Are white bass line shy in the creeks?

In this video, I test a theory I see a lot that you need light, clear line to catch whites in the creeks.

They are line shy, you will catch more on 4 lb fluoro

I’ve proven it time and time again. If someone sits next to me with 8lb mono I’m going to outfish them all day

Interesting... these fish must have not gotten your memo.

Couldn't it just be due to a better sink rate, the flouro allows you to get into and stay in the strike zone better than mono, which can result in more fish?

On 2 separate occasions I was fishing with a friend for white bass. I was using 6 lb. fluorocarbon catching fish. He was using 8 lb. mono and not. He changed over to 6 lb. fluorocarbon and started catching fish.

On another occasion I was catching hybrids and white bass on 6 lb. fluorocarbon. I kept getting broken off by some big hybrids so I changed to 12 lb. fluorocarbon. I couldn't get a bite. I changed back to 6 lb. and started catching again.

The last couple of weeks, under the most challenging conditions, I have been using a 5 ft. tapered braid leader with 2.5 ft. of 6 lb. fluorocarbon and catching fish at what seems to be the same rate.

I was always a huge believer that the fish are line shy. As time goes on I am starting to believe it is more about the natural action and sink rate of the line. But I'm still not convinced that the visibility of the line doesn't have something to do with it.

My next test will be to carry 2 separate rods. One with an all fluorocarbon leader and one with the braid leader / fluorocarbon setup to see if my catch rate is affected.

I need to truly test it out one day but my grandpa always says "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

I’ve used 6lb Trilene XL clear for sandies for god knows how long. Never spooked them and I prefer the slow fall of the mono anyways. Never had a line issue with yellow 6lb Mr Crappie either. I have seen the same 8lb clear mono not catch when the 6lb would in real-time more than once in creeks. I’ve always believed it’s a size thing rather than color

Yep. My setup works well so I feel no need to experiment

I reiterate, my experience is that they are line shy, particularly in heavily pressured clearer water creeks. A bunch of places I’ve fished you can forget about getting consistently bit on anything but fluorocarbon line, especially when they first show up like they are now.

You could drag a wounded minnow lure with a rope and they cannot resist it

Interesting considering that these fish aren’t easy to catch when they first show up in feb and March. A lot of the creeks i fish you can even catch them unless you very carefully present a live bait.

Today I was fishing next to two guys who were using minnow, I caught two very quickly and left. They have only caught two white bass, and they had been there since 7am. I guess they should have used rope.

Literally laughed out loud

Well it was early and the creek I was fishing was heavily pressured. Why did they bite?

Fishin'aholic2, This is always an interesting discussion. I've asked the question before. Is it that the white bass are seeing the line or is it the displacement of the water? I only got one answer on this forum. Use the line that gives the bait the most natural action.

I don't have a concrete answer but there are a few problems with your conclusion.
You only tested one line, how do you know if you couldn't have caught 10 times that many using 4 lb. fluorocarbon or a fly rod?
The water was clear but not as clear or shallow as it is in some of the central Texas creeks and rivers

Was Grandpa still fishing with a cane pole, twine and a wire hanger hook? Is the technology and research just one big lie?

I went from a spinning rod with 10 lb. mono, through a progression to 6 lb. fluorocarbon on a fly rod in order to become a better white bass fisherman. Catching white bass on a fly rod vs. someone with 8 lb. mono on a spinning rod in certain conditions is NO contest.

Keep up the experimentation and see where it takes you.

I use 10 lb braid with a mono leader leader and have great results. I broke the mono leader off and thought I would try it without a leader. Same results. I will add that in heavily pressured water, you take every advantage possible. The water I fish is not heavily pressured because of the walk. I just wanted to experiment with and without a leader.

Here is proof for braid without a leader.

Enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing.