This spring I made 2 trips for White Bass and I had 2 really good evenings on the water.
The first Video is fishing a Tributary to Falls Lake and the second is fishing the Haw River where it feeds into Jordan lake. Enjoy the videos and make sure you subscribe.
I made a quick trip after White bass to a Falls Lake Tributary before a meeting at work. My plan was to walk a tributary of a local lake and throw 3 lures. A Shallow Shad Rap 5 ( SSR5), a Rebel Tracdown and a Roadrunner.
I caught 1 on the SSR5 and then lost the 2 I had. OUCH! There went 14 bucks.
I then threw the roadrunner and caught 1. Switched to the Rebel and I caught 3 or 4 on it. Ended up with 5 or 6 in an hour . Not great numbers but it was a good morning with fish caught.
Here is a video I posted on YouTube on this trip. Subscribe to my YT channel and also follow this Blog.
Location Cape Fear River 4pm - 7pm
Rod -7 ft med Shimano rod
Reel- Shimano Citica spooled with 12 lb mono
This is a Full Blooded Striper that hit a Chug bug
A White Bass that hit the Chug Bug as Well
A small spot, caught 3 of these today and all were small but very very spunky, they also hit the Chug Bug. Something has gotten ahold of his back but he escaped.
Now here is a Hybrid, caught 5~ Hybrids and 5 ~ of the Stripers
all fish caught right in the foam up against the dam.
Pete Chillin.
Here are the two lures that produced today. a Chug Bug and a Sebile Swimbait.
The White Bass Run this year in Central NC has been pretty good. I have been 3 times so far and have done well all 3 times.
3/26/2016
Went fishing for White Bass with my wife and I may have caught 25~ fish and she probably got 35~ She got more as I was unhooking her fish and just having fun watching her catch them. We caught them 2 ways. 1 by anchored and casting to a known spot and 2 by trolling. When I troll I normally use 2 rods(canoe so a can't troll umpteen) but today we just trolled with 1 line for her as I was doing the paddling and unhooking. We got rained on for aprox 30 mins but otherwise it was a great day. I don't know who had more fun. The Wife, Pete the dog, or myself. Pete absolutely luvs to fish!
We caught White Bass, White Perch, Yellow Perch, Bream, and a couple of stripers. We also saw a Few Eagles, ospreys, Herons, and a Pileated Woodpecker. All fish caught on a 1/8 oz mini trap, small roadrunner, and a small spot.
March 27th, Went back to the same place , My fishing Partner today was the Famous Mark B. (Wuzworthit) who I have known since the 80's. Fish were scattered except we did catch about 20 out of 1 hole. Had several doubles on as well. We also ran into Professional fisherman Turtlestew. and also Watched an Eagle try to steal a meal from and osprey .
4/15/2016
Went today from 12-6 pm. caught a lot of White bass. Most small to medium size with 6 that were good size. Also caught maybe 10 white perch, 5 or 6 bream and 1- 4lb channel cat. Hottest action was 1230-130. then sporadic. Best lures were chartreuse SSR5 with blue back and orange belly, mini trap, and road runner. I took one of my old Heddon Sonics and it caught 3 or 4 fish then my knot broke and I lost it. Dang it!!! I hate I lost that lure.
Here in NC this December it has been really warm and rainy. Jordan lake is up 12 ' !!
I have several spots on this lake that are usually good in High water so off to the lake I went Christmas evening. I was throwing a 1/2 oz Cordell spot along some riprap and caught 3 Largemouth along with quite a few White bass. Nothing huge but it sure beats not fishing. I was throwing the spot on a 7 ' rod with a 4600C abu with 12 lb line.
Fast Forward to the 29th of December and Jordan is still right at 12 ' High. I figured some crappie would be shallow so I headed to a spot where I thought the fish maybe cooperative. Fished from 3-530 pm , I luckily Caught some nice Crappie that all fell for a Monks Chartreuse head on a Purple Rain grub.
I then Went back this morning(Wed 30th) but decided to use A 12' Fiberglass Zebco Crappie Stik so I could precisely set the bait beside a flooded willow and lift straight up. I was using a plain Cigar bobber 3' above a # 6 gold hook with a small weight just above the hook. I went through 3 dozen minnows and 2 heavy downpours so I was glad to have my Frogg Toggs with me this am. The avg size was smaller today than yesterday but still fun. All Crappie today and yesterday were Black Crappie. I Also caught 2 channel cats which were a blast on the pole.
The moral of this story is don't let high water stop you from fishing. They can still be caught . I didn't see another fisherman on this lake all three trips!
Time 430-700PM
Quarry- White Bass on their spawning run
Reel- Daiwa Tierra 1500
Rod- Berkley Lightning Rod 6'0" Med Light
Line- 6 lb Original Stren
Lures Used - Bitzy Minnow White/Chartreuse & SSR5 shad colored
Get them here -
Shallow Shad Rap 5 SSR5 https://amzn.to/3XUbO88
Bitzy Minnow -
Location- Tributary to Falls lake
Water Temp- 70 Degrees!
Left work a little early today to get in some White Bass action. I start off with Chartreuse/white Bitzy Minnow and caught 3 white perch and maybe 20 White Bass. The average size was small but they were fun, I lost my last Bitzy Minnow so I then switched to a Rapala SSR5 in Shad Color.
The size of fish Immediately went up and I caught maybe another 20 or so on it and 1 very small Striper. I covered maybe a 1/2 mile of water and no one else was fishing this stretch. It was a fun evening on the water. I ended up with 47 White's, 3 White Perch and the one lone Striper.
I had a little time after work today (4/23/14) so I decided to check out a creek that flows in Falls Lake. This creek holds lots of nice crappie but I was unsure of any White bass making it in there. I arrived at the spot at aprox 7pm and hiked upstream a few hundred yards. I was getting some hits on a White 1/16 oz super roostertail and was catching a lot of small white perch. I lost that lure and I had 1 crappie jig in my ultralite box. A Kalan's grub in the "Acid Rain" color got the call and I immediately started getting hits on it. Most were small white perch but I did catch a handful of decent White bass with one being a really nice one. I also lost that lure and then put on a SSR #5 . That's a shallow shad rap #5 and I got a few hard strikes by catfish. I lost one about 4-5 lbs and caught a channel cat aprox 2 lbs and also one small bass. Next time I will be better prepared for this spot.
Here are a few pics.
This White Bass was a Brawler.
I made two trips this week for white bass. The first was on Wednesday April the 2 from 5pm till 730 pm. I launched my Old Town 158 and I trolled a jig while heading upriver. I hooked 1 nice white and continued upstream to one of my favorite spots. I arrived there and caught a couple but nothing like I expected though I did catch a 5 lb bowfin on a jig. I then trolled back down and caught another fish in the same spot as before so I anchored . The bite here was on. Most whites caught on a mini-spot but I did catch some on a curly tail jig . I caught aprox 25 whites , 5 crappie, 6 Stripers and 3 perch. The water temp was a nice 61 degrees with the air temp in the 80's. I saw several Bald Eagles , Herons and some Pileated Woodpeckers. A few Pics-
Fast forward to Friday April the 4th and I decided to go to this same spot but instead of a PM trip I chose an AM trip. I launched the Old Town 158 at 7 am and went to where I caught them the other day.
Nothing!!!..I headed to another spot and caught a few but it was slow. I then headed back down to the good spot and they were biting. I caught aprox 30 white bass, 3 stripers, 3 crappie and 3 perch along with 1 small largemouth. I good morning on the water. I left at 1130 and had a nice day catching fish and seeing eagles, ducks and a few Hawks.
Here are a few pictures of the fish-
And here are the lures I used today. These lures will catch any white bass.
Starting at 12 and going clockwise - Mini-trap(the most productive lure this week), #2 Blue Fox spinner, Gotcha curlytail grub on 1/16 oz jighead, 5 in Swimmin Fluke on 1/4 oz jighead(this caught the biggest white), Chartreuse Roadrunner, and a Cordell Mini Spot.
3/29/2013
I am probably going to be fishing Penny's Bend and some of the surrounding water more this year since I have taken a job in Granville co. I haven't fished here in 2 years but I gave it a go on the 29th of March.
I have been hearing reports of good catches on some days and bad on others . I arrived at PB at aprox 5 pm and started throwing a small chartreuse sassy shad. I immediately caught a handful of eager White's. I then called my buddy Steve to tell him . I NEVER SHOULD OF DONE THAT! ..I did not get one more hit. I took the water Temp and it was a chilly 52 degree's. Dang it! I tried almost every lure I brought with me and the only one that got a look was the Sassy Shad. When I last fished here in March 2011 the water temp was 62 Degrees( see http://mackinncblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/pennys-bend-white-bass-32411.html)and the fish were biting good so better fishing should be in store. I decided to hit a spot below the bridge but nada. As I am about to leave, well known Master Fly fisherman Kevin Frank comes walking up river. He reported that the downstream bite wasn't that good today either.
Here are a few pictures from today.
I had Tuesday June the 26th off so I headed to a favorite river of mine ( The Dan River ) for some Smallie action. Fished from 4:30 pm till dark. Air temp was right at 80 deg at the put in and 65 deg when I took out at dark. Nice!
I caught 10~ smallies with most being small but 2 were decent fish. 1/2 the smallies caught on a 3/8 oz Chartresue spinnerbait and 1/2 on a pumpkinseed grub on a 1/4 oz jig head. I also managed 1 channel cat on the spinnerbait and 1 White Bass on the grub. This is about a 3 mile float with slack water and some fast water. Highlights were some ospreys and 2 groundhogs.
Here are a few pics.
A nice jon boat on the river.
This Smallie has a scar on her back from a heron or some other predator.
My best fish of the day. She did not want to get into the canoe!
This Channel Cat ruined my spinnerbait.
A White bass was an added bonus. She hit the grub.
I had (have) Smallie fever since going to the Yadkin the other day. I had plans to go to a certain Piedmont river 4.17.12 but after checking the gages I decided to drive a little farther. I arrived at the launch site on the Dan River at 4 pm and took out at dark. The water looked perfect and a quick reading showed a temp of 70 degrees. Wow! The Yadkin 2 days ago was only 62 deg. See http://mackinncblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/smallie-time.html
A goose had a nest in the debris piled up under a bridge.
The Smallies on the Yadkin last trip would not hit my usual go to lure of a Chartreuse spinnerbait and I had to switch to white. So, on this outing I started off with white. No hits. I put the chartreuse spinnerbait back on and the hits came immediately. The lure of choice today was a Booyah Blade 3/8 oz Chartreuse Spinnerbait. First a little guy.
Then this nice colored Smallie
The big one for the day going 18 inches. She was a fighter.
Not Bad. 2 smallies 18 plus inches in 2 days.
The surprise of the day. I have caught these here but not on a spinnerbait.
I caught ~10 smallies and the lone white bass. All caught on the spinnerbait except 1 smallie on a tube. I had the 18 incher. 2 right at 16 (bad pics) couple at 14 inches and the rest smaller. A very decent 4 hours on the water. Note: A look at my last smallie outing and I was not wearing a life jacket last outing. This outing I had my life jacket on from the get go as the water was very swift. Evidently the upstream dam is letting water out. Also, the last outing I was surrounded by 4 other canoers and yakers and I was alone on this trip. Always use common sense on the water . Tight lines Mack
I enjoy anything in the outdoors. Mainly canoeing and fishing but, also hunting, hiking, I love to plant trees and also search for big trees.
I grew up just outside Burlington, N.C. where my parents house sat on a bluff overlooking the Haw River. I can thank the Haw for getting me started in the outdoors. I Have 2 YouTube Channels as well. Mack's Extreme River Fishing and Mack's Public Land Hunting.
Thnaks, Mack
