Whiterock Bass Feeding Habits
When fishing in the dark, focus on lures that provide a flash, much like baitfish.
Whiterock Bass feeding habits are very similar to those of their parents, the Striped Bass and the White Bass. They spend a lot of time in deep waters , but will come to the surface to feed on small schools of gizzard shad, fathead minnows and golden shiners. Keep an eye out on overcast days, evenings or late afternoons as there is likely to be more surface activity during this time.
Like other freshwater bass, the Whiterock Bass is active in the evening, after sunset and just before the sun rises in the morning. However, unlike other freshwater bass, the Whiterock Bass are active feeders during the day and spend a lot of their time travelling from one feeding zone to another in schools.
Food Preferences
Young Whiterock Bass feed on zoo-plankton and other microscopic organisms and grow rapidly, reaching as much as nine inches by the end of the first year. After the first year, they start adding tiny insects and eventually other small fish like fathead minnows, gizzard shad and golden shiners to their diet. However, lures that resemble these baits are also very effective. Make sure you come with multiple baits and lures as whiterock bass can be picky eaters.
Bait Casting
While light tackle is perfect for catching Whiterock Bass, it is difficult for us to recommend light tackle for all regions of their distribution. A lot has to do with the size of other fish species in the same watershed. Light tackle works very well in Manitoba as most of the freshwater fish do not grow very large, even largemouth bass are half the size of their southern family members with six pounds being considered trophy size.
In the south, in states like California, Nevada, Alabama there are many fish species exceeding 12 pounds including the Striped Bass, a parent of the Whiterock Bass, which can easily exceed 30 pounds.
Couple that with all freshwater fish species having a significant food preference overlap, there is a good chance that you may end up landing a lunker and risk snapping the line or even stripping the gears on the reel. For southern states, we recommend using medium weight tackle.
When fishing in the dark, focus on lures that provide a flash, much like baitfish. Spoons and spinners are very good at replicating this. However, crankbaits offer the best results as they can reproduce the vibrations caused by a wounded fish and increase your odds of catching getting a strike.