I was able to sneak out for about an hour and a half last night to fish for white bass with my friend Paul McCall. Paul landed a nice white before I even showed up - a fish around 1.5 lbs or more. After moving upstream a ways, I got one of those strikes that simply stops your lure in its tracks. The fish was fighting his way up and down river as I tried to guide him around logs and rocks. He was giving my ultra-lite set-up all it could handle. Finally he was tiring, but the bank was steep and muddy and I was worried my 4 lb test would break if I lifted him to shore. So, I carefully worked him down river, reaching my rod around trees and briar bushes, until I got to a spot where I could land him. It was a brute - a fish which I would later find was a male that measured 17" and weighed in at 2 lbs 7 oz on verified scales. The fish is my personal best NC white bass to date and easily qualified for a NC Trophy Citation. I did catch another giant white a couple years ago, but never officially weighed him.
Two big white bass - including the trophy on the left (2 lbs 7 oz and 1 lb 12 oz)
Paul and I caught fish reguarly until dark and ended up with 30-40 when we called it a night. We kept a few to eat - all over 1.25 lbs and most over 1.5 lbs - except one runt that wasn't going to make it. The majority of the fish we caught (and kept) were males, but the females are slowly moving in.
It was a great night of fishing and a lot of fun. I am definitely making a return trip before the weekend.
Also, I am writing an in-depth article for RippinLip Outdoors that details a lot of tactics, techniques, and patterns for white bass. Keep an eye out on their site later this week for full coverage. Tight lines!
Never fished for White Bass out my way. However, I know enough that these are some really nice ones. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks! They are really fun to catch on light tackle. A lot of people look down their noses at them because they are pretty easy to catch, but catching big ones requires a little more patience and skill a lot of the time. Plus they are just downright fun...and that is what fishing should be about!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the blog post .
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