White Bass Season

Every year the white bass run is different. The fish act different, the river re-shapes itself and the weather is never the same. This year we are having a heat wave. The temps today were in the 80's. A thunderstorm last night left the river stained and running with a decent flow. There were more trees and logs in the water than I remembered. I hit the trail just as the sun rays started peaking through the trees.

The recent rain made the landscape look like it was wet with dew. As I came out of the forest I walked along a field that is maintained by the Army Corp Of Engineers. It was flash burned last year and in one year it has grown back even taller. I'm not sure if it is because of the strange weather or some other phenomenon but there were spider webs everywhere.

There was so many they kind of blurred together and looked like they were a part of the plants. I'm always fascinated by spider webs and how no two seem to ever look that same. Some are very intricate and others are messy like they were made with no focus or specific goal in mind. 

The fishing was slow even with activity here and there. There were splashes and random plops from fish rising hitting things off the surface. I caught a bluegill on my first cast. It took several more before I finally felt the tug of what I waited a year for. I never remember how hard white bass fight.  Even with a 5wt a 13inch fish can give you a nice tussle. The fish bend and shape themselves against the current making it difficult to bring them in. Once they get close they like to circle and make you spin in circles to keep up with them. I never get tired of catching them. 

It wasn't until this year that I realized how yellow the fishes eyes are. They are almost mustard yellow. I'm not sure if these fish see better in light or dark water but they can strike flies with lightning quickness.

Once you hook one you never can quite tell how big it is. All you know is something is on the end of your line and it ain't happy. Some species fight like they're scared when you catch them, white bass act like they are pi$$ed off.  For good reason too. The more time they are being yanked around the river is time they could be looking for mating prospects. This year was the first time I have ever seen spawning behavior. I saw boils from fish and several times I saw fish chasing each other. It was very cool.   Every year the same places seem to be productive.  I tried other parts of the river but at the end of the day I went back to the same hot spots I hit every year.

These locations are becoming less and less secret. It seems that the internet and popularity of social media has really taken its toll on the white bass run. There were more people than I have ever seen this year and with the limit of 25 fish a day it's amazing anyone catches anything. Even with all the odds against the fish they seem to maintain good populations and the fish are larger this year than I remember. I'm not sure what I want more, bigger fish and less of them, or a ton of smaller size fish.  I guess all I really care about is catching them. The morning ended with a few fish landed and time well spent with friends. A perfect fishing day if you ask me.