# White bass on Conroe



## FISHROADIE (Apr 2, 2010)

The last day i fished Conroe, I ate lunch at stow away marina, i talked to one of the fishing guides on the lake he asked me if i have caught any white bass lately. And come to think of it I have not, he said he had only caught 8 all year, I was wondering if any one has caught any on conroe lately. White bass have a life span of 5 years, lake Conroe has not had a good flow of water in the river for a few years at the time of the year that they spawn. He got me to thinking that there may not be as many white bass in the lake any more. So late in the day before I got off the water I went to a place were the white bass should have been this time of year and i graphed some fish that should have been white bass i fished minnows down to them and had no takers. I was just wondering if anybody has had any luck catching them.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

In the past we have had a lot of people who live very close to Conroe come to Livingston to catch white bass with us, as they say that the fish are bigger.

Some did say that they had seen very few white bass caught on Conroe this year. I guess being much a smaller lake the population varies more widely than they do on Livingston.
This year on Livingston the white bass were about average for the most part, last year was one of the best ever for size and numbers.
This year on April 29th we caught our first white bass jigging spoons on the South end. 
They were some large female(17"+ that were re-absorbing their eggs) white bass that were schooled up with some male stripers(which were milting as we landed them).
I bet the over ripe eggs in the females had attracted the hormone crazy stripers. 
It was a very good morning and we landed more than fifty of the big white bass and 8 stripers about 22".
We caught some schools of those big white bass mixed with stripers for a few weeks after that.
Then from late April-July (the best time for jigging white bass) we did not catch white bass of that size again.
I think the ones caught ealry were on their last spawn(even though they did not release their eggs) and died, but at any rate we did not catch any big numbers of large white bass the rest of the year until October for me. 
When I found a school of very big white bass that would hit slab spoons like crazy for a while. I was already fishing for cat fish more than anything else and didn't keep after them. 2cool reports indicated that there were a lot of big white bass being caught on through October.
Where those big white bass hid during the summer I would like to know, lol!
I bet those Conroe white bass are hiding out and will make a rebound soon. It only takes one good spawn to get the population up. 
If they don't make the mistake of getting near mattsfishn!


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Here in our warmer climate and higher water temps, the whites only last about 36 to 40 months. Their higher metabolism requires more food. They just burn out hunting chow.
The lower river flows can be as detrimental as floods when it comes to WB spawning activity.
WB are native to all of the East Texas rivers. They were here long before us and our dams. They will here be long after we are gone if we do not poison the lands and water.
Mother Nature does not produce a bumper crop of any thing year after year. You should see a big come back in a year or two. In the mean time get on those hybrids and big blue cats.


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## Jeff G (May 18, 2010)

Sad to say , We have seen some nice whites but these were in the bellys of some of the 5-8 pound blues that we have cleaned .


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## Bozo (Jun 16, 2004)

I'm not a biologist but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express a few times.

I know some sandy areas on Conroe where the white bass would spawn and they weren't up in the river above the lake. Areas with sandy bottom in about 3-4 feet of water would hold tons of whites during the spawn before the hydrilla took hold about 5 years ago. Since the hydrilla covered up those areas, I've noticed a huge decline in both white bass and bar (yellow) bass. I suspect that since the lake is pretty much devoid of any vegetation again, those areas will return to being the spawning grounds and the population will recover quickly. Just give it another year or so and they'll be a pest again.


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## texcajun (Feb 22, 2009)

2 years ago I killed them in the creeks on the northern end of Lake Conroe. One of the best spawns I had ever seen in my 15 years of going up there. Last year, different story, the rains always came and blew out the creeks. It's a delicate balance on Conroe from what I've seen. Nice slow drenching rains that keep the creeks flowing, but not too high are what I hope for. The thing that get's me is I have seen some outstanding creek runs over the years but not a lot of guides target the whites on the main lake. Shadslinger and several others have the lake bite figured out on Livingston. Just wonder why there aren't a lot of guides going after them on Conroe.


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

I did notice this past spring the whites were not as thick as usual. I fish for them Jan thru march. I took several people this year and they thought it was really good and some really big fish but it was not as good as in the past. It was a dry winter and the whites didn't go as far up the river as they usually do. The first time they put grass carp in Conroe a couple years later we were catchin a lot of 3 1/2 whites. They should make a good recovery with the hydrilla gone but I wish we had the hydrilla back in the lake. As mentioned before we will have a few exceptional years and then some no so years but they have always made a comeback.

Matt


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## Listo (Jun 26, 2010)

When I was home around May 1st I took my better half Jen and my handicaped cousin out and we caught about 30 WB in 3 hours trolling. My cousin even caught his now famous 13 pound hybrid.LOL! I have been hearing about that now for months. I sure hope that if they have declined that TP&W or someone will restock?


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## markbrumbaugh (Jul 13, 2010)

Mattsfishin said:


> I did notice this past spring the whites were not as thick as usual. I fish for them Jan thru march. I took several people this year and they thought it was really good and some really big fish but it was not as good as in the past. It was a dry winter and the whites didn't go as far up the river as they usually do. The first time they put grass carp in Conroe a couple years later we were catchin a lot of 3 1/2 whites. They should make a good recovery with the hydrilla gone but I wish we had the hydrilla back in the lake. As mentioned before we will have a few exceptional years and then some no so years but they have always made a comeback.
> 
> Matt


Same thing at Livingston. Nice size and lots of fish in the spring and then they all disappeared except for baby fish.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Stop it Matt! I am tied to my desk and your making my mouth water.


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## Boomhauer75 (Jan 3, 2010)

Thanks for the pictures pop! It is almost that time again!:cheers: See you Sunday!


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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

Those were some fun times last Jan. thru March... they're some really big WB stacked up in there!


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Don't worry, then will return. They are cyclic. Not even BP can kill them all off.


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