Ended up having a rough day until about 3pm when I changed lures and started pounding them with a Lil jig. This morning the bass were going insane when it was still dark but my headlamp went out and I couldn't see anything. I ended up walking way further downstream than anticipated in the dark. I was using my phone light. I think I walked like 2 miles. By time I got back near the bridge, spots were filled. I'm an idiot. It was way slower today everyone was saying, only certain spots people were getting big stringers. I caught one in the dark in the morning and after lunch I went upstream and found a whole and slayed them on a I tiny jig. I caught about 18 wb, missed three, all males it seemed. One small crappie and a big largemouth about 4lbs. So it ended up being a great day. I kept about 10 bass and threw back the rest. Learned a lot today but I put the work. That mistake of a walk I made in the morning had me worn out by 8:30 haha. I'm exhausted. Glad I learned some new techniques and new spots not far from parking lot. I also met a fellow one of you guys out there today, but I can't recall his name.
Going to have to leave these fish on ice and filet tomorrow since I'm dead. Tight lines guys.
I went to Newman's Bottom this morning. I fished from 7:30 to 10:15. I caught and released 25 white bass in multiple holes upstream of the bridge. Fishing was steady. I caught fish in almost every spot but no more than 8 in any one spot. I saw lots of spawning activity. The majority of the fish were caught holding tight to the bottom around fell trees. Lots of spawned out females in the bunch.
I went to Newman's Bottom this morning. I fished from 7:30 to 10:15. I caught and released 25 white bass in multiple holes upstream of the bridge. Fishing was steady. I caught fish in almost every spot but no more than 8 in any one spot. I saw lots of spawning activity. The majority of the fish were caught holding tight to the bottom around fell trees. Lots of spawned out females in the bunch.
Thanks J-Moe and thanks for the info. How much longer you think we got?
I drove across the dam yesterday and saw like a hundred rods set up out there lol, are they fishing for hybrids? I'm ready for the shad spawn so I can go to my old big creek spot again. Any clues to where the crappie are at? The one I caught yesterday was about half a pound. There's a local neighborhood pond here where I've been catching about 5 an hour and they are hitting big swimbaits I use for largemouth. It's a wild pond.
I drove across the dam yesterday and saw like a hundred rods set up out there lol, are they fishing for hybrids? I'm ready for the shad spawn so I can go to my old big creek spot again. Any clues to where the crappie are at? The one I caught yesterday was about half a pound. There's a local neighborhood pond here where I've been catching about 5 an hour and they are hitting big swimbaits I use for largemouth. It's a wild pond.
Yes, it was likely hybrids that they were focused on catching.
Ben and I were discussing the same thing. Where are the crappie? But I was hoping to find a place I could wade fish for them during the spawn. That would be great fun to wade and fly fish for them in the shallower water. I have no clue where to do that though.
I've been catching crappie in the creeks, nails and yegua for the past few weeks. Probably caught 30 last weekend with 1 of every 5 being legal. All those folks on the main lake are probably looking for whites and hybrids, we have been catching them schooling again. I'll be fishing a lot more this week with the extended vacation I'm getting with the silly virus.
Fished NB 7am-1pm, Tuesday 3/17/20, parking area crowded in morning. caught 2 WB (1 keeper), small LMB, perch, shad. Others had similar (or worse) results. A girl & dad using minnows did not do any better (surprised me!!).
Thanks for the report JILAS. I fished from 4 to 6 PM and only caught about 15. Nobody that I saw had more than one fish. The water was up 6 to 12 inches and cloudy. I didn't see very much spawning activity nor did I catch many females. I thought the additional flow might have drawn a few more fish up but it definitely didn't.
First time poster, long time lurker. Went out to Newman's bottom for the first time yesterday afternoon and then again this morning for a couple hours. Just 12 WB total (and $10+ in lost lures!), only 3 females, egg sacs still full. Fished upstream both times, throwing mainly a 1/8th oz jerkbait, 1/16th oz white spinnerbait (until it got hung up), and a 1/24th oz orange crankbait. Yesterday saw a couple stringers with 5+ fish. Today saw some guy with his grandson just slaying them on what looked like spoons, they had at least 20 fish between the two of them. Other than that, didn't see more than 2-3 per stringer and nothing of size.
Is this just a temporary dampening or is it all downhill from here on out? Also, are there fish to be had at Irwin Bridge? Is there more open water there? On another note, I've been trying to get them on the white/chartreuse grubs that everyone seems to be using, but haven't had much success at all with them (besides a few ambitious bluegill). On top of that, it slows me down having to strip weeds off the grub every other cast. What am I doing wrong? Should I be bouncing it along the bottom or swimming it over the weed beds?
I brought Mom up to fish at Newmans on Monday the 16th and it was much slower than last week. She used minnows and caught 3 small black bass, 1 small crappie, and a couple channel cats. I used the 1/32 oz jig again and caught 18 white bass. All whites were caught in shallow running water, nothing came out of the deeper holes. People that were brave enough to wade in and stand on top of the trees in the creek below the bridge were able to fill up stringers pretty quick, but I saw too many snakes swimming by for me to try that. I did not see much spawning going on either, I only caught 3 females that had a male chasing it to the bank.
Thank you to everyone that leaves tips on how to fish for white bass. This has been my first year to fish for these and I was ready to give up, but reading through all these pages has really helped and made it a very enjoyable and addicting experience.
First time poster, long time lurker. Went out to Newman's bottom for the first time yesterday afternoon and then again this morning for a couple hours. Just 12 WB total (and $10+ in lost lures!), only 3 females, egg sacs still full. Fished upstream both times, throwing mainly a 1/8th oz jerkbait, 1/16th oz white spinnerbait (until it got hung up), and a 1/24th oz orange crankbait. Yesterday saw a couple stringers with 5+ fish. Today saw some guy with his grandson just slaying them on what looked like spoons, they had at least 20 fish between the two of them. Other than that, didn't see more than 2-3 per stringer and nothing of size.
Is this just a temporary dampening or is it all downhill from here on out? Also, are there fish to be had at Irwin Bridge? Is there more open water there? On another note, I've been trying to get them on the white/chartreuse grubs that everyone seems to be using, but haven't had much success at all with them (besides a few ambitious bluegill). On top of that, it slows me down having to strip weeds off the grub every other cast. What am I doing wrong? Should I be bouncing it along the bottom or swimming it over the weed beds?
Excellent Report
First of all, losing $10 worth of lures in the Yegua is a good day. I call it the "Yegua Monster" because it eats lures
It will just go downhill from this point. There aren't many fish around Irwin Bridge which is another sign the white bass are moving out.
You are using too heavy and too big lures. Use an ultra light rod with 4 lb. fluorocarbon. Use the lightest jig head you can possibly throw. That's usually a 1/32nd ounce jig head. The hook will ride up. The Booyah 1/32 ounce white marabou jigs you can purchase at Walmart are a good choice.
Yes, the fish are on the bottom right now.
Then you must learn how to present that bait with a delicate presentation.
The fish, especially at this time, will bunch up very tight. You have to be able to drift that bait softly into a spot the size of a 5 gallon bucket.
That is why the fly rod is far superior in difficult conditions. You can drift something very slowly onto the nose of the fish. The drop rate of a 1/32 ounce jig or even a 1/64 ounce is often too much for me to be successful.
Good luck, I hope you catch a few. The good thing is the shad spawn on the main lake should be starting soon. So early morning and late evening the white bass and hybrids will be up on the shore. Fish are in a feeding frenzy and super easy to catch. It's a blast watching them busting the top of the water. Especially, the hybrids.
