With the recent rains all the conditions were in place to start the whitebass run in many parts of Texas.
JMoe, Ray and I have been traveling all over Central and East Texas fly fishing many creeks for the springtime favorite sportfish but having very little to show for the effort.
I fished all the way down and then back up this little creek with the fly and was skunked.
Just before giving up on the bass and thinking about changing to a sunfish fly I met a fellow fisherman who had caught five whitebass in just a short time with a roadrunner jig.
I switched to my spinning gear and started throwing a roostertail inline spinner.
It was GAME ON for the next hour before sunset!

We all got hit with the whitebass fever something bad which makes the infected do some crazy stuff..
Between the three of us we caught well over a hundred whitebass on the 5th of January 2025.
Crazy day weather-wise, warm and muggy in the morning then turning windy, rainy and cold by the days end.

Great videos 👍

Neat video as always. Good job.


Side Note: You called it right on the Redbreast Sunfish.

Same here in north Alabama. The mouths of the creeks are loaded with sandbass. Friday, I quit catfishing for a while to enjoy catching them on jigs tipped with a Berkely Gulp shad bait. Reminded me of the days when I lived on Lake Lewisville.

The next ten days will be the trigger that get the whitebass moving! Start looking for those creeks that have good flow and color closer to the rivers and lakes. Stained flood water helps cover the fishes movement from the many predators as they move into the spawning areas. It appears at this point that the Lake Somerville watershed is going to be spotty at best until there is a good flush of freshwater to bring the lake closer to pool level. The Trinity watershed looks to be in good shape and might be the best option for the early part of the run. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW UNTIL YOU GO!

Lots of variables. Depends on where you are on the map ... and so so many other factors. But it happens ...

I’ve spent many years trying to pattern when the run starts in north texas. Ive seen them show up in February with snow on the ground, and I’ve seen them not show up until mid March with lots of warm weather. They’re unpredictable and they just kinda show up when they show up. East texas tends to start quite a bit earlier, regardless of temps, I have no reason why but that’s just what I’ve noticed. I’ve got a few spots where I can consistently catch them around new years, it can be 20 degrees outside and we’re busting ice off our rod tips catching fish every cast. That’s the exception, not the rule, but especially in east texas they can show up anytime after new years. DFW they can show up anytime after the first of February, it’s not common at all, but it’s really just a crapshoot with these fish.

I will go as far as to say NO it is not time yet (02/03/25).
https://youtube.com/shorts/-pgIsojj7UQ?si=4Fz8jmYjrucp9bOh