Spring is right here up in Northwest Georgia and so are the white bass (Morone chrysops). A smaller cousin to the extremely popular gamefish the striped bass (Morone saxatilis), maxing out at about 5lbs with the extra widespread catch being within the 1/2lb to 2lb dimension vary. They’re silvery fish with a number of faint horizontal stripes on the aspect, with just one tooth patch on the tongue. These fish are one of many first indicators of the approaching spring on the Coosa River. As soon as the river water temperature begins to creep up previous the 53F mark the white bass begin their spring migration from Lake Weiss up into the river and its headwaters. You may simply catch a 15 white bass restrict in brief order relying on the water situations and the way nicely they’re schooled up.
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Sort out-wise fishing for white bass may be very easy and low-tech, all you want is a lightweight to medium-weight rod and reel combo with some 6lb check line spooled up. So any bluegill or finesse bass rod will simply match this invoice. I personally use my 7ft St. Croix further gentle trout rod only for just a little added sport to the battle, however you don’t want to do this. In your lures once more it’s fairly easy, just a few jigheads and tender plastics, just about the identical sizes you’d use to focus on crappie. Relying on the present and dimension of the river/creek you must use 1/8 oz to 1/32 oz jigheads. You need to tie on two of those jigheads at a time and tip each of them with a tender plastic. These may be fished as is or underneath a peg bobber. When you fish the jigs underneath a peg bobber you set your rig to the depth you need to set the jigs at, so after each pop you give them they find yourself again on the similar depth. With out a bobber, you simply need to let the jigs sink to the underside and retrieve them again at a good tempo whereas popping them for motion. Apart from a double jig rig for white bass, it’s also possible to use only a bigger single jig with a white swim shad tender plastic, you’ll get fewer bites however often catch a greater grade of bass. Different lures work as nicely resembling spoons, crankbaits, and rattletraps, however my finest luck to date has been with the easy jig and tender plastic.
For financial institution fishermen, you bought a few spots on the Coosa River which you can entry to focus on white bass. The Lock and Dam Park is an efficient place to start out. With the Lock performing as a fishing pier there may be loads of house to fish right here. Anglers choose the again of the lock fishing within the edy that types as the present flows previous the lock. Fish can usually mixture there ready on prey to be washed over to them. One other fashionable spot is throughout the boat ramp close to the mouth of a creek that flows into the river. One factor to notice with the Coosa being a dam-fed river from Carters Lake and Alatoona, the water degree can differ enormously, so this may have an effect on the place the fish maintain enormously. So don’t count on the chunk or the place the fish maintain to remain the identical everyday. Water ranges can rise or drop as much as 8ft in a single day. When you’re fishing from a ship attempt to discover construction that causes breaks within the present, spots of slack water proper close to the present usually maintain fish ready for prey or simply getting out of the present as they go upstream. Creek mouths also can maintain fish as they stage earlier than they go upstream on the lookout for sand bars to put their eggs on.
Whereas the principle goal is white bass, it needs to be famous that many different fish may be caught this fashion. The crappie are additionally on the transfer out of the lake upriver to spawn and are sometimes caught as a welcome addition to the stringer. So are yellow bass, a smaller cousin of the white bass, these solely rise up to a pound in dimension and with how prolific they are often may be thought-about a nuisance when concentrating on bigger fish. One other bass you’ll be able to catch is the bigger striped bass, which frequently will break you off when fishing with lighter sort out. However now and again, large ones are caught on this lighter sort out after a prolonged battle.
When you actually need to attempt your hand at catching these scrappy little bass you have to begin fishing now. This can be a spring-only form of endeavor on the river with the chunk solely lasting from late February to early Could on the newest. As soon as the white bass attain their spawning grounds and spawn they’ll begin heading again downriver throughout the border in Lake Weiss. There they’ll college up in deeper water until intuition drives them as soon as once more subsequent yr to return upriver. Even for those who aren’t fishing the Coosa, the methods proven will work for white bass throughout the nation. Timing clever simply keep watch over the water temperature, as soon as it reaches the mid-50s count on the spawn and migration to start. Hopefully, this helps yall out with making an attempt to get some white bass this spring.
