White bass run has begun at SW Missouri lakes

Luke Jarman (left) with a white bass, while his father, Les, holds a crappie, as both anglers caught a fish at the same time. It happened often ---- when they got into a school of white bass. (Photo by Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail)

The white bass run has gotten underway on Southwest Missouri lakes and streams. With the water temperature hitting the 50s, whites started moving up spawning streams, and anglers were on hand to intercept them.

All it took for me to get excited about catching white bass was a call from Les Jarman, who just the day before, along with his son, Luke, had caught lots of whites. They were going back again the next day and invited me to tag along. I asked Luke how many he caught yesterday, his reply was "I must have caught at least a hundred. I quit counting when I got to 50. All the whites were released to fight again."

Anyone who has hooked a white bass knows just how they fight. When you get into a school of them, you will experience all the action you want. They hit hard and put up a battle before being netted.

When we reached the spot where the Jarmans caught fish the day before, it didn't take but a few casts before Luke had a hit. The fish proved not to be a white, but a crappie. After that, all three of us started pulling in crappie before Les hooked a nice walleye.

Les said, "When fishing this area, you might catch a crappie, then a walleye and next a white bass. All three species pass through here about this time each spring." Luke added, "The whites have been here for several weeks, but I think the crappie are year-round residents."

The morning action really picked up when we located the white bass. First, Les caught a good sized male white, followed by Luke with another. It wasn't too long before they were doubling up and even with my hooking one, we had several triples. That's the way it is with the whites ---- if you catch one, be ready for another.

To show how the white bass move at this time of the year, Les went back to the same spot the next day and only caught one white bass. He said, "The crappie were still around, but the whites moved when the water temperature dropped a few degrees."

When the word gets out that the whites are running, it doesn't take long before other anglers hit the water. I remember one time in early April, Charlie Campbell, Forsyth, told me where the whites were hitting on Bull Shoals. It didn't take long before I found the spot.

As I rounded a bend, I saw several dozen boats in a big circle and most of the anglers were pulling in white bass. Along with the boaters, there were a dozen or more anglers casting from the bank. The streams and lakes where the white bass congregate can be a busy place.

Sometimes the fishing may not be too fast, but there is usually enough action to keep most of the anglers happy, and with the good weather this March, no one seemed disappointed.

A few of the crappie, white bass and walleye, caught last week by the father-son team of Les and Luke Jarman. (Photo by Ken white)

After seeing so many fishermen on the water at Bull Shoals, I asked one of the local anglers if anyone ever worked anymore? To which he replied," Not when the white bass are running."

Using a chartreuse jig by Les and a smoke colored jig by Luke, the father-son team caught and released several dozen whites, keeping a few for neighbors who like to fry them up for dinner.

Other popular lures for catching white bass include small spoons, spinners and Roadrunners. Some anglers like to use minnows in slow moving waters. It was a great way to spend a windy, but warm March morning. It makes one ready for more.

Glen Lee, Springfield, caught a six-pound walleye along with eight white bass and four crappie using a silver spoon just a short distance from the Beaver Creek Boat Dock on a cool March morning.

Some hot-spots for catching white bass during the spring spawning run include: Beaver Creek on Bull Shoals, the area between Powersite Dam and Beaver Creek; Norfolk, where anglers have been catching a lot of whites; at Table Rock, where the whites were getting attention of anglers near Cape Fair; and Turnback Creek at 160 highway in Dade County.

A sign of spring ---- loons are a common sight on Stockton Lake as they migrate north. (Photo by Ken white)

There are many anglers always pleased to see the white bass run get underway, not only for the great fishing, but they know it is getting close to morel mushroom and the spring turkey season.

It's a good time of the year for outdoor minded people.