A few more white bass

DesertRam

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Staff member
Last year my parents came for a visit in early May, and my dad, son, and I hit a nearby lake for a bit of fishing.

This year, the folks came down earlier to spend some time with the kids over their spring break. We boys made it out for a couple mornings of pretty decent fishing. Here are a few pictures that share our time on the water.

Here is a decent white bass I caught early on. Notice my dad fighting one of his own in the background.
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Not longer after, my son boated this one.
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Several times we had two fish on at once. Here's a pair that my son and I boated at the same time.
TroyErik29Mar2019WhiteBassDouble-L.jpg


And then the kid doubled up with Grandpa.
ErikPapa29Mar2019WhiteBassDouble-L.jpg


We called it a day just after lunch, and even though we released quite a few, we had a pretty good haul. Fish tacos here we come.
WhiteBass29MarchPaulTroyErik-L.jpg


A couple days later, we had to do it again. I landed the first one of the morning and practiced my mad selfie skills.
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(Oh, be sure to notice the hat!)
Troy31Mar2019WhiteBass-L.jpg


But the kid would not be outdone.
Erik31Mar2019WhiteBassCatch-M.jpg


Erik31Mar2019WhiteBassUnhook-L.jpg


Erik31Mar2019WhiteBass-L.jpg


Then Papa and I showed him how it was done.
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TroyPaul31Mar2019WhiteBassDouble-L.jpg


We even pulled a walleye from the depths, which made for a little fun.
TroyErik31Mar2019Walleye-L.jpg


Given our previous haul (which were already in the freezer), we turned most loose, but saved enough for a good fish fry.
WhiteBass31MarchPaulTroyErik-M.jpg
 
Fun to catch! I caught a 17” one last year a 1/2” bigger than the WI state record and cleaned it never knowing.

Don’t know why I did they have chewy, rubbery meat. Large mouth, I’ll eat all day long.
 
Originally Posted By: GCThey are a ton of fun to catch! I don't care for eating them.

Yes.
My first and only white bass trip was to Sandusky Ohio many years ago.
The fish fry after we got home convinced me I didn’t need any more white bass trips.
 
They are the ticket for young or less experienced fishermen. I take the wife and give her a 7' St. Croix Lite action spinning rig and she catches them until she is tired of reeling them in. When they are running good about any small minnow imitation or white curly tail grub lure hammers the white bass around here. You can easily catch 40-50 in a morning of fishing. We catch and release the white bass, keep crappie, look for morel mushrooms and listen for turkey gobblers. That's a good morning!
 
Originally Posted By: GCThey are the ticket for young or less experienced fishermen. I take the wife and give her a 7' St. Croix Lite action spinning rig and she catches them until she is tired of reeling them in. When they are running good about any small minnow imitation or white curly tail grub lure hammers the white bass around here. You can easily catch 40-50 in a morning of fishing. We catch and release the white bass, keep crappie, look for morel mushrooms and listen for turkey gobblers. That's a good morning!

Yep, the kids love it. It's easy to hook youngsters on fishing when you can catch a good-fighting fish every ten casts or so. Like hooking them on hunting when you shoot two boxes of shotgun shells in an evening of dove hunting.

I like the sound of your mornings too! No mushrooms or gobblers where we fish, just the incessant drone of bass boats and personal watercraft. Still, beats sleeping in or doing yard work.
 
Looks like you've had a good time, I'm here but have a bunch of boxes to unload, can't even fathom where my locator is packed at. My boat hold is full of coyote silhouette targets, the cockpit has my motorcycle rack and ladders and the gear lockers are full of cleaning supplies. Soon we're going to get squared away.

Hopefully I can get out in the next couple of weeks.

Keep the kids happy catching fish and shooting coyotes, hard to think of a better way to grow up.
 
Originally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: GCThey are a ton of fun to catch! I don't care for eating them.

Yes.
My first and only white bass trip was to Sandusky Ohio many years ago.
The fish fry after we got home convinced me I didn’t need any more white bass trips.

I recall a fishing trip I made many yrs ago along the Portage river near Sandusky. White bass were running/spawning.

the car had two big garbage cans full of white bass in the back, bubbling on a warm day. I dont know if there was a contest near or what. No one would have eaten any of those fish, for several reasons. I guess there were planted in the garden.

Recall another time I fished the same area also at spawn time. Couldnt get a hit till I put on a yellow rooster tail. Then went 6/6 and then lost the lure. Told my BIL "lets go home we are all done."
 
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