Skip to content
gonnachum

Fish guide

White bass

A fast, hard-fighting cousin of the striper that hunts shad in schools: when white bass break the surface, the action can be fast.

Share this guide

Text message Facebook (opens in a new tab) X (Twitter, opens in a new tab) Email
A white bass

Morone chrysops · also called sand bass, silver bass, stripe

How to tell it

  • Silver to white, with thin dark lines along the side, the lines fainter and more broken than a striper’s.
  • A deep, compressed body that rises steeply behind the head.
  • Usually one tooth patch on the tongue (a hybrid usually has two, sometimes touching), and the lower jaw sticks out: check more than one sign.

Size: Most are 10–14 inches and about a pound; a 3-pound white bass is a big one.

What to throw

The first pick and the backup for every water clarity and light, from the Gear Matcher. Tap one to see the whole kit.

Tackle
Kind of water
Water temperature

Lake · Transition water (50–65°F)

Clear water · see 4 ft+ down

Stained water · 1–4 ft of sight

Murky water · under 1 ft

Rain fishes like a cloudy day, so it is left out. These are the everyday picks: in spring and fall the Gear Matcher adds the season’s patterns for some fish.

Our picks for these

Rod, reel and line

Rod
6'6"–7' medium-light spinning
Reel
2500 spinning
Line
8–10 lb braid or 8 lb monofilament

A medium-light rod casts small spinners and jigs far into a school and still handles a hybrid.

Where and when

Lake fishing: plan your approach and read the water.

Where they live
Big lakes, reservoirs and the rivers that feed them. They roam open water in schools chasing shad, and run up rivers in spring.
Water they like
Most active from 55 to 78°F; the spring run starts when the river reaches the mid 50s.
Best time
Early morning and evening when they push shad to the surface; windy points all day.
Spawning
In early spring they run up rivers and creeks to spawn over rock and gravel in the current, often in huge numbers.

Through the year

Best months for white bass: March–April and September–October.

  1. January: slower.
  2. February: slower.
  3. March: best.
  4. April: best.
  5. May: good.
  6. June: good.
  7. July: good.
  8. August: good.
  9. September: best.
  10. October: best.
  11. November: good.
  12. December: slower.

The run comes as early as February in Texas and in April or May in the North. In summer, watch for birds and splashes.

A general pattern, not a local forecast. Pick your state for a rough adjustment: white bass follow the water’s warmth, earlier in the South and later in the North.

  • Spring

    The run: they pack into rivers and below dams. Small spinners, jigs and crankbaits in the current.

  • Summer

    Out in the lake chasing shad: watch for splashes and birds and cast into them, or jig spoons on humps and points.

  • Fall

    Schools chase shad on top again as the water cools: the best topwater bite of the year.

  • Winter

    Deep and slower: jig slab spoons on the bottom where the shad are.

Tips

  1. 1.Carry a white or silver lure that casts far: when they break, you want to reach them.
  2. 2.Reel fast: white bass chase, and a fast lure looks like fleeing shad.
  3. 3.After the first fish, cast back to the same spot right away: the school is right there.

The rules

Hybrids (wipers) fight like small stripers; use the striped bass gear if you have it.

for its license and regulations

Through the ice

What to drop

Small Jigging Spoon

or Blade Bait

Rod
28"–30" medium-light ice rod
Reel
500–1000 spinning
Line
6 lb fluorocarbon

How thick the ice must be

  • Under 4"Stay off
  • 4"Ice fishing and anything on foot
  • 5–7"Snowmobile or ATV
  • 8–12"Car or small pickup
  • 12–15"Medium truck

For new, clear ice. White or snowy ice is about half as strong, so double these. Check it with a spud bar or auger as you go out, and keep off ice over moving water, near inlets and at pressure ridges. No ice is completely safe.

Find water near you