# Harder to locate White Bass or Sasquatch?



## phishtales (Feb 18, 2005)

The run hasn't started...
the run is already over...
they are in the creeks
They are returning to the main lake
These white bass are very stealthy......

What's your story?


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

Nah, just call SS and he knows EXACTLY where they are. Sasquatch, not so much!!!


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## phishtales (Feb 18, 2005)

*and crappie*

Crappie....even more stealthy. More chance of being abducted and probed.

Did I really just say probed on a fishing forum...:spineyes:


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## Ducktracker (Aug 1, 2011)

I agree with RB II I have never chased up creek or river. Always wait till after bulkhead bite to look for them.


Good fishing to all!


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## Mako-Wish (Jul 10, 2011)

They are there. It's definitely not over. They are just concentrated in a few places and picky what they are eating. 

Tip: try downsizing your bait. They are keyed in on tiny shad and minnows in the creeks right now. Try to mimic that.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Loy will very likely catch WB where ever he is when ever he is there.

Some, (a lot) of WB will go upstream to spawn. I think the expected rain today will help that happen, they need water flow. The next 4 weeks will be prime.

My 2 cents


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## GaryI (Mar 18, 2015)

I've only lived on the lake for a few years but the seasonal fish movements in and around the lake, particularly WB, are very hard for me to understand. Sometimes, like last spring and summer, the WB are thick all over the lake and the numbers seem incredible. Other times, like now, I can't even find a school on sonar. I would really like to better understand the movements, but until I can hook GPS trackers to a few of them, it will remain a mystery to me.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Looks like the wind will wipe out my internet soon, so I thought I would weigh in now.
Last year I was catching spawning white bass starting about the 10th of February.
The red bud trees that I use as an indicator to start looking bloomed on the 16th last year. The trees were blooming about a week earlier this year.
I was catching them about five days before the trees bloomed last year, but had to use all my tricks to catch them.
Especially using very small jigs(1/16oz) CRAWLED SLOWLY on bottom, or even just let the current move them with almost no reeling. 

Then on the 16th it started busting loose and they moved from the edge of the river, where they start when they first come up the river, to the middle and faster current.
That usually marks the time they are easier to catch as they start to be much more aggressive.
So the timeline is really not too much different than years past IMHO.

Like Donald I think this rain will make them go ballistic, but it might really change the game plan for catching them.
They will head up creeks as far they can, right up to where a shoal or small waterfall stops them and they spawn there.

They spawn in waves, and I think the first big wave happened back during the last rain/rise.
There should be another wave with this rise, and that should tell the story about where the spawn is, if fishing busts loose they could be in the creeks and river for another three weeks. 
With the waves getting smaller in numbers and the size of the females goes down with each wave.
Until all that is left are yellow bass, and small male white bass, (still hoping), by the middle of March.

Mako Wish has good advice on downsizing baits, white bass feed on small emerging crawfish during the early stages of the spawn unless the shad are making a strong run and are abundant. 
Which is also why they are in specific spots right now, catching the small craw fish as they emerge from shallow sloughs into the feeder creeks and river, a rise flushes them out in bigger numbers and triggers a more wide spread and aggressive bite.

I didn't go up the creeks early this year and may not go at all, as long as I can catch white bass taking The Mighty Red-Fin out of where I keep it at Beacon Bay Marina, that's what I will do, getting it on a trailer and fighting the crowds has less appeal as I get older. 
So I don't know what the shad movement looks like this year. Most years the shad precede the white bass and that really helps the fishing, as the white bass will have forage besides the crawfish to sustain them during the spawning rigors and be more more wide spread in the river. 
I have a feeling the shad the have not been as plentiful as they used to be up river this year, but I have no personnel information since I have not been to check.
And it seems to me the shad population has been changing, it seems small threadfin are the trend since the floods three years ago. I have no idea why, but since those floods a 1/2 to 3/4 oz slab has been much more effective than larger ones.


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## phishtales (Feb 18, 2005)

*same for me...*

I went kayaking a few years ago to Bedias creek. It was crazy good. I was catching fish almost every cast. It was perfect. I am not even sure how to access it anymore. I heard that the crazy steep launch site I used for my Kayak is now privately owned.

I did a trip with Simon at get the net guide service a couple of years ago. We got into them really think below the dam. Besides that, it is pretty hit or miss for me. I caught two big males out of a hole just south of the green pipe at JJ Saturday in the first 15 minutes, then nada for the next hour......Lost three rattle traps. That gets pretty expensive pretty fast.

BTW Mako. Thanks for the advice on lure size. I will try that. Any specific recommendation? I usually use Rat-l-traps or roadrunners. It would be nice to find a place to dunk a minnow since by son is still learning to cast..

You only need a snare and some jerky to catch Sasquatch...Maybe the easier and cheaper choice....but what to do with it.


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## phishtales (Feb 18, 2005)

*thanks SS*

That is the most comprehensive response I have seen so far on the current situation and what to expect. Very informative and well written. I am going to try the downsizing.

Thank you!!

I am looking forward to setting up our crappie trip as soon as they turn on.


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## SeaOx 230C (Aug 12, 2005)

I have to agree with SS on this one. Not only does he have more experience than me, his recollection of last year is what I recall also. I think they are right on schedule for the most part.

My log from last year shows that they did not really turn on until just about the second and third week of February. And I had been trying the same location every week since the end of December.

Last Friday and Saturday the water temp in the part of the river I fished was 57 on Friday and 59-60 on Saturday. From what I have read they spawn in 54-68 degrees water *and* the correct amount of daylight/dark cycle(they spawn in daylight).

So that says to me we are just now reaching the optimum water temps and light cycle.

It can/could and will bust loose any minute now. This is a time when you just have go and keep going if you want to be there when it happens. This is how it has always been pretty much.

You go and don't see any signs of fish in the river or creek. Then you go back a few days or a week later and see fish everywhere but can't hardly get them to bite (try small 1-2" crawfish or minnows).

Then you go back a few days or a week later and Bam!!!!!! You can't keep them off the hook.

That to me is part of the excitement!!!! You don't know when but you know it's coming.

Is it going to be today? Nope, gotta go back next weekend.

Is it going to be today? Nope, going back again next week.

Then next week comes and it is Katy bar the door!!!!!!! And every one is wondering how there can be that many fish in one spot.


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## phishtales (Feb 18, 2005)

*thanks...excellent information*

Thanks again for the information. My go to baits are pretty limited with chrome/black rat-l-traps and roadrunners. Any others that I should add to the arsenal? your top 4 for the creeks? Just looking to expand the list of options.

PS....not trying to get into too much detailed stuff. I know some of you do this for a living. Just whatever you are comfortable sharing.

Thanks again...


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## Mako-Wish (Jul 10, 2011)

Phish-just sent you a pm


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## Bankin' On It (Feb 14, 2013)

There goes the fishery. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## phishtales (Feb 18, 2005)

*huh?*

Is that sarcasm? Cause It feels like sarcasm.:rotfl:


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## Bankin' On It (Feb 14, 2013)

phishtales said:


> Is that sarcasm? Cause It feels like sarcasm.:rotfl:


It was. :brew2:


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## Mako-Wish (Jul 10, 2011)

he was bringing up a controversial post I made last year about giving out too much information on the public forum.


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## Bankin' On It (Feb 14, 2013)

Mako-Wish said:


> he was bringing up a controversial post I made last year about giving out too much information on the public forum.


Just giggin' ya Mako. :brew2:


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## phishtales (Feb 18, 2005)

*Funny....*

All in good fun. I appreciate all of the great feedback and advice. Everyone can benefit from it. Allegedly there area lot of WB out there waiting to be caught so the fishery is probably safe.

As for Sasquatches...not so many


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## SeaOx 230C (Aug 12, 2005)

phishtales said:


> All in good fun. I appreciate all of the great feedback and advice. Everyone can benefit from it. Allegedly there area lot of WB out there waiting to be caught so the fishery is probably safe.
> 
> As for Sasquatches...not so many


I don't know about that if you ask around the river bottom where I'm from there are lots of folks that have seen Bigfoot with their own eyes. :spineyes::spineyes:

And everyone knows black Panthers are real too, so don't even think about going there:rotfl::rotfl:


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## phishtales (Feb 18, 2005)

*now you went and did it*

Now you did it....had to bring black panthers into the discussion. Those stories are good for a thread all by themselves. Weird as it is, I actually like reading those stories. I heard the first one from my dad 40 years ago. After that, I was hooked.


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## Mako-Wish (Jul 10, 2011)

ive actually heard of 3 black panther encounters in the last few months. which is more than white bass limits i have seen.


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## SD Hawkins (Jan 2, 2008)

Grandpa got me on the black panthers when I first started hunting by myself. The guy that was the cook at both of our youth hunts this year was a bona fide Bigfoot believer, so much so that I was told not to bring it up as he was very adamant about the existence of it. Made me think he was a little off the rocker ya know so I kept my distance!!

Hope this rain helps, we got little over an inch here yesterday. Creeks went up to 68, down to 66 already and the mean is 64 so hopefully it clears for the weekend.


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## phishtales (Feb 18, 2005)

*Sasquatch and White Bass*

The Bigfoot hunting shows on TV are pretty funny. It looks like a blast going out in the woods to look for them even if you don't find one. They just need more jerky.

The weather is shaping up nicely. I am going to monitor as well and hit the creek this weekend. I got the bug after all of the WB chatter across the different threads. Going to Academy to stock up on some suggested options.


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