Bait cast with standard baits with and without spoons. Things may be a little slow, but that can be expected.

Winter is a great time to catch White Bass. They can be caught in dam tail waters by tightlining from the bank or wade fishing in the shallows a safe distance from the dam. You can also find them by fishing lakes and rivers from boats. Using a sonar device is very handy as they can be found deep in late fall and winter, especially in the northern distributions.

White Bass can be found schooling around deep-water sunken islands, river bars, long points and other structure.

Food Preference

White Bass feed on small baitfish like gizzard shad, fathead minnows and golden shiners with live baitfish or artificial lures imitating that prey working best. Crankbaits always work well because they imitate the vibrations of a wounded fish.

So, there are a variety of baits to choose from including small live shad, live shiners, jigs, small spoons, small spinners, small crank baits and other popular enticements like Gay Blades and tail spinners. The best approach is to focus on small baits and lures!

White Bass have small mouths and you won’t catch anything with large baits and lures. This is important to keep in mind as most of the White Bass caught are in the two pound range even though the largest one caught is around six pounds.

We at Bass Fishing Gurus recommend fishing in reservoirs and lakes with gizzard shad. This works very well and has proven highly successful is fishing on reservoirs with a light breeze.

Bait Casting

Bait cast with standard baits with and without spoons. Things may be a little slow, but that can be expected. What you are waiting for is a light breeze to pick up which is likely to occur mid-morning as the sun begins to warm the air. Position yourself towards the end of the lake or reservoir, as the wind will cause the baitfish to pool at the end of the lake. As the baitfish become pinned, the White Bass will feed aggressively in a feeding frenzy.

When this happens, you won’t get much of a break between casts before landing a fish. Use simple 3/16 ounce lures or smaller teardrop-shaped baits with a small Colorado spinner blade. A treble hook on the bottom is helpful but not required.

One observation that is highly effective is watching for birds. Watch out for seagulls found circling or diving are in the presence of bait fish. Where baitfish are present, White Bass won’t be far behind. And when birds like crows are sitting on branches and fences, it can allude to a coming cold front. While fish finders can be great, keep your eyes open to natural events.