White bass question

I am curious, since I caught a white bass in Medina lake yesterday at the state park, do they go up into the Medina river to spawn, or might they be spawning in the little "creek" right there by the state park? That thing doesn't go very far before it dries up, so I wouldn't think they would spawn there, but the fish I caught was only about 400-500 yards from there.

White Bass (Sand Bass, Sandies) will do strange things at any time of the year. But, typically the spawning run starts some time in the Spring when the days get longer. It will depend on a lot of things to nail down when the run is at a peak, as it usually last for several weeks. The timing depends on Temperature, Moon Phase, river flow, etc. Lots of variables, and not necessarily in that order. Think somewhere between March 1 and May 1. Maybe earlier.

They likely go up the river during the peak of the spawn. Maybe the creek too. In fact they will spawn on wind blown points if there isn't river flow. Their eggs have to tumble in a current to survive. Nature tells them to run up flowing water.

But not normally at this time of year.

Growing up fishing the Medina river as a kid, I learned to fish using speck rigs and jigs fishing the rapids all the way from English Crossing on down to what was called Alamo Beach, Whartons Dock, and Liebolds camp. usually around March on into April as the spawn usually was later as the water warmed and days got longer.
Medina has had it's ups and downs over the years and mostly down.
Also the river flow has really slowed and there aren't as many live springs feeding into the river any longer maybe due to the large demand on the aquifer from population growth and drought.
You could give it a try on the upper end if you can find a place to put in up there without property owners running you off.
Most of the public access is now private, and gone out of business, so be warned.

They'll spawn anywhere that has current. Wind blown points can be enough water movement for them to do their thing.

A good sand bar will produce boat loads of whites during this time

#2 mepps silver blade white tail

Great question. I was thinking of asking that question here myself. I ran my boat as far as I could upriver from the State Park launch a couple of weeks ago. Pretty much was dry and ended shorter than were I expected it would. I wasn't fishing, just out to run the boat, give my dogs some fresh air, and look for hunting and fishing spots. I have not fished for them here but since I recently moved only 10 minutes away I believe I'll start.

I'm curious how to find the fish without a fish finder and when the water is down on medina as well.

Medina is a DEEEEEP lake and you have to learn to read the shorline to understand what is below it.
The sheer bluffs are a continuation of what you see above the waterline.
The gradual flat shoreline is going to be the same, and you can see where the creeks enter the lake.
Look for structure such as bolders, lay down logs, and brush will usually hold fish.
Anything that looks different from the surrounding shoreline usually will hold fish.

Thank you Jimbo! Are you throwing deep cranks or jigs to get down there?