Posted By: Dennis Christian
How to catch white bass in August/September without trolling - 08/03/17 10:13 PM
Well, it is that time of year again (August and September) when white bass fishing gets more difficult on north Texas lakes.. Even some guides take a break until fishing picks back up again in October. Many of the guides that do take clients out during this period have to resort to trolling the hell-pet combo to put fish in the boat. A number of people , including me, do not care for trolling – it seems boring.
So, I wanted to offer some evidence that you can still put fish in the boat without having to troll. Let me start with my theory re why fish become hard to catch in August-September. I believe it is a new hatch of threadfin shad that becomes the dominant forage of white bass during this period. Some of the older, bigger shad are still around, and you might stumble upon some fish that are feeding on them. But as you get further and further into August, white bass will be feeding on the new hatch. These new shad are ¾ inch to 2 inches long compared to the previous generation, which are 3 to 4 ½ inches long. The older larger shad swim faster, and you can catch them by working slabs and larger spinners (#4 Mepps) faster.
The smaller, younger shad are slower and easier for the whites to catch. When the trollers go to the hell-pet rigs, they are using small pet spoons and moving them slowly, horizontally along the bottom – with best results after they have located fish on their sonars. Those who know my story, know that I use Mepps spinners pretty much exclusively to catch white bass and whatever runs with them. Most of the year I use #4 Mepps, but when August/September hit I usually have to resort to #2 Mepps. It began for me this year July 23 when I found a really good school of whites on the bottom at Key Ranch Drop-off on Cedar Creek Lake, but I couldn’t get them to touch a #4. I switched to a #2 and started catching a fish every cast. It repeated again the next couple of days.
Another observation is that during these months fishing is better in 11 to 15 fow. Many times I have located fish on deep patterns (20 to 30 fow) but can’t get them to bite throwing everything in my tackle box at them including various sizes of Mepps.
So, I looked up my statistics using the Mepps #2 pattern in 11 to 15 fow over the last 6 years and here they are:
Year.........Aug/Sep Trips........Total caught.............Average Caught/Trip
2011............14......................627.............................45
2012............20......................738.............................37
2013............8.......................755.............................94
2014............8.......................515.............................64
2015............6.......................437.............................73
2016............9.......................503.............................56
Total...........65......................3575............................55
Of the 65 trips, 70% of them I fished alone.
If you are interested, here is my rig and how I use it. I use 10 lb fluorocarbon line on a 5 or 6 to 1 ratio smooth reeling casting reel – like a Shimano Curado CU-200 or a Mettle H2O Express on a 5 ft 6 inch or 6 ft medium action rod like a Shakespeare Durango. I tie a #2 silver Mepps plain Aglia spinner to the line and add a mash-on 3/8 oz weight about 15 inches up the line. It’s the old fashioned elongated weight with dog ears on each end. The weight is required to make the rig heavy enough to cast. It also gets the rig to the bottom faster.
After I locate fish in 11 to 15 fow, I mark where they are by tossing over a float near but not on top of the fish taking note as to where the fish are relative to where I tossed over the marker. Then I back off an easy throw’s distance from the fish and anchor the boat with an anchor or iPilot. Then I make a cast beyond where the fish are and let the rig sink to the bottom. Now, unlike the way I fish a Mepps #4, I leave a little slack in the line , get my hand on the reel crank, then jerk start the retrieve and keep it moving by reeling medium to medium slow for 3 to 6 turns of the reel. If no strike, I release the reel and let the rig fall back to the bottom. Then I repeat the jerk start as I reel the Mepps 3 to 6 turns of the reel more. I repeat this all the way back to the boat. To help feel the Mepps blade start turning immediately, put a very slight bend in the Mepps wire where it comes out of the base.
I hope this helps/encourages you to not give up on August/September fishing. Please feel free to ask questions if I didn’t make it clear enough.
So, I wanted to offer some evidence that you can still put fish in the boat without having to troll. Let me start with my theory re why fish become hard to catch in August-September. I believe it is a new hatch of threadfin shad that becomes the dominant forage of white bass during this period. Some of the older, bigger shad are still around, and you might stumble upon some fish that are feeding on them. But as you get further and further into August, white bass will be feeding on the new hatch. These new shad are ¾ inch to 2 inches long compared to the previous generation, which are 3 to 4 ½ inches long. The older larger shad swim faster, and you can catch them by working slabs and larger spinners (#4 Mepps) faster.
The smaller, younger shad are slower and easier for the whites to catch. When the trollers go to the hell-pet rigs, they are using small pet spoons and moving them slowly, horizontally along the bottom – with best results after they have located fish on their sonars. Those who know my story, know that I use Mepps spinners pretty much exclusively to catch white bass and whatever runs with them. Most of the year I use #4 Mepps, but when August/September hit I usually have to resort to #2 Mepps. It began for me this year July 23 when I found a really good school of whites on the bottom at Key Ranch Drop-off on Cedar Creek Lake, but I couldn’t get them to touch a #4. I switched to a #2 and started catching a fish every cast. It repeated again the next couple of days.
Another observation is that during these months fishing is better in 11 to 15 fow. Many times I have located fish on deep patterns (20 to 30 fow) but can’t get them to bite throwing everything in my tackle box at them including various sizes of Mepps.
So, I looked up my statistics using the Mepps #2 pattern in 11 to 15 fow over the last 6 years and here they are:
Year.........Aug/Sep Trips........Total caught.............Average Caught/Trip
2011............14......................627.............................45
2012............20......................738.............................37
2013............8.......................755.............................94
2014............8.......................515.............................64
2015............6.......................437.............................73
2016............9.......................503.............................56
Total...........65......................3575............................55
Of the 65 trips, 70% of them I fished alone.
If you are interested, here is my rig and how I use it. I use 10 lb fluorocarbon line on a 5 or 6 to 1 ratio smooth reeling casting reel – like a Shimano Curado CU-200 or a Mettle H2O Express on a 5 ft 6 inch or 6 ft medium action rod like a Shakespeare Durango. I tie a #2 silver Mepps plain Aglia spinner to the line and add a mash-on 3/8 oz weight about 15 inches up the line. It’s the old fashioned elongated weight with dog ears on each end. The weight is required to make the rig heavy enough to cast. It also gets the rig to the bottom faster.
After I locate fish in 11 to 15 fow, I mark where they are by tossing over a float near but not on top of the fish taking note as to where the fish are relative to where I tossed over the marker. Then I back off an easy throw’s distance from the fish and anchor the boat with an anchor or iPilot. Then I make a cast beyond where the fish are and let the rig sink to the bottom. Now, unlike the way I fish a Mepps #4, I leave a little slack in the line , get my hand on the reel crank, then jerk start the retrieve and keep it moving by reeling medium to medium slow for 3 to 6 turns of the reel. If no strike, I release the reel and let the rig fall back to the bottom. Then I repeat the jerk start as I reel the Mepps 3 to 6 turns of the reel more. I repeat this all the way back to the boat. To help feel the Mepps blade start turning immediately, put a very slight bend in the Mepps wire where it comes out of the base.
I hope this helps/encourages you to not give up on August/September fishing. Please feel free to ask questions if I didn’t make it clear enough.
Good stuff and lots of good info from many hours on the water. Thanks, DC! Hope you are feeling better 
