White Bass feast mostly on baitfish, crayfish and the offspring of other predatory fish like the largemouth bass.

Lake Techniques

A good White Bass lake technique is to use surface lure action, a small propelled floating plug twitched like a wounded baitfish is favoured, especially when White Bass are schooled and chasing small baits.

However, lake techniques vary from the north to the south. In the southern states, water temperatures are much higher, driving the white bass deeper in high summer while northern latitudes do not see water temperatures rising very much, keeping the White Bass closer to the surface. With that being said, even when spending time in deep water, they will charge to the surface if their are hungry and the right bait is presented.

Lures

White Bass feast mostly on baitfish, crayfish and the offspring of other predatory fish like the largemouth bass. Lures that replicate the image of these fish work well. Moreover, crankbaits replicate the vibrations of a wounded baitfish further enticing the white bass from deeper water.

White Bass are picky and won’t go for just any bait even if it is within their diet. The key to catching them is to have a variety of lures that cover the most popular bait types.

Techniques

Lakes offer deeper water than rivers and this plays a significant role in the summer the southern United States during the summer as the White Bass can often be found below ten feet. Trolling is an effective technique. Use a monofilament line with light tackle. Deep diving crankbaits work very well, but a jigging spoon or a surface popper when fishing along the shoreline.

Use light to medium spinning and bait-casting tackle with light to medium weight rod and reel combination. We often recommend a medium weight rod for southern anglers as there are a lot of other big game fish in the area. For northern anglers, use light weight tackle as it provides better sensitivity. Even largemouth bass in the north don’t often get much larger than 6 pounds on average.