Night fishing for white bass question

So, I have always fished for white bass at night during the summer my whole life. My whole family has always done it this way. I’ve always used lights in the water using minnows, jigs and sometimes shad. I like to do this method when we take guest that never fish. My question is, why is it that the end of July pretty much till the next spring the white bass don’t bite anymore. I can catch an easy limit right after the spawn up until the end of July. It has been this way for me for as long as I can remember. This is a nighttime question. I can get them in the day but the night time really puzzles me. Does anyone have an idea why this is. I fish mainly at Tawakoni but I tried Hubbard last night and it was the same thing. Thanks.

me too

Night fishing used to be the norm on Texoma, Cedar Creek, and other lakes, back in the 70's and 80's. There used to be boats lined up at the ramps waiting to get on the water about sundown. Doesn't seem like hardly anybody does this any more. Used to be a guide on Ray Hubbard who specialized in night fishing. His gig was to tie on 5 different jigs and drop straight down. I guess they caught fish, because they were in business for several years. There was also a "Party Boat" on Ray Hubbard that night fished 15 to 20 people at once.

Nobody does it any more. But you've got to figure that if it worked then, it will still work now.

Good luck, and be safe.

We have been doing pretty well at night. First pic is from Friday night and the 2nd is from 2 weeks ago. Even picked up a ol fat girl friday night.

I night fish at PK. Don't catch many white bass at night anymore because our flood gates were open for over a month and they went down the Brazos, but the fish still bite fast and furious. Lots of big Bluegills, a few crappie and magnum LM Bass. In the past when the sandies were still there in numbers you could see hundreds of them constantly moving through the light. If you don't see them in the light they just aren't there.

If you can find some of the docks with the submerged lights that would be the ticket. My buddy was out there about a month ago and wore the stripers and sand bass out. Caught a couple decent size LMB as well on the lights.

i've wondered the same question. Thought we would be able to go night fish in the winter, and the fish were not there at all. I'm guessing it has to do with the temperatures. The bite seems to have slowed down recently, and most the fish i'm catching are 20ft deep. I assume that right now the water is so hot that the fish stick near the thermocline for the most part. All i'm seeing near the surface are catfish and largemouth. For the winter, I think it's that the night air is cooling the water on top fast, so they stay down deep. That is just my speculation...Also maybe has to do with less baitfish on the lights as the summer moves on to fall and winter.

I don't know if this helps or not, but I always downsize this time of year, and I pick nights that I have at least a little chop. Typically I'm using a 1/16 ounce head and a White Hot Thump Buddy. I take a lighter action rod spooled with 8lb mono, and I'll cast all the way into the light into the shadows. I'll then lett the jig hit bottom, and reel in as slow as possible. A small hair jig will work too.

If it's blowing more than 10-12mph, I'll switch over to an 1/8 ounce head, or tandem rig two 1/16 heads about 2ft apart from each other. This setup has treated me very well on both Eagle Mountain and Cedar Creek during late summer when the fish get picky. Both lakes have a lot of fry in them right now, so fish are keyed in on smaller targets.

My favorite areas are windblown, mainlake points.

I miss summer night fishing, and just like you mentioned I used to do it a lot in 70's and 80's for Sand Bass and some stripers at Texoma and on a few other lakes.
Later fished a lot at nights for Bass at Fork in the 90's and some at Ray Roberts but the past few years very little.
Great way to enjoy the summer. I must be getting too old.

My dad taught me how to fish this way. It’s a family tradition. You are right. Even when I was a kid people night fished a lot. Now people think I’m crazy for going out at night. I’m 30 years old now.

Thanks Lane. I did notice the bites were super light. I was using a 1/16 ounce Bobby Garland baby shad black gum. I think they are 2.5”. I have some of your white hot thump buddies. I will give it a try.

You hit the nail on the head Laner. 2 weeks ago we caught most of the fish on crankbaits diving 2-5 ft and this past friday only caught one on a crankbait. They wore the crappie jig out on a 1/8 oz head.

Gonna give the ole night fishing a try this weekend hopefully.... I've heard there is some success to be had if you find the right creek chanel, road bed, or bridge pillar.... Maybe my electronics wont let me down.... I'll follow the post and will report back if we do any good. Fingers crossed and tight lines