school and wait till the temperature is right before.
Pro Tip: If you want the most effective bait for catching bass click here.
When the water temperature gets to 50, especially the high 50's, the males begin the run and move up along the tributaries first before the females. A week or two after, the females will follow. However, it should be noted that this spawning method is not for all fishes. This is peculiar to the White Sea bass. Spawning for other fishes may stretch over to many weeks and not just one or two weeks like the white bass. Within this spawning time, there's a time when breeding would be at its peak, and that is the best time to fish.
The white bass hatch below or above the part of the stream that is not very deep. That is the shallow part of the stream, which is for a particular reason. When female white bass lay their eggs in the stream, the males will fertilize the eggs and let them settle at the bottom of the stream on debris, rocks, sticks, brush, and other suitable parts of the sea bottom. The eggs will need oxygen during incubation. And water bodies that move fast around shallow water areas have more oxygen than deep waters. Oxygen is required for the eggs to stay healthy till they hatch.
Under perfect spawning circumstances, white bass females can lay at least five hundred thousand eggs. But the white bass population is not stable sometimes. There are seasons when the fish population reduces dramatically. So many factors can cause this, one of which is
unstable weather. If the weather is unstable during the spawning periods, especially at the spawning peak, the females can stop laying eggs. So the weather condition is a crucial factor in spawning.
In the Cumberland River located in west-middle Tennessee, the fishes migrate from Lake Berkeley to the Cumberland River. There are specific places where white bass can be found in the Cumberland River. Anglers know where to look, such as island points, the mouth of gullies, fallen trees, banks on channel bends. And in places where the current runs slow, white bass can be found along the mud banks. The list of places where white bass can be found is not limited to the areas listed here; there are other places on the river that can be explored.
In Cumberland River, many female white basses can be caught on droves when they swim to the spawn location one week or two after the male white bass movements. It is possible to catch up to 30 white bass, which is the average, and you can catch way more than that.
Stable weather, minimal current, and average rainfalls bring the best fishing turnout. In contrast, unstable weather, floods, and strong current will scatter the school.
In May, in Tennessee, the white bass run ends. Once it's the first day of May, the white bass school scampers downriver. There is no need for the young to hear the movement because, during the spawning season, they do this to find the perfect spot for spawning and harvesting. The females would be ripe with eggs, so the males would find the right breeding place. When they do, the females would join them weeks later.
The Pickwick Lake below the Pickwick Dam is a spot where white bass can be found. Fifty white bass fishes can be caught there. The white basses migrate into the dam from Kentucky Lake, spread out, and go straight into spawning. If you want to catch these bass, read more on "What is the Best Bass Bait?"