Surface Fishing
With hundreds of fish rolling the surface only a few feet away, it's hard to remain calm and put casts where they will do the most good— right in the middle of the school. While feeding on the surface, they'll take nearly any kind of bait, so cast gently and keep the bait as close as possible to the surface. Slow retrieves give white bass every opportunity to take baits. If lure fishing, keep lures just under the surface where bass are feeding. Using lighter pound-test line (two to six pounds) gives more distance when casting, a good feature when schools are moving just beyond regular casting range.
White bass can be taken on all forms of tackle. For more adventuresome anglers, ultralight rods and reels produce plenty of excitement, although conventional spinning and spincast gear are very popular. These fish are not large in size, but their slim, wide bodies can put up a good fight.
Every tackle box, regardless how small, has a lure or two worth trying on white bass. Lures resembling minnows give an added incentive for fish to hit. Rapalas and Rebels work well and they offer a variety of sizes and running depths, but since you're dealing with smaller fish, use small sizes. Floating models can be worked along the surface when necessary and countdown models in waters between top and bottom. Any lure resembling minnows or their swimming action will serve the purpose.
One of the oldest lures (but still as good as new) is the standard number one, two, or even 0 countdown tail spinner. Tail spinners work well on schooling white bass when they suspend deeper than the top few feet. Count them down to the depth of the suspended school and crank them through it. In a feeding frenzy white bass smash these lures by reflex. Standard straight-shaft spinners in sizes 0 through three can be worked more easily in the top few feet of water. When choosing colors for either type of spinner, use silver on bright days and gold under low light conditions.
Jigs are good when fish settle down and for this species they should weigh between one-sixteenth to one-quarter of an ounce. Bucktailed or rubber jigs can be used. Rubber-bodied jigs on store shelves offer a vast range of size, shape, and color (silver is one of the most dependable, though). Their action is superb. Jigheads and bodies can be purchased separately, giving anglers an inexpensive way of filling a tackle box with an assortment of good lures. A one-sixteenth-, one-eighth-, or one-quarter-ounce leadhead jig and a shad body are particularly successful with white bass.
Spoons are also good since they resemble swimming baitfish. A wide variety of silver-flashing or painted spoons will pick up white bass. They should be worked through the schools.
The most attractive offering for white bass, of course, is the minnow. Minnows can be worked close to the surface or right on bottom. By lengthening line between bobber and bait, there are few depths of water that can't be fished successfully. They can be drifted from boats, trolled on a worm harness, still-fished with a bobber, or fished directly on bottom with extra weight. In other words, minnows are an all-round bait.
